Matthew 5:27-30

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Matthew 5:27-30
In the command against murder, Jesus made it clear that He would not wait for a man to commit the act before He would bring him into judgment. The same is now true with adultery. Lest we take this sin lightly, please be reminded that both murder and adultery required the death penalty under the Law of Moses. This is the way God sees these sins. Most today would say that requiring the death penalty for adultery is barbaric. But in the mind of God, it is just. Adultery is one of the most destructive sins known to man. Few sins are more hurtful or have more wide-range consequences. The family is the foundation of a healthy society and adultery is the enemy of the family.How can adultery be avoided? The Pharisee was only concerned with the actual act. But the Lord knows that the real problem begins in the mind. Adultery cannot be committed without the thought and the desire. Jesus does not wait for the act to be committed, He will indict us the moment we want to commit the sin. Psychologists often downplay the sin by saying that sexual fantasies are a normal part of the human mind. Such desires may be a normal part of a carnal mind that has been trained by a sex-crazed society, but that does not make them spiritually healthy or right before God. It certainly is not uncommon for thoughts to fly through our minds, but that does not mean we should nurture them and give them free reign. As has been often said, “A bird may fly over your head, but you do not have to let it make a nest in your hair.”

Jesus knew that the command against lust would not be easy; therefore He recommended radical measures in order to defeat it. The “eye” or the “hand,” representing things in life that have the potential to cause us to stumble, must be cut from us if we hope to make it to heaven. These are things that will be very near and dear to our hearts - could it be a television set, a trip to the movies, a friend? - but if it is something that draws us away from God by a lust for this world, it must be cut off. Better to go to heaven without it than to hell with it.
Berry Kercheville