Sunday, May 06, 2012,
6:00 a.m. – The Lord woke me this morning with the song “Listen, Listen!” playing in my mind.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Matthew 5:27-30 (NIV 1984):
“You have heard that
it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at
a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your
right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for
you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into
hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to
go into hell.”
My Understanding: Jesus
had just finished talking about how he was the fulfillment of the Law and the
Prophets. The Law was put in place to lead us to Christ, and the Prophets
prophesied concerning his coming, his earthly ministry, his death and
resurrection, his atonement for our sins, his coming again one day as judge and
as deliverer of his people, his kingdom reign on the earth, and our eternity
with Him in heaven. Since Jesus was/is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets,
we who are in Christ Jesus by faith are no longer under law, but we are under
grace. So, what does that mean in all practicality?
The Commandments
Jesus stated: “Anyone
who breaks the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same
will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and
teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I
tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the
teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
The Pharisees “righteousness” was based upon external adherence
to a set of rules, rituals and religious practices. They were righteous in
their own eyes, and they were hypocritical because, in holding to the letter of
the law, they actually broke the law, because they did not realize that the law
found its fulfillment in love.
Many today, who try to combat this legalistic approach to
Christianity, go to the opposite extreme in teaching that turning from our sins
and obeying Christ’s commandments are not required for salvation. They add to
that the idea that God is pleased with us no matter what we do, meaning God is
pleased with evil, which is a lie of Satan. In this opposite extreme to
legalism, there are no rules by which we must abide. This is called a libertine
(as opposed to legalism) approach to Christianity, which is also false. God has
set moral standards by which we must live, and the remainder of Matthew 5
touches on a few of those, as well as the remainder of the New Testament
teaches obedience to Christ’s commandments.
Jesus did not come to abolish the law. In other words, he
did not come to remove all standards for holy living just because we are now
under grace. He came to fulfill the law and we are to uphold the law – not the
Jewish ceremonial laws and requirements, but the law of God summarized in and
fulfilled in the law of love for God and others.
You have Heard
Jesus began each of his statements concerning the law with “You
have heard that it was said,” followed by “But I tell you…” Jesus was not
disputing the law itself, i.e. he was not contradicting the law, but rather he
was giving a more complete understanding of what the law was really stating,
i.e. he covered not just the letter of the law, but the spirit of the law, i.e.
its true intended purpose and its underlying truths and principles. He was/is
God, and he was the fulfillment of the Law, so he had the authority, the
knowledge, insight and understanding to interpret the Law and to show the true
direction the law actually pointed.
Murder – Jesus expanded
the subject of murder to include anger against and subsequent insult toward
another human being. John wrote that anyone who hates his brother is a
murderer, “and you know no murderer has eternal life in him” (1 Jn. 3:15). He
also said that if anyone says he loves God, yet he hates his brother, he is a
liar (see 1 Jn. 4:20). Jesus was saying, basically, in most all of these laws,
that the sin actually begins in the heart before it is ever carried out, and
even if it is never carried out to the extreme. Sin is, above all else, a heart
issue. If we hold anger against and/or hate other human beings and we wish or
plot or do evil against them, then Jesus said that is the same as murder. Ouch!
Adultery – If you
were to look up this word in a dictionary, you would learn that this has to do
with extra-marital sexual relationships. Yet, God’s definition of adultery is
much broader than that, according to the teachings of scripture. God, in both the
Old and New Testaments, used the marriage relationship between a man and a
woman to define his relationship between him and his people. In both the Old
and New Testaments God initiated a covenant relationship with his people, not
unlike a marriage covenant between a man and a woman to promise to love,
cherish, and to practice fidelity and marital faithfulness.
When we enter into a covenant relationship with our spouse,
or with God, we agree to the terms of that covenant relationship. God’s terms
for us now are that we believe in his Son, Jesus Christ, via turning from our
sin (repentance) and turning to walk in faithful obedience to Jesus Christ, and
that we prove our faith by our works - fruit in keeping with repentance - and by
our obedience to him and to his commands, in his power and strength within us. This
is not unlike a marriage covenant where we vow to leave our life of singleness
behind us, we promise commitment to the marriage relationship in love, honor,
and faithfulness, and we prove our commitment by continuing to live as though
we are no longer single, but that we are now committed to becoming one flesh
with the person we married.
So, we break covenant with God when our affections, loyalties
and devotions, that should go to God and to God alone, go to another,
especially when they go to another that is false and that stands in direct
opposition to God and to his commands for our lives. When other things,
activities and/or people serve to replace and/or take priority over and above
our covenant relationship with God, in love, affection, loyalty and/or
devotion, then God sees that as adultery.
