Douglas Hendrickson

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The best interpretation of "...lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart," is that "in his heart" means PASSIONATELY, whole-heartedly. That there has already been adultery (like Jesus says), and that done in a very passionate, heart-full manner.
What is being pointed to is not just some passing fancy, and certainly NOT THE MERE THOUGHT that some woman looks "interesting."

Mt. 5:28 "But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."

In contrast to "Thou shalt not commit adultery" Jesus the Christ is saying, if you look upon a woman to lust after her, that is indication you have already sinned.
The "lust" here is the same word that is used for "covet," the possessing of the object desired. ACTUAL ADULTERY. Not merely finding someone looks desirable.

The attraction of a man for a woman (and vice versa) is God-ordained and God created.
Find the other sex pleasing to the eyes and all that, yet NEVER HAVE THE LUST OF ACTUAL ADULTEROUS SEXUAL INTERCOURSE.

The lust that means one has already committed adultery, that is what is to be avoided, the "lust" that is part and parcel of actual adultery, its heart part.
DO NOT ever want to possess someone whom one is not married to with so much "heart" that the lust is indistinguishable from sexual intercourse. Don't let it happen, or the "lust" is adultery (or fornication).
 
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Sketcher

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Well, that's where it begins. If you think that looking is fine as long as you don't touch, Jesus says you have a problem. Given what Jesus taught in Matthew 5:32 and Matthew 19:9, I think we should treat the sin of lust differently from the sin of consummated adultery, otherwise he would be in effect giving carte blanche permission to divorce a spouse because of the way they looked at someone else. I firmly believe he wanted to see fewer divorces, rather than more of them.
 
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Douglas Hendrickson

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Well, that's where it begins. If you think that looking is fine as long as you don't touch, Jesus says you have a problem. Given what Jesus taught in Matthew 5:32 and Matthew 19:9, I think we should treat the sin of lust differently from the sin of consummated adultery, otherwise he would be in effect giving carte blanche permission to divorce a spouse because of the way they looked at someone else. I firmly believe he wanted to see fewer divorces, rather than more of them.
This seems to be putting importance on "the way one looks at someone," not me.

Shows nothing of how "if you think that looking is fine as long as you don't touch, Jesus says you have a problem." WHERE DOES HE SAY THAT?

BTW, I think touching is just fine!
What Jesus objects to is the lust that is (part of) adultery. (Actual coitus)
 
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Kenny'sID

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Well, that's where it begins. If you think that looking is fine as long as you don't touch, Jesus says you have a problem. Given what Jesus taught in Matthew 5:32 and Matthew 19:9, I think we should treat the sin of lust differently from the sin of consummated adultery, otherwise he would be in effect giving carte blanche permission to divorce a spouse because of the way they looked at someone else. I firmly believe he wanted to see fewer divorces, rather than more of them.

I don't see it as a problem to look and to even think "nice looking gal", but that's about as far as one should go.

You do have an interesting point I'v never thought about though. If we've committed adultery in out hearts, is that grounds for divorce? I doubt it, but darn it, just another thing to try to figure out. :confused:
 
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yeshuaslavejeff

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otherwise he would be in effect giving carte blanche permission to divorce a spouse because of the way they looked at someone else. I firmly believe he wanted to see fewer divorces, rather than more of them.
KEEP SEEKING .... keep searching online ..... Seek Hebrew Jewish Scripture websites that explain perfectly in line with all Scripture : TORAH, PROPHETS, PSALMS and AND AND NEW TESTAMENT ---
JESUS did NOT say divorce was okay due to adultery AFTER a marriage was consumated. All the Jews at His time KNEW it was only if the lack of faithfulness was DURING THE BETROTHAL TIME (the engagement).
THUS
ALL the divorces you ever heard of that were claimed to be due to an unfaithful partner after some time already married were DISOBEDIENT !
YOU WANT FEWER DIVORCES ?! YHVH HATES DIVORCE ! LEARN HIS MEANING from HIM, HIS WORD as HE GIVE understanding ....
=======================================
If we've committed adultery in out hearts, is that grounds for divorce?
NOT unless it is BEFORE the marriage has been consumated.
 
