d180 Porn Again Christians?

d180 Porn Again Christians?

October 25, 2007, 9:31 am
Filed under: god, jesus, matthew

Read Matthew 5:17-30.

1. Unfortunately, a lot of Christ-followers do just what Jesus said not to do– they abolish the Law and the prophets from their mind. They think to themselves, “Oh, the Old Testament God is different than Jesus…I like Jesus better, so I’ll just follow what He says and ignore the whole first act of the story.” How sad…I can see the heart of Jesus in the way that God the Father deals with the nation of Israel throughout the Old Testament.
2. What does it mean that Jesus is fullfilling all this?
3. Greatness in the kingdom of heaven seems to be related to how seriously you take ALL of God’s commands.
4. OK…so…if I was listening to this, I would be thinking, “How can I possibly be more righteous than a Pharisee?” That seems impossible. They spend their whole lives working on being righteous. I think what Jesus is saying has more to do with the holiness of God than the righteousness of the Pharisees– if they aren’t close, no one is close. How do we become righteous then?

5. Have you ever murdered? I have. I have hated. Instead of nitpicking about things like whether or not the death penalty or war is murder, let’s focus on this. Hate is murder. Wow.
6. Calling people contemptable names is murder. So…take your pick on racial slurs…
7. Calling someone a fool is murder. Why do you think this is such a big deal to God (I mean, it must be…He talks about the fire of hell)?
8. Man, this passage changes a lot. Have you ever, with your family, been in a knock down, drag out fight before church; but, then, when you showed up, you put on the fake happy face. God doesn’t want that. God wants us to make things right. I, for one, would prefer that, if any student had a problem with another student, that they would work things out INSTEAD of pretending that everything’s fine during worship. There, I gave you permission…
9. Interesting about trying to settle things out of court. This was the way it was supposed to be. But, I watch thoughtless entertainment like “Judge Judy” and see people taking people to court for the dumbest reasons. Why do we feel like we need to do that? I’m not going to sue Coke Zero for tasting like regular Coke!

10. Well…you knew this was coming. Again we nitpick over what adultery is. Is it premarital sex, sex with another married person, etc… But, here, Christ takes the nitpicking away…it’s about having lust in your heart towards another person. Have I ever committed adultery? Yes. I confess that I have by this standard. So, any self-righteousness that I feel about being a great husband fades away when I realize this. Maybe that’s a good thing…
11. My right eye doesn’t work anyway. He he he… But seriously, this is a hyperbole to describe how important it is to remove the things from your life that cause you to lust. Hey, I’m going to be super-honest here. That’s why I am careful not watch movies with nudity in them. Do I sometimes feel like a tool for not being able to see the same stuff that everyone else is watching? Yeah. But, at the same time, it’s important to me to not get the fuse burning. Yes, I have made exceptions (after asking my wife permission…yes, asking HER permission); but, for the most part, I avoid stuff that is loaded down with sexual imagery. So…no “Good Luck Chuck” or “The Comebacks” or “The Heartbreak Kid.” Those movies would, more than likely, cause me to lust; and I’d rather just pluck it out. Hey, guys, I’m strong enough to admit I’m weak. Are you? Shoot, I even asked my wife to not bring anymore of those Us Weekly magazines into our home because they inevitably have pictures that could get my mind going in the wrong direction. If you struggle with pornography and feel guilty about it and wish that you could just stop, do you really think that watching naked chicks in movies or perusing the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is going to help? Might be time for some plucking guys. Oh, and I also have read statistics that say that 20% of Christian women have difficulty with viewing pornography; so it’s not just the guys (and you’re not a total freak if you struggle, all my lady friends).
12. If you want to get out from under the bonds of the sick-cycle carousel of lust, check out this site: XXX Church. Yeah, the name sounds crazy; but there is real help on there. And, guys, there’s definitely help here too. If you want to talk about it, I’m willing to pray with you and try to figure out a way to get you on track. You can’t disgust me to the point that I wouldn’t still care for you. Remember, if you don’t feel righteous, it’s because, on your own effort, you aren’t. Only through the strength of God can we overcome our un-righeousness. Apparently, Jesus thought it was important to take drastic measures; so you might have to!

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