Jun 19, 2009
Matthew 5:31-32— Series on the Mount #16
There are a lot of the passages in the Sermon on the Mount that have been tough for me to preach and possibly tough for you to hear. Jesus is loving, but His love is deeply challenging to our culturally shaped way of life
But, one point of solace or comfort that I have had is that in all of these areas so far, I have felt like, “I may not know everyone else’s story, but I have dealt with this issue in my life and so at least I know of what I speak.”
That’s true for lust and for anger and for selfishness and self-righteousness and pride and the whole bit. But as I dug into this passage this week, that relation disappeared. The truth is I have never been divorced and have never contemplated the idea. I have been blessed with a woman who has loved me unconditionally, even when I was at my most unlovable. And the only personal experience that I do have is from the vantage point of a child raised in a split home with a lot of anger and bitterness between the parents.
So, there was a lot of conflict in my heart this week because I was worried about coming across as that holier than thou preacher who doesn’t understand what life is like in the real world.
Then I was reminded of the passage that I read and try to meditate on each week before I get up here to do what I do.
Here’s the verses, you don’t need to turn to it, but do listen up.
Jeremiah 26:2-3 (New International Version)
2 "This is what the LORD says: Stand in the courtyard of the LORD's house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the LORD. Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word. 3 Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from his evil way. Then I will relent and not bring on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done.
Now that middle piece is what I locked in on:
Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word
In other words, "Ken, it is not your experiences that save people from sin. Ken, you just read from the Scripture and unpack what it says."
With all that said, this is still a hard text. Actually, I emailed a pastor friend of mine in Ohio, he’s one of my mentors and I had this long list of questions about this text, and how I should approach it.
After all that, I ended the email with the question, “Can you help me out?”
This was his actual response:
Ken,
I’ll answer your last question first, “Can you help me out?” The answer is “Yes, pick another topic.”
He was joking, but I had considered it.
But that wasn’t going to happen, I dare not shy away from Scriptures that make me or us uncomfortable. It is that kind of word from God that we are likely to need most.
And also know that if you are not divorced and are not contemplating such a thing, this message is still for you too.
And we should just stop here and earnestly pray for guidance from the Spirit.
Let’s pray…
Actually that pastor with the e-mail called on Monday and we talked at length about the passage and he reminded me of something we all need to be reminded of, and that is the verse found at 1 Peter 4:8
I think that is especially important to remember in times when we talk with a brother or sister that is dealing with — or has dealt with — a sin that is foreign to us.
For example, if you struggle with pride, you are more likely to show grace and compassion to one who is trying to find victory through Christ from that same sin. But, say you have never dealt personally with the grip of addiction, you may be more quick to write off someone in that sin instead of coming along beside them to pour love into that relationship.
It is the nature of fallen men and women to shake a finger at sins they don’t deal with. What we need to blanket every discussion with is love and compassion, Amen?
Now, let’s look at Matthew 5: 31-32 again:
We live in a disposable society today. One of our servant leaders here is big on the environment and stewarding resources in a responsible way and he once pointed out that hardly anything is made in a way that repair is a viable option. We have been taught and have allowed ourselves to buy into the idea that if there’s something wrong. Get rid of the one and just move on to the next one.
This is true with cars and toys and televisions and DVD players and the whole bit. And what has also happened is that we continue to expand the definition of what “there is something wrong with this” is. We used to wait until something was actually broken, or hazardous, or at least unsightly. Now it just has to be last year’s model (or even last month’s model). And we’re read to throw it out.
And this isn’t a sermon on stuff; this is a sermon on marriage and the covenant that we make with or spouse and with God Himself when we wed. The connection is that we, as a culture have made marriage relationships into just another disposable resource.
She doesn’t clean up the house like he thinks she should. He doesn’t come home on time and that makes her mad. She doesn’t look like the woman from the TV show or the movie that he watches. He doesn’t talk romantically like her friend’s husband does in his marriage. She doesn’t… He won’t… She used to but now… He makes a lot of promises, but…
And all these little things have become reasons to look to end marriages and go out and try to find that “right” relationship. But Jesus says if there is a divorce for ANY reason except adultery, it violates His will. And as a pastor named John MacArthur points out, adultery itself is only a technicality.
If we look at how God continued to love the nation of Israel through all of their sin, through all of their idolatry (which God equates to adultery), If God can do that for Israel then we too, should not be so quick to throw in the towel.
If we look at the Old Testament prophet Hosea, who continued to love and care for and draw back into relationship with his wife even after she slept around and even had kids with other men, then we too should show some faithfulness even in the light of our spouse’s sin.
And, men, what greater command did we ever get for marriage than what is found in
Ephesians 5:25 (New International Version)
We’ve all heard that verse before. Some of us have heard it a thousand times. But as Jesus says at the end of the Sermon on the Mount it is those who hear the words and put them into practice that honor God. In other words let’s not throw in the towel. Not in the small areas and even when things seem especially dark. We must remember our commitment to our spouse and again toward God. And we need to look at the permanence of marriage the way God does. We are not to be like the world and just see trouble with our spouse as an excuse for another upgrade.
Now, the context of the Sermon on the Mount gives us one clue as to where the Pharisees and teachers of the Law stood on the subject of marriage and divorce. They had taken an Old Testament passage in Deuteronomy 24:1-4, and twisted it and made divorce an easy process, so they could move on to the next conquest.
If you look at the scripture right before this piece on divorce Jesus was calling the people out on the subject of adultery and lust. Remember, they set the standard as don’t sleep around while you are married, Jesus said, no, don’t even be looking at anyone but your spouse in that way.
So, I may be reading too much into this, but it seems to be that this, lust, was a big motivation for the men to seek divorce at that time. When they saw the next fine woman walking their way they wouldn’t pursue that conquest until their current wife got walking papers. And they thought that was all right! They thought that that was legit!
And also, looking in the cultural context of the time Jesus was preaching, you can see his compassion for the women of divorce. My pastor friend in Ohio, his name is Ron Grubb, he often points to the necessity, the need to look at all scripture with a redemptive hermeneutic. In other words, in everything we read we should first ask, how is this passage demonstrating the covering of God’s love? How is he pushing for redemption in this?
And if you understand what happened to most women of that day because of divorce, His compassion — Jesus’ compassion for these wives is evident. You see back then it was not likely that a women could file for divorce. Many women — not all — but many were treated in that culture like property.
So again, the man saw another conquest, or he wasn’t pleased with something about his wife and he would just sign her off. But, many of these women had nowhere to turn after they were kicked out. They were seen as damaged goods, their families would not take them back, society scorned them and many of them turned to prostitution or other desperate means just to survive. We don’t know for sure, but this is a likely scenario that led the Samaritan woman at the well to have been with several husbands by the time she met Jesus.
Women have more independence now, thank God. And they are more highly respected.
That is wonderful. That piece, the cultural piece has changed dramatically, at least here in the states. You still find similar situations in India and other nations today. But not here.
