Quick Sermons for Permanent Fixes Lesson 5
Fix Your Purity Matthew 5:27-37
Return to series this week. Examine Jesus’s words on adultery, divorce, and keeping your promises. There is a lot of power in these words and Jesus says there is a lot of power in our words. “I do” is a big thing to say. Marriage was designed to be a life sentence. It’s up to you whether it is in paradise or prison, but it’s designed for life.
Matthew 5:27-37
27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ’You shall not commit adultery.’ 28But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
31 “Furthermore it has been said, ’Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 “But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ’You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ 34 “But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37But let your ’Yes’ be ’Yes,’ and your ’No,’ ’No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”
I. The power of a look – 5:27-28
A. Men, don’t take that 2nd look. You’re headed in the wrong direction the minute you think about a woman sexually.
B. The success of the pornography industry is all about the power of a lustful look.
Spurgeon - “You cannot help birds flying over your heads in the air, but do not let them alight and build nests in your hair.
C. Is this us? Does this happen to us on the street, at the magazine rack, in the movie theater or even at home watching TV?
D. Ladies – this verse is important for you, too. Let me be blunt. I am a man and the way some of you dress is obviously designed to get men to look at you.
E. I know that summer is coming and that is typically the time that skirts and shorts get shorter and necklines get deeper. When you get dressed, stop and remember that you are a Christian.
F. Realize that if he thinks those thoughts about you it is a SIN – it’s not revealing a little flesh to be flirtatious – it’s temptation to break God’s laws and think about something immoral.
G. Men are still guilty for their thoughts, but don’t give them any reason to sin because you wanted to show a little skin.
H. Jesus wouldn’t have warned us against this if he didn’t know it was a real temptation. The way some of you talk, you don’t treat this as a real temptation.
I. Would we say it was okay for a Christian to run a bar? NO! He would be helping people ruin their lives through alcoholism.
J. Would you walk around with a large bulls eye on your chest in a war zone? NO! You would take that seriously, but you don’t take this seriously.
K. Guys, control your thoughts. There is no REASON for thinking immoral thoughts about a woman. Even if she is scantily clad, it is still only an excuse.
L. Be like Job, Job 31:1 "I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.”
M. Ladies, these guys are generally your friends, maybe even your Christian friends. Help them out in a battle for their souls.
N. This may go farther than just dress, though. Don’t leave your Victoria’s Secret catalog laying out. Better yet, cancel your subscription. 1) she has no secrets left to hide and 2) that stuff is little more than soft pornography. You may not be tempted by it, but think about your brothers in Christ.
II. How Serious is this?
A. You may think I am going overboard about this whole battle for your thoughts.
B. The guys who struggle with this don’t think so. They know what that war is like.
C. Jesus didn’t think this was overboard either. He says this is serious and it is difficult. It requires drastic measures.
29If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
D. If you are having trouble with your thoughts, do whatever it takes to get away from the situation. Take the Joseph approach.
E. Paul told the Corinthians to FLEE sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18). That doesn’t mean try to get away or see if you can avoid it. It doesn’t mean to try to do better next time. It means run for your life! Your soul could be on the line. Your marriage and your purity are certainly on the line. Run like the devil himself was after you – because he is.
F. This is why I take this seriously. I don’t know that Jesus uses stronger language anywhere about how to deal with a sin then he does about how to deal with immoral thoughts here.
G. Take drastic measures. Quit a job. Move to another town. Sever a friendship. Drop your membership. Nothing you can think of is worth the risk of your marriage and your eternity.
III. The Power of a Single Sin
A. Sorry, that got a little long there, but it needed to be said.
31 “Furthermore it has been said, ’Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 “But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
B. When Heather and I first started dating, we didn’t discuss how many kids we wanted to have on our first night out. Over supper that night, we never once discussed the colors we would have in our wedding ceremony. We didn’t talk about parenting styles or even our own ideas about men and women and the roles they play in marriage. Some things come in time. Some conversations can only take place when both sides know each other and there is a relationship to build on. We will cover some big issues today and I don’t intend to hide from anything that Jesus says, but I also know that you and I don’t know each other very well, yet. There may be some conversations that we are not ready to have just yet.
C. Let me just say a few quick things here about divorce and perhaps we will come back to this topic another time.
1. Adultery destroys a marriage.
2. Only three people have a Biblical right to marry: 1) those who have never been married 2) those whose spouse has died & 3) those with a scriptural divorce.
3. That also means that anyone with an unscriptural divorce does not have the right to remarry.
D. I know that there are many questions and much pain and personal history wrapped up in this issue. It wasn’t too long ago that the church could sweep divorce under the rug because it just didn’t happen much. But that time is history. I’ll wager that there isn’t a person in this room who hasn’t somehow been touched by divorce. Either you’ve been divorced, someone in your family has been , or a close friend.
E. I think, though, that if we only look at divorce in this passage, we miss the focus. Adultery is the focus. Jesus is upholding the value and importance of marriage. Don’t break that bond.
F. He is also teaching the severity of adultery.
Prov 6:32 “Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; He who does so destroys his own soul.”
G. Take marriage seriously! It’s not right that the church mirrors the world in its marital habits! Fix your marriages!
IV. The Power of a Promise
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ’You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ 34 “But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37But let your ’Yes’ be ’Yes,’ and your ’No,’ ’No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”
A. If you say it, mean it!
B. Whether it is “I do” or “I’ll be praying for you” You’d better mean what you say!
C. Be known as someone who doesn’t need an oath to make people believe you’re telling the truth.
D. From the White House to the average American house, truth is no longer valued.
E. We could fix all our divorce problems if people would just keep their promises.
F. We have gone from “My word is my bond” to “I need a bond before I’ll accept your word.”
G. When you say yes, mean it! When you say NO, mean it! Nothing is stronger than the truth!
Prov 23:23 “Buy the truth, and do not sell it”
John 8:32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
V. Invitation
A. God’s promises are trustworthy. They go even farther than death do you part. He will be faithful
B. Will we?
C. Our thoughts and our hearts must be his. Our faith to Him must be lived out in our homes and in our commitments to other people, especially our spouse.
Paul told the Corinthians that we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ (2 Cor 10:5) The devil promises you all the kingdoms of the world if you will just bow down and worship at his altar of impure desires. But you can’t have it all. God says your sins will find you out and you will have to pay the price and God is truth. You and you alone decide how pure you will be. You see, regardless of whether or not you have a husband or wife, if you’re a Christian, you’re married to God. And you can be unfaithful to Him, too. You can cheat on God. Maybe you know you’ve wandered far from God. Maybe you’ve never made that commitment. There is only one person who can make that commitment and only one who can keep it. You. God has declared that He will be faithful. What will you do?
