Getting Life Right: Sexuality Series

Getting Life Right: SEXUALITY—Matthew 5:27-32

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gathered his closest disciples around him, teaching them how to get life right.

We began our series with Matthew 5:17-20, where Jesus affirmed the enduring value of the OT law, but said that the law alone does not make people righteous. Righteousness is deeper than keeping rules or putting on a show of goodness.

Last week, we considered what Jesus said about the sixth commandment, “Don’t murder…” A self-righteous person will immediately breathe a sigh of relief, thinking, “At least I haven’t murdered anyone.” But Jesus pointed out that attitudes and words can also destroy people, so resentment, mockery, or putting others down can be like murder.

Today, we read what Jesus says about the seventh commandment: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’” Again, the self-righteous person might say, “Well, at least I haven’t had an affair.”

Good for you! Now imagine your life laid out on the screen up there…every thought…every movement of your eyes…every feeling, every action, every fantasy… Thank God it is not up there for all to see!

Yet we know, as Hebrews 4:13 says, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

How are you feeling now about keeping the commandment about adultery?

Jesus says, (Matthew 5:27-28) “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Really, Jesus? Wouldn’t that make pretty much everybody a lawbreaker? Is looking and thinking about someone in the wrong way adultery? What if it is not a person in the flesh, but a photoshopped picture, or a character in a novel? What would Jesus say about an unrealistic cultural image of a “soul mate” who finishes your sentences?

If we are trying to be self-righteous, sexuality is a problem area. Some people avoid God for that reason; they don’t want to feel guilty.

God doesn’t want us to feel guilty! 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Whew! Since we’re forgiven anyway, sin is no big deal, right? Thank you Jesus!

But then Jesus says, (Matthew 5:29-30) “If your right eye causes you to stumble, 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 stumble, 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.”

One of the early church fathers, Origen, was rumored to take this literally, castrating himself. But what good would it do to cut off an eye or hand? Without a right eye or hand, there would still be a left eye and hand—and a roving mind.

This is hyperbole (obvious exaggeration to make a point); don’t do this at home! But how far would you go to overcome sin?

Jesus went to the cross for our sin! Hebrews 12:2-4 says, “For the joy set before him Jesus endured the cross…In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”

To resist sin and make your life right, would you do even the simplest things?

WHAT CAN WE DO TO GET LIFE RIGHT IN REGARD TO OUR SEXUALITY?

BE WISE ABOUT TEMPTATION.

Our culture constantly bombards us with temptations. If you watch television, get on your smart phone or computer, or go out in public on a spring day, you are probably facing temptation. We can limit some temptations, by not clicking, and choosing wisely among books, movies or gaming, but we can’t eliminate every temptation, unless we retreat to a cave in the desert. Even in the desert, Jesus was tempted, although in a different way!

If we don’t push back against the messages our culture sends us, the cumulative impact of what we see and hear makes immoral behavior seems normal. We have to keep reminding ourselves that not everything we see or hear is right. Parents also have to talk with their children about that.

We can’t avoid all temptations, but we can try to manage them. One of earliest leaders of the Christian church said: “I cannot keep a bird from flying over my head. But I can certainly keep it from nesting in my hair or biting my nose off.” There are places we don’t need to go, either in the world or online, because temptations are more prevalent there. There are people we don’t need to be with, especially when their plans are evil. There are situations where the pressure to join in evil behavior will be strong.