But, the question of divorce has now broadened. The difference in our society today is that now it is both the men and the women that give up and walk away from their commitments.
And, how many great justifications and rationalizations have you heard when people have decided to get a divorce? How many of those reasons have made sense in light of the Scriptures?
Now, as we go on, so far we’ve mainly been addressing the disposable culture outlook on marriage. There are other cases where you have real deep and damaging problems that drive people to divorce and that is where this gets hard to talk about. Right?
What do we say to the woman who has been beaten, to the man who has seen abuse of his children? What about the big reasons to leave? Because yes there are a lot of trivial reasons that people get a divorce, but there are also a lot of painful situations that cry out for our mercy and understanding.
Remember God alone is the judge. We are NEVER to cast a stone at those who are in this place. We provide comfort and BIBLICAL support, or we do nothing. If all you can say is words of condemnation, please stop talking. Repent from your self-righteousness and clam up until you can get back to a place where you can recognize the mercy you’ve been shown by God. Then, once you are there, start pouring that same kind of mercy out to those in pain.
So, what then? What do we say?
First, if you or your children are being abused, get out of there. We will help you find a safe place, or we will put you in contact with people who can help you. And even then though, I believe there has to at least be an attempt at healing once things have cooled off.
Jesus makes one caveat, “except for marital unfaithfulness.” And again, that isn’t a command to divorce, but permission in that ONE case.
In Genesis 2:24 we are told, “…a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” Becoming one flesh is permanent; getting married isn’t like putting on a suit of clothes that can be easily taken off. It is like taking on flesh — like skin and bone and sinew — Two become ONE. To divorce is then like taking a meat cleaver and hacking off an arm or leg.
We have a local man, a veteran of World War II, whose arm was severely damaged in combat — to the point to where the doctors wanted to amputate. But, as this veteran tells the story, he awoke during the discussion of taking the arm and he refused. He told them there was no way they were taking that arm.
And just like society many times looks at the obvious pain and disjointedness in a marriage and says "End it. Cut it out. Sever that relationship." So to did the doctors try to convince the veteran to allow the amputation.
But even though he understood how things looked hopeless. And even though he knew that many people might question his decision, he would not part with his flesh and bone.
His recovery process was long and painful. There was a lot of work that had to be done to rebuild what had been so badly damaged. And though the scars remain as a testament to the struggle, our friend is able to use both hands to this day, a half a century later.
In a similar way, I know couples that had every worldly reason to divorce, cops were involved — often.
There was abuse, there was neglect, there was manipulation and infidelity. Bottom line, there was sin and it was deeply rooted in their lives and in their marriages. But, today, a handful of those couples have found healing.
Healing and restoration, even though many friends and family told them they should end the relationship. Their healing was not overnight, but their commitment to one another persevered and they are reaping the harvest of their commitment.
So it is possible.
But again, we aren't going to pretend that it always works out. I'll repeat; if there is an immediate danger get out of there now. Because I have also seen people get disabled and come close to death in those situations where they refused to get help.
So, we could talk about this for days, and if you are contemplating a divorce I beg you to come to one of us and talk about it first. And let us pray for you and let us look at this from every angle before you decide to end your marriage.
Okay? Moving on.
If you and your spouse aren’t in this kind of turmoil, or, if you’re not even married, what can you take away from here tonight?
If you have been divorced, Scripture is clear that it is a sin that God equates to faithlessness (Mal. 2:15-16) and we are not to sugarcoat it. God hates sin He hates divorce. BUT, divorce is not the unpardonable sin. There is grace and mercy. Hear that tonight. God is not mad at YOU. If you have sinned in this way. Do what every one else is called to do in any sin. Turn this over to God, move on. If you haven’t or if you are still holding tight to some unforgiveness, God says let that go.
And, if you have done some things that may require restitution or apologies, remember what Jesus said earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, if you come to give your gift at the altar and there realize that a brother (or an ex) may have something against you, GO AND BE RECONCILED.
There is no time limit on that command. GO.
And if you have remarried or if you are in your first marriage, praise God for your spouse.
The question is how can we avoid the next divorce or our first divorce. How do we keep from becoming another statistic?
— We need to start by making OUR PART in our marriages as good as it can be.
— We have no control over our wives or husbands, so we best just worry about our side of the equation
— We are to pour in love to our spouse the way God pours love into us.
— We are to pour in forgiveness and mercy in the big things and the small things.
— We are to let go of the things that we may have held over one another’s heads.
— We are to make our spouse the ultimate focus of our sexual attention; we aren’t to waste our time or energy on anything that keeps our eyes off of our spouse. We are to make that part of our relationship a priority too. The Bible is very clear that sex is a gift for us to enjoy in marriage. So enjoy it.
— And finally, if we have done something wrong, we own up to it, we apologize, we make it right.
In other words, we clean up our side of the street.
And one final thing on this line of thought:
Do all of this for God. Don’t save or rebuild or reinforce the marriage for the kids, or for our reputations. Don’t do it because divorces are expensive. We should not even do it for our own gratification. We do it because God has given us a wonderful gift that we are to steward well. Like everything else, true love for one another is only fruitful if it springs first from our love for God.
Now, we are almost done, but my last piece is for the un-married folk or those who are about to be wed. This is the time to discover the defects that might later cause major difficulties. If there is abuse now, there will be abuse later, if there is emotional manipulation now, it won’t magically disappear once you say I do.
Really figure out. Is this more than emotion keeping you together? Ask, “God, is this the person you would have me to be with?”
And, if they are an unbeliever, I would say do not marry them until or unless they come to faith in Christ as the Savior and Lord. This is an area I can speak into. We are told in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 not to become unequally yoked with unbelievers. That passage is not strictly and only relating to marriage, but it does apply there. My wife was a believer before I was and she married me when I was completely against God.
Now, on the surface, I was a “nice guy” but I didn’t love the Lord — in fact I mocked those who believed. And eventually my demons caught up with me and with us. It really did go down hill from there.
But, she stuck it out. And eventually I found the Lord and our life is pretty awesome now, but that really is God’s grace covering over our sin and poor judgment. Don’t take His grace for granted.
In the end, You never completely know anybody fully, so you may think you are marrying one person and the devil doesn’t come out until later. But, the advice I would give to you if you are not married, is what my old pastor in Ohio used to say. “Just start running as hard as you can toward Christ and then look to see who’s running beside you.”
It’s PROBABLY not old girl from the bar. It’s probably not the guy who cheated on his wife or girlfriend to pursue you. You get it. In other words don’t get unequally yoked.
Now we are going to close.
And I know that I have not touched on every issue relating to divorce, this could be a whole series. What I would ask, what I would beg is that if you are considering a divorce, please talk to someone, if not one of us, than someone else you can trust. And talk to someone who will talk to you and give you advice through the lens of scripture. Because there are a lot of people that will just tell you what you want to hear and they’ll tell you what culture says.
We won’t do that here. We believe strongly that we are to force our lives — sometimes kicking and screaming — into position with God’s word. We are not to be selective with God’s commands in Scripture just to fit our preferences.
