In Matthew chapter five, the Lord brings out six aspects of the law. He says, you've heard it said, and he'll quote one of the 10 commandments. Here we have it. Thou shalt not commit adultery, but I say unto you, and he gives us the true meaning of God's holy law. Like I said, I've entitled this message already in his heart. Let's read verses 27 and 28 once again. You've heard that it was said of them of old time, and this is a quotation of the seventh commandment. Thou shalt not commit adultery. That's God's law. I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, he hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. Now notice he does not say it's just as if he committed adultery, or even it's not as bad as the actual act, but he says he hath. committed adultery with her already in his heart. The act has been done. Now, this sin and every other sin finds its origination in the heart. Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries. Matthew chapter 15 verse 19, the heart is the one that's described in Genesis 6 verse 5, God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every, every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, nonstop. Would that describe your natural heart? Jeremiah said in Jeremiah chapter 17, verse nine, the heart is deceitful above all things, desperately, incurably wicked. Who can know it? I don't know my own heart. I know it's deceitful. I know it's desperately wicked, but I, you know, the scripture also says he that trusteth in his heart is a fool. Verse 27, you've heard that it was said by them of old time, thou shalt not commit adultery. Who said it? Well, this is a direct, Quote from the Ten Commandments. What is adultery? Unfaithfulness to the marriage covenant. Marriage was ordained by God before the fall. Would you turn with me to Genesis chapter two? This is so beautiful. Verse 18, and the Lord said, it's not good that the man should be alone. I will make him and help meet for him. And out of the ground, the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air and brought them into Adam to see what he would call them. And whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave name to all cattle, to all the fowls of the air, to every beast of the field. But for Adam, there was not found and help meet for him. And we see the gospel so clearly in this. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam. And he slept and he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, this is now bone of my bones. and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman because she was taken out of a man, out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. They had no sinful thoughts. They had no sinful nature. They were not ashamed. The two becoming one flesh as the act of intimacy in marriage is something that does not end in this life. What a beautiful thing. Remaining together in holy matrimony for good. Turn with me to Matthew 19 for a moment. Marriage is ordained of God, as we've seen even before the fall. Now look here in Matthew chapter 19, verse three. The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said, have you not read? I love the way he said that to them. Of course they've read, but he pretty much implied. Haven't you guys read the Bible? Have you not read that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female and said, for this cause shall a man leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife and they too shall be one flesh? Wherefore there are no more two but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. And they said unto him, why did then Moses give a writing of divorcement to put her away? And you can read about that in Deuteronomy chapter 24, and we're gonna consider that next week, why Moses did that. Because the next part he talks about is divorce in Matthew chapter five. But look at the Lord's answer. He saith unto them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your wives. But from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, commiteth adultery. And whoso marrieth her which is put away, doth commit adultery. Now that is the original intent of marriage for a man and woman to stay together until death alone parts them. And marriage is a beautiful thing, and anyone that's had to experience a divorce, what a painful thing it is. I've heard it's the worst thing anybody goes through, it may be. And how beautiful though it is when the Lord causes two people to stay together. God in his goodness gave this act of intimacy and how beautiful it is. And it's only for those who are committed to one another until death alone shall part them. Now, this is what the Bible teaches. Adultery is a great sin. And I guarantee you, well, I think every one of you would agree with this. Adultery is a great sin. A man can argue against it, but that's what the Bible teaches. And you can't remove that fact. Thou shalt not commit adultery. This is God's command. And you look at the problems this sin has created in individual lives. In homes, in our society, this sin has destroyed lives. What a great sin it is, what a mercy it is for God to tell us, thou shalt not commit adultery. What a holy commandment, thou shalt not commit adultery. I wish there would never be another divorce and every marriage would be a man and woman staying together all the way to the end, committed one to another for the glory of God. Now, when you have a marriage, you have two sinners. That causes some issues, I realize that. But the scriptural teaching is to be faithful, thou shalt not commit adultery. Now, somebody is thinking, I've never committed adultery. I have remained faithful to my spouse. Well, I commend you for that. But let's go on reading. Matthew chapter five. Verse 27, you've heard that it was said by them of old time, thou shalt not commit adultery, but I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. Have you ever done that? Man or woman, if you say no, you're a liar. There's no human being that has ever not done that. You've looked upon, I've looked upon a man or woman and lusted after them in our heart, and if that's just all you've done, what's it make you? An adulterer. An adulterer. You know, somebody says, well, I've only committed adultery once, what's that make you, an adulterer? And to look after a woman or a man in your heart with lust is to commit adultery already. The deed was done in the heart. Now, I've already said the origination of all sin is from the heart. Would you turn with me for a moment