Sermon Title: The Dangers of Lust and Pornography
Scripture: Matthew 5:27-30
“You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 So if your eye—even 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. 30 And if your hand—even 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.
Engage:
Stuff’s and Every Body’s Prayer
TRANSITION –
- Widespread Exposure: Barna’s The Porn Phenomenon reveals that over half of Christian young adults (ages 18–24) actively seek out pornography. Additionally, 64% of church-going men and 34% of church-going women aged 18–30 report regular consumption of pornographic content. (The Barna Group)
- Early Introduction: Covenant Eyes reports that the average age of first exposure to pornography is 12. Furthermore, 73% of teens have consumed pornography, with 38% viewing it on social media platforms. (Covenant Eyes)
- Digital Accessibility: The advent of smartphones and high-speed internet has made pornography more accessible than ever. Lifeway notes that the proliferation of digital devices has facilitated easier access to explicit content, contributing to its normalization in society. (Covenant Eyes)
- High Amount of Consumption: There were 4 billion hours on one website alone of porn consumption. (Rightnow Media – The Porn Deception)
But is this good for us?
The world says so…
- The world says viewing porn is good for your relationships.
- Helps you learn what you like and don’t like
- Can spice up intimacy in your marriage that seems dull
- The world argues that it helps you relationally, and on top of that, porn doesn’t hurt anyone.
- No rape, unwanted pregnancies, no STDs, no affairs that result in broken families
- Satisfies your desires and urges, feels good, and does no harm – why not?
- On top of that, pornography is art, freedom of speech, and empowers women (really?).
Does the world know something we don’t?
Simply, No. What was once on the fringe of culture and had natural barriers to cross before one was able to attain material to fulfill one’s lustful desires has become mainstream thanks to easy digital access, acceptance in culture due to a large part in our media (TV shows, movies, books, etc.), and the sexualization of culture from advertisements to clothing and a me-centered worldview.
However,
They don’t know something God’s people don’t know. Instead, they miss what God’s people at least ought to know, even if they don’t accept it, and that is pornography will ruin you and others.
- It causes you to become selfish, not selfless (Philippians 2:3-4). Distorts God’s plan for sex – between a man and woman in a marriage relationship – that is to be a beneficial experience for both partners – pornography strips God’s design down to one person receiving pleasure.
- Prevents you from seeing the person you are lusting after as an object and not one made in the image of God, whom He loves, and Jesus died for.
- Along those same lines, many participants in the porn industry are coerced against their will into making content. The high demand and profit will continue to drive this forced behavior of some by others.
- Porn rewires our brains.
- Hijacking the Brain’s Reward System
- Pornography stimulates the brain’s reward system by releasing dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reinforcement. Over time, this can lead to desensitization, requiring more explicit content to achieve the same level of satisfaction. This cycle mirrors the patterns observed in substance addictions.
- Structural Changes in the Brain
- Chronic exposure to pornography has been linked to changes in brain structure, particularly in areas responsible for decision-making and impulse control. Studies have shown that individuals with compulsive pornography use may exhibit reduced gray matter volume in the prefrontal cortex, affecting their ability to regulate behaviors.
- Lusting after another in person or on-screen arouses covetousness. (Exodus 20:17)
- Pornography addictions can result in anxiety, loneliness, and depression.
- It will hinder intimacy in your marriage relationship or future marriage relationship (And don’t believe the lie that you will no longer struggle with lust and porn after you marry – it doesn’t work like that).
- If allowed to grow, our lustful addictions will harm us and others. (If exposed and treated, there will be temporary pain for lasting gain.)
Out of His love for us, Jesus spends time discussing lust. He created us as sexual beings for His glory, our good, and for the benefit of others, but when misused, our sexual desires and actions can defame Him, hurt ourselves, and hurt others. In these few verses, He not only reminds us that we cannot meet God’s glorious standard but also teaches us how we can overcome lustful temptation and addictions in general!
BOOK: Matthew 5:27-30
1. You have heard it said…
“You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery. (Matthew 5:27, NLT)
You must not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14, NLT)
Jesus continues to expose the hypocrisy of the religious leaders, particularly the scribes and Pharisees, by emphasizing that what truly matters to God isn’t outward behavior but inward purity. God evaluates people based on the condition of their hearts, not merely their external actions. It’s not enough to appear righteous on the outside; outward compliance means nothing without a heart aligned with God’s standards. As Scripture says, “As a person thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7), and God judges us accordingly (1 Samuel 16:7).
In His second teaching on true righteousness, Jesus turns to the topic of sexual sin, specifically adultery, as seen in Matthew 5:27–30. He begins with the command, “You shall not commit adultery,” a direct quote from the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:14). Just like with murder, Jesus takes the principle deeper, beyond the act itself, to the inner desires that lead to it. The seventh commandment protects the sanctity of marriage, just as the sixth protects life. But those who base their righteousness on appearances often violate both, harboring lust and hatred in their hearts even if they never act on them outwardly. God sees the root of sin—the anger, the lust—and holds people accountable for what’s hidden, not just what’s seen.
Lust and anger are two of the most potent forces in human life, and at some point, every person has been tempted by both. Jesus makes it clear that lust is not harmless, and in fact, it makes a person guilty of adultery before God—even if no physical act takes place. In today’s world, where sexuality is openly flaunted, normalized, and commercialized, these temptations are more pervasive than ever. Sexual content saturates our entertainment, advertising, and even educational materials, encouraging indulgence rather than restraint. Infidelity, pornography, and sexual perversion are not only common but often glamorized, while biblical values like chastity and fidelity are ridiculed.
