Adultery & Lust
April 27, 2025
Scripture: Matthew 5:27-30
Two Christian monks were walking in a drenching thunderstorm. They came to a stream, and it was swollen out of its banks. A beautiful young woman was standing there wanting to get to the other side but was afraid of the currents. So, one of the monks said, ‘Can I help you?’ “The woman said, ‘I need to cross this stream.’” “The monk picked her up, put her on his shoulder, carried her through the water, and put her down on the other side. He and his companion went on to the monastery. “That night his companion said to him, ‘I have a bone to pick with you.” As a monk, we have taken vows not to lust after a woman, much less touch her body. Back there by the river you did both.’ The first monk said, “My brother, I put that woman down on the other side of the river. You are still carrying her in your mind.” The monk then responded, “How did you know?”
We rarely want to admit that we have a problem with lust. Many men and women in and out of the church are gripped by this sin, but nobody wants to admit. This is a secret sin. If I were to ask you to raise your hand if you have ever struggled with this sin, you would probably feel rather uncomfortable about raising your hand.
What is lust? It is a craving, a powerful desire, an obsession, to gratify your fleshly desires. It has been described as a degrading animal passion, an excessive desire to possess, to consume without caring or rationally thinking about oneself, the needs or feelings of others, or the will of God. It is a lack of self-control. One might have the lust for power, money, food or something else. (Note: I John 2:15-17). However, the primary view of lust relates to the sexual realm. Dictionary.com’s primary definition of lust is an intense sexual desire or appetite; it is an uncontrolled or illicit sexual desire or appetite.
Our Scripture text focuses on the realm of sexuality. Today, I want to look at this topic of adultery and lust as we look at Matthew 5:27-30.
Verse 27 states, You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’
In Matthew 5:20 Jesus began to address the need for a person’s righteousness to surpass that of the Pharisees and scribes to enter the kingdom of heaven. The religious leaders of that day focused on externally keeping God’s commands to the exclusion of heart motives. Jesus then gives several examples. The religious leaders taught that to not murder was to keep the sixth commandment, but Jesus taught that to be angry was to murder.
The religious leaders taught not committing physical adultery meant one kept the seventh commandment.
However, Jesus taught that sexual lusting was committing adultery. Verse 28, But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Jesus was saying in a sense, Lots of you are feeling righteous today, because you have never physically committed adultery. But I say to you that some have been hopping from bed to bed in your heart and mind. Remember God looks at the heart. He is looking for people who are pure in body, mind and heart and are sexually pure to the core.
Here is the first principle for this morning! Take to heart the seriousness of adultery and lust!
God hates not only the act of adultery but also what leads up to it—the lustful eye and the lustful thought. James 1:14, 15 says, Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
When lust begins to take hold in one’s life, then sin occurs. Lust when conceived takes no thought of consequences. Studies have shown that once people view certain images, they will have a powerful desire to do some of those things they viewed. Today we are feeding sexual images to our kids on a platter. With all the images that are being placed before our kids, it is not surprising that they are starting to have sex at a younger and younger age.
Today, I am afraid many people, including professing believers, do not consider viewing pornography, lusting after others, as a big issue.
Let me give you some statistics in the United States related to internet pornography/lust. (Information from: Webroot.com; The Porn Pandemic; Enough Is Enough; and the Barna Group).
Every Second: 28,258 users are watching pornography on the internet.
Forty million American people regularly visit porn sites.
More people view internet pornography every month than Netflix, Amazon, and Twitter combined.
Thirty-five percent of all internet downloads are related to pornography.
One-third of porn viewers are women.
Fifty percent of 11- to 13-year-olds, 65% of 14- to 15-year-olds and 78% of 16- to 17-year-olds reported
having seen pornography in some way.
Thirty-eight percent of boys ages 16 and 17 visited a porn site this past year.
American children begin consuming hardcore pornography at an average age of eleven.
Seventy-five percent of parents felt their child would not have seen pornography online, but of those
children, 53% said they had in fact seen pornography.
