SERMON ON THE MOUNT
ADULTERY AND LUST
DR. JIM DIXON
MATTHEW 5:27-30
JULY 15, 2001
King Henry VIII ascended the throne of England in the year 1509 at the age of 17. He was young. He was good looking, handsome and popular. He was also very gifted, able to speak many languages, a skilled musician, a great athlete. The 16th century had dawned, and the people of England were looking to Henry to usher in a golden age, but it did not happen.
Thirty-eight years later, in the year 1547, King Henry VIII died. By then, he had become the laughingstock of England. He was constantly the subject of jokes. He had been married six times. He had had literally hundreds of affairs, and he was obese. He had become so bloated because of his gluttony, gaining hundreds of pounds, that he could not walk. To get upstairs, he had to be lifted in a cage carried by a chain. He had drained the national treasuries, engaging England in costly wars. He had taxed the people into poverty. He alienated the Roman Catholic Church. He had executed two of his own wives, and he had executed other political and religious leaders, including Sir Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell.
What happened? What happened to this man who once had such great potential? There are as many explanations as there are historians, but on this, all historians agree: He could not control his lust. King Henry VIII could not control his lust. He was married to Catherine of Aragon, but she could not satisfy him sexually. He met two to three times a week with Mary Boleyn and had sex with her each of those times. He fathered a child by her, but it did not give that child legitimacy.
Then he set his eyes on Mary Boleyn’s sister, Anne Boleyn. He wanted her. He desired her. But she said, “I will not share your bed unless I share your throne.” Henry VIII knew he could not do this. He was married to Catherine of Aragon, and the Roman Catholic Church would not allow him to divorce her, would not sanction it. So he renounced the Roman Catholic Church. He established the independent Church of England. He declared himself the Supreme Head of both Church and State, and he married Anne Boleyn. He later beheaded her.
He would later marry Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. Through all those years, he would have countless affairs. It wasn’t about love. It was about lust. His life was ruined by lust. I’m confident that there’s not a single king in this worship center this morning. I’m relatively confident that there is no one in this worship center who has been married six times, but I know it is likely that there are some people, perhaps many people, who are struggling with lust. Your lives are being ruined by lust. Lust can destroy a marriage. Lust can destroy a career. Lust destroys the Christian’s relationship with Christ and intimacy with God.
The biblical Greek word for lust is the word “epithumia.” This is an intensified form of the Greek word for desire, and it means to have “excessive desire,” or it means to have “improper desire.” Lust is one of the deadly sins as identified by the early church, and we come to this sin this morning. From our passage of scripture in the Sermon on the Mount, I have two teachings. The first teaching is this: Lust is a sin that is easy to hide.
Jesus tells us that this sin is in the heart. As with all sins that are in the heart, they are readily hidden. In our culture and time, lust may involve pornography. It may involve the use of magazines or videos. It may involve the use of the internet. Lust can be easily hidden from the world, and it can be hidden from your spouse. It is a sin which is easy to hide. Lust may involve the way you look at women at work (or if you are a woman, the way you look at man). It may involve your thought life. It always involves your thought life, and that is why lust is easy to hide.
I know that all of you have heard of David and Bathsheba. David was the King of Israel. It was 3,000 years ago. The Bible tells us it was in the springtime when David sent Joab, his Supreme Military Commander, to lead the forces of Israel against the Ammonites, but David stayed home. He stayed in Jerusalem. He stayed in his royal palace that spring.
One spring day he got off of his couch and he went up onto the palace roof and he looked out. There, on another rooftop, he saw a woman bathing. The Bible says in 2 Samuel, chapter 11, “she was very beautiful.” David looked at her and he continued to look at her. He did not turn away. He began to desire her and to think about her. He engaged in the sin of lust, but it was a hidden sin. No one knew about it. He asked some of his servants who this woman might be, but his sin was perhaps still hidden. The servants, perhaps, did not suspect that he was lusting after her. He summoned her through his royal officials. He summoned her, but his sin perhaps was still hidden. Bathsheba herself did not know that he was lusting after her.
