Well, good morning. It's good to see you here. As we turn to God's Word, we are going to be talking
this morning about sexual righteousness. I want to start by saying this is not a hobby horse of
our church that we pick on. We're preaching on this passage because it's the next one in the
series. We're looking through the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 through 7, and this is the next
passage and the topic that Jesus brings to us this morning. But I'm not going to apologize for
preaching on this either because we need to be talking about this. We live in a culture
which is increasingly and intensely sexualized. I am a reader of the New York Times. It is
remarkable to me the topics of articles that I can read in the New York Times about
things that I don't even want to speak about here in this building, about sexuality and the
different ways in which our culture is embracing diverse and, may I say it, destructive expressions
of sexuality. I don't think our culture is particularly more sexualized than other times
in history. If you go back to the first century, you look at the practice of temple prostitution.
This is not, there's nothing new under the sun. This has been true of humanity since humanity was
created and fell into sin. But certainly we live in a day where particularly with our technology,
we have a particular kind of pressure in our world to be thinking about sex and lifting up the value
of sex all the time. So that's the first reason why we need to be talking about this. The second
reason we need to be talking about this is because the church has failed in its calling to be different.
You can read the statistics. Oh, they're marginally better in some surveys. Don't be completely distressed
by this. But it's nowhere near distinctly different than the world around us. The headlines continue to be
filled with spiritual leaders in the church and not the church out there, in our tribe, people that we know,
sometimes people that we've personally known or followed or read who've fallen in to sexual sin.
The last reason why we need to talk about this is because of the context of this passage this morning.
If you want to turn with me to Matthew chapter 5, page 760 in your pew Bibles.
We're looking at Matthew 5, verses 27 through 30.
But you remember the context. If you've been here the last couple of weeks, you remember back in verses 17 through 20,
Jesus said, I have not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. And what we read in that was that Jesus was saying,
I am the thing to which the Old Testament law points to, and I am now putting myself in the center of what is the new kingdom that God is bringing.
And I'm going to teach you what it looks like to be in my kingdom.
And Jesus comes to us as a king this morning to say, this is how to take hold of kingdom life with me.
These are the patterns of how you live. This is what it looks like to have, if you remember verse 20,
a righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees.
And so, we need to hear this word because Jesus has spoken it to us.
So, with that, let me pray.
And then I'll read God's word.
And then we'll look at it together.
Lord, help us this morning.
We confess that our hearts just want to flee in this moment.
Lord, we don't want to sit under your word.
We love our independence too much.
And Lord, some even now are feeling as well the enemy of our souls throwing accusations of shame and guilt.
Lord, I pray this morning that by your Holy Spirit,
you might help us to see the high calling and the greater grace
that you give us as we talk about these things.
Lord, be with me.
Help me to speak your words.
May we sit under your word together this morning, we pray.
In Jesus' name.
So, Jesus,
in verse 27 of Matthew 5,
says this,
This is not a radical summary of this,
but here's the big idea.
Jesus calls us,
his people,
to a radical kingdom,
sexual righteousness.
Why do I use this phrase?
Because I just don't want to keep saying sex, sex, sex all the time.
I want to broaden it out.
I want us to be thinking more broadly.
It's a kingdom sexual righteousness
that has to do with how we relate to our king.
And it's not just about avoiding sin.
It is a righteousness,
a path that God has laid out for us
of right living
that we would follow it.
And it is about sex.
So, let's get into it.
Here's my outline for those of you who are outline takers.
We're going to talk about Jesus' definition
of kingdom sexual righteousness.
We're going to talk about the significance
that Jesus gives
to sexual kingdom righteousness.
And then we're going to talk about Jesus' power
to live
kingdom sexual righteousness.
So, firstly,
verses 27 and 28,
Jesus' definition
of sexual righteousness.
It is a pattern that we've already seen
and we're going to keep repeating.
The heart of this command
is an internal thing,
not an external thing.
We see this throughout this section,
starting in verse 21.
Jesus says,
You have heard it said,
but I say to you,
you have heard it said.
This is an external practice of religion
that the Pharisees in the first century
embraced and lived on.
And Jesus is saying,
But I tell you that the heart of my kingdom
has to do with the heart of humanity
as it relates to God.
