Matthew 5:27-30

And open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 5 and verse 27-30. Matthew chapter 5 is on page 810 if you've got a church Bible.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention Matthew 5 · chapter mention

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I spoke at a conference a couple of years ago and there was a panel. I was the third guy on the panel.

And the question was, what do you think is the biggest threat facing the church today?

What do you think is the biggest threat facing the church today?

First guy said, internet pornography.

Second guy said, internet pornography.

I said, sin and sin.

And I do want you to hold that thought because I do think pornography is a huge problem.

If you look at the statistics, it's quite terrifying amongst men and growing amongst women.

If you look in the church, the statistics are terrifying equally amongst people who are in church.

There will be people in this room this morning that are addicted to internet pornography.

There will be people that are struggling with it.

And yet I want to say to you, and I want to say to myself, that is not the big issue.

It's not the big issue. Don't buy that it's the big issue.

Because the big issue is, when you come to something like pornography, is pornography is never actually the problem.

And that's what we're going to see when we get there today.

And Jesus is explaining the law of God in all its richness, in all its fullness, in all its beauty.

And when he comes to the seventh commandment, he is showing you what does it mean to not commit adultery.

And he's showing you and I, what does it look like to live a life where our righteousness goes beyond the most religious people of their day, the scribes and Pharisees.

And so what Jesus is doing, Jesus is pointing you and I to the kind of obedience that will fulfil this command.

He's not showing you how to become a Christian.

He's not telling you this is the way you get into the kingdom of God.

And he's saying, as somebody who is part of a follower of the Lord Jesus, this is how you ought to live.

Two things.

What sort of obedience is it?

Number one, it's a repentant obedience.

A repentant obedience.

Look at verses 27 and 28.

You've heard that it was said, you shall not commit adultery.

Verse 28.

But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

He's not countering the same commandments.

He's not repealing it.

He's saying there is more depth to it than you ever realised.

Judaism, at the time, it did recognise that there was a certain depth to the law.

But it wasn't just external obedience.

There had to be an inner obedience.

There had to be a purity of mind.

The religious leaders of the day, they recognised that.

It's not as if they were just centring on not committing the very act of adultery.

But Jesus is saying to you, you need to be very careful in thinking that just because there's been an external obedience.

An external, outward kind of obedience.

Be careful of that.

Because Jesus says the commandment is much, much deeper than that.

Jesus says, listen to me, verse 28.

I tell you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

We need to realise what Jesus is saying.

First of all, there's his authority.

Can you see that?

I say to you,

that every single one of his followers is under his authority.

But notice he's not forbidding looking.

He's not saying that it's forbidden for a man to look at a woman.

God has created a world, a universe of beauty.

A lot of beauty, isn't he?

And a lot of beauty is found in those creatures called women.

And I'm sure God does not want that beauty to be unappreciated.

And Jesus is not saying here that you can look in a legitimate way.

Especially in the area of sexual desire.

There is a legitimate God-given desire.

To be fulfilled, isn't it?

The Bible says,

The answer for sexual relationships,

it is between a man and his wife.

In the covenant, lifelong covenant of marriage.

So it's a bit like the second commandment.

Do you remember we looked at that last week?

And it said,

Whoever is angry with his brother is liable to judgment.

Does that mean you can never be angry?

We know, don't we, that there is a legitimate anger.

There's a time when you ought to be angry,

and it's right to be angry.

But we also know that our sinful nature is such that

even legitimate anger,

even righteous anger,

it's so easy, isn't it, to go over that line.

And it becomes illegitimate,

and it becomes sinful,

and it becomes an ungodly anger.

And so it's very difficult.

You can't always separate them.

But Jesus is not supposing that all looking,

not all of a man looking at a woman,

or a woman looking at a man,

is sinful.

What is he doing?

Well, the text helps us, doesn't it?

He says,

I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman

with lustful intent,

looks at a woman in order to lust,

with the purpose of lusting,

with the purpose of depersonalising that person,

and seeing them as an object.

And notice he goes to the source of it.

He says,

if you have a man or a woman,

but he looks at a man or a woman,

a man or a woman,

in order to lust,

to feed his lust,

to possess her when she's not his,

if he looks in order to lust,

he's already committed adultery with her in his heart.

And so there's the problem.

And there is your problem.

And there is my problem.

It's the heart, isn't it?

It's a cliche,

but the heart of the problem is the problem of the human heart.

Do you remember Matthew chapter 19 and verse 20?

Matthew 19 · chapter mention

Out of the heart comes what?

Evil thoughts.

Got that?

Evil thoughts.

Then what does he mention?

He mentions murder,

adultery,

immorality,

theft,

false witnessing,

slander,

etc.

These things defile a man.

But it's out of the heart.

And so do you see that?

This morning,

your issue is not so much with,

maybe,

internet pornography.

It's with your heart and my heart.

The centre of our being is awry and perverse.

It's the sinful nature,

and it's from the heart

that these things come in other words.

And so you can take a commandment,

like the seventh commandment,

do not commit adultery.

And you may keep it externally,

and you may keep it literally,

but you may have committed adultery because of the way that you feed your lust in your imagination,

and in your thinking.

And you dwell on the images that you've seen and watched,

and you think on it,

and you replay it.

You store it in your memory,

and you commit adultery in your heart.

Do you see how deeply Jesus goes?

That's why when Jesus expounds God's law,

and we see how deep it cuts,

that we're driven back to the start of the Sermon on the Mount,

because we realise that it can only be those who mourn.

Who mourn over their sin.

Chapter 5 and verse 4.

And as you understand this section on lust,

and we're going to obey it,

it is always going to be a repentant obedience.

And I think if we're honest this morning,

and we look at this commandment as Jesus looks at it,

and we go beneath the external,

and the conformity,

and we go to the depths of our imagination,

and our hearts, and our desires,

we have to confess, don't we,

that we are a congregation of adulterers,

and adulteresses.

And fornicators.

And so do you see what Jesus is driving at here?

You can have, this morning,

a great sense of external conformity.

But what are the depths?

What are the depths?

This fellow was a vegetarian.

He was a teetotaler.

And he was a non-smoker.

And he actually gave people lectures on not smoking.

Do you know who that vegetarian,

teetotaling, non-smoking man was?

Adolf Hitler.

You can't tell, can you, much from externals.

You can't tell much about the depths

from the outside.

World War II in 1944.

About 3,000 German soldiers got behind the American lines.

They had American uniforms and American cheats.

They had American ID.

They spoke with American accents.

They smoked American cigarettes.

They used American swear words.

And what were they doing?

They got behind the lines,

and they stirred up trouble.

They changed road signs.

And they took down warning signs off minefields.

They watched and they plotted

American troop reinforcements

and movements and so on.

And finally, when it got so bad,

the kind of American counterintelligence corps

had to crack down.

There was chaos behind their lines.

So any jeep that pulled up

at checkpoint had a gun.

The driver had a gun put in their ribs

and he was grilled

until he found out

were they for real or not.

You couldn't just ask them

where they were from

because they had a good amount of knowledge.

You had to sniff them out

with questions

that only a true American would know.

Like,

where's the windy city

or something like that?

What is beet pan pizza

or something like that?

And that would give you an idea

whether they were for real.

On one occasion,

there was a group of lieutenants

sitting in a jeep,

supposedly,

and Americans

watching a troop of reinforcements

rush by

and someone went over

to check them out.

They had legitimate dog tags.

Their papers were checked out.

They even had army camp experiences,

they could tell.

They said that they'd trade

at Camp Hood.

And it looked so legitimate.

And finally,

they were asked one more question

before they went on.

Ever been to Texas?

Then said,

no,

stick them up.

Camp Hood is in Texas.

See,

they had to go really deep,

didn't they,

to get beneath the surface.

on the surface.

On the surface,

it looked so legitimate.

And it took so much to see

that underneath,

actually,

they were a phony.

And the law of God

is like that.

We can conform to it

and we can outwardly

conform to it.

But how deep

it cuts

our imaginations.

and if you are a disciple,

if you are a follower

of the Lord Jesus,

then you realise

that even as a disciple

and a follower of Christ,

how far

my obedience

comes from

really conforming

to God's law.

