Matthew 5:27-28 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
This morning we will continue to study the surpassing righteousness of sexual purity. Last week we concentrated on God’s purpose for sex, to be the sign of the covenant of marriage. Today we are going to look at Jesus’ words and see the straight line that He draws from our eyes to our hearts. The Pharisees and the scribes defined righteousness by what they did and didn’t do; we are seeing in the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus defines surpassing righteousness, the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven, by what we allow to come into and out of our hearts. As I mentioned last week, we will discuss sexual purity more than sexual sin because Jesus makes very clear that the avoidance of a physical act is not necessarily righteousness. Avoidance is often a show of will, but purity is the result of love. Everything comes down to this, Jesus took all of the Law and the prophets, everything that God ever desired from or prepared for man and said it all hung on these two things: “’You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Purity requires love and righteousness is born out of love. Our culture has been deceived into equating love and sex from a human or fleshly point of view, that sex is the outcome or overflow of love between two people, but the second commandment can’t ever come before the first. What I mean is, love for people can’t ever surpass love for God. Love for God is what creates righteousness within us and the path of purity for us. Even and especially in matters of sex, love for God must be our guiding light and our surpassing righteousness because love motivates us to walk in purpose, love for God satisfies our soul and love for God brings Him glory. So today we will attempt to see how loving God with all of our hearts, minds and souls produces righteousness and purity within us as we control our eyes and guard our hearts.