(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Alright, we're here in Matthew chapter 5, I should say. And we're just going verse by verse through the book of Matthew. And so, you know, when you look at the Sermon on the Mount, like Matthew chapter 5, you could preach one sermon on it, but there's a lot of different topics. And so in today's sermon, we're looking at verses 27 through 30, the topic of adultery, the topic of adultery. Notice what it says here in verse 27. You have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And as I've said before when it says, Ye have heard, it's not necessarily saying, Thus saith the Lord, he's just saying what you've heard. Now, of course, they had heard it's wrong to commit adultery, but also realize this, it was also wrong to lust after a woman in the Old Testament as well. It's not like that's some new commandment or something new, but Jesus is making it very clear. It's like, well, you can't justify yourself just because you've never done the act. Even lusting inside your heart is also wrong. Now go to Leviticus chapter 20. Leviticus chapter 20. Point number one, what is the punishment for adultery? What is the punishment for adultery? Leviticus chapter 20 verse 10. And the man that comitteth adultery with another man's wife, even he that comitteth adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and adulteress shall surely be put to death. And so what the Bible says is when adultery takes place, both the man and the woman are put to death, right? So you could have three different examples. You could have two people that are both married to other people. You could have one person married, like the husband married, but the woman is not married. Or you could have the woman's married, but the guy is not married. All three situations would be adultery. And in all three situations, what would you have? You'd have the death penalty. That is God's law. I mean, is this verse confusing? Is it kind of like, well, I don't really understand Leviticus chapter 20 verse 10. No, the Bible is just very clear that the man and the woman get put to death. Under God's system and God's perfect law, that would be the penalty. You say, pastor, during the millennial reign of Christ, what's going to be the punishment for adultery? The death penalty. You say, why? Because God is the one. Jesus is the one ruling and reigning. It is His perfect system. And in God's law, that is the punishment, right? Go to your Bible to Matthew 5. Matthew 5. But you know what I just preached most churches don't agree with? It's, I mean, how could you say that? That's so archaic. That's so harsh. I mean, God's more loving than that. Isn't that what people would say? In fact, here is from an article on a website. This is a pretty famous website, gotquestions.org. Who's heard of that website? If you ever have a Google question about the Bible, first website that pops up, gotquestions.org, right? Here's what they say about adultery. And by the way, on this website, they don't believe in eternal security. They're not saved. They're not a Baptist website. They don't know exactly what they believe, but they do not believe in eternal security. But it says here, before answering this question, it is important to clarify a difference between the Old Testament and New Testament. Under the Old Covenant law given to ancient Israel under a theocracy, the punishment for adultery was death. Leviticus 20, verse 10. Okay, I'm glad we can agree on that. In the New Testament, Jesus brought a new law into effect. The wages of sin is still eternal death, Romans 6.23, but adultery no longer carries the death penalty civilly. When you're reading Romans 6.23, do you walk away from that verse and say, wait a minute, we don't punish adultery with the death penalty anymore. Where in Romans 6.23 does it say because God's offering, because by the way, God was offering a free gift of eternal life in the Old Testament too. That's not some new thing that God is offering now. It's always been by grace through faith. It's the everlasting Gospel. It's never been by works. And when you say there's none righteous, no, not one, those in the Old Testament weren't righteous either. There's none that doeth good, no, not one, not just today, but ever. It's always been a gift. And Jesus resurrecting just did not get rid of the law. Right? Here's what it says from this article. Modern Christians are not living under the old theocracy. And are not commanded to harm those who sin. Well, first off, you're right. This is not ancient Israel. But wouldn't it be good if it was and we had God's laws? Is there anything wrong with God's laws? Yeah, we don't live in ancient Israel. Our government does not say, thus saith the Lord, this is what we believe and this is what we do. But wouldn't it be good if that's what they did? It's like, well, you know, congressmen, what do you believe about such and such? Well, you know, thus saith the Lord and Leviticus, this is what we believe and teach. That would be a proper government that took God's law and applied it. That would be the perfect system. That would be God's system. And of course we don't live in that system. And so here's the thing, since we are not living in that system, we're not the ones making the laws, we do not enforce it. But news flash to this website, the common man wasn't enforcing the law in the Old Testament either. He said, now we're not commanded to harm those who sin. What does it say the common man is the one that puts someone to death? You catch somebody committing a crime, you immediately just kill them. Is that what it said in the Old Testament? Actually that was always the job of the government and we're going to look at that here in a second. Matthew 5 verse 17, as a reminder of what we talked about recently, I think we can trust the words of Jesus Christ, right? Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy but to fulfill. Jesus did not show up and say, you know what, Moses got it wrong. He's just a bit too harsh. He didn't understand. Elijah got it wrong. Abraham got it wrong. They were way too judgmental, right? That's the Mosaic law. It's done away. It's bad. It's gone. Where do you ever see that in the Word of God? What was wrong with God's law? There was nothing wrong with God's law. The problem is that we break those rules and we're guilty. But there's nothing wrong with God's law. The Bible says the law is good if a man uses it lawfully. And God's laws are good. They're righteous. They're perfect. That's what the Word of God says, right? He did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill. Preferably I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jaw or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. Ask yourself the question, has heaven passed in your lifetime? Do you remember waking up one day and all of a sudden you saw heaven just falling and being destroyed? I mean, has the new earth taken place in your lifetime? I mean, not in my lifetime. And in fact, if you go back to Genesis 1 and just add up the charts, you know what you've got? You've got a world that's less than 7,000 years old. We don't have a new heaven and a new earth yet. And so here's the thing. That takes place at the end of the book of Revelation. Revelation 21. That's when you get the new heaven. That's when you get the new earth. And at that point, all of God's moral laws are gone. You say, why? Because there's no more sin. There's no need for them. Look, if someone's not going to break a law, you don't need the law. But because men break laws and women break laws and people commit sin, you need those laws. And you still need the laws about adultery and murder and whatever the sin is. Why? Because people are still guilty of it in 2024. It's not something that's gone. It's like, no, it's still around and we still need the proper punishment when people commit that crime. Not just sin, but this is a crime because it has the death penalty associated to it. Right? Go to Romans 13. Romans 13. And you say, well, that seems too harsh to me, pastor. Well, take it up with God. That's what God said. I mean, I'm just showing you what the Word of God says. I'm sorry other churches don't preach this. I'm sorry that other Baptist churches, the pastor commits adultery and he's still the pastor, but that's not how we run things at Verity or Truth Baptist Church. We do things based on what does the Word of God say. And look, there's nothing wrong with God's law. And when people tell you, you know what, God's laws are done, we're under law and under grace, I'm just thinking what are you trying to cover up? What are you trying to hide? Or is it you just want to make sure everyone keeps coming, you don't want to offend them, and so you want to have more money coming into the offering plate. Let me just show you, though, it's the government's job to basically bring forth the punishment on these crimes. Romans 13, verse 1. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers, for there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisted the power resisteth the ordinance of God, and they that resist shall receive themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same. For he is the minister of God to thee for good, but if thou do that which is evil, be afraid, for he beareth not the sword in vain, representing the punishment. For he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. So in general, if you're following the laws of God, and you're trying to do right and be a good person, you know what? You don't have to worry about being put to death for some crime you commit. Now get it. If you live in like an Islamic country and you preach the Gospel or convert to Christianity, yeah, you could be put to death. But I'm saying in a normal government that's a decent government, that might not be perfect, but they're trying to have laws to help the people, if you do what's right, you don't have to worry. I'm not worried about getting arrested tonight. You say why? Because I'm not a drug dealer. I'm not a murderer. I'm not breaking the laws of the government. I believe as God's people, we ought to try to obey the laws of the government. Not just God's law, but realize, well, I mean, God instituted government and we should try to the best of our ability to obey the laws that man has because they are the authority over us. So it's always the government's job to bring forth the penalty. And here's the thing. Inside of myself, I don't think I would ever want to sign up for the job working for the government and putting people to death. I wouldn't enjoy it. I think it's kind of weird if you're like, I just want to put people to death. For me, I'm just like, leave that to the government. I wouldn't want to be the one to press the button for the electric chair or to shoot the bullet or the rope for hanging or whatever it is. I wouldn't want to do that personally, but I still believe that God's laws are just and perfect and right and those should be the laws of our government. And if they're not the laws, which they are not in most cases, it's a problem with the government. It's not a problem with God's law. And it's not something that was done away at the resurrection of Christ. It's just called no country in 2024 is following what the Bible says is their authority in all matters. Go to your Bible 2 Samuel 12. 2 Samuel 12. So the question would come up, well, what do you do then if basically the government does not punish a criminal for a certain crime? And specifically what we're talking about is the sin of adultery in this sermon. Well, what would the situation be then? How should we view this as Christians? 