 We're continuing our series in the Gospel of Matthew. We have arrived at chapter five. As you know, chapter five has what is called the Beatitudes and actually is the introduction to what is called the Sermon on the Mount. So as we've been going through this passage of scripture, we've arrived at a place where the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking concerning the religious teachings of his day that were especially embraced and presented by a group of people called the Pharisees. And so we're gonna continue where we began from where we began last time in this particular segment by looking at verses 27 through 30. So let me read that to you and we'll get into our study. Matthew chapter five verses 27 through 30. Jesus said, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. And if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off. Cast it from you for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell. Now I've been noting to you and I've already noted that Jesus is focusing his attention on what we would call the motivations of the heart. You see the religious leaders of his days, those who we're looking at right now, the Pharisees had concentrated on man's outward appearance, their outward behavior. They had spent a lot of time speaking about what you should not do and thus it had created a society that had certain morals and beliefs and structures that were dealing with the exterior behavior but didn't really deal with the heart. Now who wouldn't want to on one hand live in a society that was religious and safe and comfortable to live in and orderly and outwardly religious culture will produce a sense of security as well as peace. But the fact is rules and laws do not actually change the way a person thinks or behaves. They instruct a person of what is considered preferable or acceptable and it creates what we would today refer to as a common culture. It establishes a culture where certain things are acceptable and other things are not. So here I'll give you an example. In our culture we'll say you're standing in line and as you're standing in line somebody walks up and cuts in front of you, just walks right in. Do you accept that? Do you say oh that's cool, no problem? Or do you get upset? You know in some cultures there really aren't any such thing as lines. I mean if you go to India, you know if you leave six to eight inches between you and the person in front of you I guarantee you there'll be somebody who is going to squeeze in eventually and just be right between you because for them there's a space, let's fill it. But here in the United States if you're standing in line we'll say at a supermarket or anywhere you're purchasing something and as you're standing in line to get there if somebody just comes walking up and just steps in there's going to be something inside of you that goes off, something that you don't, you're just not going to appreciate that. You might even go so far as to say something but why? Well part of the reason is that because our culture does not allow for that, our culture says that's wrong but where do we get that from? Well the golden rule do unto others as you would have them to do unto you. It's just not right to do that. So that's part of our Judeo-Christian ethic. That's how we were raised in a culture because of the influence of scripture. So scripture can create what is called a common core or a culture that we all see as the norm and so with the Pharisees they were developing a cultural norm but the problem is is they're dealing with the exterior and not with the interior. They're dealing with the way people act but not how people really are. You see when all is said and done laws restrict behavior but they cannot change a person's nature and the religious leaders had tremendously influenced the society. In general it was a very religious society. It had high expectations and standards of behavior and at the top of the society would be what are called the Pharisees and the Pharisees lived at a very high standard. Remember in verse 20 how that the Lord had said that using them as an example. He said, for I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. So these Pharisees had set the standard very high and so they were the models of what was approved what was appropriate. So Jesus is speaking of the Pharisees. He's speaking of their teachings and their practices. They had a tremendous outward show of religion but they missed matters of the heart and this had led to many of Jesus's warnings concerning them and their religious practices. When we get to chapter 23 in about three years when we get there we'll look at verses 24 through 28 and in Matthew 23, 24 through 28 Jesus speaks in this way. He says, woe to you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites for you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence, blind Pharisee. First cleanse the inside of the cup and dish that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites for you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly but inside are full of dead man's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. So they had a way of cleaning up the exterior but the interior remained rotten. So Jesus is fulfilling his ministry by utilizing their teachings and he's making a very important distinction and his point is simple. Righteousness is a matter of the heart and not outside behavior alone. Now, Jesus has already addressed murder and now he addresses