Matthew 2:16-18 (Christmas Devotion)

“Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.’”

Christmas is arguably the most celebrated holiday of the year, filled with good tidings and well-wishes, colorful lights and glamorous decorations.  We celebrate Christmas because of the birth of Jesus Christ—born of the virgin Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit, who came to earth in order to save mankind from eternal damnation. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Yet while Christmas invokes warm, fuzzy feelings like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold wintry night beside a roaring fireplace, the harsh reality is that Christmas came over 2,000 years ago with both rejoicing and mourning. Matthew's Gospel account brings a somber realization of the enormity of Christ’s purpose to sacrifice His life for all mankind. We would be hard-pressed to find this passage portrayed in a Christmas pageant nor would it ever be remembered as much as the angels, shepherds and wise men when the Christmas story is recanted. However, God inspired Matthew to pen these verses as a stern reminder and humble warning to all that from the beginning, the birth of Jesus Christ came in opposition to the selfish desires of man, both then and now, and we would be remiss to forget what happened in Bethlehem. Many fathers and mothers were physically forced to watch their precious baby boys being slaughtered before their very eyes, not as gifts but as sacrifices to the secular theology of sinful mankind (emulated through Herod’s decision) which elevated self-preservation.

That struggle is ever before us as Christians today.  Standing for the absolute truth of Scripture in today’s American culture is not simply old-fashioned or unpopular but hate language, and we are foolish to nonchalantly disregard the truth of that statement. No, the tide of post-modernistic thinking where truth is relevant and political correctness supersedes absolute truth is crashing upon the shoreline of our faith, and we must decide whether we'll stand boldly and weather the storm or be washed away in the secular current. The recent controversy surrounding Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty is a perfect example of the vulnerable state of our faith in today’s culture. Yet praise God that Phil is unwavering in elevating what Scripture declares as truth. It is emblematic of Jesus’ explanation regarding the Parable of the sower found in Matthew 13:1-9. “Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty” (Matthew 13:18-23).

“As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.”  My fellow Christian brothers and sisters, on account of the Word, we will be persecuted.  And because Jesus IS the Word, we must realize we cannot draw lines in the sand regarding what we like and don’t like in the Word. It is a package deal and rest assured, 100% controversial. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). As born-again Christians, we do not have to draw a line in the sand between right (righteousness) and wrong (sin), for Jesus already has by creating boundary lines of judgment within the pages of Scripture. Therefore, we must stand confidently knowing Jesus is truth and came to “bear witness to the truth” (John 18:37) of His Word. “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33).

This Christmas season we must decide whether we stand for truth.  As born-again believers who have made decisions to follow Christ and make Him Lord and King over their lives, we must understand that in accepting Christ we are accepting His Word as ABSOLUTE TRUTH.  We cannot accept Jesus as Lord and not endorse, support and believe every word of the Bible as absolute truth, because “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Therefore, we must decide whether we believe that truth or not because Scripture is unwavering on the issue. Jesus declared to Pilate in the midst of impending death, “Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice,” (John 18:37) and we must decide whose voice we will listen to, the world (culture) or Jesus.

Make no mistake, Matthew 2:16-18 drives home the enormity of salvation because accepting Jesus requires we accept the sacrifice that comes with it.  Accepting that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary requires we accept the sacrificial slaughter which came in opposition to the glorious birth of Jesus Christ.  For if we stand for Jesus, we must be willing to withstand the overwhelming tide of persecution and opposition which comes with obeying His Word. Therefore, will we shy away and crumble under the weight of political correctness to remain silent or endorse cultural controversial issues the Bible declares as sinful? Or will we declare like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who were threatened with fiery death, to denounce God and bow before the golden image King Nebuchadnezzar created? “Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, ‘Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?’ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up’” (Daniel 3:13-18).

Therefore, are we willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for Christ? It is the only question which should be before the heart of every man, woman and child this Christmas season. For in choosing to rejoice in Christ’s birth, we must realize He came into the world to be the ultimate sacrifice like those baby boys in Bethlehem who were slaughtered because of the threat He represented to sinful man bent on dismissing truth. “Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:14-15).

