The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is conducting an exhaustive study of Jesus Sermon on the Mount, Matthew Chapters 5, 6, and 7. These are the Leader's notes to the study. The notes include the full text of the important scriptures of the study. Join us here and study along with us. The Sermon on the Mount is the Manifesto of the Kingdom of Heaven. In Session 5 Jesus tells the multitude, the citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, that their approach to the Law must be better than the Scribes and Pharisees. They must obey not only the letter but the spirit of the Law.
Last week week we discussed Jesus’ relationship to the Law. What we learned was that Jesus didn't come to change or abolish it. He said
Matthew 5:17-18 ESV. "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Matthew 5:19 ESV Then He said in fact if anyone “... relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
But you have to do a better job than the religious folk.
The law was to govern men's attitudes as well as their actions. When one obeys the letter of the law but not the spirit, one is obeying the literal interpretation of the words (the "letter") of the law, but not necessarily the intent of those who wrote the law.
Matthew 5:20 ESV For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
The true intention of the law was that we exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.
The scribes and Pharisees were the most "religious" people in the country. The scribes read and interpreted the law of God for the people. After the Babylonian captivity, the common people could no longer read the Hebrew language, and they depended on the scribes for the interpretation of the law.
The Pharisees were a religious sect who spent their lives endeavoring to live by every detail of the law. They were serious students of the Old Testament, but they studied to earn eternal life through hard work. Jesus was the living Word of God, yet they had little time for Him. They looked for God in Scripture, but didn’t recognize Jesus for who He was.They put the emphasis on the outward observances of the law.
God is more concerned with the proper attitudes that lead to the right actions. The Pharisees set certain standards of righteousness and sought to motivate others to conform to their standards.
Jesus is the true standard of righteousness, and that righteousness is imputed or attributed to us through faith in Him.
Romans 3:21-26 ESV But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
2 Corinthians 5:20-21 ESV Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Money paid to workers isn't a gift. It is something they earn by working. But you cannot make God accept you because of something you do. God accepts sinners only because they have faith in him. In the Scriptures David talks about the blessings that come to people who are acceptable to God, even though they don't do anything to deserve these blessings.
Romans 4:4-8 ESV Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin."
The Law of Moses cannot do this, because our selfish desires make the Law weak.
Romans 8:3-8 ESV For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
What did Jesus say when He was asked what was the greatest commandment, which by the way, was a huge part of the Law?
Matthew 22:36-40 ESV "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."
This righteousness of the Law is manifested by the fruit of love in our lives.
Galatians 5:22-23 ESV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Jesus wasn't in conflict with the law, but He disagreed with what the people were being taught about the law.
The scribes and Pharisees were disobeying the true intent of the law. They they were resting in a false righteousness.
Romans 3:19-20 ESV Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
The Law makes man aware of the defects of his nature, character, or being. By virtue of what he is, man acts as he does. The Law makes man aware that he is not what he ought to be. To bring men to this recognition is a great task. Since Paul assigns to the Law such a task, he surely does not minimize law.
Romans 9:30-33 (NLT2)30 What does all this mean? Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s standards, they were made right with God. And it was by faith that this took place.31 But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded.32 Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law instead of by trusting in him. They stumbled over the great rock in their path.33 God warned them of this in the Scriptures when he said, “I am placing a stone in Jerusalem that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. But anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”
Galatians 3:24 (NLT2)24 Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.
Hebrews 7:19 (NLT2)19 For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
According to Christ, certain principles need to be followed when interpreting the law.
(1) The spirit of the law is what matters most.
(2) The thoughts and actions that lead to the obedience of the law are what should be judged.
(3) The true intent of the law is to bring us into a positive relationship with God and our fellow man.
Last week week we discussed Jesus’ relationship to the Law. What we learned was that Jesus didn't come to change or abolish it. He said
Matthew 5:17-18 ESV. "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Matthew 5:19 ESV Then He said in fact if anyone “... relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
But you have to do a better job than the religious folk.