the sin of adultery. In Exodus chapter 20 verse 14 we have what is called the seventh commandment you shall not commit adultery. The Pharisees had made the prohibition against adultery to extend no further than the physical act itself suggesting that if the sin was only thought about but went no further God could not be concerned about it. Well, Jesus is about to correct that practice and that belief. Now why would he teach on adultery after teaching about murder? You know, if I were given the sermon and I'm not I wasn't I'm just repeating his. I probably would have thought well adultery should go first because murder is probably gonna result from adultery. Well, the command against murder prohibited the expression of sinful passions but the command against adultery prohibits the expression of sinful appetites. Now, today adultery has to be defined because it is so commonplace. So it's been defined as the voluntary sexual intercourse between a married man and someone other than his wife or between a married woman and someone other than her husband. That's the general way that adultery is defined. But in our society and at this time, adultery has become more open and even more accepted than in previous times. A recent Barnas study found that four out of 10 Americans believe adultery to be morally acceptable. Amazingly, one out of 10 professing Christians believe adultery to be morally acceptable. Now, we know that sexual sin is rampant and we know that affects every element of our society. We have this mantra that you can have sex without consequence and that is marketed via every form of media. I mean, there's a movie that came out recently that all of us have heard about one way or another. It's called 50 Shades, right? And a lot of people saw, they stood in line to see it and I didn't see it, I don't read books like that or watch movies like that and all of that because I'm so perfect. No, I just, I don't, I don't watch stuff like that. I'm assuming none of us did, but there are a lot of people who did. And it's marketing sex, the most brutal kind from what I understand. But that's what we do, we market it. It's just something we do here in the United States. You watch commercials, you're watching a football game, a basketball game and then they have a particular chain of hamburgers. You know that they always have some stripper there who is telling us that we need that burger. Music, the messages are found in music, right? TV programs, books, it's everywhere, it's saturated. The United States is very sexually immature. We're not becoming more mature, we're actually acting like some little kids, junior high kids who are just becoming fascinated with physicality and all of that. That's what we're really acting like. Now I'm not mature, but really like children. But in the United States, as was in ancient Corinth, the free expression of sex has become encouraged. Now Paul referred to a common saying that all the Corinthians of his day would be familiar with. It's found in 1 Corinthians chapter six verse 13. And the saying was, food for the stomach and the stomach is for food. So that was just another way of saying it's a biological need, why not satisfy it? If I'm hungry, I eat, if I'm thirsty, I drink. If I have a desire for physical relationship, why not engage? What's the consequence? Well Paul answered that. He said the body is not for immorality but for the Lord and the Lord he said is for the body. Now, according to an article entitled Adultery, Just the Statistics, a 1983 study found that 29% of married people under age 25, 1983, 29% of married people under 25 had had an affair. By comparison, only 9% of spouses in the 50s under the age of 25 had been involved in extramarital sex. So within a short time, the figure rose from 9% to 29%. The Associated Press Journal of Marital and Family Therapy released a report on adultery. The research date of the report was April 8th, 2015. Questions were asked like, what percent of married couples cheat on each other? What percent of men cheat in a relationship? What percentage of women have affairs? What percent of husbands cheat on their wives? What is the top reason given for cheating? And the findings were 41% of marriages have won or both spouses confessing to infidelity, either physical or emotional. 57% of men admitted to committing infidelity. 54% of women admitted to committing infidelity. 74% of the men surveyed said they would have an affair if they would not get caught. 68% of the women said they would have an affair if it is not discovered. 31% of marriages that endure infidelity continue after it has been discovered. According to divorce statistics, most extramarital affairs do not end in remarriage between those involved in the affair. And so we see these things taking place today and we see it's really, really a rampant sin, but the question has to be asked. On top of that, how does this affect children? How are children impacted? Dr. Anna Nogales authored a research study and a book entitled Parents Who Cheat, How Children and Adults Are Affected When Their Parents Are Unfaithful. Nogales based her findings on the more than 800 respondents to the Parents Who Cheat survey conducted in 2009, as well as interactions with her own clients. The survey shows several core responses experienced by sons and daughters of every age once they discover one or both of their parents has been unfaithful. Nogales went on to identify these specific emotional consequences. How