And so, Jesus says,
There is a seventh commandment.
Do not commit adultery.
You can read it in Exodus 20,
part of what God gave to Moses.
And, you know,
the Pharisees in the first century said,
That's it.
The physical act.
If you don't commit
the physical act of adultery,
then you can say,
I've kept this commandment.
Oddly how thankful we might be
if we could even do this.
Before we go on
to talk about the heart center,
we might want to talk briefly about
why did God give this command at all?
Because this is very different thinking
from our culture today, right?
But here's the thing.
Our sex life is woven into this
beautiful tapestry
throughout Scripture
of what God has created
human beings to do.
And in Genesis 1,
He created humanity,
male and female,
and He said,
Be fruitful and multiply.
Guess what?
That means they had sex.
So they could have babies.
So they could fulfill this.
But it wasn't just for that.
It was more than that.
It was also for their companionship
and for their complementary.
That is,
in two different bodies
coming together,
this beautiful picture
of a oneness.
So God said,
The two shall become one flesh.
And this is true in our heart
and in our soul
and in our lives
as well as in our physical actions.
And God gives us
beautiful gift
to humanity
in Genesis 1.
And yet we see
in Genesis 3
that humanity
rebelled against God
and rejected His ways.
And we see throughout
the whole rest of
human history,
certainly biblical history,
that humanity
misuses sex
to its detriment,
to its harm.
There are lots of examples,
but they're descriptive.
And there's,
with the exception
of maybe Ruth,
I couldn't think
of another good example
where maybe there was
a picture of something
beautiful
about human sexuality.
Usually it's the aberration
that is depicted
in the Old Testament.
But we do see this thread
of marriage
and sexuality
being woven through
the Old Testament.
Oh, I forgot.
Song of Solomon.
The Song of Solomon
is also there
to tell us about
the glories
and the joys,
the delight
and pleasure
that sex in marriage
is meant for us
to have
and to enjoy.
But we also see
this thread
where this marriage
between man and woman,
this picture,
isn't the end
in itself
for humanity.
But God created us
with this picture
of two becoming one,
this marriage,
so that we might
actually understand
God and His love
for us.
And so we read
in places like Hosea
that God loved His people
like a faithful husband,
like a spouse
who pursued in love
and grace,
an unfaithful wife
who broke the covenant
again and again and again.
And we see
as we go to the New Testament,
God brings these ideas together
in Ephesians 5
and says
that the coming together
of a man and woman
in marriage
is meant to picture
God's love for the church
and the Savior's love
as He lays down His life
to serve
and to save the church
and for the church
to be one that responds
to this loving action
with devotion
and submission.
And we see
as we get to the end
of the storyline,
John prayed about it earlier,
and sorry,
I get choked.
There's a day coming
when we,
the bride of Christ,
will be made new
and sin will be gone
and Jesus will know us
completely and fully
and we will know Him
and we will worship Him
and we will experience
at the,
what is called
in Revelation,
the end of Revelation,
19, 20, 21,
the wedding feast
of the Lamb.
We will come
and be the bride
and He will be
our bridegroom
and we will know
that the greatest sex
we've ever encountered here
is just a foretaste.
It's a nibble
of the joy
and delight
and intimacy
of knowing Jesus
and being known by Him
and being loved by Him.
And this is what God
created it for,
a signpost
for something far greater
and our culture
has made it the end.
This is why
the Bible talks
about sexual sin
because its purpose
is glorious
and our sin
stains it
and corrupts it.
And Jesus says
it's not just
about the act.
He says
if anyone
looks at a woman
with lustful intent,
he has committed
adultery with her
in his heart.
What does it mean
to look with lustful intent?
Well,
there's this process,
isn't there?
There's a seeing,
there's an activation
of our senses.
And in response
to that senses,
lots of commentators
brought this up,
I thought it was really,
there's an imagination
that arouses in us.
There's a something
that arouses
in our minds
and in our hearts
that we want,
that we desire.
And then we take
this desire
and we apply it
to something we see
or someone that we see
with lustful intent
that is a passion
that is not pure,
that is not loving,
that is not serving,
but it is a desire
to covet for oneself.
