This sermon is the fifth sermon in a series of messages discussing the Lord's Sermon on the Mount and is based on Matthew 5:27-32.
Written excerpts:
Introduction:
By God’s help I want to continue our series of messages dealing with the Sermon on the Mount given by Jesus and recorded in Matthew chapters 5-7. I trust that the Holy Spirit will oversee our time together today so that I will communicate accurately and you will understand accurately what God wants us to learn from this passage.
Moving on to the next segment in the Sermon on the Mount today we will be taking a look at what Jesus had to say in relation to the Seventh Commandment, which addresses the issue of marital fidelity. By the way, once again, this subject we are discussing today closely corresponds to a couple of messages I preached last year when I did a series of messages on the Ten Commandments. The two messages were titled, “Holy Matrimony” Parts I & II.
Let us turn our attention to the text and consider some important observations or lessons that Jesus emphasized to His listeners.
1. God has ordained marriage as a sacred relationship between a husband and a wife.
Last week I explained that Jesus’ words regarding murder and anger were a direct reference to the Sixth Commandment, “You shall not kill.” This week we understand that His words regarding lust and divorce are a direct reference to the Seventh Commandment, “You shall not commit adultery.”
When I presented the messages last year on the Ten Commandments, I tried to provide a positive principle that was the basis for each of the commands God gave to Moses. The positive principle for the Seventh Commandment is this: Marriage is sacred (holy). Since marriage is a holy and sacred relationship between a husband and a wife, then everything that threatens the stability and permanence of that relationship must be eliminated from our lives. Everything that threatens to cheapen and devalue the sacredness of marriage must be avoided.
2. The sacred bond of marriage can be violated by lustful fantasies even without illicit conduct.
Jesus is emphasizing the fact that adultery and all other violations of marital fidelity are rooted in the desires and passions of the heart before they ever become literal reality. (I assume that we all understand that even though Jesus uses the example of a man lusting for a woman, it does not mean that women are exempt from this sin of adulterous fantasies.)
(Repeated from last year’s sermon on the 7th Commandment) God intended the bond between a husband and a wife to be so strong that they would be united in body, mind and spirit. Intellectual, emotional and spiritual intimacy all work together to enhance physical intimacy. The “three-strand cord” is impossible to break when it has been faithfully created and nurtured.
Lustful fantasies are a direct assault on the intimacy God intended between a husband and a wife. Fantasies can be defined as thoughts that one entertains and nurtures in the mind regarding conduct that he/she does not intend to engage in. This fact applies before marriage just as much as during marriage. If people are careless about the conduct imagined in their minds before they are married, it is very likely that they will continue to be careless about it after they are married, and it will negatively impact their marriage. So, in that sense, it is an assault on the sanctity of marriage no matter when it occurs.
“Whosoever looketh upon a woman…”
“Looketh” – This word implies that the temptation was initiated through sight. Perhaps that is why Jesus used the example of a man lusting for a woman, because men are primarily tempted through visual attractions while women are primarily emotionally attracted. In any case, both men and women need to be careful what we allow ourselves to be exposed to and entertained with in order to avoid the kind of trap that Jesus is talking about.
“…to lust after her …” – The word “lust” understood in its most generic form refers to any strong passion or desire. However, in the context of this statement, it carries the stronger, negative meaning of a desire or passion outside of biblical / moral boundaries.
Now… I want to emphasize here that there is a big difference between the temptation to lust and the actual sin of lust. The best passage of scripture I know of to explain the difference is found in James 1:13-15. Here is the progression to sin as defined by James:
Temptation is described in two steps as being (a) “drawn away” by our own lusts – i.e., we become aware of something that appeals to our natural God-given desires [here “lust” is to be understood in the more generic sense of any strong desire]; and (b) “enticed” – i.e., the attraction is so pronounced that it “baits” us or “entraps” us. The appeal is more than just a casual notice, but it truly grabs our attention.
Temptation becomes sin when… c) “lust has conceived” – i.e., when the desire has germinated with our will. The consent of the will can either be a decision to act out the passion, or a decision to continue thinking on it and fantasizing about it.
This decision to fantasize about behavior that God has condemned constitutes the sin of adultery that Jesus is talking about here.
3. The temptations and urges are so destructive; we must take every step necessary to avoid or conquer all evil influences.
“If your eye (or hand) offends you…”
Most commentaries consider these words to be a figure of speech that we call “hyperbole.” That is, an obvious and intentional exaggeration used for emphasis and not to be taken literally (dictionary.com). The obvious point Jesus is making is this… any steps a person must take in order to keep himself pure and free from sin are far better than being lost in hell, no matter how drastic those steps may seem.