are children affected? One, first there's loss of trust. When children of any age learn of a parent's infidelity, they usually find it extremely difficult if not impossible to trust that someone they love will not lie to them, reject or abandon them. They very often learn not to put their faith in love. They may also feel that they are not worthy of receiving monogamous love. Second, they experience shame. A child may feel as if the betrained parent's sexual transgression is a black mark against him and the rest of the immediate family. If the child has been pressured by the cheating parent to keep the secret of their infidelity, the child is left with an added and unwarranted burden of guilt. Third, they experience confusion. Children often draw the conclusion that marriage is a sham and love is an illusion. When parents stay married, even though one or both parents continues having affairs, the effect on children is profound confusion and the meaning of both love, about the meaning of love and marriage. Fourth, they experience anger and ambivalence toward the betrained parent. When infidelity partially defines a parent's character, a son or daughter often feels torn between feelings of anger and yearning. Some even express this emotional conflict in terms of there being two mothers or two fathers, the one who used to be their parent before the affair came to light, who was deserving of their love and the one revealed to them when the infidelity was revealed, whom they now hate. A fifth thing is resentment. Resentment toward the betrayed parent. Some children resent the betrayed parent for requiring them to be their emotional caretaker for underparenting due to preoccupation with the infidelity drama or for having been unable to prevent the infidelity in the first place. And then sixth, there's the acting out. Rather than confronting sad, angry or confusing feelings directly, children may exhibit behavioral problems during childhood, sexual acting out during adolescence and intimacy avoidance or sexual addiction during adult years. Issues of promiscuity may arise in an attempt to play out what a child perceived from their parents about the casualness of sex and the impermanence of love. And you will see that to be true. But is that sin and those impacts, that effect, is that true only in the world and is it not in the church? Well, adultery in the church continues to climb. A few years ago, Christianity today did a random sampling of 1,000 subscribers asking if they had committed adultery or acted inappropriately in a sexual manner. 45% marked that they had acted inappropriately, passionate kissing and fondling. 23% had committed adultery. So it's no wonder that the church is not impacting the world because the world has been impacting the church. Sexual sin is one thing, but sexual expression in marriage is not a sin. Sexual expression in marriage is proper. When Paul was writing to the Corinthians, again, 1 Corinthians chapter seven, verse three, he said, the husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife and likewise, the wife to her husband. In 1 Corinthians seven, verse five, he said, do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and foretime so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. So men, that was 1 Corinthians chapter seven, verse three and five. What if somebody has the habitual, remorseless practice of sexual infidelity? What does that indicate? It indicates that that person doesn't know the Lord, that person's unsaved. In 1 Corinthians chapter six, verse nine, Paul asked the question, do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexual offenders, and he goes on and continues by saying, will inherit the kingdom of God. So what Jesus is doing here is he's protecting the sanctity of marriage. He's speaking concerning the seventh commandment. So thou shalt not commit adultery. But he goes on in verse 28 of chapter five to say, but I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. But I say is another way of saying that his words are above rabbinic tradition. But notice what he says. He says, I say to you that whoever looks on a woman to lust, and you might want to underline the word looks and to, because when he says whoever looks at word that is translated looks in English is a Greek word blepal, it means a continuous gaze, a longing. It's an intentional and repeated gazing, not an involuntary glance. In other words, when he's speaking concerning this, the thought is this, it's that goal of looking is for the purpose of lusting. So when he says whoever looks on a woman to lust, he's saying the goal of looking is for the purpose of lusting. So that's a picture of a person who intends to lust, somebody who has sexual desires, but they have an intent to lust. And so he's making it clear lustful looking originates in the heart. It is lust looking for a place of expression. He's not speaking of the unavoidable exposure. There are times that you're gonna see something that you did not desire to see. You're at the beach. And somebody walks by in this thong, right by you. And you say, that guy oughta get board shorts. I'll never go to the beach again. You know, you're in a place where somebody is inadvertently will say exposed to you. Your waitress bends down to pick something up and she's exposed a bit or whatever. And it's not like you were there looking for that. It's an unavoidable exposure. Those kinds of things happen. Jesus is not saying that. There are