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yeshuaslavejeff

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Yes, this means a lot of wives and husbands GOT DIVORCES that YHVH did not approve of , and thus against His Will, and if they got married to another person while their first spouse was still alive, THEY committed adultery ! (even if their religious consultant told them it was okay ! ! ! )

This gets difficult - but the remedy after they have committed that adultery by marrying someone else while their first spouse is still living,
is not necessarily to get yet another divorce ! ..... It takes TIME to learn all this, to untangle the mess people are in due to being taught wrong. PRAY A LOT. and KEEP PRAYING.... YHVH always provides the Truth to those who finally seek the Truth and keep seeking the TRUTH..... in JESUS !

A lot of pain, yes, a lot of suffering, yes..... a lot of false teaching, yes.... as written ...
but the ONLY way to peace with YHVH (GOD) in JESUS is to do things now , today, HIS WAY, in spite of all the wrong ways everywhere promoted today.
 
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RDKirk

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I don't see it as a problem to look and to even think "nice looking gal", but that's about as far as one should go.

You do have an interesting point I'v never thought about though. If we've committed adultery in out hearts, is that grounds for divorce? I doubt it, but darn it, just another thing to try to figure out. :confused:

I think the level of adultery that makes divorce permissible for a Christian falls under, "If the unbeliever leaves, let him leave."

That is to say, if the lapsed spouse is honestly repentant and intends to be faithful, forgiveness is obligatory.

So a Christian's permission to divorce for adultery must be in a case that the spouse has permanently abandoned the marriage for someone or something else.

There may, indeed, be cases where a married person has become so intent on another person that all affection has been lost for his own spouse, even if he hasn't actually left the house.

I think it's that kind of situation given in the Mosaic Law for a woman to divorce her husband.
 
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Kenny'sID

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I think the level of adultery that makes divorce permissible for a Christian falls under, "If the unbeliever leaves, let him leave."

That is to say, if the lapsed spouse is honestly repentant and intends to be faithful, forgiveness is obligatory.

So a Christian's permission to divorce for adultery must be in a case that the spouse has permanently abandoned the marriage for someone or something else.

There may, indeed, be cases where a married person has become so intent on another person that all affection has been lost for his own spouse, even if he hasn't actually left the house.

I think it's that kind of situation given in the Mosaic Law for a woman to divorce her husband.

Sounds like a good common sense approach.
 
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Sketcher

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This seems to be putting importance on "the way one looks at someone," not me.

Shows nothing of how "if you think that looking is fine as long as you don't touch, Jesus says you have a problem." WHERE DOES HE SAY THAT?
Well, it's right there in the verse:

"But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."

If you go no further than that, you've sinned already, whether or not you go to the effort of trying to sleep with the person. Hence, you need to watch yourself so you do not get to this point. I really don't understand what's so confusing about this.
 
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Kenny'sID

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KEEP SEEKING .... keep searching online ..... Seek Hebrew Jewish Scripture websites that explain perfectly in line with all Scripture : TORAH, PROPHETS, PSALMS and AND AND NEW TESTAMENT ---
JESUS did NOT say divorce was okay due to adultery AFTER a marriage was consumated. All the Jews at His time KNEW it was only if the lack of faithfulness was DURING THE BETROTHAL TIME (the engagement).
THUS
ALL the divorces you ever heard of that were claimed to be due to an unfaithful partner after some time already married were DISOBEDIENT !
YOU WANT FEWER DIVORCES ?! YHVH HATES DIVORCE ! LEARN HIS MEANING from HIM, HIS WORD as HE GIVE understanding ....

Thing is, even though it was allowed with Moses' law only because of the hardness of their hearts, then even they were commuting adultery, still, it was allowed then just the same.

IOW Jesus is basically saying it was sin then and it is sin now because it causes them to live in adultery when remarried, yet it was allowed then and since Jesus never technically said it wasn't allowed now, how do we know God won't see it the same as it was back on Moses' time, as in yes it's adultery but it's allowed. See what I'm getting at?

All Jesus really did was call it for what it is and always was. It was Adultery then and allowed and it is adultery now.

