Sermon on Mount
Dealing Ruthlessly with sin
Matthew 5:27 "You have heard that it was said, ’Do not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, 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. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, 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.
A man went to church, and afterwards was asked by a friend what the minister spoke on. “He preached on sin.” The friend asked what the preacher had to say about sin, and was told, “He’s against it.” The American church does not deal with sin seriously or ruthlessly. This is evident from the moral condition of many of its leaders and from the response of the congregation when a leader falls. I think this points to the fact that we are more influenced by our culture than by the Bible. Our culture feeds on lust – sex, materialism, food, entertainment, etc
• Over 75% of all internet users on line after 10 o’clock are viewing pornography. (The largest group viewing are boys between the age of 13 and 18)
• ½ of all marries people will commit adultery during their life time. (Men are usually higher, but not much)
• The level of adultery within the church is half what the national average. The level of adultery among ministers is 1/5 of the national average.
• 1 in 4 Christians has committed adultery. 1 in 10 pastors have committed adultery.
1. My Obedience is a matter of my heart
Jesus says, you have heard it was said, ‘do not commit adultery’ but I tell you that anyone who lusts after a woman has already committed adultery in his heart. Jesus is overthrowing the traditions of the Pharisees. The Pharisees had relegated obedience to external adherence so that as long as they followed the law or the traditions they were ok. But Jesus is telling us that the issue of obedience is much deeper than mere conforming to the law or a set of rules. Obedience goes much deeper than that. Our culture and unfortunately the church all too often deals with moral issues by getting people to conform to the law. The motivation for obeying the law is prison. Jesus is not satisfied with adherence to the law or traditions. This is why Jesus says that ‘unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven’ (Mat 5:20). It is also why he says "’These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men’" (Mat 15:8).
• Obedience is not mere adherence to the Law
NIV Matthew 23:25 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. 27 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
Sin is much deeper than this and Jesus deals with sin.
• My Heart is corrupted by sin
If you have looked lustfully at a woman you have already committed adultery in your heart.
James 1:13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
NIV Matthew 15:18- 19 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ’unclean.’ 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
The issue is the heart.
We need to have our hearts so radically changed so that we want to do the right thing. What Paul calls the obedience of faith in Rom 1:5. This is why Jesus can say "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light"(Matt 22:28).
Let me share with you some facts about sin:
Power or depth of sin. Sin is more than acts of disobedience. The act of sin arises out of a heart that is sinful. Our hearts are polluted, contaminated and all sin arises from a corrupt heart. The issue is more than sinful acts; it is Sin. Sin is more than what we do or not do but sin is a power and influence in the heart. God tells Cain that Gen 4:7 If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." It has a life of its own that seeks to rule you like a master. Addicts know what it is like to be mastered by their drug of choice, whether it be alcohol, narcotic, pornography, or work.
Subtelty of sin – Sin is subtle. It seeks to come up from behind and hook you before you know what has hit you. I tie flys and flys are designed to imitate something real to the fish (some examples). The fly is not the only important aspect to fly fishing, presentation is equally important. You need to be able to present the fly in such a way that the fish thinks it is real. The fish strikes at the fly thinking it is the real thing until the hook rips into its flesh. But then it is too late. Some of you are striking at the imitation and getting caught by sin and Satan. You think you can play with it and get a way with it. A quick look, just a little kissing. Sin is like diesel fuel that you put on wood. One match with no effort and you have roaring fire.
Sin is only a symptom– The act of sin is only the symptom of sin in your heart. Sin as a personality, as an enemy that mascarades itself as a friend.
2. I must deal with ruthlessly with all known sin
Jesus is serious and he is violent. He does not mean to literally tear out your eye or remove your hand because sin is not in the eye or in the hand. It is in the heart (v. 27). But what he is saying is to be ruthless and radical. Get rid of everything and anything that leads you down the path of sin. Be Radical and be ruthless. Do not play with sin. Cut off the source of it - if it is TV, get rid of it; if it is the internet, cut it off; if it is magazines, stop the subscription; if it is the newspaper, cancel the subscription; if it is the supermarket stop going. Cut off the source. Whatever is the source of temptation, door, get rid of it. Lets not be radical, need to be balanced. How bad do you want to get rid of sin in your life? Or how much do you love Christ and hate sin?
