Adulterers are Not Righteous (Matthew 5:27-30)
Adulterers Are Not Righteous
Matthew 5:27-30
As you know, we are presently in the middle of our study of
The Sermon on the Mount.
And as I told you at the very onset of this sermon,
The main point of the sermon is RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Jesus is confronting a people
Who have about a twisted a view of righteousness as you can have.
• Their righteousness was all external.
• Their righteousness was based on ignorance not truth.
• Their righteousness glorified self not God.
• Their righteousness was used to destroy others.
They had basically taken all that God had taught about righteousness
And messed it all up.
We learned last Sunday night about how false prophets come
And malign the way of the truth.
No doubt Israel was a victim.
They may have known that righteousness was important,
But it is obvious they no longer had a clue as to what righteousness was.
We certainly can sympathize with them today.
Few people today even agree that only the righteous go to heaven.
Even fewer agree as to what true righteousness actually is.
But God has always been honest.
Leviticus 19:2 “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.”
Now granted that verse does not tell us exactly what true holiness is,
Except that it reveals that God is holy.
Whatever God is, that is holy, and that is what we are to be.
Other passages explain it a little better.
Psalms 15 “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”
Obviously we see that the only type of person that is allowed
To dwell with God for all eternity is a perfect person.
Psalms 24:3-6 “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD And righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face — even Jacob.”
And there it is again.
Only the perfect person gets to God.
Isaiah 33:14-16 “Sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless. “Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual burning?” He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, He who rejects unjust gain And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil; He will dwell on the heights, His refuge will be the impregnable rock; His bread will be given him, His water will be sure.”
And of course the point that we make is that
Throughout Scripture God has not only defined righteousness,
But has also stated that only the truly righteous
Will be allowed to dwell with Him in heaven.
Those who are wicked…
Those who are sinful…
Those who are rebellious…
Are not allowed to dwell with God.
This is precisely what Jesus is trying to point out through this sermon.
He is revealing what God’s true and perfect righteousness looks like
So that you can see where you stand before Him.
And if we are honest thus far
We must all admit that we have failing grades.
• We have seen 8 qualities that we do not possess.
• We have seen 2 expectations that we do not fulfill.
• And we have learned that our standard by which we measure ourselves may not be the actual standard.
Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
It has grown increasingly clear that we do not measure up
To the standard God demands of us.
But in case that was not enough Jesus started getting specific.
Last week we began looking at the “You have heard…but I say” sermons.
And Jesus introduced to us what true murder is.
Jesus said, “that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court”
• He didn’t say everyone who tries to murder them…
• He didn’t say everyone who wishes they could murder them…
• He didn’t even say everyone who HATES his brother…
If said, if you’ve ever been angry, then you are a murderer in heart.
1 Samuel 16:7 “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
And the point of Jesus is that
He was living in a world of tremendous self-justification.
People who were not humble, but thought they were headed to heaven.
People who didn’t hate sin, but thought they were headed to heaven.
People who were not submissive, but thought they were headed to heaven.
People who didn’t hunger for righteousness, but thought they were headed to heaven.
People who were not pure in heart but thought they were headed to heaven.
People who were not merciful, but thought they were headed to heaven.
People who were not peacemakers, but thought they were headed to heaven.
People who were not persecuted, but thought they were headed to heaven.
People who did not shine their light, but thought they were headed to heaven.
People who were tasteless salt, but thought they were headed to heaven.
People who were murderers, but thought they were headed to heaven.
And as you can see they were self-deceived.
Well, it doesn’t get any better this morning
As Jesus cuts to the heart again.
As we look at the second “You have heard…but I say” sermon.
#1 THE OBSERVATION
Matthew 5:27
There again we see the observation of Jesus
As He recognizes what they have been taught.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’;”
And there again, we know this to be true.
This is the 7th commandment
And it’s not like those commandments are any kind of a secret.
And as we said with murder, this is also a commandment
That Scripture speaks fairly forcefully about.
Leviticus 20:10 “’If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.”
Deuteronomy 22:22 “If a man is found lying with a married woman, then both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel.”
Proverbs 6:20-35 “My son, observe the commandment of your father And do not forsake the teaching of your mother; Bind them continually on your heart; Tie them around your neck. When you walk about, they will guide you; When you sleep, they will watch over you; And when you awake, they will talk to you. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life To keep you from the evil woman, From the smooth tongue of the adulteress. Do not desire her beauty in your heart, Nor let her capture you with her eyelids. For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread, And an adulteress hunts for the precious life. Can a man take fire in his bosom And his clothes not be burned? Or can a man walk on hot coals And his feet not be scorched? So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; Whoever touches her will not go unpunished. Men do not despise a thief if he steals To satisfy himself when he is hungry; But when he is found, he must repay sevenfold; He must give all the substance of his house. The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense; He who would destroy himself does it. Wounds and disgrace he will find, And his reproach will not be blotted out. For jealousy enrages a man, And he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not accept any ransom, Nor will he be satisfied though you give many gifts.”
