Mt 5:21-30

Among those who read blogs which offer comments on Bible portions, there is very seldom the attitude of "Jesus is just crazy here."  When reading this passage, however, Christians need to be prepared for that reaction from unbelievers and even young Christians who haven't heard these statements.

Because of the background in some of our cultures, it takes some "getting used to" the idea, that one implication of the perfect life of Jesus is that there was never a time in which Jesus "looks at a woman with lust for her" (Mt 5:28).  He never did, and doesn't!  That's great.  But that might strike the unbeliever, or confuse a new believer, as a negative point of criticism.  That is because of the spirit of the times we live in ... the times we live in, many places, do not only refuse to consider looking at a woman with lust for her as a sin, the times can bring a reversed judgment upon the lack of such behavior, applying it even to Jesus if asked, that He has a deficit of experience, since He did not do this.  This is their "moral" judgment!

It is incorrect to think that all cultures either have a set of morals or have abandoned all morals. "Knowing good and evil" was the temptation in the Garden (Gen 3:5), and this knowledge, a participation-in-determination-of it, is exactly what came about after the fall.  As Romans 1 describes, humanity did not stop worshiping, but "worshiped and served the creature (Rm 1:25)."  They did not abandon approved behavior, but had their own set of approvals, things that are worthy of death. "They gave hearty approval to those who practice them (Rm 1:32)."

The event -- conversion -- of being forgiven one's sins by God, does a tremendous thing hopefully  immediately but eventually forever: during our time of post-conversion, but still subject to temptation until the Lord takes us, it can bring way down, the desire to have a separate approval-grid besides the Lord's.  But the temptation is still there, not only to do sins we think are sin, but to do sins we think are OK, because our approval-grid of sins does not immediately disappear from pre-conversion.  From that old grid, someone who has never looked at a woman with lust for her "has not had that experience" and "lacks standing to correct" others.

And if we look even more closely, the approval grid of the pre-Christian mindset is full of contradictions to the perfection of God.  As Barnhouse once quipped, if the devil had his way with a society, it would be a very ordered (moral) society, with all its morals diametrically opposite God's.  It would be very conformant!

One application is very noticeable in our current culture, is that the temptation to consider ourselves wise -- a "sophomoric,"a wise-fool temptation -- comes on the Christian culture -- ESPECIALLY when we reserve to ourselves the populating of that approval-grid, as we see fit.  Jesus made a great blanket condemnation of the hidden approval-grid that we like to keep, when He said "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts (Lk 16:15)."  It's so much "fun" to measure (and condemn others, even Christians) with that approval grid.  Not only the particulars, but the rules, need converting; not only the rules, but the grid -- "my" grid -- needs converting.