Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 5:3
This verse is how the Sermon on the Mount begins. It is Jesus’ opening line for the greatest sermon ever preached. You may remember that to be poor in spirit means to have an accurate view of yourself in relation to God. It means to understand your spiritual condition apart from him; if to be poor is to be in great need, then to be poor in spirit is to be in desperate need of God. The passages we will meditate and reflect on throughout this week (Matt. 5:38-48) is really just a deeper explanation by Jesus, of what it means to be poor in spirit.
You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. - Matthew 5:38-39
Jesus is referring here to the part of the Old Testament law that dealt with retribution and justice, in other words, setting the wrongs right. We actually find the words “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” in the Old Testament (Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21) referring to the civil or national law of retaliation. This law protected the innocent and guaranteed the limits of retaliation. It made sure that the punishment fit the crime. If someone knocked out your tooth, you had the right to knock out his tooth (but you could not smash in all of his teeth!) This law prevented the offended person from taking law into his own hands and using any retaliation he wanted.
This kind of thing may sound harsh to our modern ears, but it was actually very wise and merciful. It was wise in that it took into consideration the natural human tendency to want revenge more than justice. (If somebody hurts me, I want to hurt him even more.) It was merciful in that it sought to prevent personal vendettas and vigilante justice. The law was given to the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people. It was to be a moral civil code, enforced by the appointed leaders of God’s people. It was never intended to give individuals permission to exact personal revenge.
When you first read Jesus’ teaching on this concept, it sounds almost like he is contradicting this ‘eye for an eye’ principle. He seems to be saying that we should just go ahead and let them poke our eyes out!? In order to get what Jesus is really saying here, we have to understand what the Pharisees and Rabbis were teaching at that time. They (the Scribes and Pharisees) had extended this principle of retribution intended for the legal system to the realm of personal relationships. They were using the law to justify personal revenge, which was the very thing it was intended to prevent!
The Bible clearly teaches us not to seek personal vengeance.
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. - Romans 12:19
This is why Jesus teaches us to lay down our desire to get even, surrender our need to make the other person pay, even relinquish our rights of retribution. We are to leave all of that in the hands of the authorities, and ultimately in the hands of our God.
If you are wondering how you will ever find the inner strength to live this way, consider Jesus himself for a moment. He is the ultimate example of one who voluntarily set aside his rights for the sake of another. He is the one person in the universe who could have exacted retribution and be justified in doing so, yet he surrendered himself into the hands of sinful men and gave himself up for us!
When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
- 1 Peter 2:23
Have you been wronged by someone?
Are you looking for some way to get even with them or teach them a lesson?
Are you wishing they would pay for what they did to you?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you gave up your rights so that we might have life. Help us to surrender our hearts to you and to leave all of our desire for self-defense, self-justification and self-preservation at the foot of your cross – Amen.
Jeff Frazier
Friday, July 9
“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. - Matthew 5:33-37
I used to think when I first became a Christian that all prayers had to end with the phrase "in Jesus' name, Amen," sort of like an e-mail address; if you didn't put that in there, God wouldn't receive it and it would bounce back to you because you hadn't addressed it right. That thinking came, of course, from the Lord's words: "Whatever you ask in my name will be done for you" (John 14:14). But what he meant was that to pray in Jesus' name is to pray with full consciousness of who he is, his character, promises, glory, mercy, and love. When we pray in his name, it means that his glory and his personality fill every thought and word. It doesn't really matter what verbal formula we begin or end with.
The same is true of our other communications. We often use inflection or body language or adjectives to mislead each other, to orchestrate a response that is not based on truth? Do we give ourselves the right to say one thing and mean something else? All of that was the kind of problem Jesus was addressing in this section.
The OT law was actually pretty clear on this issue. For instance, the third commandment in Exodus 20:7 says, "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain...." Leviticus 19:12 says, "Do not swear falsely by My name, and so profane the name of your God; I am the LORD." Deuteronomy 23:21 says, "If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it." All of these are reminders that God is concerned about our word and our integrity and we should take them seriously.
