Sermon on the Mount- Pt 6
Tear It Out!
In the SOTM it seems that Jesus has boiled down His teachings to that which is of prime importance.
The SOTM makes GOOD seem really GOOD.
It inspires to believe in- possibility of a better world.
It also reminds us of our lack of commitment to the principles found in these verses.
What would the church look like that embraced and lived the truths Jesus puts forth in the SOTM?
As we go through this study, I want us to hear the Living Christ speak to us through His Word/Spirit.
Look at Mtt 5:27-32
Throughout the SOTM we find a call to purity.
Our natural understanding of purity is often in terms of obedience to certain laws or regulations.
This taken alone can lead to a prudish approach to life
Prude- someone who shows excessive attention to outward propriety/decorum rather than the heart.
We must not allow a thought/emotional pattern to develop in us, the end result, which if carried out,
we would see as wrong or sin.
Mtt 5:27-28
Jesus always puts love ahead of lust.
Love- always other focused, lust- always self focused.
Esau and his mess of pottage is a picture of lust; Jacob serving for Rachel is a picture of love. Oswald Chambers
Consider the story of Esau … Gen 25:29-34
Look at the story of Jacob … Gen 29:18-20
Lust is the impatience of desire- I want it now.
These verses are a reference to the 7th C …
Ex 20:14 You shall not commit adultery.
Rabbi’s- limited- scope of this commandment to outward actions- missed the intent of the
righteous heart of God.
Sex has become big business in America …
chief means of selling products today.
It has moved from being fine dining to fast food. It has become stop and go experience. You pull up, get what you want, and drive off. T Evans
Interesting contrast- Puritans lived as if- no such thing as sex, while we live as if there is nothing but sex.
How would we define adultery?
Specifically, adultery is sexual intercourse involving at least one married person. In its broadest sense it is any kind of sexual infraction done by or to a married person.
Lev18-broadens- definition of adultery- include incest homosexuality, bestiality-involving married people
God created sex/He created its boundary- marriage.
Sex is a passion you could call a fire, but God has said that this fire is to burn in this particular fireplace. Any fire that leaves its boundaries will create a serious disaster that will burn at our very soul. Unknown
God’s standard is NO SEX outside of marriage.
Heb 13:4 Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
Adultery is more than the physical act of intercourse.
The sin does not start with the act, but w/heart.
In order to fix the act you must fix the heart.
Jesus not only condemns the act- He condemns the heart that prepares itself for- possibility of the act.
This condemns pornography, voyeurism, etc.
(Voyeurism-seeking sexual stimulation- visual means)
Many today would say that adultery, or fornication, is legitimate if there is love.
Jesus ups the ante and clearly labels lust as adultery.
God’s Answer to Immorality
What do we do about it … Mtt 5:29-30.
What is the essence of what Jesus is saying …
We are to deal drastically with sin. We must not pamper it, flirt with it … We are to hate it, crush it, dig it out. DA Carson
Sin today is thought of as an aberration or illness.
It is treated- not condemned and repented of.
In Jesus teaching, sin leads to hell.
V29 There is a relationship between the eyes/the heart
As you control your eyes you will better be able to control your heart.
Job 31:1 "I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin? NASU
Immoral deeds are preceded by fantasies of the mind.
What he was advocating was not a literal physical self-maiming, but a ruthless moral self-denial. Not mutilation but mortification is the path of holiness he taught, and ‘mortification’ or ‘taking up the cross’ to follow Christ means to reject sinful practices so resolutely that we die to them or put them to death. John Stott
To pluck your eyes out is to NOT look.
V30 Hands represent things you do and feet represent places you go.
To cut them off- do NOT do it, do NOT go there.
It is better to forgo some experiences this life offers in order to enter the life which is life indeed; it is better to accept some cultural amputation in this world than risk final destruction in the next. John Stott
Eternity is more important than time.
Purity is more important than the demands of culture.
Sacrifice in this life is worthwhile if it ensures our entry into the next.