The law was to govern men's attitudes as well as their actions. When one obeys the letter of the law but not the spirit, one is obeying the literal interpretation of the words (the "letter") of the law, but not necessarily the intent of those who wrote the law.
Matthew 5:20 ESV For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
The true intention of the law was that we exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.
The scribes and Pharisees were the most "religious" people in the country. The scribes read and interpreted the law of God for the people. After the Babylonian captivity, the common people could no longer read the Hebrew language, and they depended on the scribes for the interpretation of the law.
The Pharisees were a religious sect who spent their lives endeavoring to live by every detail of the law. They were serious students of the Old Testament, but they studied to earn eternal life through hard work. Jesus was the living Word of God, yet they had little time for Him. They looked for God in Scripture, but didn’t recognize Jesus for who He was.They put the emphasis on the outward observances of the law.
God is more concerned with the proper attitudes that lead to the right actions. The Pharisees set certain standards of righteousness and sought to motivate others to conform to their standards.
Jesus is the true standard of righteousness, and that righteousness is imputed or attributed to us through faith in Him.
Romans 3:21-26 ESV But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
2 Corinthians 5:20-21 ESV Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Money paid to workers isn't a gift. It is something they earn by working. But you cannot make God accept you because of something you do. God accepts sinners only because they have faith in him. In the Scriptures David talks about the blessings that come to people who are acceptable to God, even though they don't do anything to deserve these blessings.
Romans 4:4-8 ESV Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin."
The Law of Moses cannot do this, because our selfish desires make the Law weak.
Romans 8:3-8 ESV For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
What did Jesus say when He was asked what was the greatest commandment, which by the way, was a huge part of the Law?
Matthew 22:36-40 ESV "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."
This righteousness of the Law is manifested by the fruit of love in our lives.
Galatians 5:22-23 ESV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Jesus wasn't in conflict with the law, but He disagreed with what the people were being taught about the law.
The scribes and Pharisees were disobeying the true intent of the law. They they were resting in a false righteousness.
Romans 3:19-20 ESV Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
The Law makes man aware of the defects of his nature, character, or being. By virtue of what he is, man acts as he does. The Law makes man aware that he is not what he ought to be. To bring men to this recognition is a great task. Since Paul assigns to the Law such a task, he surely does not minimize law.
Romans 9:30-33 (NLT2)30 What does all this mean? Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s standards, they were made right with God. And it was by faith that this took place.31 But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded.32 Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law instead of by trusting in him. They stumbled over the great rock in their path.33 God warned them of this in the Scriptures when he said, “I am placing a stone in Jerusalem that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. But anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”
Galatians 3:24 (NLT2)24 Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.
Hebrews 7:19 (NLT2)19 For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
According to Christ, certain principles need to be followed when interpreting the law.
(1) The spirit of the law is what matters most.
(2) The thoughts and actions that lead to the obedience of the law are what should be judged.
(3) The true intent of the law is to bring us into a positive relationship with God and our fellow man.
The Law And Us
Again, What Jesus says in Matthew 5:21-48 are not “rules” that his followers should keep religiously and legalistically; rather, they are illustrations and examples from real life situations of the kind of people that his followers are to be.
With this as background the rest of chapter 5 has to be looked at in the light of 5:20
Matthew 5:20 ESV For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
The Law says Thou Shall Not Kill (Anger)
Matthew 5:21 ESV "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.'
Exodus 20:13 ESV "You shall not murder.
That was certainly true and deserved judgement.
Matthew 5:22 ESV But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.
The Lord goes back to the attitude of anger which perpetrated the action. Christ locates the root of murder in the heart of the angry man, and promises that in His kingdom swift judgment will be dealt out before murder can result.
Matthew 5:23-24 ESV So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
In this case it's us asking for forgiveness. A couple of weeks ago we talked about giving forgiveness now we need to clean the slate from our prospective.
Because bitterness can stand in the way of fellowshipping with God.