Ed Welch, in preparation for his book called A Banquet in the Grave (Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing, 2001), said: . . . there is a mean streak to authentic self-control. . . Self-control is not for the timid. When we want to grow in it, not only do we nurture an exuberance for Jesus Christ, we also demand of ourselves a hatred for sin. . . . The only possible attitude toward out-of-control desire is a declaration of all-out war. . . . There is something about war that sharpens the senses . . . You hear a twig snap or the rustling of leaves and you are in attack mode. Someone coughs and you are ready to pull the trigger. Even after days of little of no sleep, war keeps us vigilant.
We must wage war against sin. You must suffocate the sin. You cut off the life-line, the blood flow. Sinful deeds have a life line that must be cut. We must cut off the hands and gouge out the eyes, not literally – that would do no good – but with that kind of violent heart-work. You kill the bad fruit by severing the bad root.
How to kill sin:
Let’s get at answer by following three steps, each with a different text.
Step One: Set Your Mind on the Things of the Spirit
In Romans 8:5-6 Paul speaks there of the flesh and the Spirit: NIV Romans 8:5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.
You don’t just look at the temptation and say NO. You do that! But if you are going to put it to death by the Spirit, you have to do more: you direct your mind, your heart, your spiritual focus another way, namely to the "things of the Spirit."
Step Two: Set Your Mind on the Words of God
What are "the things of the Spirit"? If we are going to rivet our minds and hearts on them in the hour of temptation so as to kill sin, what are we looking at? Here the key text is NIV 1 Corinthians 2:13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
So here "the things of the Spirit" are the words of God spoken by the apostles. From this I infer that when Romans 8:6 says that "those who are according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit" he means that they set their minds on the words of God. These are the "things of the Spirit" that the natural person rejects and the spiritual person embraces. So to put to death the deeds of the body "by the Spirit" is to "set your mind on the things of the Spirit," which we now see means embracing the words of God.
This is especially significant because the "word of God" is called "the sword of the Spirit" in Ephesians 6:17. And swords are used in combat or war for killing. And that is what we are to do "by the Spirit" in Romans 8:13. You kill the deeds of the body by the Spirit by fixing your mind on "the things of the Spirit," that is, by welcoming and embracing the "word of God" in your mind and heart by taking the Sword of the Spirit which is the deadly sword for sin-killing. That is why you need to memorize scripture. Unless you have it in your heart you have no sword.
Step Three: Hear and receive with Faith
Very practically what do you do to bring the power of the Spirit by the word of God into ruthless and radical sin-killing action? The answer is clear in Galatians 3:5, "So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?" The answer is that the Spirit is supplied to us for the miraculously mighty killing of sin not by works of the law but by "hearing with faith."
Why does he say "by hearing with faith" instead of just "by faith"? To emphasize that what faith hears and receives and embraces is something heard, namely, "the word of God," which is the sword of the Spirit, which kills sin. We are not left helpless this morning. What I are saying is that when temptation comes, alongside a very powerful and resolute NO!, you look to a word from God, especially a word that promises he will be more for us and do more for us than what this sin promises. And if you believe him – there is the main battle – you will sever the root of sin. ie me and turning the corner.
So immerse your mind and heart in the fountain of truth and life and power – the promises of God, and when the temptation comes, take this all-satisfying word, this sword of the Spirit, and believe it, and by it sever the root of sin. Kill it.
Goal is a purified and unified Heart.
Quotes:
A man went to church, and afterwards was asked by a friend what the minister spoke on. “He preached on sin.” The friend asked what the preacher had to say about sin, and was told, “He’s against it.”
______
Over 75% of all internet users on line after 10 o’clock are viewing pornography. (The largest group viewing are boys between the age of 13 and 18)
½ of all marries people will commit adultery during their life time. (Men are usually higher, but not much)
The level of adultery within the church is half what the national average is. The level of adulter among ministers is 1/5 of the national average.
1 in 4 Christians has committed adultery. 1 in 10 pastors have committed adultery.
Ed Welch, in preparation for his book called A Banquet in the Grave (Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing, 2001), said: . . . there is a mean streak to authentic self-control. . . Self-control is not for the timid. When we want to grow in it, not only do we nurture an exuberance for Jesus Christ, we also demand of ourselves a hatred for sin. . . . The only possible attitude toward out-of-control desire is a declaration of all-out war. . . . There is something about war that sharpens the senses . . . You hear a twig snap or the rustling of leaves and you are in attack mode. Someone coughs and you are ready to pull the trigger. Even after days of little of no sleep, war keeps us vigilant.
