Monday 19^th November

Matthew 5:27-30

One of Jesus’ most interesting and hard teachings starts with the quotation of the seventh commandment God gave to Moses on Mt Sinai. “You shall not commit adultery”. Looking at that from a modern Christian perspective it’s a pretty straight forward, understandable and agreeable commandment. However in our passage today we read that Jesus gives it a whole new meaning and highlights an even deeper problem that puts adultery relatively on the back burner (that is not to say that adultery is not of great importance).

Jesus proceeds in verse 28 to say that even if you look lustfully (a continual desire or gaze into what is not Godly or permissible) at a woman/man you have already committed adultery in your HEART. What a strong challenge from Jesus. But if that’s not strong enough Jesus issues another warning by saying that if any part of your body causes you to lust then cut it off, for it is better to loose a body part than to miss out on Gods kingdom.

However, Jesus here is not talking about self-mutilation but rather an even deeper sense of purging sin from our lives. Rico Tice says in his exposition of this passage that the truth is that no matter how far the surgeon’s scalpel goes, sin will remain in our lives if we do not deal with the real issue. Well what is the real issue?

The issue here is not the act of adultery but the desire of our HEART. Our temptations, according to James chapter 1:13-15, is the result of our own desires. In other words the reason we are lustfully tempted is the result of our HEART problem. See we are born having sinful natures and after we become God’s children Christ deals with that.  However it is not to say that we will never sin or be tempted again. In fact our Lord and Messiah Jesus Christ Himself was tempted by the enemy. But here comes the good part!!

According to Hebrews 2:18, Jesus was tempted but because He withstood it, as He is perfect, He can help us in our times of temptation. But the good news just gets better. Not only can He help us to withstand temptations, He deals with the original problem, the sin in our HEART. When Jesus died on the cross, He shed His precious blood. John says in his epistle, that it is Jesus’ blood that cleanses us from sin. He doesn’t just forgive us if we confess our sins but cleanses us from ALL unrighteousness.

Our HEART without Christ is like a piece of paper that has been scrunched up and rubbed through the mud. When we accept Christ He not only removes the stains but irons the paper as if new again. Jesus is the only one who could issue such a warning as we see in Matthew 5 but Jesus is also the only person who can help us withstand the temptation, which leads to becoming more like Him.

Daily Prayer

Thank You for Jesus, for His blood and for Him taking my punishment instead of me! Amen