Proverbs 15:1 ESV A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Romans 12:18-21 ESV If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Jesus’ point is that murder is the fruit whose root is anger; murder is the symptom whose disease is anger. And so, the most effective way of dealing with this greatest of evil is not simply by addressing it directly, but by addressing it deeply – not just dealing with the hand that wields the weapon of murder, but dealing with the heart that breeds anger.
Matthew 5:25-26 ESV Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
Jesus moves from our human sense of worship into matters of everyday life with his radical call for reconciliation with our enemies. He wants us to reconcile quickly before we get into legal proceedings with them, otherwise matters can escalate out of control and damage us as well as our influence. Jesus emphasizes the urgency of making things right. Second, as God's human children, we have always found it easy to falsely segment our lives into sacred and secular compartments, to make worship a weekly event rather than an everyday lifestyle. To keep us from thinking that reconciliation is only a "church rule" and not a "life rule," Jesus reminds us that reconciliation involves all of life, not just the "religious part." Jesus is serious about forgiveness, mercy, and reconciliation as the way of God and the lifestyle of his children.
Again, What Jesus says in Matthew 5:21-48 are not “rules” that his followers should keep religiously and legalistically; rather, they are illustrations and examples from real life situations of the kind of people that his followers are to be.
With this as background the rest of chapter 5 has to be looked at in the light of 5:20
Matthew 5:20 ESV For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
The Law says Thou Shall Not Kill (Anger)
Matthew 5:21 ESV "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.'
Exodus 20:13 ESV "You shall not murder.
That was certainly true and deserved judgement.
Matthew 5:22 ESV But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.
The Lord goes back to the attitude of anger which perpetrated the action. Christ locates the root of murder in the heart of the angry man, and promises that in His kingdom swift judgment will be dealt out before murder can result.
Matthew 5:23-24 ESV So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
In this case it's us asking for forgiveness. A couple of weeks ago we talked about giving forgiveness now we need to clean the slate from our prospective.
Because bitterness can stand in the way of fellowshipping with God.
Proverbs 15:1 ESV A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Romans 12:18-21 ESV If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Jesus’ point is that murder is the fruit whose root is anger; murder is the symptom whose disease is anger. And so, the most effective way of dealing with this greatest of evil is not simply by addressing it directly, but by addressing it deeply – not just dealing with the hand that wields the weapon of murder, but dealing with the heart that breeds anger.
Matthew 5:25-26 ESV Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
Jesus moves from our human sense of worship into matters of everyday life with his radical call for reconciliation with our enemies. He wants us to reconcile quickly before we get into legal proceedings with them, otherwise matters can escalate out of control and damage us as well as our influence. Jesus emphasizes the urgency of making things right. Second, as God's human children, we have always found it easy to falsely segment our lives into sacred and secular compartments, to make worship a weekly event rather than an everyday lifestyle. To keep us from thinking that reconciliation is only a "church rule" and not a "life rule," Jesus reminds us that reconciliation involves all of life, not just the "religious part." Jesus is serious about forgiveness, mercy, and reconciliation as the way of God and the lifestyle of his children.
The Law Says Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery (Lust)
Matthew 5:27-28 ESV "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Exodus 20:14 ESV "You shall not commit adultery.
Leviticus 20:10 ESV "If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
This isn’t just for men by the way ladies.
God established marriage vows so that the family unit could be strong. The breakdown of the family unit would have grave consequences.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Galatians 5:19-23 ESV Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
If we're concentrating on not committing the physical act, then we're missing the point and thinking like the Pharisees thought.
Can anybody think of an example of how the Pharisees thought?
John 8:1-11 ESV but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more." ]]
According to the letter of the law she should have been put to death. So should the man too but he wasn't accused but that's another story. The point of Jesus statement in 5:28 that “...everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” is that the Lord is interested in what comes out of the heart.
Here's what He said to the Scribes and Pharisees one time.
Matthew 12:34 ESV You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
We have talked about the heart in our sermon series.