I fully empathize with the struggle of accepting God’s Word as absolute truth because it unashamedly judges every sin and leaves no room for justification or rationalizations which contradict what Scripture declares. However, we cannot fall into a trap of only accepting God as love and not wrath. For it was by God’s judgmental wrath on sin that we have Jesus to thank for being the ultimate sacrifice and providing salvation for us in spite of our sin which deserved wrath and eternal separation from God.  “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18). “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed” (Romans 2:5). “But for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury” (Romans 2:8). “But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us?” (Romans 3:5).  “For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression” (Romans 4:15).  “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God” (Romans 5:6-9).

Bottom-line, our lives here on earth all come down to the enormity of what or who we define as our personal truth, and as Christians, whether we accept God’s truth as absolute in its entirety. We must be clear on the ramifications of either not accepting the Bible as truth or as perhaps is common today, accepting most but not all of Scripture as truth. John 1:1 states plainly that Scripture (i.e. the Bible) and Jesus are interchangeable, one in the same, the lifeblood of one another, and to not accept even a single word of Scripture as absolute truth is to denounce Jesus Himself.  For God is with us and we are obligated in submission to Jesus as Lord of our lives to fully accept Him and His Word because again, they are one in the same according to John 1:1, John 18:37, etc. This Christmas I pray every man, woman and child would not forget or dismiss the sacrificial reality of Matthew 2:16-18, because in truth (and as we are reminded in this amazing song and video) a baby came and everything changed for eternity.

LINK: Everything Changed - Christmas and the Cross

Matthew 5:27-30

"You have heard that it 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 with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell."

The Bible has much to say about the cravings of the flesh and sexual immorality/idolatry.  It is the predominant sin associated with males from a physical standpoint based on the intensity of testosterone men possess within our bodies; and in essence, the accepted stereotype that mankind generally agrees with.  Men passionately desire sex with great intensity most often. Therefore, greater warnings are required for men to intentionally guard themselves when it comes to physical lust and desire for sexual satisfaction.  Whether fair or not, sex has always been and undoubtedly will always be the most relevant sin issue men face.  Where men face the greatest challenges are in the areas of transparency and vulnerability that defuse isolation and expose secrecy.   

In order to apply the divine inspiration of absolute truth Christ professes, a man must be willing to face his demons and accept the fact that what he feasts his eyes upon can easily become the object of his desire.  Jesus warned, "Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness" (Luke 11:34).  In our present culture where sex sells and women are indoctrinated from an early age to look a certain way in order to be pleasing to a man's eye, men are equally persuaded to lust after an air-brushed manifestation of the female anatomy (in a heterosexual example) that is most pleasing to them.  Therefore, beauty is diminished from that of a gentle and quiet spirit to a physical standard only, glorified by a chest, waist and hip measurements which fits the culture's standard of sexual perfection.

When men fall prey to this depravity of thinking, truth is completely relative to whatever a man wants it to be.  It becomes solely based upon experiential thinking interwoven among a web of false reality and fantasy, and a justification of desires masked under the facade of needs rather than the resolute promises and warnings of Holy Scripture.  A man would be best served to heed the warning of John who wrote, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:15-17).  True satisfaction will never be found within the pleasures of the world because they are temporary, for beauty fades over time and evolves through a downward spiral of depravity and vulgarity within our culture.  Therefore, why would a man pursue it with such passion and resolve when he knows full well the destructive consequences of his actions?  Is he not aware of the danger which lies before him, especially after he has fallen into the same trap, time after time without recompense?

There is no passage of Scripture that convicts me more than this for the level of guilt and shame I feel for my utter failure in relation to it.  I am permanently marked like a scarlet letter, completely self-inflicted, because I have not been able to maintain self control more often than not when it comes to resisting impure sexual thoughts and actions throughout my life.  "A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls" (Proverbs 25:28).  And regardless of the forgiveness I have and continue to receive by my Lord and Savior through repentance, the memories of who I was and the sins I formerly committed predominately remain at the forefront of my mind each day.  True, with time memories fade (which I consider a priceless gift of mercy from the Father), and I am fully aware that forgiveness of self also plays into the equation.  But I have learned that God purposely does not grant "sin amnesia" for the sole reason that what brings us low to the foot of the cross is the single most imperative tool God uses for our benefit.  If I forget who I was, I will never appreciate the gift of grace God gave and continues to repeatedly give me in spite of myself.

