Lingering in Lust Is a Deadly Game Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: Lingering in Lust Is a Deadly Game------------------- Date: 6/26/2002 Keywords: "action” “lust" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passage: Matthew 5:27-30* 27. [Jesus speaking] “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 lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29. If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell. Questions 1. Do you consider pornography a big problem or a little problem?   2. Would Jesus consider pornography a big problem or a little problem?   3. Why do you believe many Christians don’t believe pornography to be a big deal?   Practical help Today’s passage taken from the famous Sermon on the Mount, at first, seems to be so extreme as to be ridiculous. And it would be easy to write it off as the rantings of a lunatic if it weren’t for the fact that it was Jesus who said it. In reality, Jesus is making a very important point in words so strong they will not easily be forgotten or dismissed by those who wish to be His followers. In a nutshell, here are the basic points of His argument. 1. Adultery is wrong. This is having sex with someone who's not your wife and/or another person’s spouse. Everyone listening to Jesus would have agreed with this because it is among the Ten Commandments that Moses gave thousands of years before. 2. The cause of adultery begins with something that happens in secret within a person’s mind. Jesus’ point is that you have to think lustful thoughts before you will ever act in a wrong way. 3. So what should you do about lust? Jesus answers this question in verses 29 and 30 above. He is telling us to take strong actions on the same order of magnitude as tearing out an eye or cutting off a hand. When what you see turns to wrong thoughts, immediately do whatever it takes to rip those thoughts from your mind. The bottom line: If you have a problem with pornography, don’t just sit there; take strong action! Get help! Rip your eyes away from the screen! Because if you don’t, you will drift further toward the possibility of acting out your lusts. This is how lives are ruined. It’s not a game. eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2002 by eXXit *"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission." ---