Sunday’s message was not an easy one. Jesus talked about adultery (Matthew 5:27-32) from the perspective of both lust and divorce; two things that are prominent in our culture.
This is a difficult topic to speak frankly about in a diverse generational context. To speak on sexuality knowing that there will people from six to ninety-six years of age was a bit daunting. I decided to frame the sermon around the narrative of David and Bathsheba. Speaking about this episode would allow people to draw their own connections to the story.
Lust was first. I spoke primarily to the gentlemen here. Our culture is saturated with lust based thinking. Lust is encouraged because it is safe. “Hey guys look but don’t touch and you’re ok. Objectify women and view them through the lens of your imagination. There is nothing wrong with a sexual mental picture.” That is the better part of the message our culture sends out about sexuality. Whether they are telling us buy a hamburger or a certain kind of deodorant, the message is clear: Lust all you want. We’ll make more.
Jesus says, “No!” Lust is the adultery of the heart. It is an egregious offense against God and humanity. It is a violation of the seventh commandment. That’s what David’s problem was. His adultery began on his rooftop long before Bathsheba was commanded to come to his bed chamber. And what we discover in David is that sexual sin is almost always a problem of geography first. He was on the rooftop when he should have been with his men in battle.
Whether our adultery is fantasized or physical it always involves a place. It begins with what John Ortberg refers to as “The Look.” We need to avoid the look! Jesus says it is better to pluck out your eye and cut off your hand then for your whole self to be thrown into hell. We need to go to great length to avoid the places of our lust. Know your rooftop and don’t go up there. Turn off the TV. Turn off the computer. Look away from the treadmill. Don’t stare at the billboard. Our culture will barrage us. We need to fight the look.
From this Jesus moves to divorce. In many Jewish circles the permissiveness of divorce was as prevalent in Jesus’ day as it is in ours. Jesus ties divorce to adultery in such a way to elevate the sanctity of marriage. Human sexuality goes beyond the procreative and the enjoyable (of which both were intended). It was also always intended to serve as a metaphor for our relationship with God. Divorce diminishes and destroys the metaphor. Jesus does not say that there is not valid reason for divorce. He is simply asserting that the physical and emotional components of our sexuality are not removed from the spiritual part of who we are. They are connected.
The good news for us in this world of adultery also comes from David and Bathsheba. David’s lust and abuse resulted in spiritual, physical, and emotional damage. Sexual sin, like no other, always does. But we discover in this story that a broken and repentant David is able to comfort an abused and hurting Bathsheba. And it is the product of this reconciled and redeemed relationship that God blesses to become the greatest king in Israel’s history- Jedediah, which means “beloved of God.” We know him as Solomon.
God can redeem people lost in sexual sin and he can heal the hurt that results from divorce and adultery. That is the story of the cross. That is the hope of the gospel.
Pastor Scott
This is a difficult topic to speak frankly about in a diverse generational context. To speak on sexuality knowing that there will people from six to ninety-six years of age was a bit daunting. I decided to frame the sermon around the narrative of David and Bathsheba. Speaking about this episode would allow people to draw their own connections to the story.
Lust was first. I spoke primarily to the gentlemen here. Our culture is saturated with lust based thinking. Lust is encouraged because it is safe. “Hey guys look but don’t touch and you’re ok. Objectify women and view them through the lens of your imagination. There is nothing wrong with a sexual mental picture.” That is the better part of the message our culture sends out about sexuality. Whether they are telling us buy a hamburger or a certain kind of deodorant, the message is clear: Lust all you want. We’ll make more.
Jesus says, “No!” Lust is the adultery of the heart. It is an egregious offense against God and humanity. It is a violation of the seventh commandment. That’s what David’s problem was. His adultery began on his rooftop long before Bathsheba was commanded to come to his bed chamber. And what we discover in David is that sexual sin is almost always a problem of geography first. He was on the rooftop when he should have been with his men in battle.
Whether our adultery is fantasized or physical it always involves a place. It begins with what John Ortberg refers to as “The Look.” We need to avoid the look! Jesus says it is better to pluck out your eye and cut off your hand then for your whole self to be thrown into hell. We need to go to great length to avoid the places of our lust. Know your rooftop and don’t go up there. Turn off the TV. Turn off the computer. Look away from the treadmill. Don’t stare at the billboard. Our culture will barrage us. We need to fight the look.
From this Jesus moves to divorce. In many Jewish circles the permissiveness of divorce was as prevalent in Jesus’ day as it is in ours. Jesus ties divorce to adultery in such a way to elevate the sanctity of marriage. Human sexuality goes beyond the procreative and the enjoyable (of which both were intended). It was also always intended to serve as a metaphor for our relationship with God. Divorce diminishes and destroys the metaphor. Jesus does not say that there is not valid reason for divorce. He is simply asserting that the physical and emotional components of our sexuality are not removed from the spiritual part of who we are. They are connected.
The good news for us in this world of adultery also comes from David and Bathsheba. David’s lust and abuse resulted in spiritual, physical, and emotional damage. Sexual sin, like no other, always does. But we discover in this story that a broken and repentant David is able to comfort an abused and hurting Bathsheba. And it is the product of this reconciled and redeemed relationship that God blesses to become the greatest king in Israel’s history- Jedediah, which means “beloved of God.” We know him as Solomon.
God can redeem people lost in sexual sin and he can heal the hurt that results from divorce and adultery. That is the story of the cross. That is the hope of the gospel.
Pastor Scott
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