to Mark chapter seven? Mark chapter seven. I'm gonna read a rather lengthy passage of scripture. Then came together unto him the Pharisees and certain of the scribes which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say with unwashing hands, they found fault. They didn't even wash their hands before they ate. For the Pharisees and all the Jews except they washed their hands off to eat not holding the tradition of the elders. And when they came from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups and pots, brazen vessels, and of tables. Then the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashing hands? He answered and said unto them, well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites. As it's written, this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. How be it in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men? For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men as the washing of pots and cups and many other such things like, do you? And he said to them, fool, well, you reject the commandment of God that you may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, honor thy father and thy mother. And whoso curses father and mother, let him die the death. But you say, if a man shall say to his father or mother, it's Corbin. I've willed this money to the church. I've willed this money to the temple. I can't give it to you because it's going to be used for holy purposes. And you don't honor your father and mother. You don't help your father and mother. But you say, if a man shall say to his father and mother, It's Corbin, that is to say a gift. By whatsoever thou must be profited by me, he shall be free. I don't have to give this because I'm giving it to religion. And you suffer no more to do aught for his father or his mother, making the word of God of none effect through your traditions, which you have delivered and many such things like do ye. And when He called all the people unto Him, He said unto them, hearken unto me, every one of you, and understand, there is nothing. They were taught making that issue about washing your hands. That's a good practice. It's a good practice. Almost every time I put my hand in something good, something neat, Lynn says, did you wash your hands? It's, yeah, whether I did or not, I always say, yeah. I mean, because I think, man, I better do that. It's a good practice. Wash your hands. But it's not spiritual. Let's go on reading. There's nothing from without that entering in him can defile him, but the things which come out of him. Those are the things that defile the man. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was entering into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. And he saith unto them, are you so without understanding also? I wonder how many times he said that to the disciples. They'd hear something glorious. They didn't have any idea what he's talking about. He said, are you also yet? Are you without understanding? Do you not perceive that whatsoever things from without entereth into the man, it can't defile him, because it enters not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draft, purging all meats. And he said, that which cometh out of the man. That defileth the man. Not what you bring in, but what comes out of your heart. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts. This is the origin of these things, the man's heart. Evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, and evil eye, slander. blasphemy, pride, foolishness, all these evil things come from within and defile the man. Now, the seed of all sin is this. That's my problem, that's your problem. an evil heart. That's where everything flows from. Now, remember the last of Genesis chapter two and says there, the last thing said before the fall, they were both naked and not ashamed. There's only one reason for that. The fall had not yet taken place and they had innocent natures. They could be naked and there were no issues, no fallen nature, no temptation to sin. a pure, innocent nature. I won't call it a holy nature because you're not given a holy nature until you're born of God, but it was certainly an innocent nature and a righteous nature, a nature that did not sin. But after the fall, it says the eyes of them both were opened and they were new, they were naked. Now, as I said, this was not an issue before the fall, but now it is. You know, before the fall, Adam and Eve had a sexual appetite, the gift of God, without a sinful nature. And we know what a sinful nature does and perverts the gift of God in that. And now all of a sudden they have adulterous fornications going on in their heart. Somebody says, but isn't that natural? Well, it's natural with all of nature. The word lust. If you lust after in your heart, you've already committed adultery. This word is usually translated desire. And it's even translated coveted. You covet this, you desire this. Paul said, I had not known lust, except the law had said thou shalt not covet. Exodus 20, 17. And Paul said in Colossians 3, 5, covetousness is idolatry. Now this lust, it doesn't just go with sexual sin. Try to stop coveting. Don't covet anything. Don't do it. It's wrong, don't do it. How many things did you covet when I even said that? You know, it's, John said, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, for all that's of the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust and cravings of fallen, sinful nature, the lust of the eyes, being more concerned about what men see, trying to show off to men to show them something about yourself. I think of what the Lord said about the Pharisees, says all their works they do to be seen of men. That's what the lust of the eyes is. The pride of life, pride before God. There's covetousness in every sin. Now, if you're gonna go the law route, go back to Matthew chapter five. If you're gonna go the law route. Verse 27, you've heard that it was said by them of old time, thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, if you've got a wandering eye that causes you to lust after somebody in your heart, pluck it out, cast it from thee, for it's profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee and cause thee to sin, cut it off, cast it from thee, For it's profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. Now I might be able to keep from physical adultery, but what you're saying now is impossible. It's just impossible. And everybody in this room knows that. It is impossible. This is requiring