As a self-proclaimed, born-again Christian man, it is my duty and obligation to heed the warnings of Scripture unconditionally.  I do not have the right to pick and choose what I believe is true and worth applying, and what can be minimized or written off as irrelevant to today's culture.  God does not give that option for it minimizes Jesus Christ who is the manifestation of the Word itself.  Consider this admonition of the apostle Paul as a foundation for God's perspective on the issue of sexual immorality: "'All things are lawful for me,' but not all things are helpful. 'All things are lawful for me,' but I will not be dominated by anything. 'Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food'—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, 'The two will become one flesh.' But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:12-20).

Scripture declares, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing" (James 1:22-25).  A man can never gain victory over the lust of his flesh without embracing Scripture as absolute truth and applying it unconditionally with full submission and obedience to its authority.  Truly, it seems too simple a reality that victory begins with truth, but in fact truth has always been the answer because Christ himself is God's manifestation of truth in the flesh.  Every man must wrestle first and foremost though with two pivotal questions: 1. Will he will accept Christ as truth? and 2. Will he will testify to the truth of Christ in his life by not only standing for what the Word says and represents (hearing) but for the freedom it provides (doing) when he lives it out for God's glory?

Let us begin with the foundation: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1), "and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14), "for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:14-17).  Jesus cannot be separated from any sin discussion because He innocently died for sin in order to reconcile mankind unto the Father.  "He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth" (1 Peter 2:22). "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:4-7).  Accepting Christ is not simply a state of mind but a way of living that charts the course of a man's life.  Without it, he has no compass to guide him nor illuminate his wayward attempts of charting his own course in defiance of God's absolute truth. 

Thus in considering Matthew 5:27-30, once acceptance of Christ as absolute truth has been established, a man must confront his tempestuous process/tendencies of yielding to sin in order to understand what his degradation progression looks like when his lust becomes adultery.  In my experience, the process essentially follows this cyclical pattern:

1. His natural propensity to sexual stimulation by means of his flesh.
2. Temptations that stir his mind with promises of pleasure and satisfaction.
3. Methods which provide a medium, outlet or forum for acting out on his lust.
4. Consideration of the "balance scale" between perceived pleasure and consequences.
5. Acceptance/acknowledgement of what he knows to be wrong yet proceeds anyway.
6. Hormonal escalation to the point where mental fantasy results in physical climax.
7. "Moment of clarity" where his false satisfaction is replaced by the reality of his sin.
8. Guilt, shame and (in reality) empty promises to finally turn away from his sin.
9. Period of time where judgment is distracted until his sin desire is stirred and the cyclical pattern begins again.

While most men can logically follow the pattern of this list against their own experiences as true on the whole, the reality is that the "balance scale" and "moment of clarity" typically do not garner enough attention and prayerful consideration.  The truth of the matter is that God gives opportunities for accountability to men struggling with lustful temptations.  King David echoed this emphatically and without reservation following the consequences of his adultery with Bathsheba and subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah, when he plainly stated, "For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me" (Psalm 51:3).  How refreshing are the pages of Scripture when the reality of my heart's condition is perfectly united with an imperfect man, who for the most part sought God's will throughout his life, yet struggled with sin progressions I personally relate to.  David understood the magnitude of his sin. "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment" (Psalm 51:4). Therefore, he humbled himself before the judgment of a Holy God, who forgave him because of his solemn and reverent plea of repentance by fully accepting and taking responsibility for his sins. "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!" (Psalm 51:1-2).

