Loading... Matthew 5:28 - HATH COMMITTED ADULTERY
Sunday, July 12th, 2009Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
God’s ways are not always our ways. In our human minds, we have a hard time grasping this concept that a man can commit adultery even if he does not commit the act itself. Christ reveals to us that God is not only going to hold us accountable for our actions but also for our thoughts. Just because you do not commit sexual acts it does not mean that you are without sin in the eyes of God.
God not only expects us to restrain ourselves from committing acts that are in violation of HIS perfect law, but HE also expects us to add temperance to our mind and stop ourselves from putting thoughts into our head that are in violation of HIS perfect law. We would prefer that all we had to do was to worry about our actions but God is holding us to a higher standard in that we are going to be accountable with our thoughts.
We understand that we can communicate with God even if we do not say something verbally. God does not need us to stand on the top of a mountain and shout in order for him to hear us. God hears our deepest thoughts long before we were ever born. If we are willing to believe that God can see and understand our deepest need before we ever knew it existed, why do we have any problems with the concept that God is going to judge us for the thoughts that we think.
Samson was a man who was given great strength from God. Samson saw a Philistine woman and he lusted after her and insisted that his parents make the arrangements so that he could marry her. Samson never would have desired to marry the Philistine woman if he had not first allowed himself to lust after her beauty in his heart. Because Samson was not able to control his mind, he ended up pursuing a woman who did not share his belief in God.
Even though God was able to take Samson’s bad decisions and use them for HIS greater good, one should wonder how much more God could have used Samson if Samson had simply been willing to add temperance to his mind and not lust after that which he was not supposed to have?
Judas was a man who was the treasurer for Jesus and the disciples. Judas became so concerned about money that he lost sight of the higher calling that God had for his life. Judas’ love of money grew to the point that he ended up betraying the One whom had called him. Because Judas did not control his thoughts, he ended up driving himself to his death. Because Judas did not control his thoughts, he ended up losing all that was important to him.
It is never easy to add temperance to your life and control your mind. Nonetheless, greater is HE that is in you then he that is of this world. By your own strength you will never be strong enough to keep lust out of your mind. However, by the grace of God, you can fill your mind with the things of God and leave no place in your heart and mind for Satan to fill with things that can cause you to stumble and fall.
As long as you allow your mind to pursue the things of this world, it will not take too long before your mind can justify you doing some of the things that you have imagined. You must be diligent when Satan attacks your mind with thoughts that are in violation of the perfect standard of God to cry out to God for help and rely upon HIM and HIS strength to enable you to not sin by dwelling upon thoughts that are not pleasing to HIM.