But the problem was that the Pharisees and teachers of the law interpreted these passages inaccurately. What they had done over the centuries was to teach people to rationalize, manipulate, introduce exception clauses, and find a way around some of the hard realities that the Law demanded.
For instance, those who had commented on these Old Testament statements and principles said that the key issue was the verbal formula that was used in taking oaths. The Lord meant, If you take a vow, keep it for God's sake. But it had gotten twisted to mean, The only vows or oaths you are responsible for are those that have the phrase "in God's name" attached to them. If you could learn to be slippery with your language and vow something without actually using God's name, you were not really required to keep that vow.
So Jesus is saying, “Don't swear or take any oaths at all. Just do what you say you are going to do.” Jesus' words here are a powerful reminder that we have the capacity not only to lie to and mislead others, but we have a remarkable capacity to lie to ourselves. You are who you are: Either your "yes" means "yes" and your "no" means "no," or they don't. The phraseology you use, and the intensity of your language, are not going to make you more or less likely to keep your word. You are a man or woman of character, or you are not. You are someone whom God is transforming within so that you are trustworthy, or you are not.
But we do not have authority over heaven or earth; we can't swear by them. God has all the authority. He is the only one who can make us different than we are. He is everywhere and he owns all things, therefore, every oath is made in God's name. Every declaration we make, every opinion we offer, every word that we speak, whether true or false, he takes seriously.
So Jesus says no expression of change in your life is going to make you different if you're not different. You can't swear by anything and be more likely to tell the truth. Your only option is to say humbly, "By the grace of God, and only that, I'm going to tell myself the truth, and I'm going to tell you the truth. If I say "yes," it's "yes." If I say "no," it's "no." If I offer an opinion, it's my truly felt opinion.
Questions for reflection:
Sovereign Lord, you are the God of all truth. You are light, and in you there is no darkness at all. Transform us by your Holy Spirit to become men and women of truth and integrity in our hearts. May the light of your truth shine through our hearts and lives - Amen.
Jeff Frazier
I used to think when I first became a Christian that all prayers had to end with the phrase "in Jesus' name, Amen," sort of like an e-mail address; if you didn't put that in there, God wouldn't receive it and it would bounce back to you because you hadn't addressed it right. That thinking came, of course, from the Lord's words: "Whatever you ask in my name will be done for you" (John 14:14). But what he meant was that to pray in Jesus' name is to pray with full consciousness of who he is, his character, promises, glory, mercy, and love. When we pray in his name, it means that his glory and his personality fill every thought and word. It doesn't really matter what verbal formula we begin or end with.
The same is true of our other communications. We often use inflection or body language or adjectives to mislead each other, to orchestrate a response that is not based on truth? Do we give ourselves the right to say one thing and mean something else? All of that was the kind of problem Jesus was addressing in this section.
The OT law was actually pretty clear on this issue. For instance, the third commandment in Exodus 20:7 says, "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain...." Leviticus 19:12 says, "Do not swear falsely by My name, and so profane the name of your God; I am the LORD." Deuteronomy 23:21 says, "If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it." All of these are reminders that God is concerned about our word and our integrity and we should take them seriously.
But the problem was that the Pharisees and teachers of the law interpreted these passages inaccurately. What they had done over the centuries was to teach people to rationalize, manipulate, introduce exception clauses, and find a way around some of the hard realities that the Law demanded.
For instance, those who had commented on these Old Testament statements and principles said that the key issue was the verbal formula that was used in taking oaths. The Lord meant, If you take a vow, keep it for God's sake. But it had gotten twisted to mean, The only vows or oaths you are responsible for are those that have the phrase "in God's name" attached to them. If you could learn to be slippery with your language and vow something without actually using God's name, you were not really required to keep that vow.
So Jesus is saying, “Don't swear or take any oaths at all. Just do what you say you are going to do.” Jesus' words here are a powerful reminder that we have the capacity not only to lie to and mislead others, but we have a remarkable capacity to lie to ourselves. You are who you are: Either your "yes" means "yes" and your "no" means "no," or they don't. The phraseology you use, and the intensity of your language, are not going to make you more or less likely to keep your word. You are a man or woman of character, or you are not. You are someone whom God is transforming within so that you are trustworthy, or you are not.