I have personally not found one God-fearing, Bible-believing man who struggles with sexual immorality (which is a glorified term for lust and sexual sin) confess that he does not know the balance scale more personally than he cares to admit, nor refutes that the moment of clarity occurs when he sees the disparity between his flesh and the enormity of God's holiness more clearly than ever.  In that spiritually clarifying moment following the object of his obsession (typically, physical release/climax), his sin has been illuminated for what it truly is and he is nakedly ashamed and guilty for desiring what was wrong all along.  It is as if the clouds immediately roll back, darkness is scattered, and the light of judgment strikes with a convicting blow.  Why we as men do not hold fast to these moments of life-altering truth that emphatically shout, "Choose to sin, choose to suffer," is beyond comprehension!  But I know this is undoubtedly tried and true because I've personally lived and breathed its reality countless days that have morphed into years and decades.  I've weighed my lustful sin to the point of scheming my exit strategy in the throws and aftermath of adultery, so I know full well how warped the mind can become even for one who professes himself to be a follower of Jesus Christ.  How wretched and hypocritical I have been far too often, but how gracious and merciful is the God I serve that would lift me out of the ashes and declare that my life, though unworthy of being called a child of God, would be of great value to Him.  That is truth that defies all understanding because I have lived a life of "being sick and tired of being sick and tired" to the point where I simply wanted the weight of guilt, shame and remorse lifted at all cost, even if it meant exposing my secret sins and risking all my comforts and securities.  I intimately and regretfully know what it feels like to sin grievously and have to face judgment and immense consequences.  Yet in my depravity, God graciously continues to extend me an invitation for the forgiveness of my sins that simply declares, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from not on sin no more" (John 8:11b).  My heart can only respond in praise and worship, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" (Romans 11:33).

Truth is the only hope we have for breaking our respective sin cycles.  Daily study and examination of the Scriptures with an open spirit and a teachable heart are the first course of action.  Again, it seems simple, but truth is the starting point.  Consider the 9-point pattern listed previously with what the apostle Paul writes to the church in Corinth as a warning for essentially knowing what is right yet choosing sin over truth: "For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry" (1 Corinthians 10:1-14). 

It is imperative that we understand that temptations will always be present because we unfortunately live in a fallen world.  Yet in the midst of that truth, God provides a way of escape for those who trust in Him and are willing to take heed lest they fall.  When we come to our balance scale moments, we have not yet crossed the line of committing sin...but we are dangerously close.  It is in those moments that we need to remember the words of James: "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God,' for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death" (James 1:12-15).  Temptation becomes sin when it is considered and thus yielded to.  When we yield, we obey the cravings of our flesh and quench the Spirit that seeks to guard us from our own demise at the workings of our hands. 

The moment of clarity following whatever method of climax a man receives (typically ejaculation) is essentially the moment we are joined with Adam and Eve when they bit into the fruit from the tree of knowledge.  We see the enormity and the rawness of our sin as they did and immediately seek to cover ourselves from the Spirit's conviction, as if it were foolishly possible to hide our sin from God.  We also witness how our sin pierces the flesh of Christ with deep severity.  We see how our sin severs our fellowship with God and yet we inevitably end up back in the same sin cycle sooner than we care to admit.  Many Christian brothers I have held accountability with over the years have echoed and affirmed the truth of that moment as we have identified in unison that the moment of clarity is absolutely real and in essence, spiritually haunting due to the level of conviction God allows us to experience.  How then do we cast aside those moments with empty promises of change rather than full surrender to turn away and never return to our depravity?  Why do we know full well that "the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Mark 13:38b), yet ignore it as if we never read this teaching proclaimed before?

I wrestle with these questions daily.  And while it can be detrimental to live in a state of guilt and shame after I have been forgiven and accepted Christ's sacrifice for my sin, it can be a turning point or spiritual marker when I realize that while I still am a sinner, I have been made new, washed by the blood of the lamb.  Therefore, as a born again Christian, I have the Spirit of the living God dwelling inside of me, enabling me to choose righteousness over sinful tendencies when I trust in the Spirit and not in my flesh.  I am affirmed for I follow a Saviour who can relate to my struggles, "For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted" (Hebrews 2:18).  In my inner-dialogue moments where I am balancing the scale of good and evil, I must remember, "Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:14-16).

