Matthew 5:27-32 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; 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. “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. “If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell. “It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity (infidelity or cheating), makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery (NASB; emphasis added).
AVOID LUST ADULTERY AND DIVORCE
Matthew 5:27-32 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; 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. “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. “If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell. “It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity (infidelity or cheating), makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery (NASB; emphasis added).
In one sense, this is one of the most difficult set of commands to discuss. It is difficult not because the commands are ambiguous or hard to understand, but because they are so clear and simply stated that there is literally no wiggle room at all. This set of commands is difficult to discuss because our modern culture is so completely opposite of the Bible on this point that we scarcely recognize the godly standard anymore. So, before going any further, let's take a look at the key standards for Biblical marriage.
What is Biblical marriage? Biblical marriage is the act of joining one particular man and one particular woman who are in covenant with God together for a lifetime. It is meant to become a living physical representation of God's commitment to His covenant people. It is meant to be a living monument representing God's unfailing love for Israel, and Christ's unfailing and sacrificial love for the Church. When one man and one woman enters the covenant of marriage which is to be for one lifetime, the two become one flesh (Genesis 2:24).
Have you ever noticed that whenever people who are dating make the choice to have sexual relations, their relationship seems to get emotionally very complicated? That's because whenever you have sexual intercourse the two souls of the individuals are joined together. From the very first time that intercourse takes place between two people, the two souls (which is made up of their minds, wills and emotions), begin the process of becoming one new being made up of combining two people. The concept of two becoming one is also physically exemplified by the married couple having children. The offspring gets half of its chromosomes from mom and half from dad. Out of two people, one whole new person emerges. This brings us to the other reason that God created marriage. God created marriage so that two people could exemplify God's love and give love to each other and through that love train up children in the ways of sacrificial love by example. In this way they would be raising up the next generation to know how to love God and other people (see Malachi 2:13-16). Love, faithfulness, self-sacrifice and other Godly characteristics are taught to the next generation through their parents being godly models and examples. That is why the devil (the enemy of our souls who seeks to steal kill and destroy John 10: 9-10; 1 Peter 5:8), is constantly appealing to us to respond according to our sinful nature so that he can destroy our families.
Aside from missing and neglecting what marriage was intended to represent, we also tend to miss or neglect another very important point. God hates divorce. Please do not misunderstand me, God loves and absolutely wants to restore all broken people who happen to be divorced, but He absolutely hates divorce (Malachi 2:16). The Lord explains why. Divorcing one's spouse is equal to committing acts of violence in the sight of God. That's because in God's estimation it's the same thing as taking a person and quite literally hacking them and tearing them apart. Divorce embodies all of the wicked characteristics that are abhorrent to God; unfaithfulness of heart, Rebelling and disobeying God, breaking one's commitments and promises, lusting (which is sexual greed) and adultery are all the root causes of divorce. Think about it. For a divorce to take place, one or both parties had to have made willful choices to disobey God, to be unfaithful to their own commitments or to Harden their own hearts (Matthew 19:8; Mark 10:5). Divorce is impossible in a situation where both people are making the willful choice to be committed to God, to His standards, and to each other. If you are truly committed to God and each other, both would rather do anything they have to instead of giving into doing something that God hates. I encourage you to get on the Internet onto a Bible site, and look at all of the "one another" Scriptures in the New Testament. If both parties in a marriage absolutely made the commitment to behave according to those "one another" Scriptures toward their spouse, divorce would be absolutely impossible.
Like all other sins that destroy our lives, divorce and the things that cause divorce; (choosing to disobey or rebel against God, an unfaithful spirit or attitude that disregards our vows and commitments, lust, or adultery; all such things begin in our heart. It all begins when we choose to accept unacceptable thoughts that we nurse and nurture until they become full-blown imaginations which then fester into intentions and plans of actions and than become behaviors. What Messiah's trying to convey through His entire discourse is that if we deal decisively with our sin when it is a mere thought or imagination, it will not be permitted to germinate into action.
Imagine for a moment if we actually believed what Jesus said. Imagine if we were truly persuaded in our heart that looking at someone with the intent to lust after them was as evil in our eyes as it would be to break up a friend's marriage. Under such a scenario, sexual harassment complaints and lawsuits would be virtually obsolete. That's because people would be crying out to God to change their heart from the moment they recognized that a lustful thought had entered their consciousness. They would be dealing with it long before unsavory or disrespectful words escaped their lips. Imagine for a moment. Even if we only obeyed Christ in this one aspect of life, how much time, money, human resources and energy would we save? How much grief and bother would we spare ourselves? It truly boggles the mind.
Divorce and the things that lead to divorce are all a serious indication of heart trouble. Think about it. Jesus Himself said that the only reason that certificates of divorce occur among God's people is because of the hardness of our hearts (Matthew 19:8; Mark 10:5). There is no greater spiritual disease than to be hardened in one's heart. Keeping this in mind, I find it pretty amazing that our sense of alarm is not much higher than it is. Think about it. If 66% of my physical heart was shutting down, I would be alarmed. I would go into crisis mode. I would be crying out to God, seeking help from physicians and dietitians and trying to do everything I could to restore my heart and quality-of-life. We don't seem to be equally concerned when two thirds of Christian couples are succumbing to hardness of heart and divorcing. Based on everything that I've seen heard and read, it does not seem that American Christianity is focusing on the character building that will prepare people for the rigors of life, and married life in particular.
Success in any relationship requires true character. This is true whether we are talking about our relationship with God, spouse, fellow believers, employers subordinates or our friendships. No matter what the relationship is, if we give in to our sinful nature and tendencies the relationship will break down and eventually collapse. Jesus is warning us that we have to get deliberate and forceful about cooperating with God to overcome our sinful nature. In Matthew 5:29-30, Messiah is not requiring self-mutilation. The reason we know that is because in the previous verses, He is very clear that sin is a heart problem.
The reality is that I could cut off both eyes, both ears in both hands, and if my heart isn't changed, I could still cling to lustful thoughts and memories. Messiah is saying is that we should become so forceful and radical and intentional about dealing with our sins that they have no chance to fester and to harm our relationships with God and each other.
We must get forceful about getting rid of the leaven of sin from our lives. Our relationships with God and each other, and our eternal lives could be at stake. We must remember that Yahweh Almighty God provides Yeshua the Messiah and the Holy Spirit and He His Grace to help us to OVERCOME SIN, not so that we could relax comfortably in our sin, and be overcome by our sin until it destroys us. That's not Grace. That's something other than Grace.
Brother R. Michel Lankford
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