But we do not have authority over heaven or earth; we can't swear by them. God has all the authority. He is the only one who can make us different than we are. He is everywhere and he owns all things, therefore, every oath is made in God's name. Every declaration we make, every opinion we offer, every word that we speak, whether true or false, he takes seriously.
So Jesus says no expression of change in your life is going to make you different if you're not different. You can't swear by anything and be more likely to tell the truth. Your only option is to say humbly, "By the grace of God, and only that, I'm going to tell myself the truth, and I'm going to tell you the truth. If I say "yes," it's "yes." If I say "no," it's "no." If I offer an opinion, it's my truly felt opinion.
Questions for reflection:
Have I lied to or misled anyone recently?
Have I twisted the truth to, or colored my words to give anyone a false impression?
Have I said anything to anyone that I did not really mean?
Have I been lying to myself in any way?
Have I twisted the truth to, or colored my words to give anyone a false impression?
Have I said anything to anyone that I did not really mean?
Have I been lying to myself in any way?
Sovereign Lord, you are the God of all truth. You are light, and in you there is no darkness at all. Transform us by your Holy Spirit to become men and women of truth and integrity in our hearts. May the light of your truth shine through our hearts and lives - Amen.
Jeff Frazier
Thursday, July 8
It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery. – Matthew 5:31-32
Whew! Jesus does doesn’t let up does he? We are not even through chapter 5 yet and he has tackled anger and conflict, lust and adultery, and now he brings up divorce! It is as if Jesus wants us to understand that there is no area of our lives that is exempt from the impact of his message of the kingdom.
When we surrender ourselves, and come under the rule and reign of Jesus as our king, nothing will remain the same. There is no aspect of our lives and no corner of our hearts that Jesus is not interested in transforming!
When Jesus begins to talk about divorce, he is not changing the subject. He is actually just moving from the previous section where he talked about adultery in the heart (lust) to addressing the actual physical act of adultery and how it impacts the marriage relationship.
The question that Jesus is addressing in Matthew 5:31-32 comes from the OT teaching in Deuteronomy 24. If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house (Deut. 24:1) There were two schools of thought regarding the interpretation of this phrase, the conservative and the liberal approach.
The liberals interpreted 'indecency' very broadly to include anything the husband did not like about his wife. In fact, one rabbi wrote about a hundred years after Christ that it was acceptable to divorce your wife on the basis of this verse if you found somebody prettier. The liberal school had made this word broad enough to include everything - no fault divorce.
The conservative school limited this word to immorality or adultery. They said the only thing encompassed in 'indecency' is marital infidelity. This is the background behind Jesus' statement in Matthew 5. (Jesus' interpretation of this question is continued more fully in Matthew 19 when the question is raised to Jesus.)
Jesus’ clearly lines up with the conservative interpretation. He pushes us to consider God’s intent and design for marriage. The Old Testament starts out in Genesis with God establishing marriage. It closes out in the Book of Malachi with God saying He hates divorce. Even though divorce is being practiced, God's attitude toward it has not changed. From fifteen hundred years before the time of Christ when Moses wrote the Book of Genesis down to Malachi's time, God has not changed His position. It is the same in spite of the fact that divorce and remarriage have become a common practice. The fact that divorce statistics are mushrooming today does not mean that God has changed His mind. His attitude toward divorce is the same.
Jesus is saying in Matthew 5 that in spite of the prevailing practice of divorce among the Greeks and Romans of His day, the central issue is still adultery.
Jesus only refers to the husband divorcing his wife because, among the Jews, the wife could not divorce her husband. But the guilt is true for either side. In our society, it has become acceptable for divorce to be initiated by either party. However, God's attitude toward divorce has not changed.
What about a believer who has been divorced and remarried unbiblically?
This is a tough question and one that is a sensitive issue for many individuals.
First of all, we should praise God that he picks us up where we are. There is no indication anywhere in Scripture that you must break off such a marriage relationship. Whether your present marriage is your first or your fourth is not the issue. Your previous actions may have involved sin, but God picks you up where you are.