a lot of people who get this real guilty feeling because they noticed something. That's not what he's referring to. It's that continuous searching look. It's that desire. As you're looking, your heart is motivated more and more and the lust begins to rise up within you. It's that I would do it if I could get away with it mentality. You're as good as done at that point because if all that's keeping you from doing it is your fear of being caught, Jesus said, your heart is being exposed for what it truly is. That's the way your heart really is. It isn't the actual behavior that constitutes the sinfulness. It's the nature of man. The nature of man that has the ability to produce the fruit of adultery. King David is on the rooftop. He sees Vashiba, desires intimacy with her. His passion is aroused. He thinks he gets away with it. God sends a prophet by the name of Nathan. Nathan speaks to David and says to him a little parable about a man who had a beautiful little eulam that he treated as a daughter. But a rich man had a guest show up and came and took the eulam away from this poor man, slaughtered it and fed this lamb to a guest. And when Nathan shares that with David, the question is asked, what should be done to such a man? And then David says, he isn't fit to live. He ought to die. And that's a very powerful portion of scripture where Nathan points his prophetic finger at face of David and says, thou art the man. You're the man. You did that. And he goes on and brings his heavy, heavy word to David. But David began with the lust in his heart. He saw and wanted. And God says to him through Nathan, he says, I gave you everything and I had given you more. And what did you do? You took the wife of a man who was so loyal to you. You see, the question has to be asked, who would voluntarily destroy all that they have that causes them joy? But people do. You know, 10% of affairs are called one night stands. 10% last more than one day, but less than a month. Half of all affairs last more than a month, but less than a year. And 40% last two or more years. So you can have this effect. You can have this relationship. Sometimes it may seem it's momentary, but the repercussion can go on for months. It can go on for years. It can go over a lifetime. In Proverbs 632, it says, the one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense. He who would destroy himself does it. And so Jesus is speaking about this and he says, what is the answer? Notice what he says in verse 29. It's basically this, deal with it brutally. He says, if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out, cast it from you. It is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off, cast it from you, for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell. Now, obviously he's not being literal here or we'd all have one eye in one hand today. How would I turn my Bible and hold my notes? I couldn't even see him. So he's not being literal, obviously. What he's saying is, deal with this brutally because the root of the problem is the heart. See, the right eye represents one's best vision. The right hand, one's best skills. So be willing to give up whatever is necessary to keep from falling or entering into this sin. Do it, do whatever is necessary to stay away from this sin. What should we do practically speaking to stay out of this kind of sin? Is it easy to fall into or enter into? I should say enter into because it's volitional, not fall into. It's like guys say, well, I fell into sin. She didn't, well, you were walking in your trip. Oh, well I fell, no. You entered into sin. Voluntarily, what should we do to avoid this? Let me give you some practical things because I've had questions about this over the years and so let me share some practical things that I have done that I practice that perhaps when applied in your own life you'll see the effectiveness of this. The first thing that I would point to is very basic. Walk with the Lord and have a healthy fear of God. In Proverbs chapter 16 verse six it says by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil. Have a healthy fear of the Lord. Many years ago now I wish I could remember exactly it's been over 25 years. I had a dream and I have very vivid dreams. I'm one of these people that has these exceptionally vivid dreams, always have. And I actually as a kid I used to love to dream because my dreams are really vivid. I mean the colors are really bright and the sounds and everything and I've always had these great dreams and they're very real and yet one night 25 or so years ago I had a nightmare. It wasn't a simple dream. It was something that was a lot more severe than just a simple dream. In my dream I had dreamt that I had committed adultery. Now I didn't see myself in the actual act of it. What I was seeing in my dream was the repercussions of it. And in my dream I still remember that I was in this moment of, oh no, what have I done? And I saw myself in my dream. I actually walked up to my wife Marie and I said to her, I've committed adultery. Now I'll say it again, this was a dream. This will go over the radio and all people will hear is, oh he committed adultery. Dream. It was a dream. I had a dream and in my dream the repercussion and I said to Marie, I've committed adultery and I saw her face. The tears that immediately sprang to her eyes. The quivering of her chin, I still can see it. The look of pain and betrayal that was so intense and then I see myself speaking to my small