- Jan 23, 2023
- 4 min read
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who [so much as] looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye makes you stumble and leads you to sin, tear it out and throw it away [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble and leads you to sin, cut it off and throw it away [that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation]; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
Matthew 5:27-30 AMP
Lust is one of those sins that crouches not only at my door BUT in my heart. The only cure for lust is love. And the only way for me to truly love is through God. God is love.
“Your ancestors have been taught, ‘Never commit adultery.’ [See Ex. 20:14.] However, I say to you, if you look with lust in your eyes at a woman who is not your wife, you’ve already committed adultery in your heart [The Aramaic is speaking of more than adultery with a married woman; it uses the word for any sex act outside of marriage. Jesus elevates the standard of righteousness. He is holy, and when he comes to live within the believer, his holiness is the fulfillment of what God requires of us]. If your right eye seduces you to fall into sin, [The Greek word skandalizo means to “entice to sin,” “offend,” or “set a trap”] then go blind in your right eye [Or “pluck out your eye and throw it away”]! For you’re better off losing sight in one eye than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And if your right hand entices you to sin, let it go limp and useless [Or “cut it off and throw it away.” Verses 29 and 30 use obvious hyperbole to help us understand how intent we must be to guard our lives from sin]! For you’re better off losing a part of your body than to have it all thrown into hell [Jesus is using an obvious figure of speech when he instructs us to “pluck out” our eyes or “cut off” our hands. The metaphor is clear: we are to end every evil habit that will lead us to destruction].
Matthew 5:27-30 TPT
Evil separates me from the love of God. Disobedience separates me from the presence of God. What was true in the Ten Commandments becomes even more clear in Christ’s sermon, I am to strive for the same holiness and the same perfection that He walked.
If I love God, then I will show that love by striving to do what He commands. If I love God, I will want His love and presence to remain in me.
“Ye haue heard that it was sayd to them of olde time, Thou shalt not commit adulterie. But I say vnto you, that whosoeuer looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adulterie with her already in his heart. Wherefore if thy right eye cause thee to offend, plucke it out, and cast it from thee: for better it is for thee, that one of thy members perish, then that thy whole body should be cast into hell. Also if thy right hand make thee to offend, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for better it is for thee that one of thy members perish, then that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”
Matthew 5:27-30 GNV
Now I don’t go out physically disfiguring myself in order to keep this command BUT, instead, I need to change my heart, my routine, and my focus. Too often in the past I was praying that other people and other situations would change when I should have been praying for me to change. And that is the same with all of God’s commandments; I need to change, not my neighbor, no my enemy, not God, just me.
“Again he said to them: ‘You have heard what was said to those of long ago: You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who sees a woman and covets her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If you right eye seduces you, pluck it out and cast it from you. Also, if your hand seduces you, cut it off. It is better for you to suffer (allow, to let, permit) the loss of one of your limbs than all your body in Gei-Hinnom [hell, valley of evil counsel].”
Matthew 5:27-30 NMV
So, I get to choose my focus on living a life aligned in obedience. I get to make the decisions about on what I will focus. And I am going to choose love. I am going to make no excuses for when I fail, fall, and stumble. I am going to ask for forgiveness and refocus on aligning myself with what God wants.
'“You have heard that our fathers were told, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that a man who even looks at a woman with the purpose of lusting after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye makes you sin, gouge it out and throw it away! Better that you should lose one part of you than have your whole body thrown into Gei-Hinnom. And if your right hand makes you sin, cut it off and throw it away! Better that you should lose one part of you than have your whole body thrown into Gei-Hinnom.'
Mattityahu (Mat) 5:27-30
I pray that I keep my focus on love. I pray that as I walk in the Way of the Lord, that my focus remains on loving God more than loving myself. I pray that I remember that loving God is a daily walk of removing myself from the experiment and adding much more of Christ.
I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!