TEXT; MATTHEW 5:27-32
TITLE: “Would You Be Blind”
INTRODUCTION: Most Sundays I am excited to preach.
I’m usually fired up to prepare a message and present it. I have to admit that it’s not really the case today.
The passage we’re going to study this morning is a tough and controversial
passage.
It made me wonder why I decided to preach through the Sermon on the Mount. But because that’s what I’m doing, I’ve got to bring a message about adultery, lust, hell, and divorce.
It’s difficult to balance Jesus’ high standards with His grace and forgiveness. I know that discussing such sensitive subjects without offending people is tough.
There are a lot of congregations that treat divorce as the unpardonable sin and
refuse to let anyone serve in a leadership position who has been divorced
--By the way, I can’t find biblical evidence of that position
There are also congregations that just ignore what Jesus teaches on these
difficult subjects altogether.
Now that I think about it some more, let’s just sing a few more songs and go
home!
Well, I really can’t do that in good conscience.
The Apostle Paul told the elders at the church in Ephesus that he was glad that
he preached to them “the whole counsel of God.”
I took an oath to preach the word “in season and out of season” and not
just to “say what itching ears want to hear.”
I’m going to ask that you remember today that I’m not the letter writer
--I’m just the mail carrier
I promise that I will do my best to teach you how I understand Jesus’ teaching and
how it applies to our life.
--Please do your best to receive this message in love
Actually the subject of marriage and sexual purity is so important that we don’t dare
pass over it even though it creates tension.
When I was in youth ministry I hit on this message a lot. Because they were young and I was trying to save them from getting hurt.
If this helps to prevent one affair, one divorce, one broken heart, or one addiction,
it will be well worth the time we spend on it today.
More importantly, if one child is given a secure, loving environment in which to
grow up or one soul is saved for eternity, God will be glorified.
--Jesus challenges us to guard our heart. So let’s look carefully at what Jesus said
Mt. 5:27-32
I. THE OLD TESTAMENT SAYS, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY
A. There was a positive reason for that negative command.
--Sexual intimacy is so powerful—it is to be expressed in marriage only.
1. A car is a powerful machine and it’s an awesome responsibility to drive a car.
a. An uncontrolled car can crash into a marketplace and kill a number of people, so government authorities put parameters around driving.
--You have to be sixteen years old. You have to pass a test. You can’t drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol. You have to travel within a speed limit. There are all kinds of restrictions.
Why? Doesn’t the government want us to enjoy driving? Don’t they want us to get to our
destination?
--Of course! The restrictions are there for the benefit of society because driving is a wonderful, but powerful privilege. The majority of the time when we don’t take it seriously we aren’t the only ones effected by our negligence. We hurt a lot of other people too.
2. Sexual intimacy is a wonderful, powerful gift from God.
a. An uncontrolled sexual desire can spin out of control and destroy a whole number of people, so God put parameters around it.
--You have to wait until you are married before you have intercourse. You shouldn’t even look at a women lustfully and this also applies to women looking at men. And there are all kinds of restrictions that we need to keep to preserve that marriage.
3. God, who designed us, wants this powerful gift to be experienced in the safest, most meaningful, uninhibited environment possible.
a. For our personal benefit and the benefit of others in society, He restricted sexual intimacy to marriage only.
b. Outside those parameters sexual intimacy initially creates excitement but wounds and kills the relationship in the end. 9 out of 10 couples that have intimacy before they are married ends in divorce.
C. When we started our study of the Sermon on the Mount, we saw that there is a consistent theme throughout Jesus’ message from the mountain.
--Christ-followers are to be different and distinctive than those in the world.
1. One of the ways you show your distinctiveness is that you honor God’s boundaries in sexual intimacy. And the world notices and can’t believe it. “YOU’RE A VIRGIN!!!”
2. The Christian recognizes there is no such thing as casual sex any more than one can be a casual motorcycle race.
--It’s too important.
3. In the Old Testament, when Potiphar’s wife said to Joseph, “Come to bed with me. It’s Egypt. Everyone has affairs here. My husband will never know,” Joseph fled saying, “I can’t do this thing and sin against my God.”
a. He was different; distinctive
b. He was a man of integrity.