V5:31-32
Jesus faces fearlessly the question of sin and wrong and He wants us to face it fearlessly as well.
For the regenerated man/woman, our hearts/minds …
can be changed by- power/presence of God.
Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. NASU
We must develop healthy habit patterns in our lives, in obedience to God, that become second nature.
The reason we fail is not because of the devil, but because of inattention on our part arising from the fact that we have not disciplined ourselves. Oswald Chambers
The essence of Jesus teaching is not about divorce as much as it is a call to fidelity in marriage.
I understand how difficult it must be to live in an unhappy marriage.
However, God’s way, in most cases, is not divorce.
To understand more fully what Jesus is saying …
Mtt 19:3-9
In interpreting Deut 24:1-4, Jews had misconstrued the instructions of Moses and stretched it to say
that divorce was permissible for any cause.
When God made man- no allowance for divorce.
Mal 2:16 "For I hate divorce," says the Lord, the God of Israel, "and him who covers his garment with wrong," says the Lord of hosts. "So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously." NASU
Jesus- trying to clear up misunderstandings- take people back to- the God’s heart from the beginning
The only exception God allows for divorce is sexual marital unfaithfulness.
Even in this, He does not command divorce, but permits it by way of concession.
(There may be other reasons to separate from a spouse for a time- physical abuse, etc.)
In God’s eyes, marriage is a serious commitment.
Marriage issues are worked out because of a deep commitment to obedience to God.
Conclusion
What are we willing to cut off for the sake of our spiritual life with God?
We may be called, not just to give up wrong things, but good things as well, why …
to see God’s Kingdom established in our hearts.
We have to decide, quite simply, whether to live for this world or the next, whether to follow the crowd or Jesus Christ. John Stott
Additional Information
"In marriage, I have learned there are those who admit they have been through times when they wondered if their marriage would make it, and then there are liars. Relationships are hard, and the closer they are, the harder they can be. I tell everyone that I give premarital counseling to that the Lord has ordained their marriage in order to kill both of them! That is true. It is also worth it! The greatest gift He gave to man was marriage and family. However, to have a marriage that is good, both will have to die to themselves. If either one does not make the commitment to lay down their life for their mate and their family, then what was meant to be heaven can be hell." Rick Joyner
(Former Pastor in Seattle, WA- submitted by Todd Coget)
I am standing for the healing of my marriage!
I won’t …
give up,
give in,
give out, or
give over
till that healing takes place.
I made a vow;
I said the words;
I gave the pledge;
I gave a ring;
I took a ring;
I gave myself;
I trusted God; and said the words and meant the words …
in sickness and in health,
in sorrow and in joy,
for better or for worse,
for richer or for poorer,
in good times and in bad;
so I’m standing now, and
won’t sit down,
let down,
slow down,
calm down,
fall down,
look down, or
be down till the breakdown is torn down!
I refuse to put my eyes on outward circumstances;
or listen to prophets of doom, or buy into what’s
trendy,
worldly,
popular,
convenient,
easy,
quick,
thrifty, or
advantageous.
Nor will I settle for a cheap imitation of God’s real thing.
Nor will I seek to
lower God’s standard,
twist God’s will,
rewrite God’s Word,
violate God’s covenant, or
accept what god hates, namely divorce.
In a world of filth, I will stay pure.
Surrounded by lies, I will speak the truth.
Where hopelessness abounds, I will hope in God.
Where revenge is easier, I will bless instead of curse, and when the odds are stacked against me,
I will trust in God’s faithfulness.
I’m a stander, and I won’t
acquiesce,
compromise,
quarrel, or
quit.
I have made the choice,
set my face,
entered the race,
believed the Word, and
trusted God for all the outcome.
I will allow neither
the reaction of my spouse,
nor the urging of my friends,
nor the advice of my loved ones,
nor the economic hardship,
nor the prompting of the devil to make me
let up,
slow up,
blow up, or
give up
till my marriage is healed.