And that is true in every area, not just marriage.
And if you have been divorced, I would beg you not to turn it into self-loathing, or resentments toward you ex or any of that. Or if you’ve been through a divorce and you have never had any conviction of the Holy Spirit I would say, what scripture says. Don’t keep trying to justify it and paint a pretty face on it, if that is what you are doing. No, recognize the sin and turn it over to God with a repentant heart. He forgives us of our sins, but we do need to acknowledge them as sins.
And again, if you aren’t divorced; or if you are and have remarried; the most important thing to do is to make marriage a top priority in your life.
We love God first and then love others and I would say after God, our spouse should be at the top of that list of “others”. Before our co-workers, before our classmates, before those we minister to in the world, even before our kids. Your wife or your husband should never wonder where they stand with you, and they should now that, like Christ, you would pour out your very life in dedication to their betterment.
That’s what love is folks. It’s not cards, chocolates and flowers.
It’s selfless, unconditional commitment. Even when it’s hard — especially when it’s hard.
Let’s pray.
Jun 15, 2009
Repentance
Read and Unpack Psalm 51 as a review of Last week's message...
I go to school at Crossroads Bible College in Indianapolis. We dig into the Scriptures and allow the truth of God’s word to search our hearts as we search the Bible.
And as I continue in my studies I always have to guard against simply giving the answers that I think might get an A or that I think might impress the professor. When that becomes the motivation, the life long usefulness of the studies fades out.
At that point I stop asking, “Okay, what does God want me to get out of this? How can this lead me closer to Him?”
It isn’t the grade He is concerned with; it is my character, my resolve — my faith that God is enlarging.
Not my ego. Not my academic standing.
All that said, we were answering a question from the book “God With Us” by D.A. Carson. The book is a study of the book of Matthew, the first Gospel in the New Testament.
And, in a discussion of the ministry of John the Baptizer, Carson asks the questions: “What areas of our lives are we most likely to exclude from the all-embracing sweep of repentance? What would John the Baptist say to such shallow repentance?”
Now, to answer that question, you first have to know John the Baptist. This was not a guy who bit his tongue. When he felt something needed to be said, he said it. He didn’t care if you were a peasant, a commoner, a religious leader or the king.
He had one message and that message was this: REPENT.
And as we'll read in a moment, if he thought you were hanging around without a true desire to find God, he called you out.
He had no time for people who were only out for there own good. He had an agenda, an agenda created for him before he was even born. That agenda was, prepare the way for the Messiah.
The Bible talks about John the Baptizer as the one who would make the paths straight and level out the hills for the people to make their way to their coming King.
In other words, John was sent to prepare the hearts of the people, to be open to their need for the Redeemer.
John is discussed in all four Gospels. We are going to take a look at the gospel of Luke. I think it draws a very clear picture of the man.
First in Luke 1:13-17 we’ve got the Angel of the Lord telling Zachariah that he’s gonna have a little boy, and this is not just any little boy, this is the forerunner for the Messiah.
Read that one again. Verse 16 is key, because later on, when John is actually preaching to the people, they ask what repentance looks like and he gives them all these commands. And it is common in the church world to look at the rules that he sets down and forget this reason given in verse 16 for those rules.
Yes we are to follow these commands, but the “why” is SO important, if you skip this verse you loose everything, you just look at repentance as a moral code, and that is where we get stuck. Let’s move on:
17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Now jump over to Chapter 1:68-79 here we read Zachariah’s word from the Lord about the Messiah and about John the Baptizer right after John is born;
That was all talking about Jesus.
What Zachariah is saying here is; there was a pattern throughout the law and the prophets — throughout the Old Testament — the pattern, or the cycle, ever since the fall of Adam was this:
The people would be blessed by God.
They would thank God and honor Him for a period of time.
Eventually though the people would become complacent, they would begin to take God’s blessings for granted and they would fall away.
— They would turn to the temptations of other people and turn to false gods.
This turning away, this sin, the idolatry of the people would set God off.
He, in his holiness equates their idolatry to what we would consider adultery. And His Righteous anger is similar to what we would see in a man who catches his wife with another man or vise versa. It ends badly for the nation of Israel.
So God’s anger, that wrath, burns against the people. Sometimes he sent poisonous snakes, sometimes a plague, sometimes he would just open up the earth and swallow up entire families.
God didn’t and still doesn’t take sin lightly.
Other times He would not go after the people directly, sometimes He would just withdraw.
And, without His hand in their lives, without His hedge of protection, the other nations were then able to attack and do massive damage to the people.
Then the people would be brought down to a point where they could finally see their spiritual poverty, and they would see their need for God again.
This need would lead them to repent of their sin and turn back to God.
And their repentance would usher in a return to fellowship with God and blessings would be poured out on the people of Israel.
Then the cycle would start all over. And it went on and on and on like that for centuries until one day God just stopped talking with His people and there was a more than 400-year gap in their communication.
So as Zachariah speaks prophetically here about his son, he is also saying Thank God! The Lord has not abandoned us. It’s been quiet for 400 years but He is still our God and we are still His people. A new era of fellowship is here!
Now skip a page or two to Luke 3:2-19 and all those predictions about John, come to pass:
And now we get into the area that we can abuse and turn into a works based salvation message, if we don’t remember Luke 1:16.
All of these things coming up are the FRUIT of REPENTANCE. In other words, he about to say, this is what it might look like, this is the evidence that we might see, that we may have in us, if we are truly turning back to God.
11 John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."
12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?"
13 "Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told
them. 14 Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?"
He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely—be content with your pay."
15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. 16 John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them.
Okay, so now we know John, He doesn’t beat around the bush, He is far from what we would see as a “seeker-sensitive” pastor today.
He just laid out the facts and got to the business at hand. He did his job to prepare the hearts of the people.
With all that said, let’s look at the questions from D.A. Carson again: “What areas of our lives are we most likely to exclude from the all-embracing sweep of repentance? What would John the Baptist say to such shallow repentance?”
Now I gave a good answer to this for my professor. I said something like:
This answer was all well and good, but as we discussed the matter in class, I began to really ask myself what is God saying to me here?
And I began to really look at the areas of repentance in my own life.
First, I thought about the areas at the time of my conversion, then I looked forward to where I am today.
And it struck me that early on I saw dramatic evidence that I was being transformed by the Holy Spirit into a new being.
The sins that used to chain me down were fading away.
Not only was I not destroying my life with alcohol anymore, God had removed my desire to drink.
And the unwholesome talk that used to spew out of me like vomit, began to be replaced — first with silence — and eventually with encouraging words.
What I thought I was seeing was the fruit of true repentance.
And I felt like God was pouring blessings on me that I never thought were possible.
But as time moved on and as the major defects began to clear away, God revealed other areas of sin that had to be dealt with.
But what I did with these other sins is I just kind of played lip service to them.
I saw the sin, sure, but in my heart, I didn’t take it seriously.