It is selfish
in orientation.
It is to control
the other person
for one's own pleasure.
It is to use
the other person
to objectify them
to gain what we desire.
And this is what Jesus means
by looking with lustful intent.
There's a great story
in the Bible about this.
Look at 2 Samuel 11.
David,
who should be out to war,
but he wasn't,
he was up on his roof
and he saw the woman.
And the scripture says
he saw him
and she was very beautiful.
And David sent
and inquired about the woman
and David sent messengers
and took her
and she came to him
and he lay with her.
He saw her.
She was someone else's husband.
But David said,
I don't care about that.
I want her for myself.
I'm going to take her
and I'm going to make her mine
and I'm going to use her
for my pleasure.
This is the picture
of lustful intent.
And David did it physically,
but we do it in our minds,
don't we?
And our imaginations
may go in different places
because we're all different.
But in the end,
it's this sinful desire
to have and control
that is at the center of it.
And Jesus says,
when we do this,
when we think in these ways,
we've committed adultery
in our hearts.
We are just like those
who have done it physically.
Now, some of you may be thinking,
well, Jesus is just talking
about a man looking at a woman
and this is about adultery
and I'm not married,
so this isn't about me.
This is about someone else.
Well, John Stott argues this
and I agree with him.
He says,
to argue that the reference
is only to a man
lusting after a woman
and not vice versa
and only to a married man
and not to an unmarried
since the offender
is said to commit adultery,
not fornication,
is to be guilty
of the very casuistry,
that is the very kind
of thinking
that the Pharisees used
to limit the effect
of the command,
the very casuistry
which Jesus was condemning
in the Pharisees.
His argument is that any
and every sexual practice
which is immoral indeed
is also immoral
in look and in thought.
Jesus says,
you need a righteousness
that is greater
than the Pharisees
and this is for all of us,
single, married, widowed
and we see it throughout
the whole New Testament.
It's in Romans 1,
it's in 1 Corinthians 5-7,
it's in Galatians 5,
it's in Ephesians 5,
it's in Colossians 3,
it's in the passage
that Richard read earlier
in 1 Thessalonians 4.
Repeatedly over and over again,
the kingdom commands
is to avoid this way.
Now, I want to give
some clarifications here.
First of all,
it doesn't mean
that all attraction
is lustful intent.
it is actually possible
to look at something
and appreciate a beauty
without desiring to control it
and use it
for your own selfish good.
In our sexualized culture,
it feels almost like a pipe dream,
but it is actually possible to do.
And secondly,
we need to recognize
that not all sexual desire
is inherently sinful.
Certainly within a marriage,
it is a glorious thing, right?
And to recognize
that you have a desire for this
that you don't allow
to control you
and that doesn't affect
the way that you perceive
other people,
there can be an honest desire
for that
that can be righteous
when you don't use people
to get it.
And thirdly,
we need to recognize
that there's a distinction
between sin and temptation.
Martin Luther famously
was quoted as saying,
you can't keep the birds
from flying over your head,
but you can keep them
from nesting in your hair.
What does that mean?
It means that you may see things
that will begin to tickle
your imagination
and lead you down this path,
but you can stop it there.
You have not sinned
where you recognize,
oh, that's a temptation
for me to do more.
But when you say,
oh, well,
now that I've seen it,
what else can I do?
I'm just gonna,
I'm gonna cherish
that thought for a while.
I'm gonna let it marinate.
I'm gonna ponder on,
I'm gonna meditate
on this thing
that I'm seeing
and I'm gonna let it
capture my heart
and let it lead me
down this path
of destruction.
There's a distinction
between the moment
of temptation
and the falling into sin.
And this is where
the battle is fought.
And I wanna say to you
that there is an alternative.
It is possible
with the gospel
to look at men and women
and to say,
they are people
made in God's image
worthy of honor
and dignity.
They are,
as men and women,
under the fall,
worthy of compassion
and grace and truth.
As men and women,
they are in need
of God's love
and grace.
We can show them.
One of the best things
you can do
if you find yourself
falling down this trap
is look someone
in the eye.
Look at them
in their face
and that will remind you
that they are people
and not objects
to be longed after
and lusted after.
But they're people
made in God's image.
