In Matthew 5:27-30, Jesus addresses the topic of adultery and lust, but then takes a deeper dive into the sins of the mind and proposes taking a radical approach to purging sin. Using hyperbole, he tells us to gouge sin out of our lives and cast it from us. The bloody socket and the bloody stump are powerful images that point us towards the bloody cross where Jesus dealt with our sin radically and permanently.
4. Lust … is the craving for salt
by a man who is dying of
thirst.
An Anatomy of Lust – Leadership Mag.
5. The Power of Imagination – David Guzik
“Imagination is a God-given gift; but
if it is fed dirt by the eye, it will be
dirty. All sin, not the least sexual sin,
begins with the imagination.”
6. Job 31:1
“I have made a covenant with
my eyes; how then could I
gaze at a virgin?
11. Mt. 19:12 - Hyperbole
For there are eunuchs who have been so
from birth, and there are eunuchs who
have been made eunuchs by men, and
there are eunuchs who have made
themselves eunuchs for the sake of the
kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is
able to receive this receive it.
12. Galatians 4:15 - Hyperbole
What then has become of your
blessedness? For I testify to you
that, if possible, you would have
gouged out your eyes and given
them to me.
13. Romans 9:3 - Hyperbole
For I could wish that I myself were
accursed and cut off from Christ for
the sake of my brothers, my
kinsmen according to the flesh.
14. GotQuestions.org
“…we naturally tend to pamper
ourselves and excuse our sin. That is
why we need Jesus’ shocking, radical
hyperbole to wake us from our
spiritual complacency.”
Greeting
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent 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. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
Inner Sins
Matthew 5:27-28
In Ryan’s sermon last year on handling temptation he quoted John Phillips statement concerning the lust of the flesh:
“It can simply mean satisfying a legitimate desire in an illegitimate way.”
Lust … is the craving for salt by a man who is dying of thirst. There's a touch of perversion there, isn't there? Why were we not made with merely a craving for water, thus removing the salt from every newsstand, television show, and movie?
The Power of Imagination
“Imagination is a God-given gift; but if it is fed dirt by the eye, it will be dirty. All sin, not the least sexual sin, begins with the imagination. Therefore what feeds the imagination is of maximum importance in the pursuit of kingdom righteousness.”
Job 31:1
I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?
2. Extreme Measures
Matthew 5:29-30
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
Skandalon – A Spring Trap
While serving in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan in 2012, he was injured by the detonation of an improvised explosive device; he lost his right eye and required surgery to save the vision in his left eye. After the injury, he was deployed to Bahrain and South Korea.
For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”