perfection. That's what God requires. It shall be perfect to be accepted. But I can't do that. You're right. But that doesn't change a thing. To keep this commandment, not only are we not to perform the physical act, we're not to lust in our hearts. And if we do, we are adulterers. That's what God calls every single one of us. Now, if that's what God requires, there's no hope for me. Well, that is what God requires. But that doesn't mean there's no hope. This is what God requires, but I agree with him. I agree with God. I agree with what God says about me. I agree with what he says about adultery. And here's my question. How can somebody meet like me have hope? If you're an adult, or if you've only lusted after a man or a woman in your heart, Something done in the heart that nobody could see, no act. I mean, who can keep from that? And if you say, I'm an adult or if I do that, what? Where are you leaving me? Well, John chapter eight answers that question. So we're going to go there. John chapter eight. Verse 53 of chapter seven, and every man went into his house, his own house, and Jesus went into the Mount of Olives. He had no place to lay his head. You know, we're going to a nice home tonight. When the Lord, when it was not, he didn't have a home to go to. He went to the Mount of Olives while everybody else went to their own house. Verse two, and early in the morning, he came again into the temple and all the people came unto him and he sat down and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees interrupted the preaching. They brought unto him a woman taken in adultery. There's no doubt about her guilt. She wasn't just doing this in her mind. She was doing it literally. And they caught her at it. And did this woman have a husband? I suppose she did. Being unfaithful to her husband, did she have kids? Probably. What about the wife of the man she was committing adultery with? What about his kids? Look at all the problems she created in this horrible sin. We don't want to justify this in any way. She was taking an adultery in the very act, but were these guys peeping toms? How did they catch her? And my biggest question is why didn't they bring the man? You know, both were called upon to be stoned. Maybe the man was the one who set this up. Their hatred of Christ was such that they wanted to put him down. And that's what this was all about. But anyway, these scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery. And when they'd set her in the midst, can you imagine how embarrassing that would be for her? How humiliating that would be for her? Perhaps she just had a sheet wrapped around her, throw her out in front of everybody half naked. How humiliating, how embarrassing. I can imagine she's just cringing with shame and embarrassment after all this taking place. I can understand that. Verse four, they said unto him, master, this woman was taken in adultery in the very act. There is no question about her guilt. No question. Now, Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned. And that's what the law commands. A man and a woman caught in adultery, what were The children are miserable to do? Stoner, stone him, stone both of them to death. That was the commandment of the law. Now, somebody says that seems harsh. Well, you can take it up with God. That's God's law. And that's what he said to do with regard to this sin. And they were being very accurate when they said, Master, Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned. But what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him that they might have to accuse him." Now, this was all orchestrated by these guys. They thought we've got him in a way where he cannot win. If he says, stoner, we'll say, you've been talking about mercy and grace. It's all talk. It's not real. If he says, let her go, we can say, you have no respect for God's law. You have no regard for the law of God. They thought whatever he says, we've got him destroyed. He can't get out of this. They thought they were brilliant, I'm sure. And when I think of, I don't like to use the word brilliant for the Lord Jesus Christ because he's omniscient. That would be taking it down too far. But you think of the brilliance of Christ, these fellows thinking they could trip. How idiotic. Well, let's go on reading. What sayest thou? It says, tempting him that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down with his finger and wrote on the ground as though he heard them not. Now, I like to think of myself as being a bystander at this time. I see these guys bring this woman taking an adultery what they say to the Lord. And the Lord simply stooped down as though he heard them not. Are you listening to us? No. No. Stooped down and wrote on the ground. Actually, there's two stoops. There's two stoops. And according to Philippians chapter two, the Lord had two stoops. The first stoop was when he became a man. The God of glory, the ancient of days, was confined to a human body. He became a man. God manifest in the flesh. What a stoop that was. I mean, he was, didn't have a body, a spiritual being everywhere at once. And all of a sudden he's confined to a body. A body hast thou prepared me, he said. What a stoop that was. But the second stoop was when he became obedient to death, even the death of the cross, when he was made sin. What a stoop that is. None of us can understand what all that means. It's more horrible than we can even imagine that he took the sins of his elect in his own body on the tree and he was made sin. What stoops, but keep those in mind as we consider this passage of scripture. He had two stoops. First is incarnation. and then his death on the cross. This they said, tempting him that they might have to accuse him, but Jesus stooped down with his finger and wrote on the ground as though he hurt them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted himself up from this position of stooping and he asked this question. I can imagine the way he looked at this crowd when he asked this question. He that's without sin, this sin, maybe they'd all committed it physically, but I guarantee you they'd all committed it in their heart. He that's without this sin, this particular sin, though the first don't, Now, like I said, I would have loved to have been a bystander at that time, just listening to what was going on, listening to the dialogue between the Lord and the Pharisees and how the Lord handled them, because I know in my heart I don't have a stone to throw. I can't do