Jesus says to us,
if we look at another
with lustful intent,
we have committed adultery
in our hearts.
So we have to ask ourselves
some uncomfortable questions.
How do we look
at other people?
What do we feed
with our eyes?
Not just the really bad stuff,
but what do we feed
that's commonplace?
Where do you see
your own heart
and your own imagination
wandering?
Is Jesus' kingdom
sexual righteousness
characteristic
of your life
in your heart
as well as
in your actions?
Jesus goes on,
verses 29 through 30,
to talk about
the significance of this
as he sees it.
Jesus in these two verses
talk about
the weight
that this is carrying
because he says,
if something
causes you to sin
in this way,
that there's,
in context,
it's saying,
if these things,
if your eye
causes you to sin,
pluck it out.
If your hand
causes you to sin,
cut it off.
Now,
despite a few
possibly apocryphal stories
from church history
about people
who actually literally
physically did this
and did things like
castrate themselves
in order to not sin,
I don't think
that's an appropriate
application.
He's not talking
about self-mutilation.
Martin Lloyd-Jones
has a great image
in his commentary
on this
where he says,
how far do we have
to go
to cut off our members
that cause us to sin?
We end up like
the guy in Mighty Python,
just a torso saying,
I think I'm getting better.
Sorry,
if you don't know that,
it's a random,
but we can't cut off
our body enough
to remove it
because the sin
resides in our heart.
So this is a metaphor.
He's using a figure
of speech
to say
that it's something
different.
And for Jesus,
he says,
the stakes are eternal.
If we continue
to be drawn
down this path,
if we continue
to cherish
these things
more than God
and his kingdom,
then we are walking
away from Jesus.
We are walking
away from his kingdom.
And that path
leads us to hell.
It leads us
to a place
of condemnation
because we have
loved something else
more than we have
loved God.
So Jesus says,
we need to give this
weight,
the weightiness
of our eternal destiny.
so what does it look like?
Well, friends,
there is not enough time
today to get through
everything I could say
about this.
There is lots
of practical wisdom
out there.
I actually found
John Stott
in his commentary
on the Sermon on the Mount
to be immensely helpful.
So much of what
I'm about to say
is in his words.
I'm just not going
to quote him
all the time.
But he has a couple
of things.
He said,
you know,
what Jesus is saying
is not that we're
to be physically
self-maiming,
but he says we're
to be ruthlessly
morally self-denying.
That is,
we are to take this
so seriously
that not physically
pluck out our eye,
but to behave
as if we don't have
an eye
to see something
that will lead us
into temptation.
To cut off our hand
that is to behave
in such a way
that we can't touch
those things
that we might touch
that would lead us
into falling into
this violation
of sexual kingdom
righteousness.
Now here's the hard part.
It's not a list of rules.
Oh, we've tried over time
to create new sets of rules.
We end up looking
a lot like the Pharisees.
Here's a checklist.
If I don't do these,
these, these, these,
these, I should be okay.
But interestingly,
Jesus puts all of these,
both of these verses
in a conditional.
If this causes you
to stumble,
radically respond.
If this causes you
to fall into sin,
don't do it.
So we need to recognize
that there isn't a,
there isn't a playbook
that says in every circumstance
you must do this,
this, this, this, this.
Christian life is about
knowing our heart
and knowing Jesus.
And so for us to flee
from this means
that we must know
what our particular weaknesses are,
what our particular temptations are,
where our imagination goes.
And it could be very,
very different
for different ones of us.
It's also why we need
to be careful
not to judge one another
about I do this
and they do that.
I watch Game of Thrones.
I don't watch Game of Thrones.
You know what?
Before God,
are you pursuing
this kind of kingdom righteousness?
Do we play around
with temptation?
Do we feed our eyes
with filth?
In our pride,
do we think,
I can handle this?
In our desire
to not feel weird,
do we flirt
on the edges
of sin
so that we can connect
with others around us?
Jesus says,
no,
be strong,
be decisive,
be brave.
It's worth losing much
to gain the kingdom
of Jesus.
Now I'm going to quote Stott.
This is a little long,
but I think it's worth listening to.
To obey this command of Jesus
will involve for many of us
a certain kind of maiming.
