Sermon Series: 

The Sermon on the Mount: Leveling the Field of Faith 

The Anatomy of Adultery 

Matthew 5:27-30 & 2 Samuel: 11 and 12 

PSBC - 2/27/00AM

In a nutshell: The example of David and Bathsheba is a warning to be alert to the behaviors that can lead to adultery, and add an effective illustration to Jesus warning to keep watch over our minds as well as our actions when it comes to sexual temptation.

I. Introduction

A. Pump illustration

I grew up across the street from my second cousins. Donny, Jimmy, and Bobby Verduin were each born about a year or two apart, and I was somewhere in the middle of all three. So we pal-ed around together, played sports together, worked together, and played jokes on each other together.

Bobby Verduin was the youngest of our foursome, and by far and away the most curious. I can remember one winter, when the Verduin's got a new hand pump put over their well on the outside of their house. My uncle, Bobby's dad, talked to all of us, as we were watching the installation. He told us not to ever put our tongues on the pump handle when it was cold outside, because it would cause our tongue to instantly stick on the cold metal, and it would be very difficult to get it off.

Well, Bobby heard the warning, but I guess he took it as more of a challenge than a warning, because later that day, when we were building a snow fort in the front yard, we heard a scream that we recognized as Bobby's coming from the back of the house. We all ran as fast as we could, and discovered Bobby with his tongue hopelessly stuck to the handle of the new pump. We had to get his mom, and she had to poor warm water on the tongue and I think Bobby left at least the first layer of his taste buds on that cold iron handle. Poor Bobby suffered the rest of the winter and on into the spring with a sore tongue, because he failed to heed the warning of his dad.

Warnings are given to save us pain.

B. Pump illustration applied

As we go through life, we receive a lot of warnings. Warnings about things that will cause cancer or heart problems, or disease, and even moral problems in life. But unlike putting your tongue on a cold pump handle, the consequences of not heeding some of these other warnings isn't always obvious, right away.

Yet, later, often when it is too late, the problems become very obvious. That's one of the reasons why this Sermon on the Mount is full of so many warnings. Jesus wants to save us from the pain, and disappointment and horrors of life that result from not valuing what God does.

You see, the commandments in the Bible come from a loving God, not some mean old grouch! God's love for us is greater than even our own love for ourselves. And His commands are designed to keep us from the pain of our own stupidity, and our own natural, sin-tainted, desires.

C. Transition to Jesus' Words

I think that's especially true of today's section that we'll be looking at from the Sermon on the Mount. Look up at the screen for Jesus' words from Matthew 5...

Matthew 5:27-28 27 "You have heard that it was said, `Do not commit adultery.' 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Why would Jesus go so far as to start looking into our thought lives? What's wrong with the philosophy that says... "It doesn't matter where you work up your appetite, just as long as you eat at home." What's wrong with a little lust? It doesn't hurt anyone, does it?

To answer that, I'd like to use a Bible example of the only person I can think of, in the Bible, who was called a man after God's own heart–King David–and analyze how he messed up–big time–in this area of lust. He wasn't fortunate enough to have the warnings we have from the Sermon on the Mount. So this morning, I'd like you to turn to the Old Testament book of 2 Samuel, chapter 11...(p. 486 in Large Print Bibles)

II. Anatomy of David's Lust

2 Samuel11, describes an incident in David's life that gives us an anatomy chart of lust. In looking at an incident in David's life, we will get a good insight into how lust begins rather innocently and how it ends with such tragedy. As we look at David's life I invite you ask some questions of yourself, along the way.

A. What Am I Feeling?

The first question is, "What am I feeling?" Let's see if we can step into David's shoes for a moment

2 Samuel 11:1-2a 1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. 2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace.

These two verses are careful to paint the scene for us. It tells us it's the time of year when kings lead their armies out to war. During this particular time in history a king was not only a political leader but he was also a military leader. As winter faded away and the floods receded, often kings would take their armies out to conquer, and to fight. We're told that King David, rather than leading his troops to battle this particular spring, stays home in Jerusalem. He sends his general Joab out with the troops, in his place.

I think that's the first clue to us that something is out of place. David is neglecting a responsibility that is his. David is in a place that he wouldn't normally be. He's between accomplishments. His attention is unoccupied.

The first part of verse 2 tells us that one night he had trouble sleeping. Maybe he was bored. Maybe he wasn't active enough. But as a result of his insomnia, he gets up and goes on the roof. Now, at this point everything is still innocent, but keep in mind that he's vulnerable.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard this same story in counseling sessions or from friends or acquaintances that have committed adultery. –"You know, I should've been in that seminar that I was sent to, but instead I stayed away from some sessions and I started to wander into places I shouldn't have been." OR –"I should've been busy at work, but instead I blew it off and started to let my mind wander." OR –"I was just kind of bored, so I decided to cruise the Internet. And it led to things I could never imagine." You see those feelings, and actions, innocent in and of themselves, are warning signals that we're vulnerable and we shouldn't let down our guard.