2 Samuel 12 verse 13, And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not die. Now in this situation, guess who's the one who's really supposed to be bringing forth the laws of God? David. He's the king. He's the ruler. He does not put himself to death for the crimes he committed because he didn't just commit adultery, he also committed murder of Uriah. And so here's the thing, he didn't do it. Nathan rebukes him. He gets right with God and you know what? God shows mercy. And so in 2024, there are a lot of things that people are guilty of where they should be punished. And you know what? It's in God's hands. It's not in my hands. It's not in your hands. It's up to God to choose what to do. And in the situation with David, you know what God did? He said, I'm going to show mercy to David. I'm going to give him another chance. Even though he is guilty of a crime, even though he should get the death penalty, it's not like David was innocent. He committed adultery and murder point blank. He should have been put to death. Bathsheba should have been put to death. But God showed mercy. And what I would say in 2024 is, it's in God's hands. Right? It's not in my hands. It's not in your hands. It was never our job to put it in our hands. It was never our job to walk around and just murder people, kill people that are guilty of breaking certain sins. That's not our job. It was always the government's job to do. The problem is in 2024, the government rarely does it. Right? Turn your Bible to John 8. John 8. So we talked about the punishment for adultery. Let us talk about the pardon of adultery or the pardon for adultery or the forgiveness for adultery. John 8. John 8, verse 1. John 8, verse 1. John 8, verse 1. Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives and early in the morning He came again into the temple and all the people came unto Him and He sat down and taught them. So basically, what is Jesus doing? He's teaching. He's preaching. He's expounding upon the Word of God. Right? Kind of like right now, I am, you know, just preaching a sermon. Now, I mean, here it says He sat down, so I think it's like less of a sermon. He's just kind of teaching various people that are listening. But He's preaching the Word of God. And then all of a sudden, and the scribes and Pharisees brought unto them a woman taken in adultery and when they had set her in the midst, they said unto them, Master, this woman was taken in adultery in the very act. Imagine, as I'm preaching a sermon, if a couple, you know, Mormons walk in and then they bring this person right here in the midst of the service and they say, Hey, what are you going to do about this situation? It's like, get out of here Mormons. Get out of here, INC. Get out of here, I'm doubting now. I'm teaching the Word of God. Right? So basically they're interrupting Jesus teaching the Word of God to just bring about this question and Jesus has something He's already doing. And what they say is this woman was caught in adultery in the very act, saying we caught her committing adultery. Now, let me say this. I do believe that she's guilty of this sin, but a couple questions have to come to your mind. How is it possible to catch a woman in adultery and not catch the guy in adultery? I mean, is the guy like Usain Bolt? He's like the world's fastest human or something like that. He just ran away. I mean, how do you catch the woman and not catch the guy? Right? But you know what's interesting is around this world and countries that actually punish adultery with the death penalty, you know what they normally do? They kill the woman and not the man. That's what takes place in 2024. I mean, there are a lot of societies today that are very sexist against women. You say what societies? Islamic and Hindu societies are very sexist against women. Very prejudiced against women. It's funny because people criticize the Word of God and say how demeaning to say that the husbands are the heads of their homes and the wives' number one job is to keep the home. They criticize the Word of God, yet it's those societies that actually degrade women. Us saying that women are designed to be women and feminine, how is that sexist or degrading to women? What I would say is when you say women need to start acting like a man to have value, that would be pretty sexist, wouldn't it? But they catch this woman and they don't catch the guy. Okay, well, I don't know how that works. You also have to think, well, you know, they probably intentionally set up this situation because how is it that they could catch somebody in the act? I mean, this is not a sin somebody does out in public. It's something you do in a hidden spot. It's something you do where you're not going to get caught. It's not something that's done in the open, so how do they catch her in the very act? They probably plan the entire thing, right? Verse 5, Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned, but what sayest thou? Now, what they're saying is correct, that she should be stoned. I mean, if she's guilty of that sin, that is the death penalty. But this is a lose-lose situation because if Jesus says, yes, you're right, then they're going to say, okay, let's make sure it gets done. And he'd be basically going against the law of the land that's not actually punishing this. They're not actually properly enforcing the laws. And if he said no, then they're saying, are you saying Moses is wrong? Are you saying that you're better than Moses? This is a question that's a lose-lose situation, and you know what this teaches us? Sometimes in life you don't have to answer questions. Some questions it's best just to ignore because there's no winning answer. No matter what you say, it's kind of like, answer not a fool to his folly, lest there be like also unto him, right? If you answer a fool, I should say, but if you answer not, then either way you lose. It doesn't really matter what you say. It's a lose-lose situation. And so Jesus basically just ignores them. Verse 6, This they said, tempting him that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground as though he heard them not. So he just ignores them. So when they continued asking him, so they won't quit bugging him about this, he lifted up himself and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down and wrote on