You know what Paul Harvey would call the rest of the story. You know how David and Bathsheba committed adultery. You know that David sent Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, to the front lines in a time of war that his life might be snuffed out. You know that David and Bathsheba were married. You know that the judgement of God came upon David as pronounced by the Prophet Nathan and that David and Bathsheba lost their firstborn. David was guilty of the sin of lust, guilty of the sin of adultery, and guilty of the sin of murder. The Bible does not mean to imply moral equivalency.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks of lust as it relates to adultery. In the prior chapter, He speaks of anger as it relates to murder. Jesus does not mean to imply moral equivalency. He’s certainly not saying if you lust, you might as well go ahead and commit adultery. He’s certainly not saying if you’re angry with someone, you might as well go ahead and murder them. But what He is saying is that sin begins inside of us. It begins in the heart. It begins in the mind. That is why we can hide it. That is why lust is a sin which is so easy to hide.
A few weeks ago, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church had its General Assembly. Since I serve on the National ad hoc Committee on Theology, I was asked to give a report to the Standing Committee on Theology. I did that. Afterwards, two pastors came up to me and it was kind of a bizarre moment. They asked me if I believed in the Calvinistic Doctrine of Total Depravity and how I would respond to a Pelagian or semi-Pelagian or an Arminian. I say it was a bizarre moment because, you know, normal people don’t ask questions like that. They want to know if you know of a good restaurant or if you’ve seen a good movie.
I must say in all honesty, and speaking very personally, I do believe in the Calvinistic Doctrine of Total Depravity. It is a doctrine that is oftentimes misunderstood. I think the Pelagians misunderstood it, and the Arminians misunderstood it. Some people think that if you believe in Total Depravity, there’s no good in people and that is not true. The Bible makes it very clear there is good in people. There’s good in all people. We were created in the image of God and the imago Dei, the image of God, is at least residual in all of us and there’s good in all of us. Even unregenerate people, non-Christians, are capable of great good.
But the Doctrine of Total Depravity may be viewed racially where it simply teaches that the entire human race is fallen. The entire human race. Total depravity. “There is none righteous, no, not one.” The Bible says, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
The Doctrine of Total Depravity may also be viewed soteriologically so that it has to do with salvation. It simply means that we’re not capable of doing anything that would earn or merit heaven. We’re not capable of doing anything that would earn or merit salvation. “By grace you are saved through faith. It is a gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast.”
Normally when we think of the Doctrine of Total Depravity, it means that the taint of sin is upon everything in our lives. I believe that. The taint of sin is upon everything in my life. It doesn’t mean there’s not good, but, the taint of sin is upon my thoughts. The taint of sin is upon my motives. The taint of sin is upon my actions. I believe the Bible teaches that. As a Christian, it’s not enough to just say, “Well, I’m a sinner.” It’s not enough to just say, “Well, I’m depraved.” No, as a Christian, the Bible says, “We’ve also been given a new nature in Christ Jesus.” We’re called to cultivate that new nature, and we’re called to wage war with the fallen nature, the sin nature that is in us.
You cannot hide your sin as a Christian. If you are struggling with lust, you must confess it to the Lord as you come to this table this morning. You must confess it to a few other people who will hold you accountable. It says in 1 John, chapter 1, “This is the message we have heard from the beginning, that God is light. In Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
If you’re a Christian, you’re called to come into the light. If you’re struggling with lust, you can’t keep it in the darkness. If you’re struggling with pornography, you can’t keep that in the darkness. You’ve got to bring it into the light. You’ve got to confess it to Christ. If you’re lusting after somebody at work, you can’t keep that in the darkness. You’ve got to confess it to Christ, and you need to find a few Christians who you can confess it to, and they will pray for you and begin to hold you accountable.