The reality is this, Christ calls us as men to turn away from lust in every form and fashion.  Considering our wandering eyes that are easily swayed by the female anatomy (unless one is skewed toward the temptation of same-sex attraction), we must hold to the truth of Job: "I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?" (Job 31:1).  We must remember that opportunities will always abound when we are led by our sexual cravings: "For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol" (Proverbs 5:3-5).  We must not accept fantasy as truth and allow the false sexual appetite personified in pornography to become our sexual expectations in marriage.  We must see past the seductive mask that hides the wrath reserved for our wayward hearts.  "With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him. All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life" (Proverbs 7:21-23).

Most importantly, we must consider these convicting questions: "Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife; none who touches her will go unpunished" (Proverbs 6:27-29).  Those of us who have tested the merit of these questions know firsthand the consequences of sin that destroy a wife's heart and demolish a family unit beyond comprehension.  Therefore, it is our duty and calling to warn our fellow brothers in Christ that the grass is not greener on the other side, and that so called "needs" are not inevitably met nor is full satisfaction found outside of the gracious gift of the wife God gives us.  "Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love" (Proverbs 5:15-19).

Let me clear on this though...there is absolutely, positively no justification to sin that enables a man to commit adultery both in his heart and mind or in the bed of an adulteress.  None!  Many men enslaved by the power of their lust never embrace this truth.  Conversely, they would rather justify and/or blame shift for their sinful choices on anyone and everything else that influences their lives.  "This is the way of an adulteress (or adulterer): she (he) eats and wipes her (his) mouth and says, “I have done no wrong" (Proverbs 30:20, emphasis mine).  Healing can come to a marriage though and forgiveness is possible when complete humility is embraced and consequences for actions are fully accepted by the individual at fault without excuse.  That is truly non-negotiable in order to gain victory over the downward spiral of lust that drives a man deeper and deeper into sin.  For sexual lust usually involves conquest, and with each conquest the severity of lust increases and his desire for manifestation of those fantasies which feed his depravity becomes more demanding, vulgar and grotesque.  It is a slippery slope indeed when wandering eyes evolve over time through various forms of idolatry until they are fully manifested in full blown adultery.  In these moments, this truth is clearly evident: "Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly" (Proverbs 26:11).

The Old Testament chillingly reminds us, "If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death" (Leviticus 20:10).  And while we do not live under OT law per say due to the sacrifice of Christ for our sins, the reality still holds true based on experiential knowledge that death is imminent.  Sadly, death is a reality for many men who have crossed the line of physical sexual adultery, as a carnage of broken trust has obliterated countless marriages and families both outside and within the walls of the church.  But we cannot be misled into believing that lusting after a woman and thus committing adultery in our hearts does not result in death either.  The punishment for sin is death and Christ pays for every sin, whether grave or minute, with His death on our behalf.  "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed" (1 Peter 2:24).   Sexual sin in the Bible is straight-forward enough that we cannot misinterpret how it is defined. "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality" (1 Corinthians 6:9).  And while the point here is not that if you practice any of these particular sins you will not be saved; rather, what the apostle Paul is admonishing is acknowledgement that these practices are sinful and need to be resisted, not accepted.  Plainly stated, in practicing these sins, a man is resisting the truth of the Word, of Christ Himself, which can only magnify his lack of trust in God's provision and cast doubt on whether the fruit of the Spirit is even present in his life. Therefore, if you accept Scripture as absolute truth, you now have a starting point for understanding the depth and breadth of what qualifies as sexual sin, which is controversial even within the church amazingly enough on certain practices Paul clearly defines as sin.

Bottom-line, as men we are all susceptible to the temptations of sexual idolatry in its various forms.  Therefore, we rest confidently in the truth that "the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one" (2 Thessalonians 3:3).  We are in the midst of a truth war and sexual identity is at the center of its hottest topics for discussion.  Consequently, we must guard our hearts to the extent which Christ declares: "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell" (Matthew 5:29-30). 

