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LOST RIVER CHURCH OF CHRIST | |||||||
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Sermon On The Mount XII: Adultery & Divorceby Lawrence Kelley
As Jesus continues to contrast what the law actually said, from what the teachers of the law were construing it to mean, he comes to the matters of adultery and divorce. Jesus deals with these as two separate items as closely related and we will consider them together in this lesson. Jesus' teaching on adultery in verses 27-30 is strait forward and cuts right to the heart. He tells us what falls under the heading of adultery, what to do about it and why it is reasonable to take such radical measures. Adultery is not limited to a physical act, but extends to a lustful look (v. 28). "As the prohibition of murder included the angry thought and the malicious word, so the prohibition of adultery included the lustful look and filthy imagination." Jesus says that adultery is committed with the mind as well as the body. He is not suggesting that natural attraction between the sexes is wrong. The admiration of beauty and lust are not the same. The principle is simple: If a sexual practice is unlawful to commit in deed it is unlawful to commit in thought. Visualization and fantasizing about anyone other than your husband or wife is wrong. This obviously speaks to men with wandering eyes who feel free to undress and check out every woman who walks by and especially those who give way to the temptation to view pornography. Though Jesus words are addressed primarily toward men, and rightly so, women need to guard themselves against the quasi sexual yearning cultivated in most romance novels, daytime soap operas and chick flicks. Extreme measures may be in order to overcome this powerful temptation (vv. 29a, 30a). These are radical measures, but when you consider what is at stake they are entirely sensible. But how are we to take these words of Jesus? A few Christians have taken him literally. In the 3rd century Origen of Alexandria, who was prone to extremes, castrated himself to overcome his lust. But Jesus' command to get rid of troublesome eyes and hands, are examples of dramatic figures of speech. He is not advocating literal self-maiming, but ruthless moral self-denial. Not mutilation, but mortification is the path of holiness he taught. Mortification means taking up the cross to follow Jesus and rejecting sinful practices so resolutely that we die to them or put them to death. If temptation comes to you through your eyes when you look at certain things - don't look; behave in regard to those things as if you had no eyes. I have made a covenant with my eyes that I will not look lustfully upon a maiden (Job 31:1). This may involve ending a dating relationship that has gotten out of control. It may mean terminating your internet service. Radical measures are reasonable in view of the alternative (vv. 29b, 30b). Sexual lust fascinates then it assassinates. Sexual sins have a power to completely dominate our lives. Most importantly, adultery leads us away from God and drags us down into hell. Mortifying our lust may seem horrible at the time, but we must realize that lust is not the whole of our lives, like an amputee must realize that life without a hand is better than no life at all. In this same way a life without the gratification of unlawful lust is better than eternity in hell. Divorce (vv. 31-32) The fact that Jesus deals with divorce immediately after lust tells us a great deal about the cause of many if not most divorces. Most discussions on divorce get tangled up far too quickly on the issue of what is "lawful." On this topic men love to "study arguments" so they can churn divorce cases through their "position" on the issue. But the Lord address the matter here more as a sexual issue than as a legal issue. As with all of the issues he takes up in this section of the sermon, Jesus demands that we look at our hearts. The Jews, both here and in Matt 19, were preoccupied with getting the legalities in order and making sure the right paperwork was filed. But Jesus is telling us that no amount of paperwork can ever justify a man's divorcing his wife in order to satisfy his lust for someone else. The scriptures are clear. You may not put your mate away for the stupid reasons men like to offer. And, those who decide to put their wives away should at least have the honesty to admit that, "We just aren't compatible" really means "The other day I met someone with longer legs." The reality is that in most so called "no fault" divorce cases there is either another someone already in the picture or else he is imagining what his opportunities in the open market might be if only he were to become a free agent. Whatever excuses we might want to offer up, we need to remember that God sees the heart. |
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