Second, if you have previously been divorced unbiblically and have since remarried, when that marriage was consummated physically, you became one flesh. That may have been an adulterous act before God. But the former marriage is broken. As far as your past goes, you must recognize the fact that God has forgiven you. Then you should go on from here. Praise God for his forgiveness! You are just as forgiven as anybody else for any other sin. There are no limitations in Scripture on that forgiveness.
Obviously, there are more aspects and implications of this teaching than can be dealt with here in this little devotion (which is already way past “10 minutes”).
The primary point for us as Christians is not to be bogged down with every nuance and possible exception, but rather to remember that God designed and invented marriage. He is very serious about it. His intent is that a Christian marriage should be a witness to the world of God’s faithfulness and love toward his people!
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
– Revelation 21:12
Jeff Frazier
Whew! Jesus does doesn’t let up does he? We are not even through chapter 5 yet and he has tackled anger and conflict, lust and adultery, and now he brings up divorce! It is as if Jesus wants us to understand that there is no area of our lives that is exempt from the impact of his message of the kingdom.
When we surrender ourselves, and come under the rule and reign of Jesus as our king, nothing will remain the same. There is no aspect of our lives and no corner of our hearts that Jesus is not interested in transforming!
When Jesus begins to talk about divorce, he is not changing the subject. He is actually just moving from the previous section where he talked about adultery in the heart (lust) to addressing the actual physical act of adultery and how it impacts the marriage relationship.
The question that Jesus is addressing in Matthew 5:31-32 comes from the OT teaching in Deuteronomy 24. If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house (Deut. 24:1) There were two schools of thought regarding the interpretation of this phrase, the conservative and the liberal approach.
The liberals interpreted 'indecency' very broadly to include anything the husband did not like about his wife. In fact, one rabbi wrote about a hundred years after Christ that it was acceptable to divorce your wife on the basis of this verse if you found somebody prettier. The liberal school had made this word broad enough to include everything - no fault divorce.
The conservative school limited this word to immorality or adultery. They said the only thing encompassed in 'indecency' is marital infidelity. This is the background behind Jesus' statement in Matthew 5. (Jesus' interpretation of this question is continued more fully in Matthew 19 when the question is raised to Jesus.)
Jesus’ clearly lines up with the conservative interpretation. He pushes us to consider God’s intent and design for marriage. The Old Testament starts out in Genesis with God establishing marriage. It closes out in the Book of Malachi with God saying He hates divorce. Even though divorce is being practiced, God's attitude toward it has not changed. From fifteen hundred years before the time of Christ when Moses wrote the Book of Genesis down to Malachi's time, God has not changed His position. It is the same in spite of the fact that divorce and remarriage have become a common practice. The fact that divorce statistics are mushrooming today does not mean that God has changed His mind. His attitude toward divorce is the same.
Jesus is saying in Matthew 5 that in spite of the prevailing practice of divorce among the Greeks and Romans of His day, the central issue is still adultery.
Jesus only refers to the husband divorcing his wife because, among the Jews, the wife could not divorce her husband. But the guilt is true for either side. In our society, it has become acceptable for divorce to be initiated by either party. However, God's attitude toward divorce has not changed.
What about a believer who has been divorced and remarried unbiblically?
This is a tough question and one that is a sensitive issue for many individuals.
First of all, we should praise God that he picks us up where we are. There is no indication anywhere in Scripture that you must break off such a marriage relationship. Whether your present marriage is your first or your fourth is not the issue. Your previous actions may have involved sin, but God picks you up where you are.
Second, if you have previously been divorced unbiblically and have since remarried, when that marriage was consummated physically, you became one flesh. That may have been an adulterous act before God. But the former marriage is broken. As far as your past goes, you must recognize the fact that God has forgiven you. Then you should go on from here. Praise God for his forgiveness! You are just as forgiven as anybody else for any other sin. There are no limitations in Scripture on that forgiveness.
Obviously, there are more aspects and implications of this teaching than can be dealt with here in this little devotion (which is already way past “10 minutes”).
The primary point for us as Christians is not to be bogged down with every nuance and possible exception, but rather to remember that God designed and invented marriage. He is very serious about it. His intent is that a Christian marriage should be a witness to the world of God’s faithfulness and love toward his people!