I'm not saying what is right one way or another, but there really is some confusion here. For one thing, it just seems like too much to expect from people to not make mistakes in their marriage/who they marry, and then to be stuck with that mistake the rest of their lives by never being able to remarry and have a loving spouse to be with. I've always gone with that, as many here do, but something has always seemed wrong about it to me, still, so I'm just not comfortable 100% that we are reading this rule properly.

More for some than others, but a spouse is one of the things that makes life bearable. Even God said it's not good to be alone.

So, remarry/live in perpetual adultery and go to hell because we made a bad decision? Again, doesn't sound right.
 
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Kenny'sID

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"But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."

If you go no further than that, you've sinned already,

But one can look at a woman but not "to lust after her", that's all were saying. I think you two are fixing to get into a really unnecessary argument here, but that's up to you.
 
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Douglas Hendrickson

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Well, it's right there in the verse:

"But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."

If you go no further than that, you've sinned already, whether or not you go to the effort of trying to sleep with the person. Hence, you need to watch yourself so you do not get to this point. I really don't understand what's so confusing about this.
It may not be best understood this way.

FIRST OF ALL, it's talking about ones who have already committed adultery, and it seems that has been a very heartfelt thing. That is what is being referred to as "looking upon a woman to lust after her," that the lust is SO STRONG AND SO WRONG that it has actually resulted in coitus.

So it's nothing about what some today might call "lust," when there is no actual adultery.
Is that not possible?
 
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Sketcher

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It may not be best understood this way.

FIRST OF ALL, it's talking about ones who have already committed adultery, and it seems that has been a very heartfelt thing. That is what is being referred to as "looking upon a woman to lust after her," that the lust is SO STRONG AND SO WRONG that it has actually resulted in coitus.

So it's nothing about what some today might call "lust," when there is no actual adultery.
Is that not possible?
So what you're saying it is impossible to look at a woman to lust after her in the manner that Jesus condemns if you have not physically consummated adultery with her already?
 
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Douglas Hendrickson

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So what you're saying it is impossible to look at a woman to lust after her in the manner that Jesus condemns if you have not physically consummated adultery with her already?
Is that not what Jesus says, hath already committed adultery with her?

If it is "in his heart," does that make it NOT ACTUAL adultery? And necessarily so?

Maybe if he had said, "already adulterated with her" or something like that, it would be different?

Is there more than one way to commit adultery? (Seems to me to be saying "actually did it!)
 
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1Tim 5:2
Treat older women as you would your mother, and treat younger women with all purity as you would your own sisters.

Would you lust after your own sister? I doubt it. Paul is saying that except for our spouses, we should consider every other human being as a family relative....because we are!
 
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yeshuaslavejeff

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Jesus never technically said it wasn't allowed now
Sorry. He did. (and does).
He holds Ekklesia to a higher standard, remember?
JESUS is so much HIGHER than MOSES !
Just committing adultery IN THE HEART, is sin, guily, liable to the penalty for sin - death.
 
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RDKirk

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Is that not what Jesus says, hath already committed adultery with her?

If it is "in his heart," does that make it NOT ACTUAL adultery? And necessarily so?

Maybe if he had said, "already adulterated with her" or something like that, it would be different?

Is there more than one way to commit adultery? (Seems to me to be saying "actually did it!)

No, that's not what it says. You got that totally wrong.

"But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."

Even atheists read it and get it right.
 
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RDKirk

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Sorry. He did. (and does).
He holds Ekklesia to a higher standard, remember?
JESUS is so much HIGHER than MOSES !
Just committing adultery IN THE HEART, is sin, guily, liable to the penalty for sin - death.

Yes, and that is contained in Hebrews 8:

But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

A covenant is a two-way agreement. "Better promises" on both sides.
 
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mark kennedy

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Jesus said if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away from you. If your hand causes you to sin , cut it off and throw it away from you. As shocking as this might sound there is a progression here, I see, I reach, I take. He did say if you look with lust in your heart your guilty of adultery but also said if you call your brother a fool it's worse then murder. He's talking about sin at it's root, the sin of your heart is what ruins your soul.
 
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