I thought of these other sins as “small sins.” I wrote them off as harmless. I paid very little attention to them.
So, what was the difference? It’s simple.
I didn’t think the other “small sins” were affecting me in any external way.
Yes I felt guilty, but that’s internal.
Yes there was conviction on my heart, but that’s internal. I could hide it or ignore it.
And I would occasionally try to hunker down and stop sinning (on my own strength), but there were not really any external consequences. So, I eventually drifted back into those sins.
The difference was, I was getting by with these other sins in the world.
So if that was the difference, I had to come to the question of, was my repentance the product of devotion to God, or devotion to saving Ken’s bacon?
And what I eventually discovered was that it was the “small sins” that had owned me.
The drinking was gone, the destructive words were gone, but God was saying, okay lets look at WHY you drank and WHY you said all of the things you said.
And I was shown that my “big sins” were really just a byproduct of what I was calling the “small sins.”
I thought I was dealing with my disease and really I was just attacking symptoms.
Yes I had lived my life in a bottle but it was largely due to the fact that I was full of bitterness and resentment and fear and pride. Those were the sins that God wanted me to repent from.
And just as much as I wanted to escape the world I also wanted to escape myself. And God wanted me to repent from turning to other things beside Him for relief, for satisfaction, for refuge.
This message tonight is a bit of a departure from the Sermon on the Mount series that we’ve been in, but really as I finished preparing I saw that it just drills home what we’ve been talking about all along.
If you look back over the last several weeks, We’ve been looking at areas where God has been talking about this very situation.
In Matthew 5:27-30 Jesus said yes Adultery is a sin that we need to repent of if we have sinned in that way. We need to turn away from that and find healing, but that’s just the external.
Jesus says there must first be repentance in our hearts for our lust, for our covetousness. Those are the things that grip us and enslave us.
And in Matthew 5:21-26 Jesus says yes murder is a sin that we need to repent of if we have sinned in that way. We need to turn away from that and find healing, but that’s just the external.
There must first be repentance in our hearts for our anger, for our pride and for our unforgiveness. Those are the things that grip us and enslave us.
I guess what I’m trying to say is it is possible to hear about those two issues, murder and adultery. Or even their starting points of anger and lust and it is easy to write it all off as someone else’s sin. And it is easy to say. I’m okay, let’s move on.
But, remember, John 21:25 makes it clear that not everything that Jesus said and did made it into the Bible.
In Matthew 5:21-30, Jesus talks about two areas of sin that are common in people, but really He could go on and on until He struck the nerve where you live, where you sin (if you don’t only sin in anger or lust).
The base truth is still the same, it’s what John the Baptist preached and what the prophets of the Old Testament preached and it is what Jesus told His disciples to preach before He ascended into Heaven,
Listen to Luke 24:47 …repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his (God’s) name to all nations…
So that’s it. that’s what He is telling us to say from the front, REPENT!
Repent, not only from the external sins that everyone can see, but also Repent from those internal sins that are holding you back from fellowship with God.
We are heavy on our preaching of grace here. But, I feel I have not been as true to Jesus’ message of the coinciding need for repentance as I should have been.
That is an area that I must apologize to you for, but I also repent before God.
With God’s guidance and by His will, may we never neglect such a core piece of our faith again.
Let’s pray.
I go to school at Crossroads Bible College in Indianapolis. We dig into the Scriptures and allow the truth of God’s word to search our hearts as we search the Bible.
And as I continue in my studies I always have to guard against simply giving the answers that I think might get an A or that I think might impress the professor. When that becomes the motivation, the life long usefulness of the studies fades out.
At that point I stop asking, “Okay, what does God want me to get out of this? How can this lead me closer to Him?”
It isn’t the grade He is concerned with; it is my character, my resolve — my faith that God is enlarging.
Not my ego. Not my academic standing.
All that said, we were answering a question from the book “God With Us” by D.A. Carson. The book is a study of the book of Matthew, the first Gospel in the New Testament.
And, in a discussion of the ministry of John the Baptizer, Carson asks the questions: “What areas of our lives are we most likely to exclude from the all-embracing sweep of repentance? What would John the Baptist say to such shallow repentance?”
Now, to answer that question, you first have to know John the Baptist. This was not a guy who bit his tongue. When he felt something needed to be said, he said it. He didn’t care if you were a peasant, a commoner, a religious leader or the king.
He had one message and that message was this: REPENT.
And as we'll read in a moment, if he thought you were hanging around without a true desire to find God, he called you out.
He had no time for people who were only out for there own good. He had an agenda, an agenda created for him before he was even born. That agenda was, prepare the way for the Messiah.
The Bible talks about John the Baptizer as the one who would make the paths straight and level out the hills for the people to make their way to their coming King.
In other words, John was sent to prepare the hearts of the people, to be open to their need for the Redeemer.
John is discussed in all four Gospels. We are going to take a look at the gospel of Luke. I think it draws a very clear picture of the man.
First in Luke 1:13-17 we’ve got the Angel of the Lord telling Zachariah that he’s gonna have a little boy, and this is not just any little boy, this is the forerunner for the Messiah.
Read that one again. Verse 16 is key, because later on, when John is actually preaching to the people, they ask what repentance looks like and he gives them all these commands. And it is common in the church world to look at the rules that he sets down and forget this reason given in verse 16 for those rules.
Yes we are to follow these commands, but the “why” is SO important, if you skip this verse you loose everything, you just look at repentance as a moral code, and that is where we get stuck. Let’s move on:
17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Now jump over to Chapter 1:68-79 here we read Zachariah’s word from the Lord about the Messiah and about John the Baptizer right after John is born;
That was all talking about Jesus.
What Zachariah is saying here is; there was a pattern throughout the law and the prophets — throughout the Old Testament — the pattern, or the cycle, ever since the fall of Adam was this:
The people would be blessed by God.
They would thank God and honor Him for a period of time.
Eventually though the people would become complacent, they would begin to take God’s blessings for granted and they would fall away.
— They would turn to the temptations of other people and turn to false gods.
This turning away, this sin, the idolatry of the people would set God off.
He, in his holiness equates their idolatry to what we would consider adultery. And His Righteous anger is similar to what we would see in a man who catches his wife with another man or vise versa. It ends badly for the nation of Israel.
So God’s anger, that wrath, burns against the people. Sometimes he sent poisonous snakes, sometimes a plague, sometimes he would just open up the earth and swallow up entire families.
God didn’t and still doesn’t take sin lightly.
Other times He would not go after the people directly, sometimes He would just withdraw.
And, without His hand in their lives, without His hedge of protection, the other nations were then able to attack and do massive damage to the people.
Then the people would be brought down to a point where they could finally see their spiritual poverty, and they would see their need for God again.
This need would lead them to repent of their sin and turn back to God.
And their repentance would usher in a return to fellowship with God and blessings would be poured out on the people of Israel.
Then the cycle would start all over. And it went on and on and on like that for centuries until one day God just stopped talking with His people and there was a more than 400-year gap in their communication.