The same applies to the marriage relationship between man
and woman. Adultery is not merely sexual in nature nor is lust. When we desire
another that is not ours to have, and we exchange our affections and/or
loyalties from the one with whom we have entered into a covenant relationship
with affections and/or loyalties and devotion toward another, that is adultery.
As well, the term “lust” is not confined merely to sexual lust and desire, but
encompasses the idea of a yearning, craving or desire for something that
belongs to someone else, or something that is wrong and/or sinful for one to
obtain.
So, with that Biblical understanding of the term “adultery”
in mind, when we look “lustfully” (desire, crave, yearn for) at another human
being, we have already committed adultery in our hearts. This applies to single
people, too, because the adultery, in this case, would be against God and God
alone. A married person would commit adultery against God and his or her
spouse, because the person would be breaking faith with both God and his/her spouse.
So, the sin of adultery is thus a heart issue, whether it is ever carried to
the extreme or not.
Throw it Off
Then Jesus said something that I believe, Biblically,
applies to all sin. Jesus frequently used hyperboles in his illustrations to
make a point. A hyperbole is “a deliberate and obvious exaggeration used for
effect” (Encarta). And, in this case, he stated that if a part of our bodies
caused or led us into sin, such as our eyes or hands, we were to gouge them out
(the eye) or cut them off (the hand) and throw them away. He argued that it was
better to lose one part of one’s body, rather than the whole body to be thrown
into hell because of a sinful lifestyle. This has its counterpart in these
passages of scripture:
“Therefore, since we
are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything
that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us” (Heb. 12:1).
“Therefore, get rid of
all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word
planted in you, which can save you” (Jms. 1:21; cf. Eph. 4:31; Col. 3:8; 1
Pet. 2:1).
We are not only to get rid of the sin, but we are to throw
off everything (burden or hindrance) that hinders our walk with Christ, i.e.
that leads us into sin. To me, if the sin problem is looking at pornography, for
instance, then the person should get rid of his personal and private computer
access that is free of accountability, i.e. either he or she must get rid of
access to the internet altogether, or he or she must have very strong controls
in place that monitor his or her internet use (voluntarily). As well, if your
sin problem is lusting after people of the opposite sex (or same sex), then don’t
put yourself in places where that is more apt to happen, such as public places
where you know you are more likely to be drawn toward people of the opposite
(or same) sex.
If the adultery is more on an emotional level, then one
should not put himself or herself in positions where adultery of the heart
(emotions) is more likely to take place, i.e. I believe married people should
not have close and/or private friendships with people of the opposite sex, i.e.
they should not go out to lunches, email, talk on the phone, exchange text
messages, etc., with the possible exception of family or business
relationships, and/or for strictly business purposes. They especially should
not talk with people of the opposite sex about their marriage difficulties,
private matters between the man and his wife, or anything of a personal or
heart nature, i.e. personal feelings and emotions. This is how many affairs
(emotional that can lead to sexual) are begun, and the internet and the social
networks on the internet just open the door wide for this type of stuff to take
place.
If a person has a drawing toward others of the same or
opposite sex in a manner that is sinful, i.e. that breaks faith and covenant
with God and/or with spouse, he or she should avoid all potential triggers. So
many people complain that they just can’t control their problems with lust and
yet they are not willing to take the necessary steps to alleviate all “hindrances”
and “burdens” that contribute to the sin problem. If we watch TV shows or
movies, play music or games, have friendships, or we participate in groups or
social networks, or we involves ourselves in any relationships or activities
that promote or make light of adultery, sexual sin of any kind, lust, greed,
malice, insulting others, holding grudges, marriage fidelity, divorce, lying,
cheating, stealing, hatred, homosexuality, etc., then we need to rid ourselves
of those hindrances to our faithful walks of obedience to Christ Jesus and to
our faithfulness in love and purity to our spouses. And, we need to run with
perseverance the race marked out for us to run, in repentance, faithfulness and
obedience to Christ, and in love, honor, respect and faithfulness to our
marriage partners.
Listen! Listen! /
An Original Work / December 20, 2011
Weep and wail o’er
your sins, children.
God is calling out to
you:
Be ye honest; tell the
truth,
And it will set you
free.
Harken to Him calling
you to
Bow on bended knee
today.
Don’t delay to let Him
in,
And He’ll cleanse your
hearts;
Pure within.
Sinners, won’t you
listen to Him
Calling out to you
today?
He died so that you
would be free
Of your sins always.
Turn from your sin.
Turn to Jesus.
Obey Him in ev’ry way.
He wants to set you
free of
All your guilt,
For which He did pay.
Listen! Listen!
Don’t close your
hearts
To His voice speaking
to you.
He will give you all
of His peace,
If your hearts be
true.
He longs for you to
come to Him
Humbly now and
repentant.
Obey all of His
commandments.
Live with Him
eternally.
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