Jesus seems to be telling us that temptations which threaten the sacredness of marriage do come from all sorts of angles and sources, and they have the ability to not only destroy a marriage, but destroy our souls. Therefore, any actions or measures necessary to prevent those temptations from ensnaring us and causing irreparable harm must certainly be taken. Such actions, no matter how severe, will be far better than the fires of hell.
In my message on the 7th Commandment, I commented that we men need to guard our minds against impure thoughts by guarding what we allow view and put into our minds. Videos, magazines, TV shows and a host of other sources can provide images in our minds that make it next to impossible to remain pure in our thoughts and imaginations. No man who calls himself a Christian should be feeding his mind on things that promote promiscuity and immoral conduct, even if he never intends to follow through with outward behavior.
I remember when our daughter was attending a Christian college, and she was asked out by a pretty popular and well-liked guy on campus. During one of their conversations he apparently said something about watching a movie that she felt was inappropriate for a Christian. He simply brushed it off as “just a guy thing.” Well, needless to say, their relationship ended soon afterward, because she was not interested in getting involved with someone who was feeding his mind on things that glorified or glamorized behavior that was contrary to biblical holiness.
Men, let me remind each of us today that the Devil will use every tool and technique possible to fill our minds with thoughts that are condemned in Scripture. He will entice us with every possible tactic until we find ourselves enslaved to lust.
Jesus is simply telling us that we must do anything and everything necessary to break the bondage of lust and find freedom in Christ. I’m glad that I can say I know many people who have found deliverance and freedom in the power of Holy Spirit. It is possible to live a victorious life over the power of lust and passions.
But this message is not just for men. Women are just as vulnerable to the temptations to lust. It may or not be the visual attraction to some “handsome hunk.” It may more likely be an attraction to someone that seems so “tender and caring, and interested in my problems; nothing like that boring, fault-finding bum at home.” Without careful attention to the sly tactics of the Devil, a woman can begin to fantasize about relationships that are contrary to the Bible and the sacred vows of marriage. Women also need to be careful about what they put into their minds through TV shows, inappropriate kinds of romance stories, and a host of other media that would lead one into desires and fantasies that endanger the sacredness of marriage.
For all of us, Jesus says, “Get rid of it. Do whatever is needed to restore moral virtue and purity to your thoughts and imaginations as well as your conduct or behavior.”
4. Marriage is so sacred that it must not be dissolved except for specific causes.
Again, I am reminded that I spoke about this issue when I did my sermons on the Ten Commandments. I reiterate the fact that I certainly do not have answers to all the questions people have raised about the problems of divorce. I am only trying to explain what Jesus was teaching in this sermon.
If you compare these words here in chapter 5 with the words of Jesus in chapter 19, you will discover that the official writing or certificate of divorce referred to was actually a tool that Moses granted to protect women from being abruptly dismissed or abandoned for any and all reasons. Jesus goes on to explain that the writing of divorcement was designed “because of the hardness of their hearts.” It was because people had gotten so far away from God’s original intent and design for marriage that people were being misused and abused. The least we can say is this… Jesus wanted them to understand that God’s original plan and design was for marriage to be a permanent, life-time commitment between one man and one woman. He was trying to help them see, that if they did not guard against it, the breakup of marriages could again be just as common as it was before Moses instituted the requirement of official divorce papers in order to dissolve a marriage.
We certainly have lived to see what Jesus was speaking against. “No-fault divorce” has become the norm throughout our nation today. Marriages are splitting up and homes are being destroyed for a host of reasons these days and the Devil is thrilled by it all. God wants everyone one of us to jealously guard our marriages from anything and everything that threatens to destroy them.
Conclusion:
In closing, let me just briefly tie this message in with our general theme: Laying a Firm Foundation.
If you want to build a firm foundation for your life that will withstand the most severe storms of life, make every effort to strengthen your marriage. (If you’re not married yet, make every effort to guard yourself against lusts and traps that will endanger your future relationship.) If any of us are defeated in the arena of moral purity it will negatively impact the rest of our lives as well. If we have compromised the sanctity of marriage, it will not only have a negative impact on our home life and families, but it will hinder our entire spiritual development.
For example, Peter instructed husbands to give honor to their wives so that their prayers would not be hindered. This is just one example of how wounded relationships at home can affect one’s spiritual connection to God. So, taking every possible step to guard against temptations that would threaten to destroy marriage will also enable us to have the kind of foundation in our lives that can weather the storms.
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