So as Zachariah speaks prophetically here about his son, he is also saying Thank God! The Lord has not abandoned us. It’s been quiet for 400 years but He is still our God and we are still His people. A new era of fellowship is here!
Now skip a page or two to Luke 3:2-19 and all those predictions about John, come to pass:
And now we get into the area that we can abuse and turn into a works based salvation message, if we don’t remember Luke 1:16.
All of these things coming up are the FRUIT of REPENTANCE. In other words, he about to say, this is what it might look like, this is the evidence that we might see, that we may have in us, if we are truly turning back to God.
11 John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."
12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?"
13 "Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told
them. 14 Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?"
He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely—be content with your pay."
15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. 16 John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them.
Okay, so now we know John, He doesn’t beat around the bush, He is far from what we would see as a “seeker-sensitive” pastor today.
He just laid out the facts and got to the business at hand. He did his job to prepare the hearts of the people.
With all that said, let’s look at the questions from D.A. Carson again: “What areas of our lives are we most likely to exclude from the all-embracing sweep of repentance? What would John the Baptist say to such shallow repentance?”
Now I gave a good answer to this for my professor. I said something like:
“Many of us shy away from true “all-embracing sweep of repentance” in the areas where it might hurt our reputations or social standing or in the areas that we have become comfortable in our sin. And John would likely say that first off, we must take our sin seriously and be honest with ourselves about the utter wickedness of our lives, even in the “small sins.” Secondly, we must weigh our momentary reputation with the eternal consequences of our rebellion against God."
This answer was all well and good, but as we discussed the matter in class, I began to really ask myself what is God saying to me here?
And I began to really look at the areas of repentance in my own life.
First, I thought about the areas at the time of my conversion, then I looked forward to where I am today.
And it struck me that early on I saw dramatic evidence that I was being transformed by the Holy Spirit into a new being.
The sins that used to chain me down were fading away.
Not only was I not destroying my life with alcohol anymore, God had removed my desire to drink.
And the unwholesome talk that used to spew out of me like vomit, began to be replaced — first with silence — and eventually with encouraging words.
What I thought I was seeing was the fruit of true repentance.
And I felt like God was pouring blessings on me that I never thought were possible.
But as time moved on and as the major defects began to clear away, God revealed other areas of sin that had to be dealt with.
But what I did with these other sins is I just kind of played lip service to them.
I saw the sin, sure, but in my heart, I didn’t take it seriously.
I thought of these other sins as “small sins.” I wrote them off as harmless. I paid very little attention to them.
So, what was the difference? It’s simple.
I didn’t think the other “small sins” were affecting me in any external way.
Yes I felt guilty, but that’s internal.
Yes there was conviction on my heart, but that’s internal. I could hide it or ignore it.
And I would occasionally try to hunker down and stop sinning (on my own strength), but there were not really any external consequences. So, I eventually drifted back into those sins.
The difference was, I was getting by with these other sins in the world.
So if that was the difference, I had to come to the question of, was my repentance the product of devotion to God, or devotion to saving Ken’s bacon?
And what I eventually discovered was that it was the “small sins” that had owned me.
The drinking was gone, the destructive words were gone, but God was saying, okay lets look at WHY you drank and WHY you said all of the things you said.
And I was shown that my “big sins” were really just a byproduct of what I was calling the “small sins.”
I thought I was dealing with my disease and really I was just attacking symptoms.
Yes I had lived my life in a bottle but it was largely due to the fact that I was full of bitterness and resentment and fear and pride. Those were the sins that God wanted me to repent from.
And just as much as I wanted to escape the world I also wanted to escape myself. And God wanted me to repent from turning to other things beside Him for relief, for satisfaction, for refuge.
This message tonight is a bit of a departure from the Sermon on the Mount series that we’ve been in, but really as I finished preparing I saw that it just drills home what we’ve been talking about all along.
If you look back over the last several weeks, We’ve been looking at areas where God has been talking about this very situation.
In Matthew 5:27-30 Jesus said yes Adultery is a sin that we need to repent of if we have sinned in that way. We need to turn away from that and find healing, but that’s just the external.
Jesus says there must first be repentance in our hearts for our lust, for our covetousness. Those are the things that grip us and enslave us.
And in Matthew 5:21-26 Jesus says yes murder is a sin that we need to repent of if we have sinned in that way. We need to turn away from that and find healing, but that’s just the external.
There must first be repentance in our hearts for our anger, for our pride and for our unforgiveness. Those are the things that grip us and enslave us.
I guess what I’m trying to say is it is possible to hear about those two issues, murder and adultery. Or even their starting points of anger and lust and it is easy to write it all off as someone else’s sin. And it is easy to say. I’m okay, let’s move on.
But, remember, John 21:25 makes it clear that not everything that Jesus said and did made it into the Bible.
In Matthew 5:21-30, Jesus talks about two areas of sin that are common in people, but really He could go on and on until He struck the nerve where you live, where you sin (if you don’t only sin in anger or lust).
The base truth is still the same, it’s what John the Baptist preached and what the prophets of the Old Testament preached and it is what Jesus told His disciples to preach before He ascended into Heaven,
Listen to Luke 24:47 …repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his (God’s) name to all nations…
So that’s it. that’s what He is telling us to say from the front, REPENT!
Repent, not only from the external sins that everyone can see, but also Repent from those internal sins that are holding you back from fellowship with God.
We are heavy on our preaching of grace here. But, I feel I have not been as true to Jesus’ message of the coinciding need for repentance as I should have been.
That is an area that I must apologize to you for, but I also repent before God.
With God’s guidance and by His will, may we never neglect such a core piece of our faith again.
Let’s pray.
Jun 7, 2009
Matthew 5:27-30— Series on the Mount #15
Please read Matthew 5:27-30 with me.
There’s an old saying among addicts that, "When you're run over by a train, it's the engine that kills you, not the caboose."
In other words, if a person’s an addict, or an alcoholic, they may feel, after a time of clean living that they can handle “just one” or “just a couple” tastes.
And it may work for a moment, for a short time, but the tragedy is that those first tastes ignite a desire, a longing, a hunger for more.
Those first tastes are the engine of the train.
So what seems like innocent fun at first, what seems like something they can control, what seems like something they can keep a handle on, eventually takes ownership of their life.
The very thing that used to serve the addict or alcoholic turns the tables to where the person is serving, or doing the bidding of their addiction.
Their thoughts become focused on where’s the next taste coming from? Their relationships begin to fall away in areas that are not helping to achieve or hold onto the high.
If someone in their life makes them feel guilty about what they’re doing, they drift away from them. If someone enables their destructive behavior — that’s who they gravitate back to.
And what seemed like a few innocent hits or drinks, suddenly has them back into the downward spiral.
One man I heard once talked about his addiction to booze and said it was like dancing with a gorilla. It’s an interesting perspective and I’ll see if I can recall it properly.
He said at first it seems like a fun idea to dance with a gorilla. Maybe a little dangerous, some older people and more boring people may warn that it’s not a good idea. But oh, what a story you could have to tell the next day!