In other words adultery is very DUMB and it is WRONG.
I titled this sermon – “Adulterers Are Not Righteous”
I think we can all agree upon that.
Those who have a sexual relationship with someone who is not their spouse are not considered righteous before God.
Furthermore Scripture unequivocally states
That those people will not go to heaven.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”
Revelation 21:8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
“Immoral” translates PORNOS
Revelation 22:14-15 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.”
And so we are all clear on the fate of those who commit adultery.
They are not righteous and they will not go to heaven.
Now, it is important to note that the issue here is not sex,
Just as the issue with murder is not killing a person.
And Scripture has also made it extremely clear that sex was created by God and is intended by God to be an important part of the marriage.
You only have to read 1 Corinthians 7 to hear Paul actually command
Husbands and wives to “stop depriving one another”.
And so sex is not the problem,
It is sex with someone who is not your spouse that is the problem,
And those who do it will not go to heaven.
But that is not new knowledge.
In fact, “You have heard” that before.
And that was Jesus’ observation.
#2 THE EXPLANATION
Matthew 5:28
Just as Jesus did with murder, here He internalizes it.
“but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Now we are not just talking about a man
Who sleeps with a woman he is not married to.
Now we are talking about something
That seems much more innocent than that.
“everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her”
And when we read that, we understand
That we are talking about a sin that occurs
Before anything physical has ever happened.
But we really need to clarify it even more than that.
• Because most of us read that statement and think of some guy who is going around undressing women with his eyes.
• Or we think of someone who has a subscription to some pornographic magazine.
• Or we think of some perverted person who is doing everything he can to get women into bed.
But Jesus isn’t just speaking of that person.
When most hear the word “lust”
They immediately think about it in a sexual connotation.
But the word Jesus uses here
Doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with sex.
Most would think the word in the Greek is PORNOS, or PORNEIA, or some other form of that word used to describe sexual immorality. But it isn’t.
“lust” translates EPITUMEO
And it simply means to “desire or to covet or to crave or to lust”
And so let me help you understand that a little better.
Jesus is saying if you look at a woman
And want her for any reason that is adultery.
Do you realize that most affairs don’t begin with two people desiring to have sex with each other?
Most affairs begin much more innocently than that.
With sentiments like:
I wish my wife was as friendly as ___________”
I wish my husband was as attentive as _________________”
I wish my wife was as graceful as _______________”
I wish my husband listened to me like ______________”
It has nothing to do with sex.
It has nothing to do with a physical affair.
Yet it is to crave or want that person for any reason at all
And Jesus says that is adultery.
Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Ever wish you had a wife like so and so does?
Ever wish your husband was more like so and so?
You are committing adultery.
NOW PREACHER, DOESN’T THAT SEEM AWFUL PETTY?
Not to God, because full blown sexual adultery
And simply desiring another person are the exact same sin in the heart.
And the heart is what God looks at.
In fact Jesus says:
“everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has ALREADY committed adultery with her in his heart.”
DID YOU CATCH THAT “ALREADY”?
That means that the heart even precedes the eyes.
Many today want to blame their adultery or lustful thoughts
On the environment around them.
“Well, if she wouldn’t wear that low-cut top I wouldn’t be looking.”
And so we assume that sin hits the eyes and then moves to the heart.
WRONG
If it wasn’t in the heart, it would have never affected the eyes.
NOW THAT IS NOT TO EXCUSE A SEDUCTIVE WOMAN
And by the way ladies don’t suppose you are innocent
Just because you are not visually attracted to men.
The way women dress in our society is an outrage.
It makes them nothing short of a seductress
And one who is leading others into sin.
And just let me tell you about people who lead other people into sin.
Luke 17:1-2 “He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.”
The point is don’t suppose God would condemn a man
For looking at your body and then hold you innocent
For trying to show it to him.
Proverbs 11:22 “As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout So is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.”
1 Timothy 2:9-10 “Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness.”
And so I would definitely say that a seductive lady is guilty before God.
BUT EVEN AT THAT, A MAN CANNOT BLAME HIS SIN UPON HER.
For if that man was not an adulterer in heart
Her body would not have appealed to him.
I mean honestly, do you suppose Jesus
Would have difficulty with lust in our society?
The visual images we see would not have enticed Him,
They would have nauseated Him, grieved Him, angered Him,
And would have broken His heart.
