Lust
The Bible isn’t PG. It’s often not even PG-13. What decides a movie’s ratings? Well, from what I understand, there are three main things: language, blood, and sexuality. If there are too many cuss words, it raises the rating. If there is too much blood and gore or sexuality and nudity, it raises the rating. Well, y’all, today’s text is rated R. We have language, overt sexuality, and blood and gore. But it’s all to show the seriousness of sin.
Deal with the real cause of your sin. (27-28)
The law of God forbids all adultery. It is the seventh commandment. If someone broke this commandment, the Old Testament penalty was death.
Exodus 20:14 – “You shall not commit adultery.”
Leviticus 20:10 – “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.”
In the same way that Jesus was contrasting the Scribes’ and Pharisees’ view of the commandment to not murder, He is doing the same here. They viewed not committing murder as simply not performing the outward act, but Jesus brought it to the heart. He does the same here with adultery. This is another one, like murder, where people think they are good. “Ok, I’ve got this. Easy. Just don’t sleep with someone else.” But Jesus says that’s not the true intent of the law. It is about your heart. It’s as D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “The idea is not simply that we be free from certain actions, but that our hearts should become pure.”[1] Hear how he further explains it:
“If we examined our heart, if we came to know what the Puritans always called ‘the plague of our own heart’, it would promote holiness. But we do not like examining our hearts. Far too often those of us who rejoice in the name of ‘Evangelical’ are perfectly happy because we are orthodox and because we are unlike those liberals or modernists and various other sections of the Church, which are obviously wrong. So we sit down complacent and satisfied, feeling that we have arrived, and that we have only to maintain our position. But that means that we do not know our own hearts, and our Lord calls for a pure heart. You can commit sin in your heart, He says, without anybody knowing it; and you may still look perfectly respectable, and nobody would guess what is going on in your imagination. But God sees it, and in the sight of God it is awful, foul, ugly, filthy. Sin in the heart!”[2]
Where do we first see lust in the Bible? It’s in the Garden of Eden. God had told Adam and Eve they can have everything—full satisfaction—except they could not have that one thing. So, after being tempted, thinking God was withholding pleasure from them, they, in a sense, lusted after that fruit. And the rest is history. Sin entered the once very good world, and we have been struggling with the same thing ever since.
1 John 2:15-17 – 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
As we can see from this passage, the world doesn’t function this way. Sexual gratification and sexual expression is the law of the land because it’s the desires of the peoples’ hearts. D.A. Carson says, “As our society moves away from the seventh commandment in one direction, Jesus moves in another…If our society is easing off on the prohibition of adultery, how much more does it cater to our sexual lust?”[3] So we see it all around us—the enticements, the allure, the desires of the eyes.
We can see this clearly in an example that has been hitting headlines lately. People are saying, “The nation is healing.” And it’s because a voluptuous actress is at the center of some American Eagle ads, in a very sexualized way. They are saying it’s healing because ad agencies and corporations are not catering to the woke, LGBTQ+ agenda. I do think it’s good to move away from that. But to say it’s healing to get back to the notion that “sex sells,” is abhorrent to God. “Everybody, lust!...now buy some jeans.” That flies directly in the face of what Jesus is saying here that kingdom citizens should live like. We must be different. And it starts with the heart.
“It is not so much that I do a thing, it is what makes me do it, what urges me to do it, that matters. There it is in all of us— and we must face it—the depth and the power of sin. But let me say a word about the subtlety of sin. Sin is this terrible thing which so deludes and fools us as to make us feel quite happy and contented so long as we have not committed the act. Yes’, I say, ‘I was tempted, but thank God I did not fall.’ That is all right up to a point, so long as I am not too content with that. If I am merely satisfied with the fact that I did not do the thing, I am all wrong. I ought to go on and ask: ‘But why did I want to do it?’ That is where the subtlety of sin comes in.”[4]
As we’ll see in a little bit, we must get to the root if we want the weeds completely gone. You can still lust with both eyes gouged out. It is not enough to deal with the symptom. We must get to the root.