After beginning the dance all may seem to be going well. Your friends are laughing and everyone is having a good time. Even you.
But eventually your body fatigues, and you get tired from trying to follow the lead of this gorilla. Once you loose some of your strength and staying power, you just start getting drug around by the massive animal. You’re like a rag doll, flinging here to there.
The problem is, by the time you realize it’s not fun anymore you have no ability to get out of the dance.
And just like with addictive substances, the dance ain’t over until the gorilla says it’s over.
So then, the wear and tear on your body begins to show and your friends become aware that you need some help. You need someone to step in.
So, out of love and out of a desire to protect you from further harm, your friends try to break up the dance.
The problem is, the thing that happens when a person tries to cut in on a dance with a gorilla is the same thing that often happens to a person close to an addict who tries to intervene — that friend or loved one gets hurt in the process.
In the end the gorilla finishes the dance at a point that sometimes leaves you in desperate need for healing, or the gorilla dances with you until you are no more.
The gorilla, representing that addiction takes you out. Takes your life.
And again, it was that first decision to start the dance, that first decision by an addict to use or drink or whatever, that led to the tragic end.
Now again, we’re talking here about addicts and alcoholics. But, what Jesus teaches in our passage tonight and what he taught in the earlier passage about the dangers of unresolved anger is: Yes murder is terrible and will be subject to judgment, but that’s the caboose, the engine of that train, what is likely to drive you to murder is the anger. So anger is just as much of a sin.
Likewise, adultery is a sin. For sure — make no mistake, there’s no gray area. It is a sin.
But adultery is the caboose. The train is led by lust. And so Lust is the sin that you and I need to guard against.
As my old pastor in Ohio used to say, adultery doesn’t start in the bedroom it always starts in a way that seems innocent or can be explained or justified as “no big deal”.
Men, it starts in the flirtatio
us conversations with the attractive woman at work. Women, it starts with the long talks with that guy at the office that just really listens and cares about what you’re saying. Men, it starts with that second or third look at the woman on the street.
In other words, adultery isn’t an accident. It’s the byproduct of lust and it starts with our words, our intentions, our eyes and ultimately our hearts.
Let’s go back to the text.
Matthew 5:27-30 (New International Version)
27 "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'
Here the Greek word for adultery is moicheuo : it is specific to a married person in sexual relationship outside of the marriage bond {Not porneia is another Greek term, used more broadly in the Bible for sexual immorality }
This is important, because the marriage bond is the closest thing we have on earth that represents the bond between God and His people. It’s a way He shows us the intimacy that He would have with us.
In fact, most times that the Bible talks about idolatry — or the unfaithfulness of God’s people — it is illustrated by the adultery in the marriage bond.
We talked about this a few months ago when we studied the book of Hosea.
Hosea 1:2 (NIV). When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, "Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord."
(unpack)
So he says you have heard it said, do not commit adultery, don’t violate this covenant. God takes marriage very seriously and Jesus is not taking away from the depth of the sin as it relates to adultery.
But then He shows that there’s a heart issue that must also be addressed.
28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
This comment serves two purposes — at least two.
First, Jesus shows us where the line in the sand actually is and second, He makes it clear that we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Because there is not a man alive who has not — at some point in his life — seen a woman, and been tempted and then taken a second or even third glance with lust in his heart.
This second part, the part of exposing our sinfulness is so important.
Remember, in this Sermon on the Mount, He began teaching only His disciples, but as He went along the crowd grew. So He was preaching to a group that likely included the Pharisees.
The Pharisees thought that since they had upheld the letter of the law, then that was their ticket to heaven. That was how they would be able to have a relationship with their Father.
And their strict adherence to the law — at least their limited understanding of it — produced in them a pride and self-righteousness that was a sin in itself.
So Jesus continues to drive home that we first must understand that we are sinners, we have to come to a place where we are poor in spirit, where we see our sin in light of His holiness and we come to an understanding that without help that sin is too much for us. That sin will lead to death and Hell without the reconciling work of a savior, who we know to be Jesus Christ.
So let’s look at the process here. Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart. In the English Standard Version the term lustfully is translated “with lustful intent” and the New King James says “to lust for her.”
So men, the accidental glimpse of a woman who is scantily clad is not the issue here. But, once we notice, our minds sometimes go to a place of temptation very quickly. Men are visually stimulated.
So, once that temptation has set in and you then take another look. You leer with an intent to lust, to lust for her, you are out of bounds. I am out of bounds. At that point Jesus says, we have already committed adultery in our heart.
And again, that in itself is sin enough for damnation if we don’t have the covering of our Savior Jesus Christ.
But what about those of us who are saved? Our sins are forgiven. We cannot be “un-saved” once we are saved. What can we glean from this text?
Well, we should practically speaking, take the warning seriously. Sexual temptation can lead to disaster. What begins in our hearts spills out. That is true with our anger and that is true with our lust.
Now, keep a mark on that page in Matthew 5 and we are going to flip back to a man who was called a man after God’s own heart, to see the disaster that starts with a lingering look of lust. Please turn with me to 2 Samuel 11
The story is about King David when He went to dance with the gorilla, it wasn’t with a drink of wine or a hit off a pipe. King David’s dance started with a second glance at a woman taking a bath.
2 Samuel 11
1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
(Unpack: David wasn’t focused on his mission)
2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"
(Unpack: People are telling David, “this might not be a good idea.”)
4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."
(Unpack: First, “harmless” part escalates)
6 So David sent this word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master's servants and did not go down to his house.
10 When David was told, "Uriah did not go home," he asked him, "Haven't you just come from a distance? Why didn't you go home?"
11 Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!"
(Unpack: David’s unfaithfulness is contrasted by Uriah’s love for God and love for his neighbors.)
12 Then David said to him, "Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David's invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master's servants; he did not go home.
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die."
(Unpack: David’s first sin of lust led to adultery in the heart and covetousness, then adultery in the flesh, then deception, and now leads to murder. The things that we dismiss as small sins — the ones we joke about or think aren’t that big of a deal — can lead us down roads to still more destruction.)
16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David's army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.
18 Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19 He instructed the messenger: "When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 20 the king's anger may flare up, and he may ask you, 'Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn't you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn't a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?' If he asks you this, then say to him, 'Also, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.' "
22 The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David, "The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance to the city gate. 24 Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king's men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead."
25 David told the messenger, "Say this to Joab: 'Don't let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.' Say this to encourage Joab."
(Unpack: David not only doesn't feel remorse for Uriah, he also doesn't seem to be bothered by the collateral damage, the death of the other soldiers.)
26 When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.
(Unpack: We can hide our sin away from others for a while, but not from the Lord. And, as we’ll see, God will eventually expose us.)
2 Samuel 12
1 And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, "There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him." 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity."
7 Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight?
(Unpack: God equates the adultery to idolatry because sin is an act of rebellion. David made the conquest of Bathsheba a higher priority than devotion to the commands of God. Sex became David’s idol.)
