With the Scripture:\u00a0“You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart<\/em>” (Matthew 5:27-28). Only married people can commit adultery, so as I see it, this Scripture is not meant for the unmarried.<\/p>\n\t What you are doing is narrowing the application so that it doesn’t include your particular sin. By doing so, you show yourself to be the same breed as the Jews of Jesus day, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!<\/em>” (Matthew 23:23-24).<\/p>\n You missed the point of Jesus’ statement completely. The Jews of Jesus’ day read the Law, saw that it said “Do not commit adultery,” and then congratulated themselves that they did not have sex with another man’s wife. Jesus’ point is that sin doesn’t start when a person physically does the sin, it starts when a person seriously contemplates the sin. “And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man<\/em>” (Mark 7:20-23). (Notice that fornication is in this list as well.) You can take any sin and make the same point. Jesus chose adultery for this particular illustration, but it also works with murder, stealing, covetousness, and fornication. Sin doesn’t begin at the physical act, it begins when it is strongly desired (lust).<\/p>\n “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren<\/em>” (James 1:13-16).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: With the Scripture:\u00a0“You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28). Only married people can commit adultery, so as I see it, this Scripture is not meant for the unmarried. Answer: What…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[156,226,179],"class_list":["post-12782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-lust","tag-pornography","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":28075,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-matthew-528-only-apply-to-lusting-after-a-married-woman\/","url_meta":{"origin":12782,"position":0},"title":"Does Matthew 5:28 only apply to lusting after a married woman?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 8, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a Christian and worship in a congregation of the Church of Christ. \u00a0I would like to ask you something, that has been vexing me for some time, and I know the general and most common answers but I would truly applicate your reply. \"But I say to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19275,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-matthew-528-only-limited-to-lusting-after-a-married-woman\/","url_meta":{"origin":12782,"position":1},"title":"Is Matthew 5:28 only limited to lusting after a married woman?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 24, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does Matthew 5:27-28 about lust apply to both married and single men? I've been curious about this and want to gain a correct understanding of the passage. In the context of that passage is Jesus talking to Jewish men who were married? If so, does that mean the passage\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30773,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-looking-at-pornography-be-adultery-especially-since-im-not-married\/","url_meta":{"origin":12782,"position":2},"title":"How can looking at pornography be adultery, especially since I’m not married?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have looked up some information on your site and found some to be helpful, but I can't help but wonder still. It is said that looking at porn is a sin and it says that anyone who looks upon someone with lust commits adultery. But isn't that term\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33373,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-a-man-looks-admiringly-at-a-woman-without-thoughts-of-sex-is-that-adultery\/","url_meta":{"origin":12782,"position":3},"title":"If a man looks admiringly at a woman without thoughts of sex, is that adultery?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If, for example, I'm married and look at a woman, married or not admire her clothes or the way she looks after herself and not thinking of taking her to bed or doing anything to her is that committing adultery? Answer: \"But I say to you that whoever looks\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8873,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-viewing-pornography-wrong-when-you-are-married\/","url_meta":{"origin":12782,"position":4},"title":"Is viewing pornography wrong when you are married?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 2, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is viewing pornography when you are already married wrong? I know there are still people who still view porn even if they are married. Actually, I caught a parent watching an x-rated movie, but, of course, I didn't show myself to them in fear of being scolded. No matter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23891,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-just-thinking-about-doing-oral-sex-with-a-woman-is-as-bad-as-doing-it-then-why-not-just-do-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":12782,"position":5},"title":"If just thinking about doing oral sex with a woman is as bad as doing it, then why not just do it?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 26, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If just thinking about doing oral sex with a woman is as bad as doing it, then why not just do it? 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