How then could I gaze upon a virgin?”. Nobody is changing the Bible here; we’re discussing the best way to understand what the Bible says. The Greek does not say, “look at a woman with lust” or “look at a woman lustfully,” as though it were describing the manner of looking. God made men to notice when women are beautiful. In modern terms, Matt 5:27–28 could be paraphrased as follows: “Obviously, having extramarital sex is wrong, but the moment you decide to start down that path, adultery is already in your heart.”. If a wife was involved in bestiality, would not any man divorce his wife! Thank you for this. So what, you’re mincing words, what do you think eternal life is, do you think receiving eternal life is living in hell forever, that’s heaven with God, that’s saved, we receive that now. When I first meet an un-married woman, I may think “she has a well-proportioned face.” but if I start checking her out her out and have sexual thoughts, well It’s OBVIOUS that if my future spouse knew about that, then she would feel kind of betrayed, as I should have waited to save those sacred thoughts for her. Oh, the beauty of one of the most powerful gifts we have been given and yet the destruction this power can work when we lose sight of and taste for the One Who has so freely given to us. No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. Second, “Tenth Command, which is perhaps best understood as forbidding fixing one’s desire upon obtaining something that is not rightfully one’s own.” – yes, and Matthew 5:28 reflects it. Leviticus. 5, except where you say the following: “Hi, Zach. James 1:14-15: “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. I have such a hard time reconciling myself on the matter still. Since when is the sexual desire of a man different from a woman? Now I know what the True Ten Commandments are and an sure that looking at a woman isn’t a sin. Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind. Just have at it! Because as your post points out, there is obviously a bit of a contradiction between two “lust” verses in which one flat-out refers to it as sin, while the other refers to it as the *potential* to sin—as something that can *lead* to sin. This in turn is a turn off and makes it difficult to stay aroused during sex. Love it or hate it, many students play it! Whether from the world (because no fourteen year old measures up to the standards in the magazines), or from the church, the message we received, albeit in different packaging, was that we had much to be ashamed of. His Jason A. 2. The basic idea is that God’s grace makes a person just (justification), which then enables the person to gain salvation from the penalty of injustice and sin when the judgment comes. Thus the insertion of a word with a highly charged sexual connotation is the result of prejudice on the part of the translators. – Proverbs 16:3 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. He is so healthy and whole and living successfully as a gay man now. Intimacy is allowed by God within marriage only. It certainly can’t be since God created us to for example, release our bladder and have bowel movements. We love God, love His Word, have a very active Christian life, prayer, worship, and are committed to deep spiritual holiness before Him. This misunderstands what Jesus is saying in the first half of each antithesis. Ok, now you’re into passive-aggressive feminist shaming tactics. So Jennifer, you’re saying that the sex drive that people are born with is evil, really? Don’t swim in it. Plato thus sees it as critical that the mind retains the allegiance of the will, giving it direction and controlling the appetites. —Matthew 5:27–28 Once we acknowledge our wrongs we pray to God to change us. Get right with the Lord your God, and earnestly do so because, you will give an account on the day of judgment for provoking ideas you put into the hearts and minds of those who are weak, who are looking to you for answers instead of looking to the Lord our God and being guided by the Holy Spirit for the answers, for this is the main focus of what should be, to focus on the Lord our God for guidance and for the Holy Spirit to lead guide and convict within us so, stop focusing on your fleshly desires and focus on winning souls to Christ. We should continue to speak the truth in love and in doing so build each other up as we are called to do. Human sexual imagination and appreciation for the sexual image of others is not sin. 2. “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. Please read the scriptures yourself and you will see that “purity culture” is the culture of God who is pure and holy. —Proverbs 5:22–23 First: I could easily take apart most everything you’re saying but its not much use now that I understand where you’re coming from, why not let someone else do it publically on tape. Or can a man walk on hot coals And his feet not be scorched? I have a simple way of showing that a person