On Purpose – The Kingdom Curriculum XI (2)

On Purpose

“You shall not commit adultery.” Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18

“None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the LORD.” Leviticus 18:6

Lust Is Adultery, Pure and Simple

There is a purposefulness, an intentionality about Leviticus 18:6 which is captured in the infinitive, “to uncover.” The sense is not as much looking on the nakedness of another as intending to do so. There is no sin in approaching a person of the opposite sex, nor even in unexpectedly being confronted by some suggestive picture or person. The sin begins in our motive for approaching, even if we are only approaching in our minds.

Jesus surely had this passage in mind when He warned His disciples that approaching someone in our minds with the purpose of illicit sexual relations is a transgression of the seventh commandment (Matt. 5:27, 28). Lust is simply inordinate desire; sinful lust is unlawful inordinate desire. To approach another person, if only in your mind, for the purpose of illicit sexual indulgence–lust–is to break the seventh commandment. In our day of immodest dress and rampant sexuality, we can hardly help being confronted by some offensive picture or person during the course of a day. But if our intention is not to allow the light of sin to enter our souls, we will turn away from lustful, adulterous thoughts and focus instead on things holy, beautiful, and pure (Phil. 4:8; Col. 3:1-3). As Martin Luther is reported to have said concerning temptation and sin, “You can’t stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.”

It all depends on our intentions. The heart is the heart of the matter when it comes to obeying God. We need somehow to exercise vigilance over our hearts and to rule them so that their intention will only ever be to turn their powerful affections to what honors God, according to His Law (Ps. 119:112).

How can we use the Law of God to make wise ethical choices? Order your copy of The Ground for Christian Ethics today. Go to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.