Lust

27"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' 28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell".

“But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Lustful intent in the heart is destructive. The Greek for “looks at a woman lustfully”, pros to epithymēsai autēn, (Mt.5:28) in the teaching of Jesus is literally looking at a woman for the purpose of lusting after her to have her sexually. The Kingdom of God has come as Jesus teaches the law in the hill country of Galilee and to us through his word. As Moses received the Law from God and made it known to the people of Israel he said, “You shall not commit adultery.” (Mt.5:27; Ex.20:14; Deut.5:18). But the teachers of that Law in the days of Jesus had relaxed on the commandments and taught others to do the same (Mt.5:19) or had added their own traditions which outweighed the heart of God’s Law. Therefore Jesus teaches the true nature of the Law of the Kingdom, and in the Law of the Kingdom lustful intent is destructive to the glory of God and his image bearers.

When David looked upon the beauty of Bathsheba (2Sam.11:1-12, 25) he looked for the purpose of lusting after her. The desire for her beauty was in his heart (Pr.4:23; 6:25). The lust dwelt in his heart and he used the instruments of his heart, his eyes and hands to have her for his own pleasure. The rest is a bloody destructive history. Lustful intent is destructive. The wisdom of Proverbs warns the young man against the temptation of sexual lust on three occasions (Pr.5:1-23; 6:20-35; 7:1-23), and in a sexually depraved culture young and old must heed these warnings. Spiritual ruin awaits the lustful heart and the ruinous affects are widespread.

When the church relaxes on the commands of God against lust and teaches others to do the same it places itself as a train on runaway tracks toward destruction. Therefore where the law convicts of sin by taking us to the heart of the commands Jesus calls for repentance. In verses 29 – 30 we read, “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Repentance and faith are the brakes of the lust train. It is better to not see than to see and bring destruction, and it is better to not have with our hands than to have and bring ruin. You cannot gouge out eyes or cut off hands in a relaxed atmosphere. There is pain and weeping, blood and loss, but in the end there is the joy of the Lord and his Kingdom of righteousness. Gouging out means that what you see by faith is better in blindness than what you see in the flesh with sight. It is radical but so is hell. Hell is radical punishment against sin in enduring flame, thirst, destruction and sorrow. Being satisfied temporally in the flesh does not compare to the pleasures in the presence of God forevermore (Ps.16:11). Therefore it is better to suffer the destruction of the flesh in the present to live in the pleasure of God now and forevermore. The kingdom of Jesus is one of righteousness. It is founded in his righteousness and lives in his righteousness. Therefore his kingdom is filled with men without eyes and without hands for the sake of the kingdom. It is filled with men who for the sake of his name account their lives in the earth as nothing in order that they may live in his kingdom.

Men must give their hearts the feast of sitting at the banqueting table of God’s glory in Christ through his means of grace everyday. Men must delight in the wife of their youth and if they do not have one prepare for her. Men must fight to put sin to death in their hearts by setting their minds on the things of the Spirit and things above. Men must know their limits and ask their brothers and their wives to hold their eyes and their hands. Men everywhere must repent and call upon the name of the Lord that times of refreshing may come.

The Lord Jesus was righteous and pure in his thoughts toward his image bearers. His heart was not bent to use a woman for his own pleasure. His pleasure was to do the will of the Father who sent him. Therefore he is the perfect Savior for lust filled sinners. The lust of his church was imputed to him at the cross and nailed there stained with his own blood. The need for purity of heart is in the heart of Jesus. And the need for purity of life is in the holy life of Jesus. We come to him by repentance and faith and abide in his Kingdom by repentance and faith.