Remember that movie A
Few Good Men? It is a story about a Marine who dies because of a code of discipline
that is enforced too rigidly. In the trial of the senior officer, Colonel
Jessup, (famously played by Jack Nicholson) the young lawyer, Daniel Kaffee,
(played by Tom Cruise) exposes the Colonel’s false testimony by pressing him in
cross-examination. He knows that if he goes for the man’s pride, he will likely
get him to break. The movie’s most famous line comes from the moment when the
Colonel’s contempt for the young lawyer boils over and he angrily shouts “You want the truth? You can't handle the
truth!"
The truth in life is often hard to handle, isn’t it? It is a
lot easier to soften the edges, to blur the lines, to compromise or ignore the
reality in which we live. In my reading from Matthew today, I came to this most
difficult passage, one in which Jesus presses us to deal with sin. It is a
passage subject to much misunderstanding if read without wisdom and prayerful
discernment. “You have heard that the law of Moses says, ‘Do not commit adultery.’
But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust in his eye has already
committed adultery with her in his heart. So if your eye—even if it is your
good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for
you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into
hell. And if your hand—even if it is your stronger hand—causes you to sin, cut
it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body
than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." (Matthew 5:27-30,
NLT)
We like to think our thought life is our own, what goes on
inside our head is of no concern to anybody. Jesus challenges that idea with His
words about sexual desire and God’s way for those who are His disciples. He
tells us that when we make others into objects for our own gratification, even
if only inside our own head, we sin. Before I go on, let me say clearly that if
taken out of the context of the full Gospel these verses can induce guilt and
shame, self-loathing, and fear. I do not write that to rob the passage of impact!
Jesus meant these words to hit us like a punch in the face to move us past our
apathy.
The truth is direct, edgy. He says, that if we leer at
another, reducing that person to body parts to feed our fantasies, we are sowing
the seeds of our own moral destruction. With vivid metaphor He calls on us to
deal ruthlessly with our desires, making no excuses for them. Does He actually
intend that we blind or maim ourselves? No! But, He does want us to get serious about
developing a mind that is responsive to the Spirit of God and that will involve
some choices that demand self-denial that hurts, really hurts.
Three things need to be said to give Jesus’ challenge a
context for us.
First is that apart
from a new birth, the Spirit’s gift of life, we cannot even hope to live the life that God desires in us.
No amount of moral striving, rigid self-discipline, or
accountability can change a sinner into a saint. When we feel the heavy weight
of conviction of the Spirit, we surrender to Christ, take the grace, and find
ourselves being changed from the inside out. The beacon of hope shines out of the truth that
"God raised us up with Christ and
seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus," (Ephesians
2:6, NIV) "For it is by grace you
have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of
God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us
to do." (Ephesians 2:8-10, NIV)
Second, we need to
feed our thoughts with healthy food!
Monday evening I turned on a movie that I thought would be
an adventure in the world of international intrigue. Within 10 minutes, the
lead character, who was being pursued by a lot of bad guys, had stabbed one
through the eye, split open the head of another with an axe, and killed about a
dozen more in various bloody ways, all graphically splattered across the 50”
screen in my living room. The Holy Spirit spoke to me and asked me if I was
going to spend the evening bathed in violence and I answered by turning off the
story.
I tell you that as a simple illustration of a much more important truth.
What you feed your mind will become the seeds of your thought-life. What is
your playlist of music? Where does it take your thoughts? What do you read? How
is that forming your ideas? What plays
on your television or smartphone? Jesus’ words about cutting off our hand finds
context in the content with which we feed our thoughts.
Third, worship is a
powerful means of thought transformation!
True worship, both with other Christians and individually,
brings us from the world and the immediate pressing issues into the realm of
God’s Spirit and eternity. A soul that
is satisfied with worship is much less likely to give in to the lures of temptation. Worship is a life that finds greatest worth
in God. Worshippers adore Him, pursue Him, choose time with Him, make Him the
priority because of love. David declares the truth - "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone
is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken."
(Psalm 62:1-2, NIV)
When we fail to worship, we will inevitably find other ways
to satisfy the soul’s hunger. When we learn to worship, often finding ourselves
in His Presence, there we will find the inner life of the Spirit making us into
people who overflow with goodness.
Are Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 hard? They are, but we can handle the Truth!
The word from the Word invites us to know the truth, live
the truth, and find the freedom of the Truth. "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if
anybody does sin, we have one who speaks
to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and
not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. We know that we
have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,”
but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if
anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever
claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." (1 John 2:1-6, NIV)
______________
Every day in Your hands
You were there before
time began
Sovereign one I rest
in Your plan
From the depths to the
dawn
You are there Your
promise is strong
I will trust with all
that I am
Jesus Jesus oh how I
need You
You stay the same
You are good in Your
ways
Jesus Jesus oh how I
need You
You are enough
All my trust is in You
Lord
You fashioned me
formed my heart
Search my soul and
know every thought
Love so great but
never too far
And through the storm
You're the calm
And every war You've
already won
Life secure in Your
loving arms
You are powerful God
above it all
I believe in You I
believe in You
You do miracles the
impossible
I believe in You I
believe in You
Bethany Phillips | Chris Griffin | Micah Massey | Nicole McLean
© 2018 Highlands Creative Publishing (Admin. by Music
Services, Inc.)
CCLI License # 810055
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