UNCOMFORTABLE TOPICS
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Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, use your words in Scripture to build my faith, to help me live a life grounded in what you show and teach me. I want to bring you glory in all I am and everything I do.
Read MATTHEW 5:27—37
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Matthew
Matthew 5
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’
28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
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 part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’
32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’
34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.
36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.
37 Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Reflect
As you read about adultery, divorce, and truth-telling, who comes to mind who is currently caught up in such sad situations and needing your prayers?
I recall addressing a men’s rally on the subject ‘… whatever is pure … think about such things.’1 No one should have been surprised that this involved the topic of pornography, but several commented they had never heard such blunt stuff before. Well, Jesus is very blunt. He treats the seventh commandment like the sixth. Adultery involves inner morality. He confronts lustful longing. Adultery in the head is as bad as adultery in the bed! For those of us living in a highly sexualized Western culture, Jesus’ searingly pure standards have always been tough, along with Paul’s teaching about our bodies being temples of the Holy Spirit.2 Gouging out eyes and lopping off hands deliberately shocks by exaggerating just how ruthlessly Jesus wants us to reject impure thoughts.
Divorce is a distressingly raw topic for many. How compassionate we should be for those caught in this tragically common situation. Verses 31 and 32 should be read in conjunction with 19:1—12. While Matthew records that divorce is allowable when one partner commits sexual immorality, Jesus never compromises God’s ideal of marriage for life. We live in tension, as the demands of being salt and light are always challenging in a fallen world. When Jesus turns to oaths and the vexed issue of being trustworthy, telling the truth and sticking with it, he tackles an ethical issue that often underlies adultery, divorce, and much else. Sadly, we are said to live in a post-truth culture where people create their own ‘truths’ to suit their own opinions and purposes—and these always exclude God’s truth.
Jesus makes us uncomfortable, for the higher purpose of living differently for him in his kingdom. No aspect, large or small, is unchallenged. Always compassionate and gracious, he nevertheless desires these life changes.
Apply
Consider these areas of concern when you are living in tension between Christ’s kingdom and today’s culture. What do you find most difficult?
Closing prayer
Heavenly Father, I confess that there are times when I find it hard to live in ways faithful to my calling in Christ. Thank you, that when I fail, you offer forgiveness and everything I need to walk in ways pleasing to you.
1 Phil 4:8 2 1 Cor 6:19.
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