There are tools available to help men who struggle with sexual addiction (which if you even look at a woman lustfully on a regular basis, you are addicted to lust...so don't bristle at the reality that you are a sexual addict and try to compartmentalize sexual addiction for deep gross perversion only!).  Most notably, filters and accountability software are available for practically every computer and mobile device that accesses the Internet to guard against pornography, chat rooms, etc. (Covenant Eyes, Pure Eyes, X3 Watch, to name a few).  Find an accountability partner (a trusted, devout, humble, Biblical brother in Christ who will hold your feet to the fire in love and not be passive for your soul's sake).  And men who are married, get your wife involved by holding you accountable by receiving accountability reports that detail and score everything you view online (if you want to build trust, embrace humility, die to self, and live in transparency before your wife to rebuild your marriage).  Concerning movies, screen them before you watch (Screenit.com).  Limit television in general or cut it our completely (honestly, there are very few channels that do not have anything sexual in nature), and have your wife password protect the television with parental controls for the sake of your children and for you.  When you're in public, bounce your eyes when you see an attractive woman and avoid browsing the covers of tabloid magazines, billboards, and other visual media used to exploit sexuality.  Avoid venues where sexual temptation is high according to your respective tendencies to frequent sexually stimulating locales (parties, bars, strip/gentlemen clubs, massage parlors, adult "porn" stores, red light districts, etc). 

Concerning married men specifically, avoid all opportunities of any form of personal relationship or friendship with a woman other than your wife that could compromise your marriage, your wife's security and her spiritual/emotional/physical protection.  Adhere to a simple test my personal counselor relayed to me: "Who would I rather offend in this moment, the other woman or my wife?"  Men who willingly provide a listening ear or shoulder to cry upon for another woman are flirting with disaster far greater than they realize.  Remember, most women are stimulated emotionally which means when you provide interpersonal communication and a caring attitude, you can in essence give a woman an emotional orgasm, which is usually a light-bulb moment for most men when they recognize the analogy of that truth for the first time as it relates to the physical orgasm they as men typically seek.  And please do not allow yourself to have lunch with another woman (sharing a meal together carries with it a 1-on-1 opportunity to speak intimately, which is extremely dangerous with a woman other than your wife).  Avoid contact with women altogether, plain and simple (keep the lines drawn firmly in the sand)....you will never regret that decision as a married man.  These are just a few suggestions for avoiding pitfalls which can propel you toward righteous living if you intentionally and consistently apply them to your daily routine.  Bottom-line, be proactive and resolute if you want victory over sexual sin and temptation.

In addition to placing guard rails in your life on what to avoid, it is also essential to embrace the absolute truth of Scripture in various forms.   Christian music that echoes the truth of Scripture helps bring the Word to life in many cases with a fresh perspective.  Songs like "Indwelling Sin" and "Prayin For You" by Lecrae which illuminates the inner-dialogue battle a man faces during temptation, "Killa" by Lecrae which brings to life the entire sexual warnings of Scripture found in Proverbs 5-7 in a most-chilling way, and "Covenant Eyes" by Trip Lee which echoes Job 31:1 are lyrical masterpieces that can remind a man of God's truth in a way that applies the Word to everyday living.  Bottom-line, the truth of Scripture can be preached to you audibly throughout the day as part of your routine, without having to stop and study Scripture in-depth when time is limited. Moreover, I implore with all of my being to men who are married and for those hopeful that God will grace them with a Christ-centered wife on day: please steer clear of the cavernous pit of comparison and/or expectations.  No greater mistakes have I made in my marriage than in the context of placing unrealistic expectations upon my wife that are (in truth) rooted in vulgar and unacceptable sexual practices manifested by the fantastical world of pornography I allowed my mind to be exposed to for multiple decades.  A wife, regardless of whether she is Godly or not, should never be subjected to comparison of quality or quantity as it relates to sex by her husband, nor expected to look a certain way in order to be sexual gratifying.  Never!  Nor should her body or appearance ever be demeaned in any way.  For "charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised" (Proverbs 31:30).  The moment you allow your mind to wander down that lonely road of comparison and expectation, you are headed for disaster.  For Satan knows that you are always most susceptible to sexual sin when your mind is isolated in fantasy. 