has not committed adultery in his heart. God bless. I just acknowledge that I’m human, and I ask God for His continued grace and help for me to keep on maintaining self-control and finding other, better and more desirable ways of coping. However, the point that Jesus was driving home is the reason behind the looking, not the looking in and of itself. But neither causes sin—sin comes from the heart. Now take the same person and have him actually break up a marriage, his own or someone else’s, well the lasting relational effects are tremendous and tragic. The problem with what you’re saying here is that you’re assuming a specific 21st-century meaning of “lust” that isn’t in the passage. You’re putting the cart before the horse, assuming that he means what you associate with the English word “lust” when the word he used does not carry the same connotations. Jesus was very serious about cutting off the hand or cutting out the eye if they caused one to sin. Because I don’t know ancient Greek (and haven’t had much time to learn it) I could never look up much for myself. The right hand, or eye are meant to mean the strongest and best (left being second best), of the most necessary parts of your body that you rely on, but you could still lose without actually dying. Lusting after someone is not the same as wanting to possess someone. It’s OBVIOUSLY natural for guys to find women attractive, but to oogle them is wrong. Id have to disagree there. This part is represented in the human body by the head, which is the highest part of the body, stretching towards the heavens. When Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 7 that it is better to marry than to burn with passion, he is saying is that it is better to have sex than to burn with passion. I just don’t see a mans sexual desire different from a womans in terms of society or the fact of having it. Now we’re finally ready to look at the verse itself. Sex is part of the fleshly nature. As a Christian, it’s often difficult to reconcile my belief in sanctification with the sinful sexual desire which I was always taught (and still am taught at a fundamentalist Christian college) that are wrong. Many of these actors are entangled in drug abuse, being manipulated and sexually abused by producers, etc. When scripture doesn’t seem humanly possible we should look elsewhere in the scriptures for truth and symbolism. Perfect love casts out fear though (1John 4:18), and in the words of Paul to the Corinthians: “He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. The moment a man even looks at a woman for that purpose, adultery has already polluted the heart. This is not lewd language because female breasts are not lewd. Its considered soft core if all the actors are fully clothed and hard core if they are naked. . Carriage Return. —1 John 2:15–17 Just because you place a line between looking and touching doesn’t mean you don’t have a desire to touch, it just means you have restraint. The purpose for watching porn is imagine they are sharing that experience with the actors on screen. Maybe I’m thinking about this too much, but in Isaiah 53 it says that their will be nothing in Jesus that we should “desire” him. I was once a prisoner to sexual immorality and porn, but Jesus Christ set me free! In other words, how can you “lust” (sin) for an imaginary wife who never even existed, much less would rightfully be yours if she did actually exist? But, Christian cultures don’t seem to think this is an issue because it is not pictures (not porn). Noah’s ark is a perfect example of what you are saying, Jason. Because Mat 5:28 is mistranslated and misunderstood, Mat 5:29&30 is never used correctly AND Mat 5:32 (real adultery and breaking marriage) is committed by most of our churches and pastors. I truly believe that I am saved. or “28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman COVETOUSLY has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”. Newspapers ! Thank you for your time. Because remember, yes its the heart but the eyes and hands can help to carry out that sin, cleanse your hands you sinners, does that mean wash the hands physically, get some dirt off with soap? Indeed. Jesus himself gets angry, so that is suggestive about what he refers to here. As a 55+ male married for nearly 32 years, I always knew in my heart that I was being taught wrong principles with regard to sexual thoughts and actions. That’s just what we all do without Gods light to lead the way, myself included. What are “contentions” (1:11), and who reported them to Paul? 3, Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. The desire and the deed are not identical, but spiritually speaking, they are equivalent. You misunderstand why Jesus even came to this planet through your slaughtered-by-men for eons Bible. If I may add a few thoughts on Matt 5:28. “Shut up”? I’m asking because it would just be nice to have a baseline/reference point rather than just some grey area.