The Severest Thing

"This ethic of Jesus, which does not express itself in small rules, but in great principles; not in a decalogue on stone, but in a requirement in the heart, is the severest thing the world has ever heard." -G. Campbell Morgan

The teaching that Morgan is alluding to in this quote can be found in Matthew 5:27-30; what is so difficult about Jesus' teaching to be called the "severest thing the world has ever heard?" Jesus has taken the 7th commandment, "thou shall not commit adultery," and has extended it to say that if you even look upon a woman lustfully you have already commited adultery with her.


Two things should be noticed:
1. Even the entertainment of lust is adultery
2. The term "woman" in the greek does not allude to a married woman, therefore, this is a teaching for all men and women; it does not matter if you are married or not, the lustful desires are adulteress

So how do we fight our lustful desires? Must we really pluck out our eyes to keep from viewing that computer screen, is it really necessary to cut off that hand which continues to move that mouse around? Jesus is not advocating self-mutilation, but what he is commanding is that the source of sin be cut off in our heart. If you know that woman at work creates desires in your heart that are just not tasteful, then do not dwell on any thought that may involve you and her together.

The power of Jesus' teaching in the essence of what he is doing; he has taken an Old Testament Law and has totally expanded it to include your attitude and heart. Sure, you may never act on the urge to cheat on your spouse or sleep with someone you have yet to marry, but if you have even entertained the thought then Jesus says you have committed evil already.

What then, if we can't help but think bad things should we go ahead and act on them since we're condemned either way? What a rediculous thought, instead we must take our comfort in the Spirit that helps us live the new life brought upon us through Christ's death. Christ's death was the death of our sins if we choose to be his disciple, so our sins have been killed already and we are a new creation. Go back to Matthew 5:27-30 at any point and "read it until it search you and burn you, and know for evermore that this is the ethic of purity in the Kingdom of the great King" (G. Campbell Morgan). Allow Christ's death to cover your sins and allow the Spirit to create a life you live, instead of living a life of flesh.

May all who pledge their allegiance to Christ define themselves not by their morality or ethical stability, but instead may we be "tiny Christs" who live our lives according to His Kingdom. Heed the words of Christ and be radically different by allowing the scriptures to search you and burn the truth into your heart as a permanent sign of Christ's mark upon your life, cutting off the dead weight that is sin.