Seventy-five percent of Christian men report using pornography on some level.
Fifty-seven percent of pastors and sixty-four percent of youth pastors admitted they have struggled with porn, either currently or in the past. How many pastors and leaders have given the church a black eye because they walked in lust! Lust is destructive.
The influence of pornography has negatively impacted so many people. It increases the odds of teenage pregnancy. It hinders sexual development in how to handle their sexuality. One develops a Biblically immoral perspective on sex.
Sexual sin not only causes unwanted pregnancies, but also sexually transmitted diseases. Studies have also shown that viewing pornography raises the risk of depression. It can create distorted expectations and low self-esteem. The impact of sexual immorality is has caused one out of three American women to be sexually abused during their lifetime. One out of four women and one out of six men will be sexually assaulted by the age of eighteen. Of course, infidelity is at an alarming rate. About 44% of unmarried and 18% of married couples experience infidelity.
I have seen too many lives of people who have been damaged because somebody else's sexual appetites run amuck. Lust will separate you from your spouse and kids. Lust will separate you from your friends and family. It will destroy your character, your reputation and integrity.
Lust will also separate you from fellowship with God. The guilt and shame that comes when a follower of Christ knowingly engages in illicit sexual behavior creates the equivalent of a concrete wall around his/her heart and makes prayer and worship virtually impossible. The great Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book, Temptation: When Lust Takes Control, states, At that moment God is quite unreal to us. When you are in the grip of lust, God seems to evaporate.
Sex is a gift from God for married couples to enjoy, but today people have no fear or real love for God. They do their own thing. It should not be surprising that the effects of lust are taking place in our culture as described by the Apostle Paul in Romans 1.
Romans 1:18 notes people suppress the truth because of their wickedness. Then verses 21-27 states, For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. 24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
Lust/sexual immorality then leads to greater perversion. Verses 26, 27. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
Please, take to heart the seriousness of adultery and lust! This is critical if you are going to do what Jesus says next.
Verses 29, 30, If your right eye causes you to stumble, 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. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, 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.
Jesus gives a hyperbole, an exaggeration to make a point. Jesus does not mean for you to pluck out your eyes, but He does want you to do whatever it takes to eliminate lust from your life.
Principle 2: Do whatever it takes to overcome/control lust in your life!
So, how can we overcome the temptation of lust? You need some practical defense strategies if you are going to break free from this in your life. Let me briefly give you several keys to overcome.
Key 1: PRAY!
Cry out to God for forgiveness and help. Pray for cleansing from lustful thoughts and desires. Pray for a clean heart and to be filled with His Spirit. Pray for His strength in your struggle with impure thoughts and desires. Plead for wisdom, guidance, and discernment. Surrender every area of your heart and mind to Him. Oh, how I encourage you to cry out for His help!
Psalm 51 is David’s great prayer after he committed adultery with Bathsheba. He prays, in verses 1, 2, Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. He goes on in verses 10-12, Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Prayer was a key factor for me when I struggled with this issue in high school.
Key 2: Get rid of anything that might hinder you! Avoid sexual sin by guarding your eyes! Cut off anything that might hinder you.
Colossians 3:5-8a states, Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things…
The eyes are a doorway to the mind and whatever one’s mind continually thinks on, a person will eventually do. If a person is going to be pure, he must be intentional about guarding his/her eyes. In many cases you can control what comes into your field of vision such as websites, television, movies, or books.
Then there are times when you cannot control what comes into your field of vision. Someone said, "You can't help the first look, but you can control the second look." Job 31:1 said, "I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl."
Whatever causes you to be tempted, cut it out of your life. Starve whatever it is that supplies your lustful thoughts. Shut off the supply. Do drastic things to cut off the supply of whatever feeds your lust.
David probably could not have avoided noticing Bathsheba (II Samuel 11) that was bathing in the nude on top of her roof! However, when he saw her, he could have immediately gone back into the house and fought to get those images and thoughts out of his mind, but he did not. He continued to look, leading to lust, and then to the act of adultery. Therefore, if we are going to have victory against sexual temptation, you must guard your eyes.