the ground, and they which heard of being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even on the last, and Jesus was left alone and the woman standing in the midst. Now of course the million dollar question is, what did he write on the ground? And here's the truth, since the Bible does not specifically say, I can't really be sure. I mean, I've heard a lot of ideas before, a lot of possibilities. But Jesus is dogmatically sure what he did write. But he ignores them. He writes on the ground. And then all of a sudden it says they're convicted by their own conscience, which would imply that these people have a conscience, despite the fact they're doing something very wicked. And then it says in verse 10, When Jesus had lifted up himself and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee. He doesn't say it's okay to commit this sin. He doesn't say there's anything wrong with the law. What do you see? You just see that he didn't enforce the law. You say, but why wouldn't he enforce the law if he's Jesus? He didn't come to rule and reign. He came to be the Savior. During the millennial reign of Christ, you better believe he's going to enforce his laws. But he didn't do that when he came the first time. And likewise for us, it's not our job, right? Unless you're the ones that are working in the government to get the laws put into motion, it's not our job. It's outside of our hands. It's not what we do. And so it's up to the government to determine what to do in those situations. It's not our job to do this. Go to 1 Corinthians 5. 1 Corinthians 5. 1 Corinthians 5. Now, let's talk about how we should look at this as Christians, okay? Here's the reality. If this was the law, which it is not, you know what would take place? There'd be a drastic decrease in adultery in the Philippines. You say why? Because people would say it's not worth the risk. Now I'm going to use an extreme example just to prove a point. And I'm not saying this should be the law. I don't think this should be the law. But let's say this was the law. Let's say the law for robbing a 7-Eleven or a sorry, sorry store was they cut off your hand. Now I don't think that should be the law because that's not God's law, right? And let's say, for example, they actually did punish it where you read in the newspaper, you see on Facebook, you know, a young boy or a young girl gets their hand cut off for stealing a pack of gum at the sorry, sorry store. You know what would take place? All of the kids would stop stealing and all of the parents would teach their kids, don't do it. It's like they're going to cut off your hand. It's not worth it. Why? Because a strong punishment is a deterrent for crime. All I have to say to my kids is, Paulo. And then all of a sudden it's like, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Mom. I'm sorry, Dad. Right? Once they hear you're going to get a Paulo, you're going to get punishment. It's like, oh, I'm sorry. Right? Because it's a deterrent for doing wrong. They're afraid to do wrong. They don't want to get the punishment. And so here's the thing. If adultery was punished by the death penalty in 2024, you know what would take place? The amount of adultery would drastically decrease. And you know what would take place? People would have much happier marriages. Right. They'd have much happier homes. Even the thought inside their head they would get rid of and said, I don't even want to go down this road. Right? So look, having God's laws would not mean that we live in a barbaric society. Actually, it would be a wonderful society. It would be a beautiful society. It would be a godly society. It would be a society where husbands and wives actually loved and cared about one another because of the fact they're not even going down those sorts of roads. Go to 1 Corinthians 5. And I'm also not saying that we should retroactively punish this sin. So if this became the punishment starting today, that doesn't mean that we retroactively put into motion what people did five years ago or ten years ago or whatever. But what it's saying is going forward, that would be the law. And here's the thing. It would actually prevent people from committing these sins. It would actually be a good thing. It says in 1 Corinthians 5 verse 9, I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators, yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters, for then must he needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such and one known not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? Do not ye judge them that are within. What he's saying there in verse 12 is you judge those within the church, but not judging those outside the church. You say, what do you mean? Verse 13. But then that are without, God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person. So here's the thing. Inside of the house of God we do judge this sin and it's something that would not be welcome at the local church. Somebody has to get it right to be at the local church. And I didn't make those laws. These are God's laws. But those without the church, God judges. It's not our job. I'm not saying we walk down the street with a rock in our hand and just throw it at people that are guilty of sins where they should be put to death. It's not our job to actually punish it, but that is what the government should be doing. How do we view it? Well, we judge it within the church. Outside the church, it's up to God. And here's the thing. The specific sin in 1 Corinthians is a man sleeping with his father's wife. That is like the worst form of adultery I can possibly think of. Right? I mean it's disgusting. It's perverted. I mean the woman's married to his father. Right? Which obviously that's not his mother. Obviously his dad remarried, but it's still perverted. It's sick. And it's something that isn't even seen outside the church usually. But that person comes back to church when he gets the sin right. And you know what would take place if somebody came back to church