Matthew 5:27-32
27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'
28 But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.
30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
31 "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.'
32 But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
---------------
This message is to the men today. Ladies, I'm asking for some latitude. Please just bear with me.
Let's be honest here. Per Christ's definition, how many of us have committed adultery with our hearts? Is there anyone reading this who hasn't? And if you say you haven't, are you telling the truth?
Clearly Christ is telling us not to lust after women. Clearly we've got biology running against us. But it doesn't stop there. Look at today's culture. Look at what's on TV. Listen to the radio. What's the subject of most every song? You got it ... sex. Look at today's fashion. Look at what some women wear on a daily basis. Shoot ... look at what's walking around on Saturday night at the church picnic -- this one totally baffles me. Show the curves, show the cleavage. See how young they are when it starts.
Then think about sexual promiscuity, and where it leads. Think about abortion. Think about broken families where the partner chases someone else, and the kids are left to catch the fallout. Read Humana Vitae. Pope Paul VI called this shot more than 30 years ago.
The "world" is completely against Christ's teaching here. It's pretty much all about power, money, and sex out there. Darn near everything is driven by one of those three things. Why do you think that is? Who do you think is behind it all? Consider that Christ called Satan "the prince of the world." Can you see what's going on?
This is what we're up against. We are at war. This why we need to put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6) every single day. The sooner we understand that we can't win this battle without the help of the Holy Spirit, the better off we are.