Key 3: Feed your mind with God’s word and with things that are right and pure!
Philippians 4:8, 9 states, Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Be intentional about putting good stuff in your mind, and that will slowly but surely displace the part of your mind occupied by lustful thoughts.
Please realize: What you put in your mind is to a considerable extent who you are and what you will become. So, fill your mind with God’s word, Christian music, Christian movies and shows. Please take to heart Romans 12:1, 2 that we are transformed by the renewing of our mind so we can determine the will of God.
One Scripture passage that was meaningful to me when I was younger was Psalm 119:9-12. How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. 10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands. 11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. 12 Praise be to you, Lord; teach me your decrees.
A person who does not take to heart the Word of God will lack the power and discernment to close the door on sexual thoughts. It is so important to learn and apply His word so you can effectively manage your lustful feelings and emotions.
Key 4: Teach and influence others to have self-control. If necessary, have a mentor or someone who holds you accountable.
Paul tells Timothy to flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart (II Timothy 2:22).
Paul instructs in Titus 2:6, Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.
Titus 2:4, 5 notes that the older women are to urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
Paul instructs women in I Timothy 2:9 to dress modestly with decency and self-control.
Parents or grandparents, I encourage you to instruct young men and young ladies to dress modestly. The world teaches young people to dress alluringly and sexually suggestively.
Parents/guardians, I also strongly encourage you to block adult material on internet devices. It is also important to talk to your children about the effects of pornography, this issue of sex.
Key 5: If you are married, fulfill the marital sexual relationship.
Please take to heart that God designed sex for marriage. The message we give our children should not be Sex is bad; don't do it. Instead, we should be sending this message: sex between a husband and a wife is awesome, and it is worth waiting for.
I Corinthians 7:2-5 states, But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. 3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Sexual fulfillment within marriage, which God designed, is so important to God that he calls it a duty.
So, married couples, cultivate romance in your marriage. Treat your spouse with tenderness and affection. Let go of the bitterness and resentment. Make a commitment to maximize your marriage.
Key 6: Have a fear/a reverence for God’s judgement!
Twice in our Scripture passage, Jesus notes that it is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. In other words, don’t mess with this. If you don’t, you will be eternally separated from God/hell.
Christ warned in Matthew 7:21-23, Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Professing believers in Christ are to do God’s will. If you know/love Him, you will want to do His will—not self-will. Listen, those who profess Christ but live in continuous unrepentant sin are probably not genuinely saved and therefore will be judged in hell.
I Corinthians 6:9-11 states, Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men[a] 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
A couple of years after Kathy and I were married, there were various girls that tried to make a move on me. Thankfully, I had taken to heart Hebrews 13:4, Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
Do you fear God’s judgment?
Rich Mullins, a Christian musician and songwriter who died in 1997 at the age of forty-one, once confessed in a concert that he struggled with watching pornography while traveling alone. One of his spiritual mentors told him, "It's not that you're so bad, it's just that you're not supposed to go out by yourself." So, Mullins took a friend along with him on a trip to Amsterdam near its famous red-light district. Mullins said he was hoping his friend would fall fast asleep and start snoring so, as Mullins put it, "I thought, 'Maybe it would be fun to just take a walk and be tempted.'" He waited until 5:00 in the morning for his friend to start snoring, but he never did. Meanwhile, in the midst of his temptation, Mullins picked up a notebook and wrote the words to one of his more popular songs, 'Hold Me, Jesus'":
Here are some of the lyrics.
And I wake up in the night and feel the dark
It's so hot inside my soul
I swear there must be blisters on my heart
So hold me Jesus, 'cause I'm shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my glory
Won't You be my Prince of Peace"
With this back story, some people call this Mullins' Prayer for Porn Addicts" song, but it could also be a called a "Prayer for Anyone Who Is Tempted" Song.
Kathy sing….