Do yourself a favor and embrace the free gift of contentment in God's provision and self-control for the sake of my obedience unto Christ, for those are the only tools you have at your disposal to distinguish the fiery arrows that seek to destroy you.  "The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers" (1 Peter 4:7).  Bottom-line, it literally takes a radical approach for a man to gain victory over lust and sexual sin.  Intentionality, unwavering commitment and consistency are absolutely critical in order to change behaviors that in some cases have been ingrained in a man's DNA for decades.  More importantly though, accountability is non-negotiable and mandatory to break the pattern of isolation that is the breeding ground for sexual immorality. "Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment" (Proverbs 18:1)  Sadly, most men are not willing to relinquish lustful tendencies because over time they do tend to become a security blanket in times of stress, frustration and boredom.  Yet we were never promised an easy road to righteousness: "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Matthew 7:13-14). 

In the end, a man must feed his mind with the truth of God's Word daily and seek wisdom and discernment through prayer, while offering praise, adoration and thanksgiving to God for the grace and mercy He continually provides.  My humble prayer is that as men, we all seriously embrace the warning Jesus provides in Matthew 5:27-30 and abandon our lives of isolation and secrecy by confessing ours sins, accepting full responsibility for our foolish choices, and living out our faith by weighing our balance scale moments in the hope that we never need a moment of clarity to illuminate our sin and show us how wretched we are before a Holy God who will judge our thoughts and actions.  "For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, 'As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.' So then each of us will give an account of himself to God" (Romans 14:10-12).

Matthew 5:21-26

"You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny."

At what point in our personal walk of faith do we begin to realize that accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour demands a higher level of dedication and sacrifice that in reality we would rather sidestep or justify rather than accept literally?  Like it or not, a follower of Christ can measure very quickly whether the spiritual fruit he/she bears is lush and plentiful or stricken and barren beginning with each of Jesus' antitheses ("You have heard that it was said....but I say to you") found in Matthew 5.  This is an extremely profound technique Christ uses because in today's melting pot culture of post-modernism whereby truth is relative and experiential, Jesus confronts our knowledge by honing in very specifically on whether we truly understand the infallible truth of His teaching and the deeper meaning of righteous living. 

In order to begin breaking down this passage of Scripture, one must address whether he/she accepts unconditionally and universally, Christ as truth.  Jesus stated plainly, "The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life" (John 6:63), so why then do we struggle to live according to His Word that gives eternal life?  James, the brother of Jesus, gives us no clearer answer than this: "Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death" (James 1:13-15).  Our carnal bent to live unto ourselves drives a wedge between the purest truths of God and our own selfish desires that manipulate God's Word into a Pharisaical exercise of rule-abiding legalism.  Therefore, if we desire to live unto Christ by abiding in His Word, we must be willing to accept that heart surgery will be performed at the deepest level of our being, and that begins with what we accept as our foundation of truth.

It is imperative that again we recognize that what Jesus addresses in each of these antitheses is NOT a contradiction of what the Old Testament says regarding the issues of anger, lust, divorce, oaths and retaliation.  Rather, He is questioning the depth of our understanding, i.e. whether we are content to keep our distance from obvious sins like murder (in this particular study), yet neglect the murderous thoughts we harbor in our hearts and minds toward other people who were created in the image of God himself.  God desires for us all to obey His commandments, but the command to love far exceeds any other because in everything we say and do, we are choosing whether we love God, ourselves or one another.  Christ's command is supreme though: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12).

Why then is love an issue at all when considering the issue of anger?  In truth, anger is familiar to our flesh for our flesh is constantly at war with the Spirit of God that dwells within the heart of any man or woman who accepts Christ as Saviour.  It is natural to feel angry at times because our sin nature becomes very angry when we do not yield to it.  But what is the standard from which that anger derives?  We must understand that who and/or what we love is the foundation from which we build our understanding of anger.  For the Christ-follower, that inevitably comes down to Holy Scripture which begs the question: Do we hate what God hates or what we choose to hate?  And do we love who God loves or who we choose to love?  Bottom-line, Jesus felt passionate enough to address the issue of anger first, therefore we are best served to heed this warning with great consideration and accountability in hopes of recognizing the wildfire that consumes our lives when anger is allowed to run rampant, destroying everything in its path.

Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary gives a tremendous reference point to the meaning of this powerful emotion:

ANGER, n.

1. A violent passion of the mind excited by a real or supposed injury; usually accompanied with a propensity to take vengeance, or to obtain satisfaction from the offending party. This passion however varies in degrees of violence, and in ingenuous minds, may be attended only with a desire to reprove or chide the offender. Anger is also excited by an injury offered to a relation, friend or party to which one is attached; and some degrees of it may be excited by cruelty, injustice or oppression offered to those with whom one has no immediate connection, or even to the community of which one is a member. Nor is it unusual to see something of this passion roused by gross absurdities in others, especially in controversy or discussion. Anger may be inflamed till it rises to rage and a temporary delirium.

Personally, I physically cringe at how raw and descriptively accurate the first sentence of that definition feels, for in my heart I know it far too well.  Anger begs for vengeance and retaliation, for our flesh desires retribution whether justified or not based on the real or supposed injury we have experienced throughout our lives.  No doubt, some anger is justified at times and in particular situations, but on the whole, getting angry about people, things or circumstances that are of little consequence in the big picture of God's redemptive plan is meaningless.  "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil" (Ephesians 4:26-27) should be a reminder to us that while not all anger is sin, we must guard ourselves to not be consumed by anger and thus allow our anger to become sin.  The Old Testament is full of examples of God's holy wrath and anger toward the sin of mankind, but His anger is rooted in love that paid the ultimate sacrifice by dying for sinful anger.

I find it impossible to consider the breadth and depth of anger without considering the depravity of my own heart.  For while I find it virtually effortless to be angry about practically anything that inconveniences my own selfish desires, the greatest convicting truth is that I cannot seem to bring myself to the same level of passionate anger for sin in my own life, and that is undeniably convicting to admit after 9 stalemate months considering the enormity of that personal truth with God before writing about it!  How sick the human condition can become when a follower of Jesus Christ becomes numb toward anger of his/her personal sin, yet passionately angry about the sins of mankind and the world around him/her.  No doubt the apostle Paul understood this dilemma as well when he wrote: "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate" (Romans 7:14-15).  Bottom-line, if I spent my time channeling my anger toward the ongoing sinful tendencies of my own life rather than the sins of others and inconveniences of life in general, perhaps applying the truth of Matthew 5:21-26 would become much more effortless and common-place, and reconciliation with God and others would become my first thought rather than my last resort.

Anger can be a pervasive cancer in the heart of a Christ-follower when it is not based upon God's truth but man's selfish desires and experience.  True, selfishness sits at the root of such divisiveness in the heart of man and in the church of Jesus Christ today, but anger unfortunately is the weapon that we use to drive wedges within the body of Christ which does nothing more than create distance between ourselves and Christ Himself.  Therefore, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice" (Ephesians 4:31) because anger is often mentioned throughout the New Testament writings of Paul with sins that we can tend to flippantly dismiss as well: "quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder" (2 Corinthians 12:20) and "sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these" (Galatians 5:19-21).

In my opinion, the key takeaway in studying Matthew 5:21-26 is to heed James' loving advice: "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God" (James 1:19-20).  Anger is best served when guarded by our hearts and reserved for God Himself to own, for only His righteous anger is holy.  Our righteousness is simply dependant on our ability to apply the truth of Scripture, and begins with personal reflection of our own lives and a passionate anger for all sin within us that distances us from the righteousness of God.  We are called to predominately channel anger first inward toward personal sin and begin to eradicate the cancer by the power of the Holy Spirit who illuminates the truth of God's Word.  By doing so, we will begin to align our will with the will of God that seeks our reconciliation unto Himself as first priority.  "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life" (Romans 5:10).