that had been kicked out but got right? We never mention it ever again. The past is the past. Paul said to forgive that person that got right with God. Turn in your Bible to Matthew 5. Matthew chapter 5. I went to a church in West Virginia one time. And I had been going for a couple months. And then somebody at the church told me that brother so-and-so at the church committed adultery on his wife. Like he used to be a pastor, but he's not a pastor anymore because he committed adultery on his wife. And they were talking about something that took place like over ten years in the past. And that person was now a member of the church. And his wife was a member of the church. And I was mad. Why did you tell me that? Talk about a wicked thing to do. Bring up something that somebody did more than ten years ago. It's like, yeah, he used to be a pastor, but he's not a pastor now because he committed adultery on his wife. It's like, why are you telling me that? Why did you bring that up? And I hope that at our church, if somebody got kicked out and was brought back in, we would not bring up why they were kicked out to begin with. They're right with God. It's in the past. They're welcome back at church. And if somebody asks you about it, you can just try to avoid it in a subtle way or just say, well, you know, we're just happy to have them at church again. Glad to have them or whatever. But not bringing up the past because here's the thing. I don't want people to bring up sins I committed more than ten years ago. Nor do any of us. So if somebody got kicked out of church and then they came back to church, we allowed them back, you know what, we should just forgive that person. That is what the Bible teaches. Now, generally that's not what takes place. Usually when somebody gets kicked out of church, they never end up coming back. That's our experience at our church. But if we did have that situation where basically we allowed them to come back, we should welcome them and forget about the past of what they did. Right? Matthew chapter 5. Matthew 5. So point number one, we have the punishment for adultery. Point two, we have the pardon of adultery, the forgiveness for adultery. Point three, we have the passion for adultery. The passion for adultery, meaning the lust inside of the heart, the passion, the desire to commit this sin. Matthew 5 verse 27. You have heard that it was said by them of all time, thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. So the Bible speaks about a man that would lust in his heart towards a woman he's not married to or to a woman, you know, if he's not married, she's married to somebody else or he is married. And then this woman that he's lusting after, and it says he's committed adultery inside of his heart. Okay? Obviously the contrary would be true also. If a woman lusted after a guy she's not married to and he is married or she is married, what is that? It's adultery of the heart. Right? It's not the exact same thing as adultery. I mean, obviously there are levels to sins and the thought is far less than actually committing the act, but it's still adultery of the heart according to the Word of God. Go to the Bible to Proverbs chapter 6. Proverbs 6. Proverbs chapter 6. Proverbs chapter 6. And as you're turning there, I'm just going to read you what the Bible says, having eyes full of adultery. And so you can commit the act inside of your heart by just looking upon someone or thinking it in your heart and it's not the same as actually doing it, but it is a big sin. Now I've heard people say, well, you know what, if you punish adulterers with the death penalty, then all of us need to be killed because we've all lusted before. That is a stupid argument. Just because someone has had a thought in their head or they lusted in their heart, that is not the same as actually doing it, right? If somebody's mad and they think a horrible thought of killing somebody else, they don't get the death penalty for the thought. That's ridiculous. They would get the death penalty for the actual action of doing it. And so I'm not making light of the sin, but it's also not the same thing as actually committing the act either. Proverbs chapter 6 verse 23. Proverbs 6 verse 23. For the commandment is a lamp and the law is light, and reproofs of instruction are the way of life. To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman, lust not after her beauty in thine heart, neither let her take thee with her eyelids. So here's the thing. The Bible already spoke about not lusting after someone in the Old Testament. It's not like this is some new thing or some new commandment Jesus brought in. I mean, this has already been the law not to lust after someone. And the Bible says in verse 26, For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread, and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. So the Bible speaks about a woman that is a whorish woman. She is a whore is what the Bible is saying. And it says that she hunts for the precious life, meaning a woman who her desire is to actually destroy men's lives. Now, when you read verses like this, it's kind of hard to believe or understand, right? Because who would want to do that? Who would be so wicked? Yet the Bible says this exists. Somebody that would hunt for the precious life. Now, there's a couple of things to consider. Number one, the example being given is a woman that would do this to try to destroy men's lives. It does not give the example of a man doing this trying to destroy women's lives. Does that mean it never happens the other way? Of course it happens the other way also. But there's a reason why. We don't have a gender neutral Bible because certain sins are more likely to be committed by men and certain sins are more likely to be committed by women. When it comes to a sin like the lust of the eyes or adultery inside of the heart, which gender would probably be more likely to be guilty of this? Probably the guy because the Bible highlights that, right? I