B. What am I viewing?

The second question to ask yourself is, "What am I viewing?"

2 Samuel 11:2b 2b From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,

Now, in the Middle East, the roofs of houses served as patios or decks. David, the King, lived in the palace. Most likely, his palace was the highest building in the city. From his rooftop patio he could look down on the neighboring houses. As he looks down and he sees a woman named Bathsheba bathing, and as he looks he notices that she's beautiful.

Now, I don't think there's anything wrong yet at this point.

Illustration: When we went to the Dominican Republic almost six years ago, the missionary family who were our hosts, took us to a beach for a day of R and R. I was snorkeling, and looking for shells for my aquarium, and as I came out of the water and looked up, there were two European women, standing in front of me wearing nothing but the bottoms of their bikinis and a smile. I immediately turned around and started walking back into the ocean. That viewing of nudity was an accident, just like David's situation.

Now, if David would have said, "Oops, can't be looking in that direction" and turned and walked away, probably no harm would come. But we're told that he looked intently. I can say that because of what he noticed–she was beautiful–and he didn't turn away.

You know, there are guys who are... –"Just looking" at magazines for the articles, and then the pictures stay in their mind. –"Just looking" at certain videos or cable stations or movies, but the images stay in their mind. –"Just looking" at a particular web site on the Internet, but that stays in their mind. Be aware that "Just looking" is never "JUST LOOKING!"

Now up until this point, the gals might be saying, "Go ahead, Tom, give it to those guys. Because this lust thing is strictly a guy problem." But, ladies, I don't believe for a minute that lust is something you never struggle with.

Charles Mylander, a professor at Azuza Pacific University, and superintendent of the Evangelical Friends churches of southern California, in his book, The Christ-Centered Marriage, writes this...

"Both men and women lust, they just happen to lust in different ways. Let me contrast the ways... Men tend to lust impulsively. That is, they see a woman, they see a picture, they see something that prompts them to lust. Women tend to lust selectively. They locate someone who's special in their mind and they become preoccupied with that special person. Men tend to lust through their eyes the things that they see. Women tend to lust through their ears the things that they hear. How they long for the compliments to come. The affirmation to be given. Even a meaningful conversation in which a man really listens to them and if that isn't experienced through their husband, quite often that leaves them vulnerable to experience that temptation through what other people say to them. Men tend to lust for physical pleasure. Have physical fantasies. Women tend to lust for the emotional pleasure."

Now I realize that's generalized. It's not always that way. I recall a Diet Coke commercial on TV not too long ago. You might remember the one where women from an office building are crowding the window, every day at the same time, looking down on this construction worker, while he takes off his shirt, and drinks a Coke.

But here's the point, what we're viewing opens us up to something that will take root in our mind and our heart.

C. What Am I Planning?

And then the third question to ask yourself, "What am I planning?"

2 Samuel 11:3 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"

Now David finds out two things. One, she's married. To be involved with her would be adultery. Second, she is the wife of one of his fighting men; and that man is out to battle while David is sitting home.

So she's alone and available.

2 Samuel 11:4-5 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."

David forms a plan. He sends two messengers to Bathsheba's house. He uses his position and power to influence her to come to him.

This is so tragic. But I've seen it and heard of it happening with men in power so often. Here's David, placed in a position of influence and leadership, given to him by God, and he uses it to take advantage of one of the people he is to care for.

Well, She agrees to come to him, and he sleeps with her–and she becomes pregnant.

Illustration: In my pastoral counseling, when I talk to people who are contemplating suicide one of the questions I ask them is... "Have you planned how you would do it? And if they say, "Yes," then that indicates the most extreme level of seriousness.

And if you're to the point of where you're actually planning how you might act upon your lust, let me tell you, you are at the most extreme danger level regarding adultery. But the place to deal with it is not when it gets to that point. Here's the warning...

Matthew 5:28 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Well David's mental adultery leads to physical adultery. Bathsheba becomes pregnant and the legacy of lust begins. She sends word back to David "I'm pregnant." We don't know why she did this. Maybe she's hoping for protection. You see, according to Jewish law, if word got out that she was pregnant and her husband was gone to war, she could be stoned for her adultery. So, she was sending word to David, "Hey, I'm pregnant and we both know who's responsible for this."

And so David begins to cover up. He has Uriah come home and commends him for his work and says to go home and enjoy your wife. He even gets him a little drunk hoping Uriah will loosen up his disciplined life for a day. But Uriah says, "No, when the other guys are out there fighting, I'm not going to go home and have the opportunity to be with my wife." (Uriah is a better man drunk that David is sober at this point ), and he doesn't do it.

Now David thinks, "Now what do I do?"