You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' 11 Thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.'" 13 David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD."
(Unpack: David finally sees the evil in his heart and repentant, he confesses to God)
And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child who is born to you shall die." 15 Then Nathan went to his house. And the LORD afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick. 16 David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, "Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm." 19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, "Is the child dead?" They said, "He is dead."
(Unpack: God did forgive David. David was justified by his faith in God. In the same way, if we are believers in Christ Jesus, you and I are made right with God. But, we will still deal with the consequences of our actions. In fact, there are many times when adultery causes more problems to the people on the periphery to the children of the broken homes, to the husbands and wives that have felt betrayed, to the extended friends and family, to the church as a whole, and the list goes on and on.)
Let’s finish out tonight’s section on the Sermon on the Mount back to Matthew 5:29
29 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. 30 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.
Before you go out and get a spoon for you eye or a circular saw for your hand, I don’t think Jesus is literally saying pop out your eye or cut off your hand. It’s a fact that even if we went blind today, we have an adequately developed imagination and memory to dwell in lust even without either eye working.
The point I believe Jesus is making here is that we are to take this sin seriously and we are to go to any length to stay away from the sin. In
1 Corinthians 6:18-19, Paul says, “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own…”
So, where do you need to flee from the temptation to commit adultery, is it the internet, is it the television shows you watch, is it the places you drive, is it the people you work with? What is it for you.
Knowing the path that lust leads to, what length are you willing to go to flee the temptation to look at someone in lust? Would you get rid of your cable if you had to? Would you get accountability software for your computer if you have to? Would you stop the conversations and flirting with the coworker or even leave that job if need be to protect your heart and your marriage? What is ultimate? What is your God? Is your God the Lord, or is your God your old sin nature and your old base desires?”
In closing, remember that we are NOT the morality police. It may be possible to white knuckle your way through life and just say, I’m not going to look I’m not going to look and you can just try to go it alone. And never ask for help from the Holy Spirit or from your brothers and sisters in Christ.
But, like the Pharisees, you may get to a point where you start to feel like you are able to do it all by yourself and that may produce an arrogance that doesn’t reflect the God we serve.
The answer is that we see lust as the sin it is. And since it is sin, then out of love and gratitude for God, we should flee from sexual immorality flee from the things that might divert our gaze from Jesus Christ.
But we do it all for Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit in order that we reflect the glory back to God.
And if we fail in this, we go to God with the repentant heart that David showed us and we refocus and start progressing forward again.
I believe this is one of the most difficult and persistent battles that we face in the world. Without God it is too much for us. So we keep turning to Him keeping our focus on His will for us. We take marriage seriously as a wonderful gift and a path to praise.
Next week we will talk more on the high view of marriage that God has and whether you are married, are soon to married and even if you are single, It is an important lesson to learn.
Let’s pray…
There’s an old saying among addicts that, "When you're run over by a train, it's the engine that kills you, not the caboose."
In other words, if a person’s an addict, or an alcoholic, they may feel, after a time of clean living that they can handle “just one” or “just a couple” tastes.
And it may work for a moment, for a short time, but the tragedy is that those first tastes ignite a desire, a longing, a hunger for more.
Those first tastes are the engine of the train.
So what seems like innocent fun at first, what seems like something they can control, what seems like something they can keep a handle on, eventually takes ownership of their life.
The very thing that used to serve the addict or alcoholic turns the tables to where the person is serving, or doing the bidding of their addiction.
Their thoughts become focused on where’s the next taste coming from? Their relationships begin to fall away in areas that are not helping to achieve or hold onto the high.
If someone in their life makes them feel guilty about what they’re doing, they drift away from them. If someone enables their destructive behavior — that’s who they gravitate back to.
And what seemed like a few innocent hits or drinks, suddenly has them back into the downward spiral.
One man I heard once talked about his addiction to booze and said it was like dancing with a gorilla. It’s an interesting perspective and I’ll see if I can recall it properly.
He said at first it seems like a fun idea to dance with a gorilla. Maybe a little dangerous, some older people and more boring people may warn that it’s not a good idea. But oh, what a story you could have to tell the next day!
After beginning the dance all may seem to be going well. Your friends are laughing and everyone is having a good time. Even you.
But eventually your body fatigues, and you get tired from trying to follow the lead of this gorilla. Once you loose some of your strength and staying power, you just start getting drug around by the massive animal. You’re like a rag doll, flinging here to there.
The problem is, by the time you realize it’s not fun anymore you have no ability to get out of the dance.
And just like with addictive substances, the dance ain’t over until the gorilla says it’s over.
So then, the wear and tear on your body begins to show and your friends become aware that you need some help. You need someone to step in.
So, out of love and out of a desire to protect you from further harm, your friends try to break up the dance.
The problem is, the thing that happens when a person tries to cut in on a dance with a gorilla is the same thing that often happens to a person close to an addict who tries to intervene — that friend or loved one gets hurt in the process.
In the end the gorilla finishes the dance at a point that sometimes leaves you in desperate need for healing, or the gorilla dances with you until you are no more.
The gorilla, representing that addiction takes you out. Takes your life.
And again, it was that first decision to start the dance, that first decision by an addict to use or drink or whatever, that led to the tragic end.
Now again, we’re talking here about addicts and alcoholics. But, what Jesus teaches in our passage tonight and what he taught in the earlier passage about the dangers of unresolved anger is: Yes murder is terrible and will be subject to judgment, but that’s the caboose, the engine of that train, what is likely to drive you to murder is the anger. So anger is just as much of a sin.
Likewise, adultery is a sin. For sure — make no mistake, there’s no gray area. It is a sin.
But adultery is the caboose. The train is led by lust. And so Lust is the sin that you and I need to guard against.
As my old pastor in Ohio used to say, adultery doesn’t start in the bedroom it always starts in a way that seems innocent or can be explained or justified as “no big deal”.
Men, it starts in the flirtatio
us conversations with the attractive woman at work. Women, it starts with the long talks with that guy at the office that just really listens and cares about what you’re saying. Men, it starts with that second or third look at the woman on the street.In other words, adultery isn’t an accident. It’s the byproduct of lust and it starts with our words, our intentions, our eyes and ultimately our hearts.
Let’s go back to the text.
Matthew 5:27-30 (New International Version)
27 "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'
Here the Greek word for adultery is moicheuo : it is specific to a married person in sexual relationship outside of the marriage bond {Not porneia is another Greek term, used more broadly in the Bible for sexual immorality }
This is important, because the marriage bond is the closest thing we have on earth that represents the bond between God and His people. It’s a way He shows us the intimacy that He would have with us.
In fact, most times that the Bible talks about idolatry — or the unfaithfulness of God’s people — it is illustrated by the adultery in the marriage bond.
We talked about this a few months ago when we studied the book of Hosea.
Hosea 1:2 (NIV). When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, "Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord."
(unpack)
So he says you have heard it said, do not commit adultery, don’t violate this covenant. God takes marriage very seriously and Jesus is not taking away from the depth of the sin as it relates to adultery.