Consider where yielding to sinful lusts will lead you. (29b & 30b)
Jesus paints as stark a picture as there is—an adulterous heart will lead you to hell. Now, there is grace—abundant grace—in Jesus Christ. But an unrepentant heart is one that hasn’t been made new by that grace.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 – 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Not only is the danger eternal destruction, but earthly destruction is imminent when sexual sin is present. As Sinclair Ferguson notes, “Sexual relations have become the door through which many professing Christians have walked to their destruction… Beware the deceitfulness of a momentary gratification that will lead to life-long recrimination.” [5]
Many years ago, I was listening to a panel discussion of different pastors and theologians, and I vividly remember hearing a certain quote. I will never forget it because of the impression it immediately made on me. Danny Akin, the president of the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, said, “No sex is that good.” You could replace it with the word sin, too. “No sin is that good.” Meaning, what you lose from partaking in that sin is far worse than the momentary pleasure you receive in that fleeting moment.
Lloyd-Jones says, “It is tragic that we are so negligent about the eternal and are so concerned about that which must inevitably come to an end. It is better to be a cripple in this life, says our Lord, than to lose everything in the next. Put your soul and its eternal destiny before everything else.”[6] Because of all that is at stake here, we must take decisive action.
Act decisively and immediately, even if it is painful. (29a & 30a)
Because of all that is at stake, we must remove every obstacle to obedience to Jesus. We must gouge our eyes out or cut off our hands if they cause us to sin. “As "removable" parts of the body they serve to make the point that any loss, however painful, is preferable to the total lostness of geenna.”[7] There are a couple of real-life examples that show us that it is more valuable to lose part of your body than to experience death.
The Minneapolis (MN) Star Tribune, July 22, 1993, reported on the story of Donald Wyman who, two days earlier, suffered a terrible accident. While clearing land a tree rolled onto his leg, crushing the bone and pinning him to the ground. He cried loudly and for a long time, but no one was near to hear or help. He concluded that the only way he would survive was to amputate his leg. He made a tourniquet from a shoe string and tightened it with a wrench. He then took his pocket knife and cut off the injured leg just below the knee! He crawled to a bull-dozer, drove another quarter mile to his truck, then somehow maneuvered it a mile and a half down the road to a farm house, from which he was then rushed to the hospital. He lost his leg . . . but he saved his life. Radical sacrifice indeed![8]
A more well-known story, because of the movie 127 Hours, is that of Aron Ralston. Aron Lee Ralston is a mountaineer who survived a canyoneering accident by cutting off part of his own right arm.
On April 26, 2003, during a solo descent of Bluejohn Canyon in southeastern Utah, he dislodged a boulder, pinning his right wrist to the side of the canyon wall. After five days, he had to break his forearm, amputate it with a dull pocket knife to break free, make his way through the rest of the canyon, rappel down a 65-foot drop, and hike 7 miles to safety.[9]
Those are examples of people who have gone to extreme measures to remove appendages, for what purpose? To save their life. It must be the same for us when it comes to sin. That doesn’t mean we literally gouge our eyes out or amputate our hands. “Origen of Alexandria. He went to extremes of asceticism, renouncing possessions, food and even sleep, and in an over-literal interpretation of this passage and of Matthew 19:12 actually castrated himself.”[10]
No, John Stott shows us clearly what this looks like in practice:
“What does this involve in practice? Let me elaborate and so interpret Jesus’ teaching: ‘If your eye causes you to stumble because temptation comes to you through your eyes (objects you see), then pluck out your eyes. That is, don’t look! Behave as if you had actually plucked out your eyes and flung them away, and were now blind and so could not see the objects which previously caused you to stumble. Again, if your hand or foot causes you to stumble, because temptation comes to you through your hands (things you do) or your feet (places you visit), then cut them off. That is, don’t do it! Don’t go! Behave as if you had actually cut off your hands and feet, and had flung them away, and were now crippled and so could not do the things or visit the places which previously caused you to stumble.’ That is the meaning of ‘mortification’.”[11]
And D.A. Carson explains its application like this:
“What then does Jesus mean? Just this: we are to deal drastically with sin. We must not pamper it, flirt with it, enjoy nibbling a little of it around the edges. We are to hate it, crush it, dig it out. “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5). Paul adds, “Because of these, the wrath of God is coming” (Col. 3:6)—just as Jesus in Matthew 5:29f. threatens with hell all those who will not deal drastically with sin.”[12]
Sinclair Ferguson says, “He is telling us that when we recognise our tendency to sin, we must commit ourselves to staying within the boundaries that God has set around us. We must guard our heart and our actions — gestures and looks — within those boundary lines. If we are men, then, like Job, we will say, ‘I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl’ (Job 31:1).”[13]
Boundaries are necessary if we want to ensure purity. Purity starts in the heart. But here’s something about our heart: It is deceitful and wicked. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick/wicked; who can understand it?” Because we know the true nature of our heart, we must set up guardrails for us to be able to function as God intended, if we desire to please Him and to live in true freedom.