D. Since God’s people are commanded not to commit adultery, we are wise to be alert to those times when we’re particularly vulnerable because the Bible says we’re to be sober and alert because our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
--I’ve heard that you are more likely to commit adultery when:
1. There is a lack of intimacy in your marriage. That lack of intimacy can be physical or conversational.
1 Cor. 7:4-5 says that Godly couples should be consistently intimate so that Satan will not tempt them because of their lack of self-control.
2. You are more vulnerable to adultery when you experience grief or depression.
--When you’re emotionally drained, you are susceptible to the attention of someone who promises to pick you up and make you feel better. So be alert.
3. Another period of vulnerability occurs when there is a long period of separation.
--When things like military duty or job responsibilities separate you, temptation increases because you’re alone and you lack accountability.
4. When you spend a lot of time alone with a person of the opposite sex you’re more at risk.
If two people work together or even if you’re involved in a mutual project at church with a person of the opposite sex, that is the breeding ground for strong temptation.
Bob Russell tells of a preacher’s wife who has an understanding with her husband that she always has to approve of his secretary. She has a 50-50 principle. The secretary has to be over 50 years old and 50 pounds overweight.
--That preacher’s wife recognizes the potential temptation!
5. You are more vulnerable when you are successful.
a. If you accomplish something significant you may think you deserve someone better.
b. That’s why so many CEO’s of corporations have trophy wives or mistresses.
c. The Bible says, “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
6. You are also more susceptible to adultery when you’re too close to some one of the opposite sex. I have counseled couples where He is jealous because she spends to much time with another guy. “Oh, he was just my best friend in high school”
7. If you want to be loyal to Jesus Christ, be alert to the enemies mode of operations and stand firm.
--For Jesus didn’t come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it and He repeated the seventh commandment,
“Do not commit adultery.”
II. JESUS’ DEMANDING INSTRUCTION: DO NOT LUST
Jesus went deeper than just prohibiting adultery. --Jesus said don’t lust!
Jesus went to the core of the problem—the heart.
--He said, “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Jesus is not saying that to have a sinful thought is just as bad as acting out that thought. Jesus was saying that it starts there and if you don’t deal with it, then it is going to come out in your actions.
The Bible calls the soul of our being – our innermost thoughts – the heart.
--Jesus said in Mk. 7:21 – “For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual
immorality, theft, murder, adultery…”
Adultery begins in the heart—the innermost thought life.
--So the way to assure a lasting, loving marriage is guard your heart.
All immorality begins with our innermost thoughts
1. Maintain pure thoughts.
2. Don’t give Satan a foothold in fantasy.
Lust is an awful affliction, ensnaring a lot of otherwise good people.
1. Internet pornography affects both men and women
2. Internet chat rooms can be dangerous areas of fantasy and false romance
3. Everywhere you turn, even in such things as clothing ads, there is visual temptation.
--It’s very difficult to take the high road and avoid lust, since there is so much intentional stimulation. Advertising etc.
What is lust?
Lust is looking at a person for the purpose of deliberately stimulating desire.
--John Maxwell defines lust as “any thought that, if you actually carried it out, would be a sin.”
It’s not just appreciating someone’s beauty.
Some Christians take this to extreme and conclude it’s wrong even to notice beauty.
But there is a difference between appreciating beauty and lusting after someone.
The Bible speaks of Rachel and Sarah as being very attractive. It speaks of Absalom and Joseph as being handsome and well-built.
--It wasn’t wrong to notice that. When God converts you He doesn’t strike you blind.
However, as we mature, we should see the inner beauty that God sees.
If it’s wrong to lust, it’s wrong to deliberately create lust.
Ladies, it’s one thing to make yourself attractive. --It is another thing to make yourself deliberately seductive.
The Bible warns those who give drink to a drunkard that they will be held accountable.
--In the same way those who intentionally stimulate lust will be answerable for their contribution to sin.
It’s interesting that Jesus spoke these words to a culture where women wore loose fitting clothing that covered them from neck to ankle.