So he sends Uriah back to the "front lines" and arranges through his general, to have Uriah killed. And he is killed in an ensuing battle.

You know, it's amazing... Uriah is one of David's elite fighting men. Uriah would have died for David. That's how loyal he was. But David is so consumed in his adultery and the cover-up, that he's disloyal to the very person who is most loyal to him.

Well, at this point, David thinks he's gotten away with it. After Bathsheba sheds a few tears, David marries her and takes her into the household and everything seems to be fine until one day the preacher shows up. (It's just like a preacher to ruin a good time, you know. )His name was Nathan. God sent him to confront David's adultery.

Nathan tells David a moving story about a man who has huge herds of sheep and his neighbor who has just one little lamb-named "Fluffy". The guy who had all kinds of sheep invited a guest over, and instead of killing one of his sheep for the meal, he went over and stole that one little lamb from his neighbor, killed it and served "Fluffy" to his guest.

At the end of the story, David is outraged. Look at what happens (next chapter)...

2 Samuel 12:7-8 7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: `I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.

"David, You da man!"

2 Samuel 12:9-10 9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.'

God says, "I'm going to bring down calamity upon you. There's going to be rebellion and death in your future." And the consequences of David's action unfold in the next eight chapters.

–The child that he had with Bathsheba dies. –One of his other sons kills another of his other sons. –There's an open rebellion by yet another son. –David is expelled from his city and his home. –The consequences go on, literally, for generations.

Friends, don't miss the lesson from this anatomy of David's lust. You see, while the nature of lust is private, it can have very public ramifications. While it's something that happens as a secret between two people, it can affect the lives of thousands of people who had no responsibility in the action.

The consequences are lasting. From a wandering night on a rooftop, David loses his kids and his kingdom to rebellion.

Now, you might be saying, "O come on Tom, give me a break. I'm stronger than that. You're going overboard on this lust thing. There is no way that I'm going to lose my family or my job, or my standing in society, because of my thought life.

Let me tell you, that's exactly what Roger, Rick, Phil, Kathy, Mike, Susan, Don, George, Nancy, Steve and Paul thought–Those are 11 people to whom I have been close in my life, over the past 20 years. Each one lost their dreams, respect, and usefulness in God's Kingdom advancement because they gave in to lust in their thought lives!

But, if you heed the warning of Jesus, and realize that you've allowed lust to come into your life, there is a solution.

III. Conclusion

A. Cut it off...

Going back to the Sermon on the Mount, in this context of "thought-life adultery", Jesus says...

Matthew 5:29-30 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, 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 right 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 go into hell.

Illustration: You may have heard of the sick joke that was going around a few years ago... "What do you call a man with no arms and no legs, who skis behind a motor boat? SKIP"!

Well, Jesus isn't saying that we have to literally be a bunch of "SKIPS". But he is saying that you need to take care of the problem in your thought life with all seriousness.

–If cable TV movies are the things that are bringing in the lustful thoughts, get rid of them. You probably are going to have to un-subscribe to cable. –If the Internet is the thing that brings lustful thoughts into your mind, stop subscribing to it, or get some filtering software put on your computer. –If watching certain TV shows or listening to certain radio shows are the things that are causing you to have lustful thoughts, stop tuning into them. –If eating lunch with certain men or women who are not your spouse are causing you to have lustful thoughts, don't go there.

If things in your life are causing you to be put at risk in any of these stages of lust or adultery, get rid of them. Jesus is giving us some very practical advice. You don't get out of lust and adultery gradually, it has to be through God's grace and a radical surgery of a lifestyle that puts you at risk.

B. Carle Zimmerman's book

Fifty-three years ago, in 1947, a German sociologist and historian by the name of Carle Zimmerman, wrote a book called, "Family and Civilization". He recorded the observations of his study of the declines of numerous civilizations and cultures, going back as far history was recorded. When he compared his findings, seven things came up as common denominators–common behavior patterns--in every culture that went into a downward spiral, and disintegrated or were conquered. (Front of bulletin) Here are the seven things...

1. Marriage loses its sacredness; is frequently broken by divorce; 2. Traditional meaning of the marriage ceremony is lost; 3. Increased public disrespect for parents and authority in general; 4. Acceleration of juvenile delinquency, promiscuity, and rebellion; 5. Refusal of people with traditional marriages to accept family responsibilities; 6. Increasing interest in and spread of sexual perversions and sex-related crimes; 7. Growing desire for and acceptance of adultery.

Friends, because He was God, Jesus knew these things when he taught the Sermon on the Mount. Take His words to heart. To violate them or treat them with disrespect has far reaching implications–far beyond even the guilt and remorse that takes place individually.

Don't put your tongue on the cold pump handle. It's a warning for your own protection. Don't lust–get rid of things that make you lust. It's a warning for your own protection.

Listen to Jesus' warning in the Sermon on the Mount. Don't find out about adultery the hard way.

Amen.