Now, our first teaching was that lust is a sin easy to hide. Our second and last teaching is this: This is a sin not easy to overcome. It’s a sin easy to hide but NOT easy to overcome. There’s an old joke. You may have heard it. I’m sure many of you have. It’s about a student in college, a student in an ornithology class. This student was preparing for his final exams. He learned everything there was to learn about birds. He’d learned all about their biological systems. He’d learned about their respiratory system, their reproductive system. He’d learned about their circulatory system, their nervous system. He’d learned about their patterns of migration, their natural habitats, their distinguishing colors, and their various vocalizations. He had learned everything about birds. He was ready for this final exam in ornithology.
He went in to take the test. He went into the classroom, and he saw 17 birdcages up front, each birdcage covered with a blanket and all the blankets connected by a string. He sat down at his desk. There was an exam paper numbered one through seventeen. Then the professor pulled the string and the blankets all rose just enough so that, in all seventeen birdcages, you could see the birds’ feet. The professor said, “This is your final exam. I want you to identify all seventeen birds by looking at their feet.”
This student was just exasperated. He could not believe this. He was enraged. He had done all that studying. He thought he knew everything, and this was impossible. He wasn’t even going to bother. He decided not to sign his name or even take the test. He just took the test paper and walked up to the professor’s desk. He said, “This is ridiculous,” and he threw the test paper down. He began to walk out. The professor said, “Wait a minute young man.” He said, “You can’t do that. What’s your name?” The student turned around, pulled up his pant legs and said, “You tell me!”
I don’t know a lot about ornithology. I don’t know a lot about birds, but I do know a few things. I know that in terms of their sexuality, birds vary. I know that some birds are monogamous. Genetically and biologically, they’re just made to be monogamous. This is true of swans. They have one mate for life. They’re only attracted to that one other bird. I mean, all the birds are nude, but they’re not attracted to any other bird. They’re just genetically and biologically monogamous, and they’re that way for life. Why didn’t God make humanity that way? I mean, wouldn’t that have been nice? Why didn’t God just make us that way? Why didn’t He make us so that we’d only be attracted to the person to whom we’re married and nobody else for life? It would be a whole lot easier.
I know that amongst those birds that are not monogamous, and even amongst monogamous birds, their sexuality is oftentimes seasonal. There’s only a brief time of the year where they experience their sexuality. It’s called the mating season. Why couldn’t God have made mankind that way? Why couldn’t that have been true of us? I think most guys could do a little better job in fighting against this sin of lust if they knew it would only come in October or if they knew it would only come in May. But, you see, God has made us in such a way and our sexuality is designed in such a way that we experience it all year round. We experience it all year round, and for most of us, all lifelong.
Sexual sins are difficult to overcome. Of course, we don’t want to overcome our sexuality, but we want to overcome sexual misconduct. We want to overcome sexual sin. You don’t reach a point in your life where you’ve conquered it. You have to fight this battle again and again and again. It is the call of Christ upon the Christian.
We come to the statement of Christ, and it is difficult. He said, “You’ve heard it said of old you should not commit adultery. I say to you, whoever looks upon a woman with lust has committed adultery in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away. Better to lose one member than that the whole body be thrown into hell. If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off, throw it away. Better to lose one member than that the whole body should go into hell.” Tough stuff.
Jesus is teaching, using Hebraic hyperbole. Hyperbole was a common tool of the rabbinical teachers. This means that He did not expect us to take this passage with a crude literalism. Beginning with Origen, there have been saints in times past who castrated themselves. There have been people in the monastic movement who have plucked out their eyes seeking to stop their lust. What Jesus is saying here is that this sin is difficult to overcome, and you may need to take drastic measures. That’s what Jesus is saying. You may need to take drastic measures.