But then He shows that there’s a heart issue that must also be addressed.
28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
This comment serves two purposes — at least two.
First, Jesus shows us where the line in the sand actually is and second, He makes it clear that we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Because there is not a man alive who has not — at some point in his life — seen a woman, and been tempted and then taken a second or even third glance with lust in his heart.
This second part, the part of exposing our sinfulness is so important.
Remember, in this Sermon on the Mount, He began teaching only His disciples, but as He went along the crowd grew. So He was preaching to a group that likely included the Pharisees.
The Pharisees thought that since they had upheld the letter of the law, then that was their ticket to heaven. That was how they would be able to have a relationship with their Father.
And their strict adherence to the law — at least their limited understanding of it — produced in them a pride and self-righteousness that was a sin in itself.
So Jesus continues to drive home that we first must understand that we are sinners, we have to come to a place where we are poor in spirit, where we see our sin in light of His holiness and we come to an understanding that without help that sin is too much for us. That sin will lead to death and Hell without the reconciling work of a savior, who we know to be Jesus Christ.
So let’s look at the process here. Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart. In the English Standard Version the term lustfully is translated “with lustful intent” and the New King James says “to lust for her.”
So men, the accidental glimpse of a woman who is scantily clad is not the issue here. But, once we notice, our minds sometimes go to a place of temptation very quickly. Men are visually stimulated.
So, once that temptation has set in and you then take another look. You leer with an intent to lust, to lust for her, you are out of bounds. I am out of bounds. At that point Jesus says, we have already committed adultery in our heart.
And again, that in itself is sin enough for damnation if we don’t have the covering of our Savior Jesus Christ.
But what about those of us who are saved? Our sins are forgiven. We cannot be “un-saved” once we are saved. What can we glean from this text?
Well, we should practically speaking, take the warning seriously. Sexual temptation can lead to disaster. What begins in our hearts spills out. That is true with our anger and that is true with our lust.
Now, keep a mark on that page in Matthew 5 and we are going to flip back to a man who was called a man after God’s own heart, to see the disaster that starts with a lingering look of lust. Please turn with me to 2 Samuel 11
The story is about King David when He went to dance with the gorilla, it wasn’t with a drink of wine or a hit off a pipe. King David’s dance started with a second glance at a woman taking a bath.
2 Samuel 11
1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
(Unpack: David wasn’t focused on his mission)
2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"
(Unpack: People are telling David, “this might not be a good idea.”)
4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."
(Unpack: First, “harmless” part escalates)
6 So David sent this word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master's servants and did not go down to his house.
10 When David was told, "Uriah did not go home," he asked him, "Haven't you just come from a distance? Why didn't you go home?"
11 Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!"
(Unpack: David’s unfaithfulness is contrasted by Uriah’s love for God and love for his neighbors.)
12 Then David said to him, "Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David's invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master's servants; he did not go home.
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die."
(Unpack: David’s first sin of lust led to adultery in the heart and covetousness, then adultery in the flesh, then deception, and now leads to murder. The things that we dismiss as small sins — the ones we joke about or think aren’t that big of a deal — can lead us down roads to still more destruction.)
16 So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17 When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David's army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died.
18 Joab sent David a full account of the battle. 19 He instructed the messenger: "When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, 20 the king's anger may flare up, and he may ask you, 'Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn't you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn't a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?' If he asks you this, then say to him, 'Also, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.' "
22 The messenger set out, and when he arrived he told David everything Joab had sent him to say. 23 The messenger said to David, "The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open, but we drove them back to the entrance to the city gate. 24 Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king's men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead."
25 David told the messenger, "Say this to Joab: 'Don't let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.' Say this to encourage Joab."
(Unpack: David not only doesn't feel remorse for Uriah, he also doesn't seem to be bothered by the collateral damage, the death of the other soldiers.)
26 When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.
(Unpack: We can hide our sin away from others for a while, but not from the Lord. And, as we’ll see, God will eventually expose us.)
2 Samuel 12
1 And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, "There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him." 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity."
7 Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight?
(Unpack: God equates the adultery to idolatry because sin is an act of rebellion. David made the conquest of Bathsheba a higher priority than devotion to the commands of God. Sex became David’s idol.)
You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' 11 Thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.'" 13 David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD."
(Unpack: David finally sees the evil in his heart and repentant, he confesses to God)
And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child who is born to you shall die." 15 Then Nathan went to his house. And the LORD afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick. 16 David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, "Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm." 19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, "Is the child dead?" They said, "He is dead."
(Unpack: God did forgive David. David was justified by his faith in God. In the same way, if we are believers in Christ Jesus, you and I are made right with God. But, we will still deal with the consequences of our actions. In fact, there are many times when adultery causes more problems to the people on the periphery to the children of the broken homes, to the husbands and wives that have felt betrayed, to the extended friends and family, to the church as a whole, and the list goes on and on.)
Let’s finish out tonight’s section on the Sermon on the Mount back to Matthew 5:29
29 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. 30 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.
Before you go out and get a spoon for you eye or a circular saw for your hand, I don’t think Jesus is literally saying pop out your eye or cut off your hand. It’s a fact that even if we went blind today, we have an adequately developed imagination and memory to dwell in lust even without either eye working.
The point I believe Jesus is making here is that we are to take this sin seriously and we are to go to any length to stay away from the sin. In
1 Corinthians 6:18-19, Paul says, “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own…”
So, where do you need to flee from the temptation to commit adultery, is it the internet, is it the television shows you watch, is it the places you drive, is it the people you work with? What is it for you.
Knowing the path that lust leads to, what length are you willing to go to flee the temptation to look at someone in lust? Would you get rid of your cable if you had to? Would you get accountability software for your computer if you have to? Would you stop the conversations and flirting with the coworker or even leave that job if need be to protect your heart and your marriage? What is ultimate? What is your God? Is your God the Lord, or is your God your old sin nature and your old base desires?”
In closing, remember that we are NOT the morality police. It may be possible to white knuckle your way through life and just say, I’m not going to look I’m not going to look and you can just try to go it alone. And never ask for help from the Holy Spirit or from your brothers and sisters in Christ.
But, like the Pharisees, you may get to a point where you start to feel like you are able to do it all by yourself and that may produce an arrogance that doesn’t reflect the God we serve.
The answer is that we see lust as the sin it is. And since it is sin, then out of love and gratitude for God, we should flee from sexual immorality flee from the things that might divert our gaze from Jesus Christ.
But we do it all for Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit in order that we reflect the glory back to God.
And if we fail in this, we go to God with the repentant heart that David showed us and we refocus and start progressing forward again.
I believe this is one of the most difficult and persistent battles that we face in the world. Without God it is too much for us. So we keep turning to Him keeping our focus on His will for us. We take marriage seriously as a wonderful gift and a path to praise.
Next week we will talk more on the high view of marriage that God has and whether you are married, are soon to married and even if you are single, It is an important lesson to learn.
Let’s pray…
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