Matthew 5:27-32"We are losing the battle for purity in the church..."
The widespread use of the internet makes porn accessible, anonymous and affordable. Pornography is highly addictive, and actually changes brain chemistry. Recent studies show that two-thirds of all Christian men have visited internet porn sites and are currently struggling.
According to http://www.churchpurity.com/churchpurity.php the fastest growing segment of porn site visitors is women.
In taking us to a portion of the Sermon on the Mount, Pastor Jason Thacker highlighted four principles that Jesus Christ declared as He explained and proclaimed God's intentions as written in God's Word.
Define the Boundaries
Matthew 5:27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'
Marriage is a God-created, God-ordained covenant between one man and one woman. Genesis 2 details God's creation of "woman" for Adam and in verse 24, calls her "his wife" - the first marriage ceremony! The act of adultery violates this covenant...a sin against God.
Discipline the Mind
Matthew 5:28 "But I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart."
The sin of lust de-thrones God and en-thrones another person as an object in His place! Lust is selfish while love is selfless. The disciplining of the mind requires external and heavenly help!
- Make a covenant: "I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin?" Job 31:1
- Take every though captive: "We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5
- Fill your thinking with truth: "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things." Philippians 4:8
Deny the Opportunities
Matthew 5:29-30 "And if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to go into hell."
The real issue is the heart. Don't let yourself become entrapped! Flee! Create spiritual firewalls around you! Find accountability! Walk by the Spirit!
Devoted for Life!
Matthew 5:31-32 "And it was said, 'Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce,' but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the cause of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
God's intention is for one man + one woman = one flesh for life! "And (Jesus) said, 'For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh? Consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.'" Matthew 19:5-6
Purity is a matter of our heart, mind, and soul. It is the same heart, mind, and soul with which we are exhorted to "love the LORD your God!" Deuteronomy 6:5
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