Jesus On Adultery And Lust

Western society is completely comfortable talking about sex. Most people think a lot about sex. Especially men. The Bible talks a lot about sex too.

Most preachers, however, do not like to talk about sex.

When preachers preach on the Sermon on the Mount, they talk about the Beatitudes. There are lots of blessings there! But Jesus quickly gets down to the nitty-gritty of what HE requires of US. He talks about things like lust. Preachers don’t talk so much about that.

There’s a website called Sermon Central which is a huge library of sermons. There are 1,500 sermons on the Beatitudes. But there are fewer than 300 sermons on the section of the Sermon on the Mount about lust.

Preachers may not like to talk about sex. But it’s a subject that must be talked about.

I’m going to divide this talk into four parts.

Perhaps an illustration will help.

Imagine this talk as the earth. At the centre of the earth is the inner core. Around that is the outer core. Around that is the mantle. And around that is the crust.

In my talk, the inner core is the physical act of adultery.

The outer core is a broader understanding of adultery. Adultery isn’t just the act. Adultery happens in our hearts.

Around that is the mantle. This is a set of attitudes that relate to adultery, that help us to deal with lust.

Outside all of that is the crust. The crust is Jesus’ teaching on how to apply God’s law.

So, let’s get started!

THE INNER CORE: THE PHYSICAL ACT OF ADULTERY

Jesus starts this section by saying, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’”

We know what adultery is. Or we think we do. Adultery is voluntary sex between a married person and another person who is not his or her spouse. When we hear the word adultery we probably think of the act of adultery.

Adultery is a serious issue. ‘You shall not commit adultery’ is one of the Ten Commandments! And the fact that Jesus is talking about it in the Sermon on the Mount means it must be important. But why is it so important? Why does God prohibit adultery?

God established marriage soon after he created the world. Marriage is a central part of his plan for human flourishing. In the Bible a marriage relationship is incredibly deep. Once a man and woman are joined together, they become ‘one flesh’. They’re a single entity! They function as a unit.

In fact, the marriage relationship is so deep that the Bible likens the relationship between Jesus and the church to a marriage between a man and a woman.

What happens when a person commits adultery? You might think that he or she has simply spent a night with someone else. What’s the big deal?

But by having a sexual relationship with someone else, the person has broken their marriage vows. They made a promise, a commitment, to their spouse. Now, they’ve broken it.

Marriage is based on promises the couple made to each other. With the promises broken, the relationship is broken. Jesus says that sexual immorality is the ONLY legitimate basis for divorce. Any other kind of unfaithfulness doesn’t count. So, adultery is a VERY serious matter.

THE OUTER CORE: ADULTERY IN OUR HEARTS

We’ve looked at the inner core, the act of adultery. Let’s turn now to the outer core, adultery in our heart.

Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

What is Jesus saying? What do we notice?

I’d like us to notice three words especially. The word ‘lustful’. The word ‘heart’. And the word ‘his’.

Let me start with the word ‘his’.

Jesus says, ‘But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in HIS heart.’

Jesus finishes his sentence with, ‘in HIS heart.’ He’s addressing MEN! Maybe we men think, that’s not fair! Why is Jesus picking on us? I’ll come back to that.

Let’s go on to the word lustful. We’ve established that Jesus is talking to men. He’s talking about a man who looks at a woman with lustful intent. ‘Lustful intent’ means that the man is looking and thinking, I want to have sex with you.

The third word is heart. Jesus is saying that adultery doesn’t only happen in a bedroom. It can happen in a person’s heart.

OK, we’ve got the bare bones of what Jesus is saying. Let’s look a bit closer.

Why does Jesus pick on MEN?

The simple answer is that lust is an area of sin which particularly affects men. I am NOT saying that women can’t have sexually impure, lustful thoughts. But lust is much more of a problem for men than for women.