The point is:
Men, if you look at a woman and want her;
(Not just sex, but anything about her) it indicates that you have a corrupt heart and you are an adulterer before God.
Women, if you look at a man and want him;
(Not just sex, but anything about him) it indicates that you have a corrupt heart and you are an adulterer before God.
And we all already settled where adulterers are headed
Because adulterers are not righteous.
Forget the fact that you’ve never touched the person,
God is looking at the heart and He sees the blemish present.
That is Jesus’ explanation of the 7th commandment.
The Observation The Explanation
#3 THE APPLICATION
Matthew 5:29-30
Now admittedly, you read that and it is sort of hard to swallow.
IS JESUS ACTUALLY ADVOCATING SELF-MUTILATION?
I can confidently answer “No”
Even though His speech is pretty straight forward.
The reason I can answer “No” is because of what He just said.
If you truly wanted to get the sin out of your life,
Cutting off your hand or gouging out your eye would not work.
WHY?
Because the sin resides in your heart.
So technically if you were going to try to remove the sin from your life,
You would have to cut open your chest and remove your carnal heart.
The hand or the eye wouldn’t stop it.
SO WHY DOES JESUS GIVE THIS GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION?
Because He is trying to make sure that you don’t
Just pass your guilt as an adulterer off as no big deal.
You see in one sense the way Jesus preached on adultery
It is a whole lot more convicting.
(BECAUSE IT CONVICTS US ALL)
But that also creates a bit of a problem.
Since we are all guilty, it tends to make some think
That it might not be as big of a deal.
You could take a man in here who is presently in a full blown sexual affair,
Who is now saying, “Well heck, I don’t feel so bad about that affair
Now that I know everyone is an adulterer.”
Jesus knows that is a possible response to what He just said.
So in order to make sure that you don’t minimize your guilt
He uses this analogy to remind you that sin is no laughing matter.
In fact, your guilt (all be it common to all) is still enough
To send you to hell for eternity
And you ought to do anything you can to avoid that.
WHAT SHOULD I DO TO AVOID HELL?
The answer Jesus is pushing for:
WHATEVER IT TAKES
• None of us in this place could fathom going home and gouging out one of our eyes.
• None of us in this place could fathom going home and cutting off a hand.
Jesus shocked us with that on purpose.
To show us that even that would be better than going to hell.
Suppose you could talk to someone killed in the great flood.
That person has been in hell for something like 6 or 7 thousand years.
And suppose you told them that they could leave hell
If they would gouge out one of their eyes.
They would have their eyeball in their hand
Before you could finish the offer.
And that is Jesus’ point.
DON’T BE TEMPTED TO TREAT ADULTERY LIKE IT IS NO BIG DEAL.
The sin of adultery sends people to hell,
And you do not want to go to hell.
It’s like what Jesus said about murder earlier:
Matthew 5:25-26 “Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. “Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.”
In other words, don’t just be willing to hang on to your sin
And spend eternity in hell for it.
DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO AVOID THAT HORRIBLE PLACE.
And at this point, now that you and I have realized not only are we murderers, but we are also adulterers, it ought to send us screaming:
WHAT SHALL I DO?
Peter answered a question just like that one day.
Acts 2:36-42 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ — this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
Peter didn’t tell them to start a pile of eyeballs over here
And a pile of hands over there.
Peter said – RUN TO JESUS
WHY JESUS?
Because He is the only one capable of fixing the heart.
You see many at this point find frustration.
“I can keep from touching a woman, but how can I keep from wanting to?”
You can’t – not with that old sinful heart.
“With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”
You need someone to change your heart
And that is something only Christ can do.
He came and lived a sinless life and then used that spotless unblemished blood as payment for the sins of His people.
He made a way for sinful man to be justified in the sight of God.
2 Corinthians 5:20-21 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
And that isn’t all that He did.
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
You see not only does Jesus forgive your sin,
But He comes and gives you a new heart.
A heart not filled with anger and a heart not filled with lust.
And that is why I have told you that once you come to Christ
We no longer call ourselves sinners, but now we are called saints.
It is because Christ changed us.
This whole sermon I have been telling you that you are an adulterer,
But if you have given your life to Christ, that is no longer true.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”
That is the beauty of trusting Jesus.
So if you are saved, rejoice in what Jesus has done for you,
And strive daily to walk in His righteousness, not like the old man.
But if you have never submitted your life Christ,
Then realize what you are and why you need Him and give Him your life.
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Get honest with God about the condition of your heart
And find the only answer in Jesus.
• He is the only One who can make you righteous in the sight of God.
• He is the only One who can allow you to escape the sentence of hell.
• He is the only One who can grant your entrance into heaven.
Acts 2:38 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