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
– Revelation 21:12
Jeff Frazier
Wednesday, July 7
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.
Matthew 5:29-30
Ouch! This is a really harsh passage. Is Jesus advocating some form of self-mutilation? What exactly is Jesus teaching here?
The primary message here is that we must take sin very seriously. Sometimes, in focusing on the grace of Jesus, we forget the significance of the enormous price he paid for the forgiveness of our sins. The fact that by the grace of God we have been forgiven of our sins, must never become an excuse for us to live with flippant attitude toward the sin in our lives. Jesus is saying that ANYTHING which tempts or entices us to sin must be ruthlessly eliminated from our lives.
The Apostle Paul puts it this way in Romans 6…
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. - Romans 6:12-14
The second piece of wisdom Jesus is giving us is that we must pay attention to what we see and what we do if we are to avoid sinful behavior. Think about it for just a minute… Jesus could have used any body part he wanted as an example for his message. Why did he choose the eye and the hand?
It is easy to rationalize this and make the excuse that we live in a culture where it is unavoidable. Temptation surrounds us on all sides everyday. How are we possibly to avoid it all? This only demonstrates how much more seriously we need to take Jesus’ words. The problem is really not our society (although our world is certainly full of temptation) - the problem is us!
D. L. Moody (certainly one of the more godly men of the modern era) wisely recognized the source of the problem when he said, “I have more trouble with D. L. Moody than with any man I know. The man I see in the mirror each morning is my greatest impediment to holiness and godliness.”
Take a few moments to reflect on Jesus’ teaching on the impact of your eye and your hand on your spiritual life…
Consider what changes you need to make in order to live the life that Christ is calling you to…
Ask God to help you make the necessary changes in your habits and lifestyle…
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you have given us the words of life and you have taught us the way to live in your kingdom. Now grant us your grace that we might live this way – Amen.
Jeff Frazier
Matthew 5:29-30
Ouch! This is a really harsh passage. Is Jesus advocating some form of self-mutilation? What exactly is Jesus teaching here?
The primary message here is that we must take sin very seriously. Sometimes, in focusing on the grace of Jesus, we forget the significance of the enormous price he paid for the forgiveness of our sins. The fact that by the grace of God we have been forgiven of our sins, must never become an excuse for us to live with flippant attitude toward the sin in our lives. Jesus is saying that ANYTHING which tempts or entices us to sin must be ruthlessly eliminated from our lives.
The Apostle Paul puts it this way in Romans 6…
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. - Romans 6:12-14
The second piece of wisdom Jesus is giving us is that we must pay attention to what we see and what we do if we are to avoid sinful behavior. Think about it for just a minute… Jesus could have used any body part he wanted as an example for his message. Why did he choose the eye and the hand?
Eye – What you see; the TV shows you watch, the websites you view, and the images you expose yourself to have a tremendous impact on your heart and mind!
Hand – What you do; the kind of activities you engage in, the kind of environments you put yourself in, all have incredible potential to help you or harm you in your efforts to avoid sin.
Hand – What you do; the kind of activities you engage in, the kind of environments you put yourself in, all have incredible potential to help you or harm you in your efforts to avoid sin.
It is easy to rationalize this and make the excuse that we live in a culture where it is unavoidable. Temptation surrounds us on all sides everyday. How are we possibly to avoid it all? This only demonstrates how much more seriously we need to take Jesus’ words. The problem is really not our society (although our world is certainly full of temptation) - the problem is us!
D. L. Moody (certainly one of the more godly men of the modern era) wisely recognized the source of the problem when he said, “I have more trouble with D. L. Moody than with any man I know. The man I see in the mirror each morning is my greatest impediment to holiness and godliness.”
Take a few moments to reflect on Jesus’ teaching on the impact of your eye and your hand on your spiritual life…
Consider what changes you need to make in order to live the life that Christ is calling you to…
Ask God to help you make the necessary changes in your habits and lifestyle…
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you have given us the words of life and you have taught us the way to live in your kingdom. Now grant us your grace that we might live this way – Amen.