children and my boys especially looking into my eyes as I spoke to them and I said, daddy has been unfaithful to your mama and my boys little quivering lips and the tears I saw it in my daughters. Then I spoke to the board of our church and I said to them in my dream, I said, this has happened and I saw the disappointment and pain in them and then I saw myself standing in front of the congregation. I was already pastoring this church and I could hear the sound of tears, people crying and the moaning and the sorrow. And I realized if David Rosales, Pastor David Rosales were to fail, it isn't just me that I affect. It would be me, it would be the woman, it would be everybody associated with her and her entire life and it would be my wife, my children, my board, our church, the K wave audience and the different radio stations that I broadcast on and anybody who'd ever heard of me, they would all make me a byword and a proverb of a man who at one time said he followed Christ and he failed and it put the fear of God in me in a way that I to this day carry because I will not fail. In the Lord I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me but there's a healthy fear of God. My God loves me so much that were I to fail he would expose it because he loves his church and his church does not deserve a pastor that does things like that. So one, cultivate a healthy fear of the Lord, spend time with them too. Do not intentionally expose yourself to anything that tempts you. Job 31 verse one said it like this, Job said I made a covenant with my eyes. Why then should I think about a maid? Third, in our fellowship, I will speak to and minister to our ladies of course but when it comes to personal ministry, I have women who minister to women in this church. If I have a woman who's not one of my blood relations, if I have a woman who's not in my family, in my office, the doors always open in my office. It is always open. I do not inappropriately touch. I do not inappropriately embrace any woman. I do not allow myself emotional friendliness with those who are not of my family. I am careful with any compliments that I might give. I don't always give compliments by the way. Sometimes I say things that I think are nice and they turn out to be stupid. I remember I was standing in the back of the church and the lady came walking by and I patted her belly. This was 30 some years ago and I patted her belly. I said, and when are you do? I learned not to do that. I'm not pregnant, Pastor David. Maybe it's prophetic. I don't know, I'm just waiting. So I'm real careful with that. I really am, I really am. We had a young lady in our fellowship. I met her when she was, I think she was nine months old. And this is a few years ago now. She is a young woman, a very, very beautiful little girl. She was one of my daughter Anna's very dearest friends. She's like a daughter to me. I mean, she spent time at our house. She grew up with my daughter. We were very close, the family was very close with her and I loved her like my little girl, like a daughter. But, you know, I mean, she was very dear to me and now she's a young woman, a beautiful young woman. And I walked out and she walked up to me and she gave me a kiss on the cheek and I kissed her back. She's like my daughter. And some guy walks up to me and says, I wish I could do things like that. And I guess he wanted me to kiss him too. I don't know, but I'll counsel him later on. If you ever see me, ever see me give a warm embrace or a kiss to anybody, they are normally my family. Just know that they are normally my family. Or I've known them for 30 plus years and it's just a custom that I do. Keep that in mind. You'll never see me lock lips or anything like that with anybody here. Just keep that in mind. I'm real, real careful. I'm just being practical, but I'm real careful about that. And when I'm speaking to somebody, I do not give the treasures of my heart away easily. I'm careful with compliments and I don't speak about my personal life and desires and stuff. I'm very careful with that. Another thing that I've learned that has helped me is I do not overestimate my own strength and I don't underestimate the strength of my flesh. I don't overestimate my own strength and I don't underestimate the strength of my flesh. Let him who thinks he's stand take heed, lest he fall. 1 Corinthians 10, 12. Watch and pray, Jesus taught us. Why? Because he said, lest you should enter into temptation, the spirit indeed is willing, but the flash he said is weak. Matthew 26, 41. So we're very careful like that. I'm really aware of those kinds of things. So I'm aware that the enemy wants to undermine me. I'm very aware of that. Sin is looking for an opportunity to master you. Remember that. The fifth thing is spend time developing friendships and if you're married, friendship and romance in your marriage. The best defense is a good offense. So in my marriage with my wife, I am pretty much open with her about everything. I tell her what's on my heart and if I see somebody who's a beautiful woman and Marie's with me, I'll say, boy, she's a beautiful woman. And Marie'll go, oh yeah, she is. If I see a guy or if she saw a guy, she usually doesn't do, but if I see a guy, I say, man, that guy's a handsome man. Isn't he? And Marie'll go, yeah, he's very good looking. I don't get all weird over that. And I was like, well, he's handsome than me? Yeah, everybody is. Come on, I married you for your personality. Marie said, the