Last week my church memorized Matthew 5:27-28: "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
In this verse Jesus damns every imaginable idea of religious pride I have. These verses accuse, condemn, humble, destroy—they get to the root of everything wrong with me. I am a sinner. So maybe I haven't fornicated or committed adultery, caroused, bought a prostitute, raped a woman, or committed similar sins, but my heart has. Jesus puts me on the same level and judges me the same as those men who spend Friday nights in a Hennipen Ave. strip joint. I have the same sin problem as Tiger Woods and Mark Sanford and Ted Haggard. My heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick.
Purity pledges, purity rings, and abstinence campaigns can do real good, but I think they also can foster a dangerous culture of pride. I've been sinfully proud of my purity. I have heard virginity described as a precious gift one saves and brings to marriage. I've thought of it this way myself, but in light of these verses it seems slightly absurd.
I suppose it will be better if I wait to have sex until marriage, and I pray to God for the grace to wait. But even so, I will bring a dirty, adulterous heart to my marriage. And this leaves me nothing to boast about. Yes, sexual immorality defiles a person (Matthew 15:19), but isn't Jesus clear in our verses as well is in Matthew 15 that adultery comes from the heart? It is not primarily sexual intercourse that corrupts the soul, but the sinful lust of the heart that destroys.
What hope is there then? For all sinners there is only one hope: Jesus Christ, who alone never looked at a woman or a man with lustful thirst. Praise God that Jesus came to "save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21)." Because of Jesus' suffering we are dead to sins, both spiritual and physical, and freed to live for righteousness. I will boast about that.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHmm...thanks for this post, Ryan. It definitely challenged me on many levels but mostly this: if I don't have heart purity (which I don't) then I have NO leg up on those who don't have physical purity--which is natural to think. There's a part of me that wants to say, now wait a minute...of course, you're better off if you haven't "descended" to the level of physical expressions of your heart's lusts. But Jesus' words--and now this post--won't let me say that, I don't think.
ReplyDeleteBut should we then not promote physical purity? Or should we just get more radical about it and push for more heart focus when we talk about staying pure..and how to do that without giving the impression that physical purity doesn't matter? Anyway, I'm glad for this post, friend.
Ibukun
P.S. Is it stunning to you as to me that Jesus NEVER lusted after a woman? I mean, c'mon! How is that possible?! Wow, that Jesus...another reason He's my hero
I think it would be more helpful to focus on the heart when trying to exhort anyone to be pure. Of course all physical disobedience comes from a evil heart (Mat 15:19), and we need to be clear one cannot commit sin with a pure heart. What I want to avoid is the pride in thinking I am better because my heart hasn't acted out all it's evil desires.
ReplyDeleteI don't doubt, if I am ever blessed with children, that teaching them about this will be really hard, and require lots of thought. There aren't many easy answers.
Thanks for the comment!
"The power of sin is its promise of pleasure, but God intends to defeat it with a superior promise of pleasure," is a quote from the 2003 National Desiring God Conference. Satan, the father of lies, throws at us a tempting but false "promise" - a shapely, air-brushed, inviting, sensual, come-hither illusion. For a superb article of the truth that is not shown, track down a copy of the article "The War Within" from Leadership periodical (or let me know where you'd like me to email a .pdf copy of that article).
ReplyDeleteThe "superior promise of pleasure" is the promise of Christ (entirely trustworthy) that He is still completing His perfect work in His followers, through conformity to Christ Himself (a better promise) and that He always provides a way of escape (another better promise) to enable us to be holy (as He instructed us to be) as He is holy (what God commands, God equips). Maybe one of the most sustaining promises I rely upon when I'm fighting my lust for pornography is straight from Jesus' teachings in Matthew 5: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
If "seeing God" has any appeal to you or me, we should pursue being "pure in heart" with our utmost intensity, because it is of immeasurable worth. On the other hand, if you or I are indifferent to "seeing God," then perhaps we should conduct a reality check to see if we really ever completely surrendered our lives to Jesus as LORD (Jesus being Master) AND Savior.