Jeff Frazier
Tuesday, July 6
In Matthew 5:28, Jesus teaches that to look at a woman lustfully is the same thing as to commit adultery with her in your heart. To many people, this teaching sounds like an almost impossible standard. If looking is the same as doing in God’s eyes, then what hope is there for any of us!? The problem stems from a basic misunderstanding of what lust is.
First of all, lust is not looking. Jesus does not say that it is wrong to look at or notice a woman. He says that it is wrong to look at a woman “lustfully”. God created us as visual beings and it is not wrong to notice the physical beauty of His creation, even if it is the physical beauty of another person.
Second, lust is not the same thing as sexual desire. Too many Christians believe that to think about or desire sex at all is sinful, and they live with a tremendous amount of secret guilt and shame for the natural feelings and desires that come with being human. God created us as sexual beings. In fact, God invented sex! For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame (Genesis 2:24-25). It is natural and good that we should have these desires.
So…what is lust?
The word that Jesus uses for lust here is a Greek word ‘epithemea’ which means a desire out of control, it is a word most often used for idolatry.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Colossians 3:5
In other words, Jesus is saying that when looking and noticing lead to a desire that becomes obsessive and idolatrous, then you are lusting. To lust is to desire pleasure without a person and without a promise. When you lust, you really don’t want the person as an individual with dignity and value in the sight of God. You want their body and the physical pleasure of an experience. Neither do you want the boundaries of a committed relationship (i.e. the covenant of marriage). You simply want something from them, but you don’t really want them. Lust depersonalizes sex and dehumanizes people. It is incredibly destructive to both parties.
Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
- Ephesians 4:19
For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. – 1 John 2:16
The truth is that we can and do lust after more than just people and sex.
Questions for reflection:
Where are my desires out of control?
Have I been guilty of wanting pleasure without a person or a promise?
Prayer:
Thank you Lord for the gifts of sex and physical beauty. Forgive us for desiring your gifts more than You, and teach us to pursue purity in every area of our lives – Amen.
Jeff Frazier
First of all, lust is not looking. Jesus does not say that it is wrong to look at or notice a woman. He says that it is wrong to look at a woman “lustfully”. God created us as visual beings and it is not wrong to notice the physical beauty of His creation, even if it is the physical beauty of another person.
Second, lust is not the same thing as sexual desire. Too many Christians believe that to think about or desire sex at all is sinful, and they live with a tremendous amount of secret guilt and shame for the natural feelings and desires that come with being human. God created us as sexual beings. In fact, God invented sex! For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame (Genesis 2:24-25). It is natural and good that we should have these desires.
So…what is lust?
The word that Jesus uses for lust here is a Greek word ‘epithemea’ which means a desire out of control, it is a word most often used for idolatry.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Colossians 3:5
In other words, Jesus is saying that when looking and noticing lead to a desire that becomes obsessive and idolatrous, then you are lusting. To lust is to desire pleasure without a person and without a promise. When you lust, you really don’t want the person as an individual with dignity and value in the sight of God. You want their body and the physical pleasure of an experience. Neither do you want the boundaries of a committed relationship (i.e. the covenant of marriage). You simply want something from them, but you don’t really want them. Lust depersonalizes sex and dehumanizes people. It is incredibly destructive to both parties.
Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
- Ephesians 4:19
For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. – 1 John 2:16
The truth is that we can and do lust after more than just people and sex.
Questions for reflection:
Where are my desires out of control?
Have I been guilty of wanting pleasure without a person or a promise?
Prayer:
Thank you Lord for the gifts of sex and physical beauty. Forgive us for desiring your gifts more than You, and teach us to pursue purity in every area of our lives – Amen.
Jeff Frazier
Monday, July 5
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
- Matthew 5:20
Not too long ago, after a family dinner, I asked one of my children to empty the dishwasher. I came back into the kitchen several minutes later to find many clean dishes from the dishwasher stacked on the counter, but not put away. I asked my child why they didn’t do what I had asked them. To my surprise, the response I received was, “But dad, I did. You asked me to empty the dishwasher, and it is empty.” I was completely caught off guard somewhere between frustration and amusement. My child had obeyed the literal directions that I had given them, but they had missed the intent of their father’s instruction.
