JESUS CONFRONTS ADULTERY
Matthew 5:27-32
INTRODUCTION
** We introduced this sermon with a 4 minute drama of the woman caught in adultery **
A. WHO IS AN ADULTERER?
1. Those Who Practice Wicked Deeds.
Mt 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’;
Jesus chose murder and adultery to speak of in this Sermon.
Both sins were punishable by death in Jewish society.
Why? Because when you get married, 2 die and become 1 new person.
When adultery is committed and the marriage is broken, that 1 person dies and separates.
* Other reasons. It destroys the lives of innocent people. The spouse, the children, etal.
Divorce and single-parenthood are the leading causes of poverty for children.
* What is adultery?
(1) (Specifically) Sexual activity involving a married person and someone other than spouse. Both participants in this act are adulterers.
(2) (Generally) It refers to having sex with anyone other than your spouse. These include any sexual act prior to marriage, prostitution, etc.
(3) Living Together- Today, 48% of couples lived together before marriage or are still living together. 75% of women lived with a sex partner without being married at some time in the past.
* Living together is iniquity and God hates iniquity. If you are under conviction right now about this then remedy this by getting married very soon. If you have been doing this for years without overwhelming remorse, then you not only need to get married, you might just need to get saved.
2. Those Who Harbor Wrong Desires.
Mt 5:28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Jesus spoke of murder and adultery to illustrate the principle of sin in the NT Age.
Why? Because most people would never commit those, but they all were still guilty of breaking those 2 commands “in their hearts”.
* He revealed that every person is guilty in the heart.
3. Those Who Participate in Wayward Divorce.
Mt 5:31-32 “It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; 32 but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Today we have “disposable marriages”. In God’s Kingdom, there is no such thing as a “no fault divorce”. Irreconcilable differences are not grounds for a divorce.
Mal 2:6 “I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel.
The Bible provides only 2 grounds for a divorce for Christians.
(1) Sexual Immorality. If your spouse physically commits adultery, you have the legal right to divorce them. It doesn’t necessarily mean you should, but you do have the right. Can remarry w/out adultery
(2) Abandonment. 1 Cor 7:14-15 reveals that the person abandoned by their spouse is free from guilt and not in adultery when remarrying.
B. HOW TO LIVE SEXUALLY PURE.
Mt 5:29-30 29 If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.
In the Greatest sermon ever preached, Jesus condemns adultery.
These are severe statements that He makes about the danger of sexual immorality– that you are sent to Hell for your sins.
* Note- many think that God will be soft on their sin. Many think they can justify to God why it’s OK for them to live in sexual immorality. Jesus, though, makes no allowances for any kind of excuses.
Ez 18:4 The soul who sins will surely die.
Many point to the adulterous woman and say “Look, Jesus did not condemn her but let her go free.” Look again at that passage, though.
(1) When her accusers stated she deserved to die, Jesus never argued that fact because what they said was true! Jesus merely exposed the hypocrisy of the accusers that were just as guilty as she was. She may have deserved to die, but they weren’t clean enough to judge her.
(2) Jesus told her to “go and sin no more”. He demanded that she live morally once she repented.
Don’t ask Jesus to endorse your sin. When He forgives, you are commanded to leave sin behind!
So what does Jesus mean in vs 29-30?
He is using hyperbole– a figure of speech that exaggerates a statement to make an emphasis.
* He is not saying that you should mutilate your own body. He is saying that you should examine the sources of your temptation and remove or avoid them.
** A friend of mine told me about what happened to his daughter and granddaughter one day. The Mom + 8 yr old daughter were pulled over for speeding. As the officer is speaking to her, the daughter is watching the officer. The little girl asked the cop “Why do you keep staring down my mother’s shirt?” Officer turned red and said “have a nice day Ma’am” and sent her on her way. (No ticket). I suppose he was too ashamed to write her a ticket after getting caught committing adultery with his eyes, mind, and heart.
** I have a counseling window at my pharmacy. There is a chair for them to sit in, but there is not one for me to sit in. When women are sitting down in front of me, though, I stoop down so I am looking them in the eye instead of down their shirt. Why? I don’t want to be tempted to sin against God, the patient, and my wife.
** other ways to avoid lust/adultery
- Don’t be alone with a member of the opposite sex. A friend once told me that I could absolutely trust him to be alone with my wife. I told him that he could absolutely trust me because I'd never be alone with his wife!
- Be careful about showing affection- hugging from the front, kissing, etc.
- don’t be flirty
-avoid “the touch that lingers”.
- avoid thinking or fantasizing about someone other than your spouse.
* Another reason Jesus preached about adultery and used hyperbole in the Sermon on the Mount was to confront us with our sins.
* It reveals that we cannot meet God’s standards and that we are totally depraved, and dirty, and we are sinners that are unfit for heaven.
* It reveals that we need a Savior because we have no hope, apart from Christ, of being saved.
So, if we are without hope of meeting God’s standard what must we do?
C. HOW TO RECOVER FROM SEXUAL IMMORALITY.
The answer is found in the passage about the woman caught in adultery. We find forgiveness and restoration at the feet of Jesus. The Savior looked into the heart of the woman and saw a repentant heart.
John 8:10-11 10 Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”
Jesus heard the cries of repentance from the heart of the woman and forgave her of her sins.
He saved her and removed the condemnation of her sins from her.
And He wants to do the same for you.
The Good news is Rom 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
But, what is true for this woman is true for you also. If you want to be forgiven, restored, and saved.... then you must heed the command of Jesus to her to “Go and sin no more.”
We are coming to the time of invitation and the decision is up to you.
The Sermon on the Mount ought to drive you to the Cross of Christ where you cry out form mercy.
And today, one of 2 things will happen if you are guilty of adultery or any other sin problem.
You will either come to Christ and repent of your sins and let Him forgive you and cleanse you of your sins... or..
You will walk out of this place angry at me, angry at God, and angry at the church. The whole way home you will try to justify your sins while vowing never to come back to this church because this preacher was judging you........ but remember also the words of Jesus as you leave...... because, unless you repent, He is the One Who will judge you