We often think of guardrails as barriers. They keep us from something pleasurable. They keep us from freedom. That’s the same lie of Satan from the Garden. He made them believe God was keeping something from them. But, in reality, guardrails help us function in freedom.
My wife and I went to Maui on our honeymoon, and one day we took a day trip and did what’s called the Road to Hana. It is absolutely beautiful. But for a lot of it, you are driving on single lane roads on the edge of huge cliffs. Below are rocks and boulders and the ocean raging. Think about it: Am I more likely to drive with freedom and confidence on that road if there are guardrails or no guardrails? You know the answer. Guardrails allow us to function with freedom. If they are not there, we are in much more danger of plunging off the cliff into destruction.
When Sara and I were dating, we knew the dangers of sexual sin that many give into. We wanted to have a pure relationship, so we set up guardrails. We didn’t kiss until our wedding day. Did that take away from our relationship? Absolutely not. It actually allowed us to function with greater freedom, truly getting to know one another and having a real relationship.
Bonhoeffer says, “Jesus does not impose intolerable restrictions on his disciples, he does not forbid them to look at anything, but bids them look on him. If they do that he knows that their gaze will always be pure, even when they look upon a woman.”[14]
I love what Bonhoeffer says there. He says that God “bids them look on him.” That’s the answer to our sin problem—when we see God as of greater value than the fleeting pleasure of sin. I once heard it said that, in our sin, we don’t have a self-control problem—we have an incentive problem. We have a value problem. In explaining this, the person gave an example: If you were told your family would die if you looked at pornography one time, would you do it? Absolutely not! The incentive is so great. Immediately you would have self-control. Y’all, we have the highest incentive—God’s glory. Our intimacy with God. Seeing God. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” And that is the ultimate means by which we fight the impure desires of our heart.
Realize the price that was paid to deliver you from sin.
With both eyes gouged out and both hands cut off, we are still prone to sin. The reason is because sin originates in our heart. The only escape from sin is to get rid of our heart. And to do that is to die. The only escape from sin is to die—either that, or we need a heart transplant. Guess what? We are told to do both. We are to die to ourselves—our desires—take up our cross [a death device] and follow Jesus (Matt 16:24). In dying to ourselves and our sin—in trusting in Jesus as our Lord and Savior—we’re given a new heart. We are born again. We are given a new life where death once reigned.
Sinclair Ferguson said, “Jesus recognised that sinners could never know true and lasting joy as long as they indulged themselves. True joy, resurrection joy, always lies for the Christian on the other side of sharing in Jesus’ death to sin. That is as applicable to sexual purity as to anything else.”[15]
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
You were bought with a price. The death of Jesus purchased new life for you. Will you receive forgiveness of your sins and new life from Him?
[1] D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1959), 247.
[2] Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 247-248.
[3] D.A. Carson, The Sermon on the Mount: An Evangelical Exposition of Matthew 5-7 (Baker Book House, 1978), 43-44.
[4] Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 238.
[5] Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Life in a Fallen World (Banner of Truth, 1987), 86-87, 89.
[6] Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 246.
[7] R.T. France, The Gospel of Matthew, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (W.B. Eerdmans, 2007), 206.
[8] https://www.samstorms.org/all-articles/post/matthew-5:27-30)
[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aron_Ralston
[10] John Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (IVP Academic, 1978), 69.
[11] Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, 69.
[12] Carson, The Sermon on the Mount, 44-45.
[13] Ferguson, The Sermon on the Mount, 88.
[14] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (Macmillan, 1979), 148.
[15] Ferguson, The Sermon on the Mount, 89.