that. I can't throw a stone at anybody for anything. What's Romans 2, 1 say? Therefore thou art an inexcusable old man, whosoever thou art that judges for you that judges doest the same things. Somebody says, no, I don't. God says you do. I'll just leave it there. God says you do. And I believe what God says with regard to me and with regard to you. And nobody in this room and nobody outside of this room has a right to look down their nose in judgment at anybody over anything. And these men were convicted in their own conscience. They weren't convicted by the Holy Spirit or they would have come to Christ and Christ would have received them. He always received sinners, but being convicted by their own conscience, what did they do? He that's without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again, here's his second stoop. Again, he stooped down and wrote on the ground. Now, there's been so much conjecture as to what he was writing. We can't know. I realize that. But this is what I like to think. There's only two times in the Bible that the finger of God wrote something. He wrote the law, thou shalt not commit adultery. And the second time it was said that the finger of God wrote on the wall in Daniel chapter five, thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting. I wonder if those fellows, if he wrote that, I wonder if those fellows saw that. I heard one man say he was writing down names and dates with regard to these men would know what he was talking about. But whatever it was, what these fellows do, verse nine, and they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. Now, I don't know how many of these fellows there were, but I love to think of these guys. Beginning with the oldest, he said, he put the rock down, walked out. The next one, put the rock down, walked out, till all of them were gone, and the only ones left was the Lord and this woman. What a place to be, alone with Christ. That's where I want to be, alone with Christ. And when Jesus had lifted up himself, now he stooped twice, he lifted himself up twice. When Jesus had lifted up himself and saw none but the woman, He said unto her, woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She said, no man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. Now, wait a minute. She committed the sin. How can the Lord justly say, I do not condemn you, and line up with God's holy law? That's the question of the ages, isn't it? How can God be just and justify the ungodly? This woman was guilty. It was a horrible sin. How many lives did she wreck through this sin? She was guilty. How can the Lord say, I do not condemn thee? Well, it's seen in those two stoops. The Lord's first stoop as a man, he never lusted in his heart. The only man to ever do that. He never had a sinful thought. He never had a sinful motive. He never had a sinful deed. He perfectly kept God's holy law. The only holy man to ever live, the Lord Jesus Christ. He honored God's law, those Ten Commandments. He kept them perfectly. And there wasn't any way he could do anything but that. When I hear people say, well, he had to resist temptation. Well, yeah, he did have to resist temptation, but he couldn't sin. He's God. God can't sin. He's the God-man. The God-man could not sin. How glorious. He knew no sin. It never came into his mind. Can you imagine that? It never came into his mind. Perfect, holy, in the flesh. He never sinned in his first stoop, but in his second stoop, all the hell that is in my heart, he bore in his own body on the tree. What a stoop. Forsaken by God, cut off by God, left alone, crying out, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? I'm a worm, not even fit to be called a man. That's the Lord's words from the cross. That's how truly my sin became his sin. He bore our sins in his own body on the tree. that he raised up from that stoop. And when he's talking to this woman, he's talking to her on resurrection ground. You see, because of what I did, there's nothing to condemn you for. You have no connection with that sin. You've never lusted in your heart. You've never committed adultery. You've never lied. You've never coveted. You have perfect righteousness. He was speaking to her on resurrection ground. I don't condemn you because there's nothing to condemn you for. I love what Paul said in Romans 8.33. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? God justified them. What else needs to be said? God justified him. Who is he that condemneth? It's Christ that died, yea, rather that's risen again, who's even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. When God justifies a sinner, they have no connection with sin. They never committed it. They never thought it. They never knew it. They live before God perfectly. His righteousness, his law-keeping really is my righteousness, my law-keeping, my life. Go and sin no more. I love him saying that. Well, what do you say? Well, since you justified, go ahead and go for it. I mean, it's all covered. Of course he wouldn't say anything like that. Go and sin no more. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. I am the light as to how I can look at this woman caught in the very act and say, I don't condemn you because there is absolutely nothing to condemn you for. Would to God that when you and I, if we're believers, lay our heads on our pillow tonight, we can remember there's nothing to condemn me for. I stand before God as perfectly righteous, without guilt, because of what my Lord did for me on Calvary Street. Nothing to condemn her for. And he is the light of that. Now, if you want to go the law route, here's what you need to do. Gouge out your eyes and cut your hands off. If that's what you're going to do. Somebody says, is that talking about literal? Well, if it is, you go first and I'll follow you. But it is still the truth. If you want to go the law route, You don't need to be lusting after a woman or a man with your, pluck them out, throw them away, cut your hands off. But don't you love the grace way of making you not guilty before God. Let's pray. Lord, how we acknowledge our sinfulness and our guilt. How we thank you for your spirit and your word that reveals that unto us. And how we thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ. that made us to be holy and unblameable and unreprovable in your sight. How we thank you for that. Lord, we ask that you would bless what was said for your glory and for our good. How we thank you for your word. In Christ's name we pray, amen.