Temptation’s Warning Label

By Daniel Dennis, Senior Pastor, Thomas Road Baptist Church, Phoenix, AZ

Read Matthew 5:27-30.

The Pharisees taught that the Seventh commandment (against adultery) was only a sin in an outward action. You could have all the lust in your mind, but it was only sin when you acted upon it. 

However, Jesus says with authority that the true interpretation of the Law of Moses is the act of adultery, and the heart of adultery are both sins. He then positions the origins of adultery to the lust of the eyes. Job 31:1 states, “I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?”

Our society today tries to normalize lust, claiming that it’s a natural instinct. Yet, Jesus and the Bible teach us that lusting after someone who is not your spouse goes against God’s will. God has graciously blessed us with physical beauty, sexual appeal, and the capacity to experience sexual satisfaction. We must use these precious gifts in ways that are pleasing to Him – within the safety of a marriage relationship.

You cannot keep birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair. Click To Tweet

This principle applies to more than men lusting after a woman. This pertains to just about everything we can covet with the eye or mind. How often have we bought something on credit that we thought we couldn’t live without, only to experience buyer’s remorse afterward?

We allow our minds to settle on temptation. Then, our hearts become full of lust. If we don’t repent, our actions will follow our hearts.

Temptation’s warning label:

²⁹ And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. ³⁰ And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. (Matthew 5:29-30)

Jesus is not speaking literally but placing a warning label on temptation.  Take temptation seriously!

Martin Luther said, “You cannot keep birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.”

Reflective Questions:

1. How seriously do you take temptation? Do you have an accountability partner? How much have you focused on temptation’s warning label?  
2. Have you normalized pornography, debt, or possessions, claiming it is natural? 
3. What safeguards have you established in your life to protect you from temptation? 

    Memory Verse:

And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. Matthew 5:29 (KJV)

Prayer:

Dear God, help me to pay attention to temptation’s warning label. I want to stay in a right relationship with You. I know that in order to do that, I must take temptation seriously. I know that temptation begins in my mind long before I commit the act of sin. Help me to heed Jesus’ warnings. 

Related Scriptures

Exodus 20:14; Proverbs 6:25; Proverbs 6:32; I John 2:16; James 1:14-15; Romans 7:7-8; Colossians 3:5; Romans 6:6