Matthew 5:27-30
For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. – Matthew 5:30a
Click to read passage
The Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery'” (v.27) — that sexual relations outside marriage are forbidden. The disciples would certainly have heard this before; it is the seventh of the Ten Commandments, at the very core of the Jewish faith. The Israelites of the Old Testament kept this commandment by relying on God’s grace and trusting His word.
They understood that the law God gave through Moses was more than a set of rules for conduct; it was the covenant God had made with them as their guide. They were repeatedly called to fear God, love Him, and find strength through obedience. Yet because their forefather Adam sinned, the Israelites — like us — were fallen. They might keep God’s law outwardly, but what of the heart within? The prophet Jeremiah tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). He was describing the corruption of fallen humanity, whose motives and desires are often hidden even from itself.
God, however, sees clearly. Jeremiah says our God “searches the heart” (Jeremiah 17:10). The Lord Jesus told His disciples, “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Right behaviour on the outside does not guarantee purity within.
With these words, Jesus raised the commandment to the level of the heart. A person may do nothing outwardly wrong, yet be filled with lustful thoughts, and Jesus says that person has already sinned within. He calls for a decisive, uncompromising response to this sin: “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away… And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away…” (vv.29a, 30a). He was not telling us to actually maim ourselves, but to resolutely cut off and cast away whatever leads us into sin.
What are lustful thoughts? They are sexual desires and fantasies that are immoral, improper, or contrary to biblical ethics — thoughts of another person that are inappropriate, possessive, or impure. Jesus knew such thoughts exist, and gave this warning because this sin calls for zero tolerance.
I (Ps Boon Hwa) remember that while studying abroad, I learned that a classmate had worked as a nude model for an art class. Art students undergo life drawing from the human form as part of their training. At the time, I didn’t quite understand why. I later learned that its purpose is to master anatomy, perspective, and the play of light and shadow — the foundation of drawing skill. Without the covering of clothing, the artist can observe directly how bone and muscle move, for the human body is God’s masterpiece, the most intricate form in all creation. Life drawing lets painters render the human form accurately in whatever they create. Nudity itself does not have to provoke lust; what a person sees depends on the purity within their own heart. As Paul writes in Titus, “To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; both their minds and their consciences are defiled” (1:15).
Living in this generation, the challenge for God’s children who pursue holiness is great. Media of every kind weaves attractive appearances and alluring movement together with lust. If we are not watchful, we absorb this without realising it, and slide into a defiled world of fantasy. Thanks be to God — as children of light, we have His word as our standard and His indwelling Spirit as our help. In this, we can overcome, and more than overcome, through Him.
Jesus said, “It is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.” As His followers, we know that the One who redeemed us is holy, and so we too must pursue holiness. To walk the path of sanctification and please the Lord — even when it costs us, like cutting off a hand or gouging out an eye — is right and worthwhile, for the salvation of the soul far outweighs the body’s temporary wholeness.
Reflection:
Not long ago, we watched a servant whom God had greatly used fall into adultery. A once-beautiful testimony was destroyed in an instant, with many consequences still to be faced. Grieved by this, we pray for them, and we ask the Lord earnestly to guard our thoughts and our steps. Let us resolve firmly to stay far from sin, knowing that we too are weak.
Prayer:
Dear Abba Father, thank You for giving us Your beloved Son Jesus, and for the precious words He taught. We live in an age of declining moral standards; help us remember and live out Your teachings, guard our thoughts and minds, and save us from the snare of sin and lust. Teach us to treasure the life You have given us, that we may walk all our days in Your light. We pray in the victorious name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!
Click to read passage
The Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery'” (v.27) — that sexual relations outside marriage are forbidden. The disciples would certainly have heard this before; it is the seventh of the Ten Commandments, at the very core of the Jewish faith. The Israelites of the Old Testament kept this commandment by relying on God’s grace and trusting His word.
They understood that the law God gave through Moses was more than a set of rules for conduct; it was the covenant God had made with them as their guide. They were repeatedly called to fear God, love Him, and find strength through obedience. Yet because their forefather Adam sinned, the Israelites — like us — were fallen. They might keep God’s law outwardly, but what of the heart within? The prophet Jeremiah tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). He was describing the corruption of fallen humanity, whose motives and desires are often hidden even from itself.
God, however, sees clearly. Jeremiah says our God “searches the heart” (Jeremiah 17:10). The Lord Jesus told His disciples, “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Right behaviour on the outside does not guarantee purity within.
With these words, Jesus raised the commandment to the level of the heart. A person may do nothing outwardly wrong, yet be filled with lustful thoughts, and Jesus says that person has already sinned within. He calls for a decisive, uncompromising response to this sin: “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away… And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away…” (vv.29a, 30a). He was not telling us to actually maim ourselves, but to resolutely cut off and cast away whatever leads us into sin.
What are lustful thoughts? They are sexual desires and fantasies that are immoral, improper, or contrary to biblical ethics — thoughts of another person that are inappropriate, possessive, or impure. Jesus knew such thoughts exist, and gave this warning because this sin calls for zero tolerance.
I (Ps Boon Hwa) remember that while studying abroad, I learned that a classmate had worked as a nude model for an art class. Art students undergo life drawing from the human form as part of their training. At the time, I didn’t quite understand why. I later learned that its purpose is to master anatomy, perspective, and the play of light and shadow — the foundation of drawing skill. Without the covering of clothing, the artist can observe directly how bone and muscle move, for the human body is God’s masterpiece, the most intricate form in all creation. Life drawing lets painters render the human form accurately in whatever they create. Nudity itself does not have to provoke lust; what a person sees depends on the purity within their own heart. As Paul writes in Titus, “To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; both their minds and their consciences are defiled” (1:15).
Living in this generation, the challenge for God’s children who pursue holiness is great. Media of every kind weaves attractive appearances and alluring movement together with lust. If we are not watchful, we absorb this without realising it, and slide into a defiled world of fantasy. Thanks be to God — as children of light, we have His word as our standard and His indwelling Spirit as our help. In this, we can overcome, and more than overcome, through Him.
Jesus said, “It is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.” As His followers, we know that the One who redeemed us is holy, and so we too must pursue holiness. To walk the path of sanctification and please the Lord — even when it costs us, like cutting off a hand or gouging out an eye — is right and worthwhile, for the salvation of the soul far outweighs the body’s temporary wholeness.
Reflection:
Not long ago, we watched a servant whom God had greatly used fall into adultery. A once-beautiful testimony was destroyed in an instant, with many consequences still to be faced. Grieved by this, we pray for them, and we ask the Lord earnestly to guard our thoughts and our steps. Let us resolve firmly to stay far from sin, knowing that we too are weak.
Prayer:
Dear Abba Father, thank You for giving us Your beloved Son Jesus, and for the precious words He taught. We live in an age of declining moral standards; help us remember and live out Your teachings, guard our thoughts and minds, and save us from the snare of sin and lust. Teach us to treasure the life You have given us, that we may walk all our days in Your light. We pray in the victorious name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!