first time I got married, I got married for love, but if David dies, the next time is for money. That isn't nice. Cultivate your relationship. An unwatched fire quickly goes out. Spend time talking, sharing your heart. Get to know each other. As you grow older in your relationships, say you're married and you grow older, the things that at one time were the passions of your life, the things that were so important, so necessary, they seemed to over time lose their luster. And the things that you at one time didn't realize were so important are the things that actually take the center stage. See, I was talking to Marie yesterday, took her to breakfast. She made me buy again. And we went for breakfast yesterday. And I was telling her, I was saying, you know, the things that I love about my wife are the things that have remained permanent from the beginning. She and I were friends when we dated, friends when we first got married, and I've remained friends over the years that we've been together. Friendship, trustworthiness, her character, her personality, her smile, her trustworthiness, faithfulness, her goodness. All of those were the things that attracted me to this young woman. I didn't even know that my wife was a beautiful woman. I didn't see her in that light when I first met her, because as a young man, I was always looking for women who had certain physical attributes that kind of locked me in to them. You know, so they had to have certain color hair and certain color eyes. You know, for me, I'll be honest with you. Might as well say it this way. I was into blondes. I liked blondes and blue eyes. And the Lord said, no, I got one. I'm keeping in the oven a little longer. What was it about her? And I'll say this quickly, because this isn't really about her, but it's what's protected me, to be honest with you. And it was this. I just wanted to have a relationship with somebody who I could grow older and old with, who would love me through thick and thin. And when you have somebody like that, you don't want to lose it. You just don't. There's no woman on the face of the earth, no woman on the face of the earth that could ever prime my love away from Marie. No woman. But I have cultivated that for over 40 years, cultivated that daily, working, dying to self, holding fast, going through things, going through pain, going through joy, you know rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep. And it made our life what it is. And I guard it because I don't want to fail and I don't want to lose it. And to finally avoid all, at all costs, relationships and friendships that are kind of flirtatious. Avoid friendships with those who encourage you to be flirtatious or say flirtatious things to you. Be very careful. Don't go there. Because that's how affairs can sometimes begin. Now somebody says, but Pastor, bottom line is I've committed that sin. Is it forgivable? And the answer of course is yes, as all sins are. Psalm 10312 says it like this, as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. If we confess our sin he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Yes, God's grace is poured out. He will forgive you. The repercussions, that's another thing. They can continue on for some time as healing takes place. They can remain sometimes as wounds. Proverbs 6 verse 32 and 33 says it like this, whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding. He who does so destroys his own soul. Wounds and dishonor he will get and his reproach will not be wiped away. See the best thing you can do is avoid this sin at all costs and if you're involved in it, to forsake it. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 618, in flee fornication, forsake it. Get away from it. It's destructive. It'll destroy you. It is destroying you if you're involved in it now and you know this. And not only does it destroy you now in your relationships, but Jesus warns us notice he says it in verse 29 and 30, your whole body to be cast into hell. Your whole body to be cast into hell. Sin leads to judgment, results in eternal punishment. In Hebrews 13 verse four, marriage is honorable in all and the bed undefiled, but hormongers and adulterers, God will judge. You don't get away with it. Jesus was warning it. So he's basically again saying this, the Pharisees say do not commit adultery. They're making the teaching if you practically physically do that. But the fact is adultery is a condition of the heart and what you really need is a new heart, not just a changed behavior, but a new heart. You need your heart to be changed so that your behavior follows. So the Pharisees were missing the point. It isn't just a physical activity. It's the looking at a woman to lust. It's the desire for that. That's the real sin because it's just a matter of time until with your planning and scheming, you fulfill what you're desiring and you will be held accountable for what you desired if you could have gotten away with it because it's revealing what your nature really is. And that's why you need a new nature. If any man be in Christ is a new creation, old things are passed away. Behold, all things are becoming new. That's why Jesus said, a man must be born again. That's why Paul said, we become the temple of the spirit of God and the spirit of God dwells in us because God will do a new and fresh work in us. He cleanses us of all of our sin and gives us a life of Christ, gives us the ability to be faithful. And that is something God promises.