The heart is also the center of spiritual life. Proverbs tells us that we must guard our heart because it is the wellspring of both physical and spiritual life. Our heart determines our actions and reflects whether or not Christ is the center of our lives. That's why it's important that we ask God to continually renew our hearts, as well as our minds.
Proverbs 4:23 (NKJV) Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
We need to ask God to;
Psalm 51:10 (NKJV) Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Sin is born as we entertain sinful desires in our hearts.
James 1:13-15 ESV Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
So we need to constantly renew ourselves and how do we do that?
Romans 12:2 ESV Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
We do it by spending time in God’s word, meditating on it, listening to it, applying it.
Psalms 119:11 ESV I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Matthew 5:29-30 ESV If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
What do you think Jesus meant when He said this?
When we mess up we often try to blame somebody or something else other than ourselves. Most times we blame Satan. Like Flip Wilson use to say “the devil made me do it”. Well most times as we read earlier in James it is actually our own sinful desires.
It’ really our hearts that need to change. We have to stop doing those things that satisfy our flesh and not our spirits.
Galatians 5:16-21 ESV But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Romans 8:5-8 ESV For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
For Jesus, adultery is but a symptom of a greater disease of the lustful heart and the wandering eyes.
In dealing with temptation there are certain things we should remember.
(1) Do not think you can handle it yourself
James 4:6-7 ESV But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
(2) Resist the devil
2 Timothy 2:22 ESV So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
(3) Start reading the Word
Psalms 119:11 ESV I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
(4) Draw nigh unto God and He will draw nigh unto you
James 4:8 ESV Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Matthew 5:27-28 ESV "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Exodus 20:14 ESV "You shall not commit adultery.
Leviticus 20:10 ESV "If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
This isn’t just for men by the way ladies.
God established marriage vows so that the family unit could be strong. The breakdown of the family unit would have grave consequences.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Galatians 5:19-23 ESV Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
If we're concentrating on not committing the physical act, then we're missing the point and thinking like the Pharisees thought.
Can anybody think of an example of how the Pharisees thought?
John 8:1-11 ESV but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more." ]]
According to the letter of the law she should have been put to death. So should the man too but he wasn't accused but that's another story. The point of Jesus statement in 5:28 that “...everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” is that the Lord is interested in what comes out of the heart.
Here's what He said to the Scribes and Pharisees one time.
Matthew 12:34 ESV You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
We have talked about the heart in our sermon series.
The heart is also the center of spiritual life. Proverbs tells us that we must guard our heart because it is the wellspring of both physical and spiritual life. Our heart determines our actions and reflects whether or not Christ is the center of our lives. That's why it's important that we ask God to continually renew our hearts, as well as our minds.
Proverbs 4:23 (NKJV) Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
We need to ask God to;
Psalm 51:10 (NKJV) Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Sin is born as we entertain sinful desires in our hearts.
James 1:13-15 ESV Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
So we need to constantly renew ourselves and how do we do that?
Romans 12:2 ESV Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
We do it by spending time in God’s word, meditating on it, listening to it, applying it.
Psalms 119:11 ESV I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Matthew 5:29-30 ESV If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
What do you think Jesus meant when He said this?
When we mess up we often try to blame somebody or something else other than ourselves. Most times we blame Satan. Like Flip Wilson use to say “the devil made me do it”. Well most times as we read earlier in James it is actually our own sinful desires.
It’ really our hearts that need to change. We have to stop doing those things that satisfy our flesh and not our spirits.
Galatians 5:16-21 ESV But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Romans 8:5-8 ESV For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
For Jesus, adultery is but a symptom of a greater disease of the lustful heart and the wandering eyes.
In dealing with temptation there are certain things we should remember.
(1) Do not think you can handle it yourself
James 4:6-7 ESV But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
(2) Resist the devil
2 Timothy 2:22 ESV So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
(3) Start reading the Word
Psalms 119:11 ESV I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
(4) Draw nigh unto God and He will draw nigh unto you
James 4:8 ESV Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
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