Yet, this obsession with sexual gratification is not unique to our age. The early church also confronted it, especially in pagan cities like Corinth, where people rationalized immorality as just another physical function—no more significant than eating or drinking. Paul rejected that thinking, reminding believers that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, belonging to God, not to themselves (1 Corinthians 6:13–20). He urges Christians to flee sexual temptation, not indulge it.
Sadly, throughout history, some Christians have responded to sexual sin with extreme, unbiblical solutions—like self-castration, isolation, or forced celibacy. These reactions misunderstand God’s design for sex. Sexual desire, within the bounds of marriage, is a good and sacred gift. Hebrews 13:4 affirms the honor of marriage and warns that God will judge sexual immorality. Abstaining from sex because it is “evil” contradicts Scripture (1 Timothy 4:1–3). Paul even commands husbands and wives to fulfill each other’s needs to prevent temptation (1 Corinthians 7:3–5). Proverbs and Song of Solomon celebrate the joy of marital love. Misusing sex is sinful—but so is condemning it in the context God created it for.
2. But I say…
But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:28, NLT)
The root of sexual sin is not in the body but in the heart. Job understood this when he said,
“If my heart has been seduced by a woman,
or if I have lusted for my neighbor’s wife,
10 then let my wife serve another man;
let other men sleep with her.
11 For lust is a shameful sin,
a crime that should be punished. (Job 31:9-11, NLT)
Jesus teaches the same principle: anyone who looks at someone with the intent to lust has already committed adultery in their heart (Matthew 5:28). This isn’t about accidental glances or unavoidable temptations. The sin is in choosing to keep looking in order to feed desire. It’s the kind of gaze that seeks out sinful stimulation—through pornography, media, or real-life encounters.
Jesus emphasizes that such lustful behavior isn’t caused by what the eyes see—it begins in the heart. A pure heart will resist the temptation and turn away. A corrupt heart will indulge it. David’s sin with Bathsheba illustrates this: he wasn’t guilty of noticing her but for choosing to act on what he saw (2 Samuel 11:1–4).
Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. 3 He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. (2 Samuel 11:2-4, NLT)
This is why we must guard our hearts and minds, making intentional choices to avoid situations that stir up temptation. Job made a “covenant with his eyes” not to look lustfully. We should follow that example.
This warning isn’t just for men. Women, too, can be guilty of lust and of tempting others by the way they present themselves and vice versa for men. Those who intentionally seek to stir lust in others—whether through immodesty or flirtation—share in the guilt. A godly heart, on the other hand, proactively avoids sin, praying like the psalmist,
Turn my eyes from worthless things,
and give me life through your word (Psalm 119:37, NLT)
3. So, live in this way
Deal With Sin Desicively
So if your eye—even 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. 30 And if your hand—even 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 5:29-30, NLT)
Jesus concludes with a radical call to action. He says if your eye or hand causes you to sin, remove it—because it’s better to lose part of your body than to be thrown into hell (Matthew 5:29–30). Jesus is not advocating literal self-mutilation. He’s using hyperbole to drive home the seriousness of sin and the need for drastic measures to avoid it. The “right eye” and “right hand” symbolize what we value most—our strengths, preferences, and habits. If those things lead us into sin, we must be willing to let them go. No pleasure, relationship, or comfort is worth sacrificing eternal life.
The word Jesus uses for “stumble” implies a trap—something that lures us in and causes us to fall. Whatever traps us—a relationship, a place, a show, a website—must be decisively removed from our lives. If someone is married but emotionally or physically involved with someone else, no matter how “right” it feels, it must end immediately. God’s standard is uncompromising.
Sin must be mortified, not merely managed.
Paul expressed the same principle when he said he disciplined his body and made it his slave to avoid disqualification (1 Corinthians 9:27). If we don’t control our environment, it will control us. And if we can’t control something, we must eliminate it.
Of course, cutting off external temptations won’t automatically purify the heart. But forsaking what tempts us is a sign of a heart that genuinely wants to please God.
Outward actions reflect inner desires. A person who seeks righteousness will fight sin, not feed it.
Even saints like Origen and Anthony learned that removing themselves from society didn’t solve the problem of sin. Temptation followed them into isolation because the real battlefield is the heart. And unless the grace of God changes that, no amount of separation or discipline will be enough.
Examples of Judgment:
- A hindered relationship with God (Matthew 6:14-15)
- The Lord’s discipline (Hebrews 12:4-11)
- Unacceptable worship (Matthew 5:23-24; 1 Timothy 2:8)
- Inner turmoil (Hebrews 12:15)
- Without Jesus, eternal damnation (Revelation 21:8, 22:15)
TRANSITION
REFLECTION / INSPIRATION
Becoming Vulnerable Makes Us Able – 1 Samuel 17; Blaine Bartel
Blaine Bartel was a prominent Christian leader and host of the youth-oriented television program Fire by Nite. Despite his public ministry, he secretly struggled with pornography addiction, which eventually led to a moral failure and his resignation from pastoral leadership. In 2006, Bartel confessed to an affair and stepped down from his position. Wikipedia
Following his confession, Bartel embarked on a journey of recovery that involved seeking counseling, embracing accountability, and being transparent about his struggles. He has since dedicated his life to helping others overcome similar addictions, founding an online ministry aimed at assisting men affected by pornography addiction. Wikipedia
Bartel’s story exemplifies the principle found in James 5:16: “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” His willingness to confess and seek support led to his healing and enabled him to support others in their recovery journeys.
ACTION
1. Follower –
The real question today is simple but challenging:
Who will you become vulnerable with so that you become able to overcome the temptation or addiction in your life?
Download or Pick Up the Resource Sheet for Battling Pornography and Other Addictions
2. Far from God – be reconciled to God
You have captured my heart,
my treasure, my bride.
You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes,
with a single jewel of your necklace. (Song of Songs 4:9, NLT)
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