If you’re enticed to lust through what you see and focus on… If you’re caused to lust by what you touch or hold, you need to take drastic measures. If there are magazines that are causing you to lust, you need to get rid of them, eradicate them. Videos. Internet sites. There are systems that can keep your Internet from accessing sexually explicit material. You need to take steps to cut these things out. You need to avoid people and circumstances that caused you to enter into the sin of lust. You need to take positive steps. You need to be in the Word every day. You need to have intimacy with Christ every day. Find a place where you can go and be alone. Get a cup of coffee. Bring your Bible. Talk to Jesus. Do it every day. You need to, as I said earlier, find a group of Christian friends of the same gender whom you can confess your sin to and have them pray for you and hold you accountable. You may need to seek counseling or therapy. This is a sin easy to hide, but NOT easy to overcome.
In the last few weeks, Barb and I have been on summer vacation. One day we decided to go down to the 16th Street Mall. We went down there. We rarely go downtown. We found one of those outdoor parking lots where you fold the dollar bills up and you try to get them in those little slots. We got five hours of parking. We walked the 16th Street Mall from Broadway to Larimer Street and back. We stopped and ate at a little sidewalk cafe, and we still had a little more time.
We went over to the Denver Art Museum. They had an exhibit of the European Masterpieces. It was really fascinating. They give each person an individual recorder. You can hold it up to your ear. There’s a number on each picture and you can punch the appropriate number on your recorder and listen to what it has to say about that painting, about that piece of art.
I came up to one painting that was by a man named J.M.W. Turner. It was called “A Mountain Scene.” The only problem was you couldn’t tell what it was. It didn’t even look like a mountain scene. It looked like it might be solar flares radiating from the edge of the sun, but I wasn’t sure. That’s why J.M.W. Turner was so controversial in his time. He painted that painting in England in 1845. The impressionist movement hadn’t even come until the turn of the century. Abstract expressionism didn’t come until the middle of the 20th century with Jackson Pollock and others. And yet, according to the recording, this guy, J.M.W. Turner, really influenced what became abstract expressionism. He was a huge influence on guys like Jackson Pollock who just dropped paint onto canvas.
When J.M.W. Turner lived and when he worked and when he painted, it was a time of realism, and paintings were expected to look real or at least convey the image of something that was real. In abstract expressionism is a whole new ballgame. Mood and emotion and feeling are conveyed not through realism but through the paint itself and the diversity of color and the way it’s splattered. Abstract expressionism.
There was a quote at the end of the recording by John Ruskin, who was a 19th century critic. John Ruskin was defending the painting of J.M.W. Turner and he said, “The greatest painting is the painting which conveys to the spectator the greatest number of possibilities.” I almost laughed out loud. I really did. He was really saying, “The greatest painting is the painting that could be anything.” That’s really what he was saying. “The greatest painting is the painting that could be anything. It’s all in the eye of the beholder.”
Of course, it occurred to me that what abstract expressionism is to the world of art, post-modernism is to the world of morality. I mean, you could draw that parallel. What abstract expressionism is to the world of art, post-modernism is to the world of morality. We live in a time of post-modernism. People think morality is just up for grabs! It’s whatever you want it to be! It’s whatever you’d like it to be! It’s in the eye of the beholder! You have your morality, I have my morality. That’s the beauty of it.
The greatest religion is the religion that brings to the participant the greatest number of possibilities. That is why so many people today are into religious pluralism or religious syncretism and the eastern religions, which are morally inexplicit. But, you see, if you’re a Christian, if you’ve decided to follow Jesus, you believe in moral absolutes. You believe that moral truth is conveyed and has been conveyed by Christ and by His word and you know this is true in your sexual life and you acknowledge what Jesus has said and what His Word says that sex is a beautiful gift meant to be opened ONLY within the context of marriage. Sex before marriage is sin. The Bible calls it “porneia,” fornication. Sex outside of marriage is adultery, and it is sin.
Jesus tells us in our passage of scripture for today that this sin begins in the heart. It begins with lust. It is easy to hide, but NOT easy to overcome. If you would follow Jesus, remember what He says to you. “You shall be holy for I am holy.” Today is the day we come to the table in repentance, confession, and we recommit ourselves to purity of life and to the seeking of His sanctification. Let’s look to the Lord with a word of prayer.