"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. 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. - Matthew 5: 27-30 (ESV)
The sin of adultery is conceived in the heart from lust. When David viewed Bathsheba bathing he still could have avoided the path he would go down. But he coveted what was not his and he lusted. We all know the end result of that was sin upon sin. Lust to coveting. Coveting to adultery. Adultery to murder. Sin never shows you the whole picture. It never shows you the end result. That is why Jesus is teaching us here to deal with the root causes and we will never have to deal with the end results. Please realize these are powerful metaphors. God is not teaching us to literally mutilate our body but rather the extreme measures we must take to avoid sin at all costs. We can choose what to focus on and what to turn away from. Joseph was but a 17 year old boy when he ran away from Mrs. Potiphar. The Bible teaches us:
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me--practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. - Philippians 4: 8-9 (ESV)
What is it that we choose to think about? To focus on? It is difficult enough in a sex saturated society to resist temptation to compound it by focusing on it. We must disciple our minds and our bodies to conform to the likeness of our Savior; as difficult as that might be. Job made a covenant with his eyes and we ought to as well. Jesus is picking up steam now in His difficult teachings:
"It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. - Matthew 5: 31-32 (ESV)
Now, in the effort of full disclosure and transparency, I have never been married. So I recognize it might be easier for me to teach this and accept this than some who have gone through the pain of divorce. Regardless, the Bible says what the Bible says and even though divorce is certainly not the unpardonable sin, there is zero question that God hates it. The Bible says He hates it. But preacher, he was unfaithful to me! God still hates it. We ought to understand why beloved. Marriage is not merely the joining of two people to each other but to God as well. It is a covenant relationship with the Lord. The dissolving of the union is also the breaking of the covenant.
We also ought to understand the context. Jesus explains in another teaching that Moses allowed the certificates of divorce because of the hardness of the hearts of the Israelites. They were getting divorced for literally no reason or very superficial ones at best. That is how our society today operates. I remember once asking a young woman who worked for me if she was ready to get married, since it was close to the date. Her answers was, if it doesn't work, I'll just get a divorce. That is literally how people enter into marriages today so it is no wonder that the value of the covenant has been marginalized. By the way, when that is your starting point you have essentially guaranteed the divorce because things never "work out" fully. There are always ups and downs and it is only by keeping your covenant with God first can you survive them. That young woman is indeed divorced today.
Beloved I understand the difficulty in these teachings. I am not saying one has to stay in abusive relationships. I am merely saying what Scripture says. The final teaching here again raises the bar on divorce by explaining the ties it has to adultery. This is a teaching NEVER broached in churches today because people do not want to face the sins they may be committing. Jesus makes it very clear that sexual infidelity destroys the covenant. He may still hate the fact that what was once a covenant union is now destroyed but He recognizes the damage unfaithfulness does. If there was no unfaithfulness however, both parties are set up for adultery if they are to get married again. How so preacher? Because the original covenant is still in place. I know people as we all must who have essentially made their new spouses adulterers by way of second marriages when there was no Biblical cause to end the first one. Tough teaching? Absolutely. Unpardonable? Of course not. Like any other sin though it must be repented of. Now before people go off thinking God is too harsh remember that He views our relationship with Him in marital terms. We are the bride of Christ. We are in covenant with Him. Yet how often do we cheat? How often do we prostitute ourselves out to idols and the gods of this world? Yet every time God forgives us and takes us back. Thank God for His mercy that He does not hand me a certificate of divorce because Lord knows I deserve one! For side reading, check out the Book of Hosea and see a word picture for the marriage of God to His people and how He always redeems them, even after their repeated unfaithfulness. Hallelujah to the Lord! Jesus continues from the Mount:
1
1
1