And when I see

the true intent

of God's law,

I realise

that I need

a saviour.

And as a Christian,

if you've been a Christian

any length of time

and you study God's law

and you love God's law,

you will realise that

again and again

and again and again.

I need saving.

And if we are going to seek

to obey this commandment,

we must not be naive

for every single one of us.

It will be a repentant obedience.

And I think one of the functions

that Jesus has

in the Sermon on the Mount

is that it brings

Christian people

to realise

how deep the roots

of sin are.

How deep

the roots of sin are

in our own imaginations

and thoughts

and it ought to bring us

to repentance.

And if we say

we are going to obey

this commandment,

it will be with

a repentant obedience.

And if you have not learnt it yet,

the Christian life

is one of ongoing

lifelong

continual

joyful

repentance.

And I use those words carefully.

The Christian life

is one of ongoing

lifelong

continual

joyful

repentance

of bringing your sin

to a God

who knows about it already

and who has dealt with it

in the person

of his Son

and offers you

free and full

forgiveness.

It will also secondly

be a rigorous

obedience.

Can you see that

in verse 29 to 30?

Verse 29

If your right eye

causes you to sin

tear it out

and throw it away

for it's better

that you lose

one of your members

than let your whole body

be thrown into hell.

If your right eye

causes you to sin

cut it off

and throw it away

for it is better

that you lose

one of your members

than let your whole body

go into hell.

What Jesus is saying there

is that

here is a way

for you to begin

to obey

and deal with

the seventh commandment

from the very roots

to deal not just

with external conformity

but seeking to obey

it from your heart

and here's the pattern

there's something

you can do

in order to begin

to get into

obedience on this

now what does he mean?

He says

if your right eye

and again

you need to

connect

verse 28

with verse

verse 29

and so he's just

spoken about

looking at a woman

lustfully

in order to lust

after her

I knew that a page

of my notes

blew away this morning

but I couldn't

work out which one

so

page 8

to page 10

let me just see

no

it definitely

blew away

and so

what we need to do

is we need to see

the connection

don't we

but what does

Jesus mean?

does he mean this

literally?

does he mean it

literally?

of course he can't

mean it

literally

the problem is

we're so familiar

with it aren't we

we think that

just because he can't

mean it literally

that it's

just one of those

things Jesus

says

it's

hyperbole

but it's not

that

it is

a figurative

expression

and just because

it doesn't mean

literally

that you have to

self-harm your

eye

or cut off

your arm

and the reason

why we know

it can't mean

that

isn't it

the reason

why we know

it can't mean

it literally

because if you

pluck out

your

right eye

you're still

back with your

left eye

aren't you?

and so that's

the reason why

it can't be

literal

and actually

if you pluck out

both eyes

the way lust

works is that

you'd still lust

anyway wouldn't

you?

and if you

chop off your

right arm

you're still

left with your

left arm

because the

issue of lust

is an issue

of the heart

alright

and that was

page nine

now what does

the figurative

language mean?