mean, it speaks about a man lusting in his heart. Also because of the fact you see women dressed, you know, not wearing clothes on billboards and all over the place, you know, the vast majority of prostitutes are women, not men. For a reason, right? But at the same time, a woman is more likely to hunt to destroy a guy's life. That's what we're seeing. And look, you know, before you get mad at me about that, I mean, I would like to hear your interpretation of it. That's what we see, that a guy would be more likely to lust and then destroy his life like that, and a woman would be more likely to commit this sin, right? And then it says this in verse 27, can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? So look, if you set my clothes on fire here today, you know what? It's going to burn me. My clothes are going to burn. I'm going to like rip off my suit and scream and be in pain, right? It'd be impossible to set this on fire without causing any pain, right? And the Bible is using this example when it comes to lusting after someone where it's like, don't even play around with this sin. Well, I didn't actually do anything. I just thought about it in my heart. Yeah, I mean, can a man take fire into his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Right? You know, if the world we live in in 2024, this is a common problem with men with pornography, I guess Playboy is outdated. I don't know what replaced Playboy is being the big, dirty magazine or whatever. But there's pornography all over the internet. And statistically speaking, at least, most young men watch pornography on a regular basis. Most young men. Now, of course, it's a sin that also exists with women, but it's far less for women than it is for men. And what I would say to young men here, whether you're married or not married, can a man take fire into his bosom and his clothes not be burned? You play around with a sin like that, you might actually end up committing that sin. Right. And obviously it's a wicked sin even to have the thought, but how much more would the judgment be upon your life if you actually do the actual sin, the actual crime, is what the Bible would say, because it is a criminal offense based on the Word of God. Right? It would be far, far worse. And it's an epidemic in 2024 because there's computers everywhere, and then you've got a lot of young people that have full access to a cell phone when they're 15 years old. And they get addicted to porn, which is going to destroy their marriage when they get married one day. It's going to destroy their lives. It's going to be a vice that they cannot break. I mean, that is the reality in 2024. It is a major sin. Point number one, we see the punishment for adultery. Point two, we see the pardon for adultery. Point three, we see the passion for adultery. Point four, we see the peril of adultery of the heart, which means the danger of adultery of the heart. You can have this attitude, well, I'm not actually committing the sin. I'm just thinking it. Right? You know, in the U.S., it's sort of like a joke that you hear people say at the workforce where they'll be like looking at women on the Internet or something like that or looking at women outside and get all the other coworkers to do it. And it's like these are often married men. It's like, well, it's not wrong if I don't do anything. You're already doing something by looking on them. You're already resting in your heart. That is already wrong. And the thing is people get this idea that can play around with sin and they can stop it at any point they want. Isn't that what people think? But that's not the way it works. And let me prove that to you with the Word of God. Verse 28, Can one go upon hot coals and his feet not be burned? Look, you walk on hot coals, which is being used symbolically to talk about lusting toward other women, and your feet are not going to be burned? Of course they're going to be burned. You say, Pastor, what about all those people that you see that walk on hot coals and their feet aren't burned? They're possessed by devils. That's what's taking place. That's why they don't feel any pain. Because when you get burned, guess what? It hurts. Right? Verse 29, So he that goeth in to his neighbor's wife, whosoever toucheth her, shall not be innocent. Men do not despise a thief if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry. Let's say somebody was desperate for food. They're at the point of death. And then they stole something from you, or they stole 100 pesos from you in order to be able to buy food and survive. We're not going to hate a person that does that. It's still wrong. They shouldn't do that. But you can understand it. They're desperate. And it says in verse 31, But if he be found, so if he's caught, he shall restore sevenfold. He shall give all the substance of his house. So if a man is desperate and he steals and he gets caught, he's got to pay it back. You say, well, what if he can't pay it back then? If he can't pay it back, he's going to sell his family into servanthood. He's going to sell himself into being a servant. That's God's system where basically if you can't pay debt, you don't get thrown in jail where everybody in the country pays for you to rot in jail. What happens is you become a servant if you can't pay off a debt. You've got to pay off the debt before you would be free. So here's the thing. If a man steals something, he can pay it back. So basically it's as if it never happened. Right? If somebody steals my wallet and then they return it, it's like it didn't happen. If somebody steals 1,000 pesos from me and then gives it back, it's like it didn't happen. And in fact, if they have to restore sevenfold, I'll be happy. It's like, wow, you stole 1,000 and I get 7,000. Right? It's as if it never happened. Right? No harm, no foul. It's done. It's gone. It's forgiven. But wait a minute. But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding, he that destroyeth it destroyeth his own soul. Here's