Drastic Measures Against Sexual Temptation

When it comes to sexual temptation, Jesus doesn't hold back.

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. (Matthew 5:27-30)

It's hard to read this passage without feeling shocked. Jesus uses two illustrations to show the drastic actions we need to take to avoid sin. We don't just need to avoid sinful actions; we need to avoid sinful thoughts too. Our concern with purity is so important that we must be ready to cut off parts of our bodies to deal with this sin.

When Jesus talks about our right eye causing us to sin, he's talking about lust. When he talks about our right hand causing us to sin, he's talking about our actions. He mentions the right side because, typically, it's the most powerful. We must take drastic action to deal with both sinful thoughts and sinful actions.

Of course, cutting off or gouging out parts of our body won't solve the problem of lust. Jesus explains where the real problem lies in Matthew 15:19-20: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.” In the end, the problem isn’t our eyes or our hands. It’s our heart. We need to take drastic action to deal with our hearts, beginning with our need for God’s transforming grace.

Then we must take violent, decisive measures to deal with our temptations. It's better to face the inconvenience of drastic actions than to fall into sin and apostasy. We must take drastic action against anything that leads us into lust, because our spiritual lives and eternal destinies are at stake.

Many men and women, including Christians, struggle with porn. Lust has become a way of life in our culture. Sexual temptation is everywhere, including on our phones and computers. This isn't new; sexual temptation has been around since the first century and before.

Sometimes I worry that we don't take this sin seriously enough. We think we can manage it with half measures.

Jesus' words are important in two ways. First, we must see what's at stake. Sexual temptation presents a real and present danger to our souls. We can't afford to take it lightly; we must take the threat seriously and not make peace with this sin.

Of course, we must remember God's grace. No sin is beyond God's reach, and forgiveness is available to us when we fail. Still, we can't afford to take the sin of lust lightly. Jesus' words also show that we need extreme measures because of the seriousness of this sin. I heard one pastor say he's probably okay 95% of the time, but for that 5% when he's vulnerable, he's taken drastic measures with filters to make the possibility of sinful actions difficult.

We need to take sin that seriously—no half measures. As John Owen said, “Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.”

Jesus’ words on this topic are worth meditating on. Sexual sin is serious, and half measures won't do. Let's commit to taking drastic action, even at great cost, to pursue godliness in this area.

I led a workshop on Strength and Courage in Purity this past weekend at the Free Indeed Conference. If you're interested, you can download my workshop notes below.