Jesus

saying this

really clearly

he's saying

you should be

willing to go

to nearly

any extreme

and he's

saying you

and I need

to be willing

to take

drastic measures

and you need

to be willing

to take any

sacrifice

make any

sacrifice

and you should

be willing

to endure

severe hardship

in order to

avoid

illicit sexual

lust

or any

sin

and that

leaves me

with a real

big problem

and it

humbles me

again

because

do you know

what

I don't

really share

that view

of sin

do I

and I

suspect

neither do

you

to have

such an

animosity

to have

such a

hatred

towards sin

and particularly

towards illicit

sexual lust

that Jesus

is speaking

about here

he's so

opposed to it

and he's

saying his

followers should

be so opposed

to it that

they're willing

to go to

almost any

extreme

to avoid

it

and Jesus

has a view

of sin

that's far

more extreme

and accurate

and right

and I

don't begin

to measure

up to that

and sometimes

I come

every Sunday

and I confess

and I say

it is terrible

but that

isn't always

my practice

in any

given area

and our

view is more

flippant

than Jesus

view and so

it humbles

us

and what it

does tell you

is it tells

you that the

Christian life

Christian

discipleship

is one of

ongoing

struggle

it is a

war

and it is

a fight

not just

with this

particular sin

but with any

sin

that's what

he's telling

you

and we

need to

take hold

of that

because there

is a view

of the

Christian life

that's preached

in lots of

churches in

London today

that's basically

this

it's let

go

and let

God

do it

Dr. Martyn

O'Jones

says there's

a view

which goes

like this

that when

you get

a particular

kind of

experience

then you

can kind

of live

off the

fumes

of that

and your

Christian life

will go

to a higher

plane

and you

don't have

to struggle

with sin

anymore

I don't

know a

Christian life

like that

John White

was right

when he

entitled his

book on

the Christian

life

and it

is a

brilliant

brilliant

book

the fight

he called

it

the fight

and what

you have

here

is Jesus

saying are

you willing

to go to

any extreme

are you willing

to take any

measure

no matter

however

drastic

in order

to avoid

sin

and that

is a

passion

with you

he's not

saying don't

be passionate

Jesus

saying be

passionate

be passionate

in your war

against the

wrong type

of lust

what kind

of motivation

does Jesus

use here

how does

Jesus try to

stimulate you

to obedience

and evaluate

the situation

well he says

this he says

get your eye

and scoop

it out

and throw

it from you

and take

any measure

you can

that you

must

in order to

avoid sin

or any

sin

and the

motivation

he uses

is this

it's better

for you to

lose one of

your members

either an eye

or an arm

or a leg

than that your

whole body

is thrown

into hell

then he repeats

it in verse 29

for it's better

for you to lose

one of your

members

than for your

whole body

to go into

hell

so what's the

motivation

motivation is

fear

and we might

be really

disturbed

by Jesus

like this

you might say

you should

never motivate

anybody like

that

that is

negative

we don't

like that

we particularly

don't like that

in our culture

our church

culture

but I do

want you to

see that

it is

Jesus

the gracious

son of

God

who talks

about

hell

and one

of the

reasons it

doesn't disturb

us very much

is because

hell is just

a four letter

word for most

people isn't it

there's no

reality to it

and it's

basically empty

we use it

all the time

but do

notice it is

Jesus who

talks about

hell

C.S. Lewis

and Walter

Hooper

are sitting

in Lewis'