the thing. If a person commits adultery, that cannot be undone. Do you understand what I'm saying? See, there are certain things that cannot be undone. See, if somebody steals from you and then they pay you back, it's like no big deal. But when somebody commits adultery, you can't just be like, well, forgive me. Let's just pretend it never happened. It's only because we were drunk or whatever. No, no, no. It cannot be brought back. And it says, if you do that, you lack understanding. Then it says this. A wound and dishonor shall it get, and his reproach shall not be wiped away. For jealousy is the rage of a man, therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. What does that mean in verse 34? Here's what that means. If a man catches his wife committing adultery on him, he will beat that guy to death. That's what he's going to do. That's the mentality of a guy. He will beat that guy to death. Right? He's not going to spare in the day of vengeance. You say, well, you know what, I can just talk myself out of the situation. He will not regard any ransom. Neither will he rest content, though they'll give us many gifts. You can give him your house. You can give him your car. You can give him all the money in your wallet. Just take my wallet. No, he's going to beat you to death. That's what a guy is going to do. And look, praise God, I've never been in that situation, but I can just imagine you would lose your temper so much that you would want to kill that guy. Now, it is interesting that when you look at situations like this in real life, it's like a husband that catches his wife is more likely to kill the guy, but it's like the opposite with a wife that catches her husband. She's actually more likely to, at least from what I've seen in the news when these situations take place, take it out on her husband as opposed to taking it out on the other guy. But the example it's giving is if a guy catches his wife committing adultery, he's probably going to kill that guy. He's going to beat him to death. He's going to beat him and beat him and beat him until he's not moving anymore. Right? This is what a guy would do. And it doesn't matter how many gifts you give or say, I'm sorry, please forgive me. You say, why? Because when rage and anger takes over a guy, he completely loses control. Go to Job 31. Job 31. So be careful. Be careful going down this road of lusting inside your heart because if you ever actually commit that action, you have no idea what's going to happen to you. Right? I mean, and here's the thing. Under God's perfect system, the person would be put to death, and I don't know that that would ever wipe away the wound. I mean, it's something you'd obviously always remember, but it's like a fresh start because, you know, marriages till death do us part. Right? But if the person you're married to ends up dying or passing away or being given the death penalty for adultery or whatever, all of a sudden you'd be free to marry somebody else because that bond or that value you make before God is till death do us part. That's what the Bible says. And we're not looking at it, but in 1 Corinthians it talks about that. If we actually had God's perfect system and you know it would take place, those people would be put to death. And guess what? That person would be free to marry somebody else. So, I mean, here's what I'm saying. If we did God's laws, number one, the sin itself would not even happen that much. And if it ever did, somebody would be free to marry somebody else instead of the situation where this takes place and then someone's kind of stuck in a situation where it's like they love God and they can't do anything about it. It's just the situation they're in. Isn't it true God's system is better than man's? Right? God's system is better than man's system. And people want to criticize the word of God for the death penalty for certain crimes. That's barbaric. It's like they criticize the religion of Islam and the only thing they ever criticize for is the fact they put criminals to death. It's like I can give you a million things to criticize Islam on. Number one, the prophet was a pedophile. That's a good start. But the only thing they ever criticize is do you realize they put murderers to death in Islamic countries? Do you realize they put homos to death? Do you realize they put adulterers to death? I mean, the only things that are good about the religion. And that's what Christians criticize. I mean, what a crazy world we live in in 2024 where people know nothing about the word of God. Job 31, verse 1, I made a covenant with mine eyes, why then should I think upon a maid? Now look, I believe Job was a better man than me. No offense, I believe Job was a better man than any of us. He's a great man in the Bible, right? He makes a covenant with his eyes. A covenant is kind of like a contract where basically he makes an agreement, I'm going to sign it, my eyes are going to sign it, and here's the agreement, eyes, you'll never look upon someone you're not married to in that way. Yeah, that'd be a good covenant for all of us to make in 2024 because let's just be honest, as we go slowening later today, you know what? There are going to be women that are not dressed appropriately, that they're showing off their nakedness that we see, right? And you've got to just have it inside of yourself every time you see something like that, and you're not even trying. You're just going about your business, you just look away. You say, well, why is it so important I look away instead of letting it enter into my eyes? Well, verse 7, If my step-path turned out of the way and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands. See, here's what you have to understand. It starts with what you let into your system, which would be your eyes and your ears, the things you listen to, the things you look upon. That enters into you, your eyes and your ears, and then where does it go next? It goes to your heart. It now goes to your desires. And then