ADULTERY OF THE HEART

Matthew 5:27-32 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Just as unrepentant anger and hatred held within one's heart is the same as murder in the eyes of God, and His Son, Jesus Christ (Vss. 21-22 above), so unbridled lust and desire in one's heart is the same as committing adultery. Here Jesus, in His "Sermon on the Mount," continues to explain misinterpretations of God's law. No doubt the scribes and Pharisees, those that led the Jewish nation with their explanation of the law, were concerned with the physical aspects of adultery - the overt, external act itself. Intentional adulterous thoughts were not spoken against, had insignificant consequences, and were not forbidden by the Law of Moses. Jesus, in this short passage corrects this misconception of God's law as it pertained to Jewish law, and in doing so, established New Testament law as it applies to Christianity today.

As in most of God's laws, where an application is made to men, the same would apply, as well, to women. Here the command of God, Thou shalt not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14), is explained in its full meaning to include, not only the physical act itself, but the sinful act that leads to it - looking on a woman to lust after her. One only has to read 2 Samuel 11 to recognize the sinful lust of King David, which resulted in the physical act of adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah.

The apostle, Peter gave us a lengthy description of false prophets (preachers and teachers) in 2 Peter 2, saying that many shall follow their pernicious ways (Vs. 2). They would use their hearers as merchandise - "selling" to them false doctrine for covetous gain (Vs. 3). God will judge false teachers for their sinful conduct - they shall utterly perish in their own corruption (Vs. 12). However, this does not amend the damage done to those that are led astray from the will of God with their false teaching. The description of these false teachers that applies to the lesson text is found in verse 14, which says, Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children. False teachers, such as the scribes and Pharisees under Jewish law, and many false teachers today, simply overlook the sins that originate in one's heart, and, the terrible results that remain hidden from their audiences.

This false teaching needed correcting during the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, and needs to be corrected today. Unforgiven sins of the heart will condemn mankind just as well as the sinful acts which they produce. Hatred of another that remains in one's heart will be punished to the same degree as murder that may result. Likewise, the wanton, unrestrained lust of a married man or woman for another of the opposite sex, is no less sinful than the physical act of adultery itself. It is true that the temptation of such sinful acts will always be before us, but oft times it leads to sin when a man looketh on a woman to lust after her.

When the eye yields to temptation, lust results, and sin is committed. This, Jesus explains in the two verses following the lesson text. Verse 29 says, And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. This appears to be a very radical solution to sin, yet the application has a very strong teaching. For instance, there may come a time when a part of one's body becomes diseased and becomes a threat to the whole body. In which case the infected part must be removed in order that the entire body does not die. This medical remedy of physical life, Jesus applies to one's spiritual life. Physically removing the right eye would not prevent the lustful desires created by the left eye. Therefore, Jesus is assuredly referring to plucking out the sinful desire the eye creates. Paul wrote, Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry. He does not command the removal of the eye that brings about fornication, etc., but the mortification, or putting to death, the sin offornication itself. Neither the eye, nor the hand, is responsible for one's sins. It is the heart (the mind) of mankind that allows the temptations of life to control our actions. The mind can blame no other part of the body for sin. It is the mind, not the eye that commits adultery of the heart. Lust must be plucked out of one's life; it is infectious to the soul; its removal, as well as the removal of all other sins, is necessary to save the soul.