my heart
Matthew 5:27-28 ESV
"You have heard is was said 'you shall not commit adultery'. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery in his heart."
I have been guilty of adultery, maybe? This may come as a surprise to my wife, and she will probably be alarmed to read it first on facebook. I am sure in many of churches across this country if I bared my soul (and the thoughts in my mind) I am sure a good sized group of pastors would brand me with a "scarlet A" and help me to the door (or I mean... altar.)
This passage has a lot to do with my heart (not in a physical sense of "heart", but speaking of heart from the perspective of passion and desire) and very little to do with my mind. I am sure, again... there will be plenty to disagree with that statement. The truth of Jesus' words correlate sin with a "heart issue" not a "mind issue". For so long in our traditionally rooted churches we have taught sin as a "mind issue", sometimes without even realizing what we were doing. We have listened to the words spoken (which are not bad) to Paul Newman in the movie "cool hand luke" - "You gotta get your mind right Luke!" - and prescribed those to Christ. Although I think there are times Jesus may say that to us, he doesn't in regards to explaining how sin works.
The key word in the above passage is "Intent". Intent is the bridge from the mind to the heart. It is what changes a thought into a plan. Our thoughts can be controlled by what we allow our bodies to come into contact with. If I never see drug use, never hear of drug use, never feel the effects of drug use, never smell... uh... that is a stretch. You see what I am getting at though, if I have no experience with drugs, information or even access to them. Most likely I will never use them or have intent to use them. That would make me sin-free in this area (assuming illegal drugs is the subject matter here). For me, I have experience with some drugs, I have been around them before and I understand what they do. I also have access to them, if I wanted some illegal substance to get high on, I could make a couple calls or show up in the right place and make that happen. I can, but I don't. My mind has all the information it needs (even the understanding of how good the high would feel), what it lacks is the "bridge" called intent.
Went Jesus frequented the houses of prostitutes, drunks and greedy men of his day, he had plenty of experience and knowledge of the sins that were around him, he also had access to all of it. (and for you "but he was God..." people, Peter was with him). What Jesus did not have in those circumstance that kept him sin-free was a "bridge" to the heart called intent.
In the sin example given by Jesus in this passage, adultery, I can say that I have had plenty of opportunity to "bridge" the knowledge and understanding of situations to my heart through intent. I say this very confidently, I have never done that. I have never seen a beautiful woman (or man... "no he didn't!") and said "I could AND I will try". The thoughts; "I could" and "I will try" are two very different thoughts. One is a thought that assesses the situation (I don't think we can stop these) and the other is a thought of intent to sin (I believe we can stop these).
I was weighted down most of my life with the idea that when I notice the beauty of a person (which is God's creation) I am somehow sinning in my heart. Or when I notice and despise the evil of a person, I am some how sinning in my heart (see murder and hatred).
It seems that in God's eyes, intent to sin, is sin. However, the understanding that we could sin, that is not sin! I think it is a very thin line, but it is one we can see clearly. To cross it is to be guilty of an action simply by planning to do it. By moving a thought in the mind to a thought in the passions and desires of our heart, that is a step away from God's standard.
So I would like to clarify, "Kelly, since we have been together, I have never been guilty of adultery, in any truthful sense of the word." whew!
"You have heard is was said 'you shall not commit adultery'. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery in his heart."
I have been guilty of adultery, maybe? This may come as a surprise to my wife, and she will probably be alarmed to read it first on facebook. I am sure in many of churches across this country if I bared my soul (and the thoughts in my mind) I am sure a good sized group of pastors would brand me with a "scarlet A" and help me to the door (or I mean... altar.)
This passage has a lot to do with my heart (not in a physical sense of "heart", but speaking of heart from the perspective of passion and desire) and very little to do with my mind. I am sure, again... there will be plenty to disagree with that statement. The truth of Jesus' words correlate sin with a "heart issue" not a "mind issue". For so long in our traditionally rooted churches we have taught sin as a "mind issue", sometimes without even realizing what we were doing. We have listened to the words spoken (which are not bad) to Paul Newman in the movie "cool hand luke" - "You gotta get your mind right Luke!" - and prescribed those to Christ. Although I think there are times Jesus may say that to us, he doesn't in regards to explaining how sin works.
The key word in the above passage is "Intent". Intent is the bridge from the mind to the heart. It is what changes a thought into a plan. Our thoughts can be controlled by what we allow our bodies to come into contact with. If I never see drug use, never hear of drug use, never feel the effects of drug use, never smell... uh... that is a stretch. You see what I am getting at though, if I have no experience with drugs, information or even access to them. Most likely I will never use them or have intent to use them. That would make me sin-free in this area (assuming illegal drugs is the subject matter here). For me, I have experience with some drugs, I have been around them before and I understand what they do. I also have access to them, if I wanted some illegal substance to get high on, I could make a couple calls or show up in the right place and make that happen. I can, but I don't. My mind has all the information it needs (even the understanding of how good the high would feel), what it lacks is the "bridge" called intent.
Went Jesus frequented the houses of prostitutes, drunks and greedy men of his day, he had plenty of experience and knowledge of the sins that were around him, he also had access to all of it. (and for you "but he was God..." people, Peter was with him). What Jesus did not have in those circumstance that kept him sin-free was a "bridge" to the heart called intent.
In the sin example given by Jesus in this passage, adultery, I can say that I have had plenty of opportunity to "bridge" the knowledge and understanding of situations to my heart through intent. I say this very confidently, I have never done that. I have never seen a beautiful woman (or man... "no he didn't!") and said "I could AND I will try". The thoughts; "I could" and "I will try" are two very different thoughts. One is a thought that assesses the situation (I don't think we can stop these) and the other is a thought of intent to sin (I believe we can stop these).
I was weighted down most of my life with the idea that when I notice the beauty of a person (which is God's creation) I am somehow sinning in my heart. Or when I notice and despise the evil of a person, I am some how sinning in my heart (see murder and hatred).
It seems that in God's eyes, intent to sin, is sin. However, the understanding that we could sin, that is not sin! I think it is a very thin line, but it is one we can see clearly. To cross it is to be guilty of an action simply by planning to do it. By moving a thought in the mind to a thought in the passions and desires of our heart, that is a step away from God's standard.
So I would like to clarify, "Kelly, since we have been together, I have never been guilty of adultery, in any truthful sense of the word." whew!