--It’s every man’s battle even when women dress provocatively.
Ross Brodfuehrer wrote, “Lust is the addiction we can hide. No blood work or CATscan can show it. But we know where it is. We don’t even need Playboy or Penthouse. Seductive images are all around us. On TV, billboards, even standing in front of us just before communion on Sundays. The first battleground is the heart; it is the beachhead. Once it lands there, there is no stopping where it might go.”
Solomon said, “As a man thinks in his heart so is he” (Proverbs 23:7 KJV).
I believe there are three primary reasons that Jesus was so adamant in His condemnation of lust.
1. First, lust is wrong because it destroys natural desire.
a. Initially pornography seems to enhance romance in marriage.
b. But before long, the lust becomes an end in itself and there is a loss of interest in marriage love.
2. Second, lust is wrong because it’s addictive.
a. Just as surely as one can become addicted to gambling or alcohol, people become addicted to pornography or romantic/erotic fantasies.
b. Eph. 4:19 describes it this way: “Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more”
3. Third, Jesus warned against lust because it separates you from God.
--Jesus says, “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”
--In other words it puts your relationship with God at risk.
Obviously Jesus doesn’t mean literally gouge your eye out if you lust because you can still lust with one eye.
a. What He is saying is this: “Take whatever action necessary to terminate lust, even if it sounds extreme.”
b. If you have this problem you may have to drop the magazine subscription. Move the computer to a public place. Cancel the movie channels. Get rid of the television if you have to. Take a different route to work. You may need to not go to that restaurant anymore. Change jobs if necessary. Stay away from the beach.
c. The reason you go to extreme measures to avoid lust, it is better for you to lose one part of your life than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
5. You are in a war for your own soul.
a. Satan is seducing you with the intention of dragging you to hell with him.
b. He knows if he can get you to fantasize about adultery, even if you never act out, your mind will be so polluted you have no room for God; your conscience will be numb.
c. Just because you accepted Christ and were baptized into Him does not give you license to sin and flirt with disaster.
--1 Cor. 15:1-2 – “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which
you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you
hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.”
d. Live according to God’s Word.
--Ps. 119:9-11 – “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
III. AN ADDITIONAL RESTRICTION: DO NOT DIVORCE
Jesus now turns his focus to preserving marriage.
1. The final two verses of this section record an additional restriction: “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.”
2. We’re tempted to dismiss this teaching as no longer applicable to today because divorce is so common in our era.
But Jesus spoke these words when divorce was extremely common. All they had to do was sign a certificate of divorce—it was easy! If your wife burned your meal, you could give her a certificate of divorce
The woman at the well had been married five times. Marriage was held as easily broken.
3. But again, Jesus taught His followers to think and act differently than the world.
Romans 12:1-2
a. They were not to get a divorce.
b. The only exception was if your mate had been unfaithful.
Sexual promiscuity breaks the exclusive covenant. Just divorcing for any reason was not acceptable.
4. There is no question here that Jesus was saying that divorce was the last resort – not the first. In our current society, that’s a controversial issue
Society says, “Hey, we tried. We just weren’t compatible. Let’s go find someone else. No big
deal.” I call dating “divorce practice.”
--He says to treat marriage as a sacred covenant. It’s not something to be entered into on a
whim or a feeling. It’s a holy commitment
Divorce is a thorny issue.
--It raises a lot of questions especially involving re-marriage and sincere Christians disagree on the answers. I want to ask and answer a few questions and then give you what I believe is the biblical viewpoint.
1. If adultery is the cause of the divorce is the innocent party free to remarry?
--Yes. The Old Testament concept of divorce freed the party to remarry. If Jesus meant differently, He would have explained it differently
2. What if adultery wasn’t the cause but the divorced mate refuses to reconcile? Should the Christian continue to wait?
--I think the Christian should do all they can to reconcile but scripture teaches if an unbeliever leaves then let them go. If they refuse to follow Jesus’ teachings they are behaving as an unbeliever.