eventually it ends up being your actions. That's what the Bible teaches. And so the thing is, by looking upon things that are wrong, it can actually change the direction of your heart. It can actually cause you to desire things that you would have never thought of, you would have never done, but since you looked on it and looked on it and looked on it, now all of a sudden you're willing to do things, it goes into your heart, and then all of a sudden you might end up doing it. Why? Because you let it come into your eyes. Look, we all have to have a cutoff point at some point, right? Now you can decide, I'm going to cut it off at the heart. I'm going to let it go past the eyes and the ears. I say you're a fool. I say take heed lest ye fall, as the Bible says. But you've got to do the cutoff point at some point. Why not just cut it off at the source? Because this is also true. If you are doing your nine chapters a day, if you're reading through the New Testament, you know what's taking place as you let this go into your eyes and into your mind? All of a sudden inside your heart you want to do what's right. All of a sudden inside your heart you want to serve God, right? Because you're letting it enter into your system. But if you allow sinful things to enter into your system, guess what? All of a sudden you're going to start to desire to do wrong because you've got a spirit and you've got a flesh, and which of these are you feeding? That's the question. Go to Matthew 5. We'll close up. Matthew chapter 5. Matthew 5. And as we return to Matthew 5, let me just quote you from Solomon where he said, And whatsoever mine eyes desired, I kept not from them. So Solomon is stating that, you know what? In the past, I allowed my eyes to get anything they wanted. And whatsoever mine eyes desired, I kept not from them. I withheld not my heart from any joy. What is Solomon saying? I first allowed it to be my eyes. And then guess what? It entered into my heart. And then guess what? I married 55 billion women. Right? Then he married thousands of women. He's like, how is that even possible? I still don't know how it's possible. But what it started with was the eyes. Right? He allowed it to enter into it. He said, You know, whatsoever mine eyes desired, I kept not from them. I let my eyes have anything they wanted. Here's the problem. You let your eyes have whatever they want, and all of a sudden, guess what? It's going to enter into your heart, and then it's going to enter into your actions. That's what the Bible teaches. Matthew 5, let's close up. Verse 27. You have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after hath committed adultery with, they're already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee. Now, look, I believe verses 29 and 30 are very connected to 27 and 28. I believe 29 and 30, I think everybody agrees they are at least symbolic in some way. But remember, it enters into your heart because it first enters into your eye. Right? And he said, For it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. Now, as a saved person, do we ever have to fear being cast into hell? Of course not. We're saved forever. In my opinion, and I preached through this many years ago, I believe this is being symbolic of the fact that if you allow it to enter into your eyes, it's eventually going to destroy your entire life. Your whole body symbolically is just filled full of sin. That's what I believe that it's saying. I mean, I don't believe these are just two isolated verses that have no context to the rest of the Sermon on the Mount. That's the attachment from verses 27, 28, and then 29 and 30. And then, And if thy right hand defend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee. But it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And what you're seeing is the peril or danger of adultery of the heart. And what Jesus is saying is, Hey, if you've got this problem, cut it off at the source. Now, don't misunderstand me. I'm not literally telling you to go home and pluck out your eye. And I don't believe that Jesus was literally telling you to go home and just rip your eye out. But how about making a covenant with your eyes? Or your hand is tempted to click on a computer mouse to look at something you shouldn't. How about just making a covenant? I mean, you don't have to literally cut off your hand. But how about making an agreement, I'm not going to put myself in those situations, right? How about not making provision for the flesh? Doesn't the Bible say that? Instead of trying to say, Well, I can resist temptation. I'm strong. How about just not putting yourself in that situation? Because if you put yourself in a bad situation a hundred times, and you are 99% successful, you know what? You just destroyed your life. But what if you never put yourself in that situation? And if you're ever in a situation like that and it's not your fault like Joseph in the Old Testament, you just run out of the house. Right? You just get out of the situation. Right? You just run out the front door or whatever. I mean, a young single guy that is tempted to look at something he shouldn't, he's just like, Man, I've got to get out of here. You know what? You know that you're going to spare your life from being destroyed. That's what the Bible teaches. Is it the same thing as literally committing adultery? No, it's not, but it can lead to the same thing because it always starts with this, and then it goes to this, and then it goes to the actions. Let's go somewhere to prep. Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and I ask you to help us to apply the sermon to our lives. Help all of us, not even just the men but also the women. Help us cut this off at the source. Help us to cut it off from the things that we look at and the things we listen to. Help us not waste our time on stupid things on the Internet or sinful things, God. And we just pray that you help all of us. Just be godly people. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.