In a sense, this is how the Pharisees of Jesus’ day approached the Old Testament law. They were so concerned with the letter of the law that they often completely missed the spirit of the law. This is a very real spiritual danger for all of us!
We must guard against becoming what Jesus warns against in Matthew 15:8, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”
Nowhere is this more important than in the issue that Jesus deals with next, the issue of sexual purity.
You have heard that it was said, “Do not commit adultery.” But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. – Matthew 5:27-28
The Pharisees had reduced what it meant to keep the Old Testament law on this issue to simply avoiding the physical act of adultery (i.e. do not have sex with someone who was not your spouse). Apparently they assumed that if the adultery was only happening in their imaginations God either wouldn’t know or wouldn’t care about it. Jesus says, in effect, of course that is a law of God, but that is only the beginning of what God desires for His people when it comes to the issue of sexual desire and temptation.
In November 1976, former President Jimmy Carter made these remarks during an interview with Playboy Magazine, “The Bible says, ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery.’ Christ said, I tell you that anyone who looks on a woman with lust has in his heart already committed adultery. I've looked on a lot of women with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times.... This is something that God recognizes, that I will do and have done, and God forgives me for it.”
But what happened after that interview? Yes, you guessed it.
Playboy had record sales that month. President Carter became a public laughing stock. His political enemies had a field day with his comments and the TV show Saturday Night Live had their next four months of material for political jokes.
The reality is that our culture laughs at the notion of looking at another person lustfully as being wrong. Yet, at the same time, our culture is being destroyed by the devastating effects of lust and adultery.
We have said that the Sermon on the Mount is all about life in the Kingdom and Jesus’ Kingdom message is radically counter-cultural. I am convinced that one of the most counter-cultural applications of this Kingdom lifestyle is with this very issue.
Prayer:
God grant us the grace and strength to seek your kingdom and your righteousness. Make us men and women of purity in mind, in body and in heart – Amen.
Jeff Frazier
- Matthew 5:20
Not too long ago, after a family dinner, I asked one of my children to empty the dishwasher. I came back into the kitchen several minutes later to find many clean dishes from the dishwasher stacked on the counter, but not put away. I asked my child why they didn’t do what I had asked them. To my surprise, the response I received was, “But dad, I did. You asked me to empty the dishwasher, and it is empty.” I was completely caught off guard somewhere between frustration and amusement. My child had obeyed the literal directions that I had given them, but they had missed the intent of their father’s instruction.
In a sense, this is how the Pharisees of Jesus’ day approached the Old Testament law. They were so concerned with the letter of the law that they often completely missed the spirit of the law. This is a very real spiritual danger for all of us!
We must guard against becoming what Jesus warns against in Matthew 15:8, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”
Nowhere is this more important than in the issue that Jesus deals with next, the issue of sexual purity.
You have heard that it was said, “Do not commit adultery.” But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. – Matthew 5:27-28
The Pharisees had reduced what it meant to keep the Old Testament law on this issue to simply avoiding the physical act of adultery (i.e. do not have sex with someone who was not your spouse). Apparently they assumed that if the adultery was only happening in their imaginations God either wouldn’t know or wouldn’t care about it. Jesus says, in effect, of course that is a law of God, but that is only the beginning of what God desires for His people when it comes to the issue of sexual desire and temptation.
In November 1976, former President Jimmy Carter made these remarks during an interview with Playboy Magazine, “The Bible says, ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery.’ Christ said, I tell you that anyone who looks on a woman with lust has in his heart already committed adultery. I've looked on a lot of women with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times.... This is something that God recognizes, that I will do and have done, and God forgives me for it.”
But what happened after that interview? Yes, you guessed it.
Playboy had record sales that month. President Carter became a public laughing stock. His political enemies had a field day with his comments and the TV show Saturday Night Live had their next four months of material for political jokes.
The reality is that our culture laughs at the notion of looking at another person lustfully as being wrong. Yet, at the same time, our culture is being destroyed by the devastating effects of lust and adultery.