He puts that in quotes.
We shall have to eliminate
from our lives
certain things
which,
though innocent in themselves,
either are
or could easily become
sources of temptation.
That is,
we shall deliberately decline
to read certain literature,
see certain films,
visit certain exhibitions.
If we do this,
we shall be regarded
by some of our contemporaries
as narrow-minded,
untaught Philistines.
What?
They will say to us
incredulously.
You have not read
such and such book.
You have not seen
such and such a film.
Why,
you're not educated.
And they may be right.
We may have to be
culturally maimed,
again in quotes,
in order to preserve
our purity of mind.
The only question is
whether for the sake
of this gain,
we are willing to bear
that loss
and endure
that ridicule.
Friends,
we might need to do
something different
with these.
We might need
to get a flip phone
without a screen.
We might need
to change the way
we hang out
with our girlfriend
or our boyfriend.
We might need
to think about
the films
and the art
and the books
that we read.
I don't want us
to be prude,
but you need to know
what is it
that leads you
into temptation
and are you willing
to flee from that
no matter what it is?
Practically,
if you feel like
you're caught
in this cycle,
if this is so common
for you,
looking,
seeing,
the Bible talks
about our growth
and sanctification,
I believe,
in,
it has sort of
two levels
because there's a,
there's a surface
level of
you need to stop
sinning,
right?
You need to stop
doing things
that you know
are against
what God
has told you
to do
and this is where
personal discipline
and self-denial
and knowing
your own self
and setting
healthy boundaries
and getting
accountability
and support
are all good,
but we also need
to know
that's never enough
because the surface,
what we do
when we,
when we manage
to do that
to a certain extent
is we clear space
in our lives
for the heart work
that Jesus wants
to do
to transform us
so that we can,
so that our hearts
are renewed
in ways
that we will love
other things
more than the sins
that we,
listen,
if we every day
drink Coke
and eat Cheetos,
we're not going
to want anything
besides Coke
and Cheetos,
maybe some of you
will because you're
like,
oh,
that sounds terrible,
but if we keep
eating junk food
all the time,
our diet will never
improve,
we need to stop
eating those things
and then we need
to find out
that pears
and apples
and cheese
and bread
and whatever else
that is healthy food
is good for you
this is true
with our appetites
as well.
As Jeremiah 2 says,
we need to turn
from drinking
from cisterns
with poison water
of sin
and rebellion
against God
and turn
and be drinking
from the fountain
of Jesus
who is the one
who springs up
to eternal life
in our hearts.
when we do this
then we are able
to look at others
not in lust
but in love
and we are able
to gaze upon Jesus
and know his beauty
and this is distinctive
Christian living.
All right,
I'll be honest with you,
I don't know where
these next three
little tidbits
fit in my sermon
so I'm putting them
in here now.
One,
pornography is pernicious.
It's a pandemic
in our culture
and it is in direct
violation
to Jesus' command here.
It is exactly
designed to do
what Jesus says
we should not do.
And I'm so thankful
that in our church
we have a group
of men now
in our freedom group
who are saying,
I don't want that
and I want to change
and they're able
to help one another
do both levels
of growth
and if you need
that kind of help,
if you need that help,
come talk to me.
Talk to a friend.
Get connected
to the group.
And if you're a woman,
we can connect you
with external groups
that also exist
if you are caught
in this kind of sin
or if you're dealing
with the hurt
and betrayal
of your partner
or your spouse.
Secondly,
I want to recognize
that some here
may have experienced
sexual abuse
or assault.
And this whole topic
gets really,
really warped,
doesn't it?
Because something's
been done to you
and yet you feel
guilt and shame
about it.
I want you to know
that Jesus looks
at you
with a heart
of compassion
and of love
and of acceptance
and he invites you
to come to him
to find healing
and to find wholeness
and to find redemption.
You are not
stained and scarred
forever
by what has happened
to you.
My heart
as a pastor
breaks for you
and I hope
that our church
can be a part
of helping you heal.
Finally,
we need to recognize
that one of
the enemy
of our soul,
Satan's devices,
is to bury us
in shame
and guilt
in this area.
Some of you
are sitting here
and you're thinking,
I'm going to hell
because that's
what this verse says.
