Sermon on the Mount - Cut It Out!!

Matthew 5: ²⁷ “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, 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 hand—even your stronger 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 be thrown into hell.

There used to be a time when words meant action, and in those words in the marriage ceremony are words like: till death do us part, or I will be true, the two will become one. There are a lot of temptations out in the world, and if you watch any movie at all, Hallmark included, the thought of adultery can almost be romanticized. IT IS NOT!! Adultery is a sin like any other sin, with the exception of what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Paul said strongly to "flee from committing this sin" because it is a sin that involves the physical, and not just a sin in the mind. Jesus agrees with this "fleeing" so much that He says if we look upon a woman with lust that is committed in the heart, and where it goes from there is sadly enough, ACTION.

Adultery is CHEATING at the heart level, and that is why there are warnings throughout the Bible when speaking to this weakening of our moral fiber, to the point of collapse. Paul spoke to us about getting emotionally tied to the opposite sex when married. 1 Corinthians 10:13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. When the moral fiber of the world becomes the norm, we Christians must pull away from the world's reasoning and take our own narrow path. I don't even think it is proper for me to hug a female straight on anymore, but a side hug seems to be the escape. When meeting with a person of the opposite sex, never do it alone, and make sure there are no emotional ties at all. There are many more "safe" ways of having your own convictions about the opposite sex, so God is making a way if we will seek it. Just cut it out, because it is not right and it is not worth it.

When I was at a church in California, I had a young lady come into my office, weeping about some emotional problem she was going through, so I went to the secretary and invited her to sit in on the counseling. I never counsel a woman with a closed door and always make sure there is no chance for a problem. The warnings are real, and the opportunity for physical attraction is real, so stay alert!! God's plan for marriage is till death do you part, and lessening that commitment by weakness is no excuse. You may say, "Can I not have close friends who are of the opposite sex?" To which I say, "Are you making an excuse to see if you can fight the fire of attraction? Stay clear and deepen your attraction to God's Word, and that attraction will develop the tools to live the life you are called to live.

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren