“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 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. 30 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
God made me this way. I can’t help it. Ever since I went through puberty and the hormones got to raging, all I can do is chase skirts. How can I be held accountable for my behavior since God made me this way?
Is that argument acceptable in light of what Jesus had to say in Matthew 5? No. Jesus is about as clear as you can get that lust after a woman is to commit adultery and violates one of the ten commandments. But, you might say, “If I only think about it and don’t do it, how can that be a sin? Isn’t sin something that I do?” Can our desires be sinful?
The idea that I only sin by what I do is a tenant of the Pharisees. Jesus condemned the Pharisees harshly because of this error. In the sermon on the mount, of which our passage is a part, some say Jesus took the law to a new depth and applied it to man’s heart rather than just our actions.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
Matthew 5:21-22
To murder, another one of the ten commandments, is not just taking another person’s physical life. Jesus includes under the heading of murder, anger, insults, and inappropriately calling a brother a fool.
The Point
Sin is not just what we do outwardly. In fact, I would proffer that our sinful outward actions are just an act of our sinful inner dispositions. People don’t murder without an inner disposition to murder their victim. People don’t commit adultery when they don’t have an inner disposition to engage in a sexual relationship with someone other than their spouse.
A disposition to sin
Does the gospel call us to overcome our inner disposition to sin, or are we expected to carry this sinful tendency around with us all our life? Is there nothing we can do about it and, therefore, not be held accountable for it?
Some today would say that our sinful desires are constitutional and can not be overcome. We will have to live with these sinful desires until we die or Jesus comes, and we are changed through resurrection, whichever is first. I believe Paul taught a different doctrine than this.
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:1-4
Paul is answering this same question in his time. Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Shall we continue with lustful thoughts to show how great God’s grace is that he will still love us and accept us even with our continuing sin after he has gone so far as to die for us and be raised for us?
This is essentially the argument of those who have a same-sex attraction but don’t act on it. The position is that God made me this way, and I can’t change it. This is a major issue in the church today. The issue at stake is the sufficiency of the salvation provided by Jesus. Did he die and rise from the dead to free us from the dominion of sin, or was this freedom not part of the gospel?
Entire denominations are dividing over this question
How powerful is the gospel of Jesus Christ? Has the power of sin and satan been broken through the saving work of Jesus Christ or not?
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
Romans 6:12-14
For sin will have no dominion over you. The lustful desire of one man for another man, or one woman for another woman, will have no dominion over one who has repented and believed the good news of the kingdom of God and been born again. One major point of the gospel is victory over sin.
Same-sex attraction can be changed
Our culture tells us that those who have same-sex attraction have it by nature and can’t be changed. God says that is not so. This attraction violates God’s created order and is identified as sinful. God has provided for dominion over sin, not the other way around. One camp in the church says we cannot overcome same-sex attraction. The position is not based on sound exegesis of Scripture. It is a position that flows out of the world’s thoughts, the LGBTQ+ community, that encourages sinful conduct and denial of the gospel taught by the Apostle Paul.
I don’t deny that some people have had difficulty overcoming same-sex attraction. Difficulty does not equal impossibility. Whether our sin is same-sex attraction or any other sin by which we are bound, the solution is the same; repentance and faith. Turn from our sin and trust God. It is simple but not always easy.
What’s the point?
Actually, there are two points I want to make.
- Sin is not just our outward actions but also the disposition of our hearts. Every outward sin a man commits was first a sin of the inner disposition.
- The gospel is the power of God to bring his complete salvation, which includes dominion over the sin that used to have dominion over us. No excuses.
Everyone who repents and believes the gospel can have complete freedom in Christ from sin and satan. It may not be immediate but is available. It may take ongoing admission of sin and repentance from sin, but that freedom in Christ will come. Don’t believe the lies. In fact, renouncing the lies is one of the first steps to freedom.