You're thinking,
I don't know
any other way
to live
and I'm stuck
and sometimes
the church
has been
the worst place
for you
because the church
has metaphorically
passed out
their scarlet letters.
You're the worst sinner.
You're the unacceptable one.
The lie
is that
sexual sin
is the unforgivable sin
and Satan
whispers it
or he yells it
in our ear
every day.
But friends,
the gospel
has good news.
Such good news
for us.
This is my third point.
Jesus
is able to,
Jesus has power
to help us
live
lives
of kingdom
sexual righteousness.
There are three ways
as I close in this.
First,
Jesus has made it possible
for the forgiveness
of our sins.
He came
and lived
a perfect life
so that he could go
and die on the cross
for our sins.
He bore
the punishment
and the shame
and the guilt
for the sins
that we have committed.
The sins
that we are committing.
Even the sins
that we will commit
for those
who have placed
their faith
in Jesus.
He has
covered us.
And however
stained we may feel
by sexual sin,
Jesus says,
I've washed it away.
And however long
the list
of offenses
is,
Jesus says,
I've erased
the record.
And there's freedom
from shame
and guilt.
There's freedom
from the hamster wheel
of saying,
if only I can be good enough,
maybe I can get out
of this.
Freedom from the insecurity
of thinking
we are unworthy
of God's love
because of our sin.
Jesus at the cross
says,
I've died for you
for the forgiveness
of your sins.
Come to me.
me.
And there's more
than that
because not only
has he forgiven us
and declared us
forgiven,
but he's also given us
a new heart
and a new spirit
so that we can
follow him.
Jesus rose from the dead
to eternal life
so that he might impart
to those who have faith
in him
eternal life as well.
and with that
eternal life
is this rebirth,
this renewing
of our heart
and soul
so that we can
actually love God.
Our old heart,
it just loves
to feed
on the feast
of sin.
But God's given us
a new heart
to feast
at the banquet table
of the riches
of God
and his kingdom
so that we're
spiritually alive
where we once
were dead
and where once
we were enslaved
to sin,
now we are free
to choose not to sin,
free to love Jesus
with all of our heart
and soul
and mind
and strength,
freedom
to seek
a new life
joyful
in righteousness.
This is why
the New Testament
writers repeatedly say,
put off,
put off the old man,
put off the old practices,
put off the old lifestyle,
put off the old patterns
of your heart
and your mind
and put on,
put on something
much better,
the kingdom of God.
Jesus has invited you
into it
and he has given you
a new heart
so that you can
increasingly love it
more than the world.
And there's so much joy
when we don't have
to fight that battle
because our heart
has actually been changed
and things that once
seemed inescapably
tempting to us
have lost their power
because we found
something greater
to love
than that.
Because the greatest
love of all,
sorry,
that's a Whitney Houston quote,
let me rephrase that.
The love
that transforms us
and changes us
is the love
with which
Jesus
has loved us
and he calls us
to gaze upon him
in his beauty
and his majesty
and his glory.
We are transformed
as we behold him
and meditate upon him.
And that precious promise
that one day
in Christ
we will be free.
we will be free
from sin,
we will be free
from this battle
that we fight today
for kingdom,
sexual righteousness.
We will be free
instead
to feast
at the wedding table,
at the banquet
of the Lamb of God.
We will be
his bride,
he will be
our
lover,
the lover
of our souls
in ways
that we can't
even imagine
now.
And friends,
is that not worth it?
The kingdom of God
to be with him
forever.
This is the gospel hope
and this
is the call
to kingdom
sexual righteousness.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus,
we come to you
this morning.
I just pray.
Holy Spirit,
do the work
you need to do.
Healing
some,
convicting
some,
calling
some.
Oh Lord,
I pray that we would not
hide in the darkness.
But Lord,
help us.
Help us to confess
our sin.
And help us
to take hold
of the life
that you've given us
in Jesus.
Help us to know
your power
doing in us
what we can't do
for ourselves.
Help us
that we might
live
distinctly
for your glory
in this world.
We pray this
in Jesus' name.
God momencie
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poetry
in Jesus' name.
There we have a
hope that you will
transcend the
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langs.