3. What if the previous mate has remarried—is the other free to marry?
--Yes. There has been a severing of the covenant. Deuteronomy 24 says that if a divorced person marries another and then divorces again and wants to renew the first marriage, it is not permissible. Since the marriage covenant has been defiled and reconciliation is not possible, the unmarried person is free to marry another.
4. What if my husband or wife has past away?
--1 Cor. 7:39 reads, “A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.”
God’s word gives permission for the widow or widower to remarry. That is not adultery.
5. What if the divorce occurred prior to becoming a Christian?
--There’s considerable disagreement about this. But I will say that 1 Cor 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” The old life is to be forgiven, forgotten, forever, Amen?
6. The most important question is this: If I divorced and remarried against God’s will can I be forgiven?
--Yes. There is no sin that God cannot forgive.
1 Jn. 1:9 says that “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and purify us from all impurities.”
a. Corrie Ten Boom said, “There is no pit so deep that the love of God does not go deeper still.”
b. The woman at the well had been divorced five times, but Jesus treated her with respect, forgave her, and welcomed her testimony.
c. So if you’ve violated God’s will for marriage, you can’t go back and unscramble eggs. You can’t undo your mistakes. But Christ can forgive you and give you a fresh start. Receive His
forgiveness and go on to live for Him.
What concerns me is not those who have been divorced and have sought God’s forgiveness, but those are married, who call themselves Christians, but who think they can exploit God’s grace.
1. I hear people say, “I know God says don’t divorce, but He wants me to be happy. I’m at peace. He’ll forgive me.”
2. That attitude really concerns me.
--Christ has asked us to be different and distinctive; especially in our marriage relationships.
One of the reasons Jesus said, “Don’t divorce,” is that he hates to see the people He loves go through so much misery.
1. Divorce seems so simple but in the long run so many people hurt so much for so long.
2. The people who have been married for 35 years or more almost always say the same thing. “We went through some rocky times. There were times I didn’t like my mate much. But we’re really glad we stuck it out. We love each other. We have a relationship with our children, our
grandchildren and our God that made it worth it all. Tell young people to stick it out.”
3. And our marriage relationship with God is the same way. We go through rocky spells and if we want the glory at the end we have to stick with it.
--Jesus wanted these people to know how serious it was that they stick it out.
CONCLUSION: As we close out the message this morning, I want to encourage you to take God seriously in this issue of guarding your heart.
1. You’re in a spiritual battle for your eternal soul and the eternal souls of your family.
2. The Lord didn’t call you to be happy. He called you to be Obedient and Faithful
3. Jesus wants us to guard our hearts.
--We must strive to please him no matter what it takes.
B. Do you remember that story from several years ago about the mountain climber
who was hiking in eastern Utah and was trapped by a thousand-pound boulder that
landed on his hand? Aaron couldn’t dislodge his hand and soon ran out of water.
After five days, he put a tourniquet on his arm, deliberately broke the bone in his
forearm, then he took his pocketknife and amputated his own arm below the elbow, freed
himself and with one arm repelled to the bottom of the canyon and hiked out where he
met rescuers who were looking for him. How could a man do that?
Aaron was later interviewed on the David Letterman show. He explained that he
realized he would not survive unless he took drastic action.
1. If a man can do that to save his life for a few years, you can take drastic action to save
your soul for eternity.
2. If Satan has you trapped and the weight of sin is bearing down on you, take whatever
action is necessary to escape. It’s not a physical surgery that’s needed but a spiritual
one.
--It’s a matter of the heart.
C. The message today might seem a bit harsh but Jesus spoke and we have to preach it.
--I admit I am more comfortable whispering repentance and shouting grace.
1. The truth is even though Jesus is calling us out of sin, he does love you and there is
nothing you could have done that he will not forgive you.
--You can be cleansed and forgiven today.
2. After a message like this, I know people are reluctant to come forward.
a. They think, “If I go forward people will think I’ve committed adultery or I’m
addicted to pornography.”
b. The truth is most people who respond during the invitation time have usually made
decisions in advance.
--But I will share this: People respond for the same reason: we have all sinned in
one way or another and we all need the forgiveness of Christ and the
encouragement of the church.