study

reading one

particular day

it's a sunny

day

and Walter

Cooper makes

the comment

a little bit

too loud

Lou it's

as hot as

hell in

here

and Lewis

says how

do you

know

and Jesus

is really

serious about

this isn't

he what is

he saying

he's saying

on any

given sin

but particularly

in this

case

illicit

sexual

lust

he is

saying

any

given

sin

that's

unattended

unchecked

unatoned

for

that is

nursed

that is

kept

that is

cuddled

will

place you

in hell

and he

says it's

better that

you take

any measure

any measure

that you

must take

to avoid

sin

any measure

that you

can to

the utmost

of your

ability

than to

end up

in hell

with your

sin

John 5

there's a guy

that's been

paralysed for

38 years

and Jesus

raises him up

and he sees

him later on

in the temple

and he says

don't go

on sinning

lest

something

worse

happen to

you

and I

don't know

exactly what

Jesus was

saying but

did you hear

what Jesus

said he

said there

is something

worse than

38 years

of utter

paralysis

it's an

amazing

statement

and so we

need to

stick seriously

his word

when he

says sin

unattended

sin

indulged

sin

left

alone

sin

nursed

will place

you in

hell

we might

say that

he's

motivating

us by

fear

but there's

nothing wrong

with that

as long as

it's a true

fear

you don't

motivate people

by untrue

things

do you

but if it

is someone

and something

that is true

then it's

perfectly right

what would

we do

if someone

ran in here

this morning

and they

screamed fire

fire

would we

say oh

will you

stop being

so negative

come on

you can't

motivate us

like that

we ought to

be motivated

by grace

well that

warning is

proper to

take isn't

it

a legitimate

motivation

and what

Jesus' word

requires is

vigorous obedience

if we're

willing to do

practically anything

in order to

obey his

commandments

in order to

harness this

matter of

illicit lust

and so on

what does it

require

well it means

that we'll take

measures won't it

so that our

lust isn't fed

we'll avoid

situations that

stimulate lust

but again

you've got to

realise the

problem is

the heart

you've got a

betrayer within

you

the problem

is with

your sinful

nature

that remains

it's true

we deal with

all the

outside stimuli

that we

can

we get

internet

accountability

we meet

with people

and confess

our sins

we get

people to

ask us

the hard

questions

but we've

got to realise

the problem

with that

is the

problem

with the

heart

isn't it

the primary

problem

the primary

issue is

evil

nature

within

so there's

kind of

craze

we must

have really

close

accountability

groups

but we

all know

really

accountability

groups don't

work

why don't

accountability

groups work

because if

you're going to

sleep with

your brother's

wife

you're going

to lie

to your

brother

about it

aren't you

you'll keep

yourself

from that

because the

problem is

it's my

heart

we

automatically

think

don't

we

I've

talked

about it

a number

of times

internet

pornography

but there's

something much

deeper going

on here

and we need

to be aware

don't we

of the

culture that

we live

in

and our

culture's

approach to

relationships

and what

is normal

and what

is allowable

behaviour

and to recognise

that according

to the bible

the only

place for

sexual

relations

is within

the context

of a marriage

relationship

lifelong

between your

husband and

the wife

and I know

that you

can't fly out

of the world

I know you've

got to go to

work tomorrow

and you've

got to go to

school and

you can't

escape this

but actually

we have to

change our

thinking and

our minds

and we need

to see

sexual behaviour

outside of

marriage for

what it is

which is

pathetic

and I don't

say that

lightly

we need to

deal with

the visual

is it

and the

mind

there's

going to

be different

issues

to different

folks

there'll

be different

temptations

but it's

the same

answer for

each one

it really

is

it's

simple

it's not

easy

it's pluck

out your

right eye

and cut

off your

right hand

that may

mean you

get out

of your

smartphone

so I'd

be seen

as a total

dinosaur

people will

laugh at me

well

total

dinosaurs

and people

who are

laughed at

will be in

the kingdom

of heaven

the stakes

are too

high

maybe that

you just

don't get

into that

I'm not

a raving

radical

I just

think if

we take

Jesus'

words in

verse 29

and 30

seriously

then whatever

makes you

susceptible

in this

area of

sin

in so far

as it

depends on

you

you'll

want to

get rid

of it

and you'll

not expose

yourself

to it

and that

is going to

look differently

in different

people

isn't it

there's no

one

straight rule

I wish there

was

but there

isn't

but the

principle is

caring about

following

the Lord

and so

what does

Jesus require

of us

in the

seventh

commandment

Charlie Brown

and Lucy

Charlie Brown

cartoon character

says

beauty is

only skin

deep

Lucy

says

I deny

that

beauty

goes down

layer

after layer

after layer

and she

looked in her

mirror again

and said

I have

very thick

beauty

what's

Jesus

want

of his

disciples

in obedience

to the

seventh

commandment

he wants

very thick

obedience

obedience

that goes

down

into the

depths

of our

hearts

and our

imaginations

and also

that reaches

up to the

heights of

being willing

even to

sacrifice

sacrifice

some good

things

good things

which are

not wrong

but if in

our case

they lead

us to sin

we'll want

rid of them

and so he

wants a very

thick obedience

don't think

don't think

people of

God

don't think

that Jesus

wants to

squash your

lust

he doesn't

Jesus

wants you

to lust

he wants

to stir

up your

lust

he wants

to inflame

your lust

he wants

you to

lust

after purity

and so

it's so

helpful

isn't it

that we

come to

the table

we come

to the table

of the Lord

for sinners

for people

that struggle

with their

sin

that struggle

to know

that they

are cleansed

from their

past sin

and yet we

know the

blood of

Jesus

his son

cleanses us

from all

sin

as we

heard earlier

this morning

and we

ask that

as we

eat of

the bread

and drink

of the

wine

that he

would stir

us up

he would

strengthen

our desires

for purity

let's

pray

those

those

those

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