We have said that the Sermon on the Mount is all about life in the Kingdom and Jesus’ Kingdom message is radically counter-cultural. I am convinced that one of the most counter-cultural applications of this Kingdom lifestyle is with this very issue.
Prayer:
God grant us the grace and strength to seek your kingdom and your righteousness. Make us men and women of purity in mind, in body and in heart – Amen.
Jeff Frazier
Friday, July 2
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. Matthew 4:17
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. Matthew 4:23
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:10
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:20
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. Matthew 9:35
From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. Matthew 11:12
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. Matthew 13:24
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Matthew 13:44
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field". Matthew 13:31
And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven". Matthew 18:3
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14
Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Matthew 21:43
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14
Here is a rather obvious statement at this point– Jesus talked a lot about the Kingdom. Jesus refers to it 55 times in Matthew and over 150 times in the four Gospels. In fact the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7), which we are studying this summer, is all about what it means to live in the Kingdom.
Here is a rather obvious and important question – What exactly is the Kingdom?
At the risk of reducing what Jesus himself took a good deal of time and effort to explain, illustrate and describe, the Kingdom is living life with Jesus as your King.
We don’t talk or think much about kings and kingdoms in our culture these days, but it is worth considering for a moment. To have a king means to be a subject, to be under the reign of another.
Living with Jesus as your King means that Jesus is in charge. He gets to decide what is best for you. You submit yourself to his laws and obey his commands.
Living with Jesus as your King means that you owe him your allegiance. He is your first loyalty, before country, family, work, friends, or self.
Living with Jesus as your King means that you serve him. You are willing to sacrifice for him and give to him your time and treasure.
Living with Jesus as your King means that your honor and revere him. You respect his name and reputation. You recognize that your life represents the honor of your King.
It is not always easy to live this way. There is a part of us that doesn’t want to bend the knee to another. We don’t like having someone else call the shots for us. We want to be our own king. If we only had an earthly king, we would have good reason to be uneasy. The kings and rulers of the world operate with on this principle – your life for me. They rule at the expense of their subjects.
But Jesus is a different kind of King and his kingdom operates on a radically different principle. The kingdom principle of Jesus is – My life for yours! He sacrificed himself so that we might rule and reign with him! He is the King who became a servant of all! There is none like Him! He is Jesus, your King!
Jeff Frazier
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. Matthew 4:23
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:10
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:20
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. Matthew 9:35
From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. Matthew 11:12
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. Matthew 13:24
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Matthew 13:44
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field". Matthew 13:31
And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven". Matthew 18:3
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14
Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Matthew 21:43
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14
Here is a rather obvious statement at this point– Jesus talked a lot about the Kingdom. Jesus refers to it 55 times in Matthew and over 150 times in the four Gospels. In fact the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7), which we are studying this summer, is all about what it means to live in the Kingdom.
Here is a rather obvious and important question – What exactly is the Kingdom?
At the risk of reducing what Jesus himself took a good deal of time and effort to explain, illustrate and describe, the Kingdom is living life with Jesus as your King.
We don’t talk or think much about kings and kingdoms in our culture these days, but it is worth considering for a moment. To have a king means to be a subject, to be under the reign of another.
Living with Jesus as your King means that Jesus is in charge. He gets to decide what is best for you. You submit yourself to his laws and obey his commands.
Living with Jesus as your King means that you owe him your allegiance. He is your first loyalty, before country, family, work, friends, or self.
Living with Jesus as your King means that you serve him. You are willing to sacrifice for him and give to him your time and treasure.
Living with Jesus as your King means that your honor and revere him. You respect his name and reputation. You recognize that your life represents the honor of your King.
It is not always easy to live this way. There is a part of us that doesn’t want to bend the knee to another. We don’t like having someone else call the shots for us. We want to be our own king. If we only had an earthly king, we would have good reason to be uneasy. The kings and rulers of the world operate with on this principle – your life for me. They rule at the expense of their subjects.
But Jesus is a different kind of King and his kingdom operates on a radically different principle. The kingdom principle of Jesus is – My life for yours! He sacrificed himself so that we might rule and reign with him! He is the King who became a servant of all! There is none like Him! He is Jesus, your King!
Jeff Frazier
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