This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Sermon on the Mount” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, May 24, 1987.
About this sermon
Liberation theology’s misuse of Matthew 5:27-30 gets a direct critique here, alongside an insistence that proper preaching stays concerned with eternal rather than merely worldly matters. Paul’s own self-discipline in 1 Corinthians 9:27 is read against that backdrop. God’s scrutiny, applied honestly to this passage, undoes every hearer alike, which is exactly why salvation can only ever be by grace.
Sermon transcript
and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” He hath heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off and cast it from thee, for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”
Our God, we pray for peace for kings and governors and princes, for presidents and parliaments. We pray on behalf of authorities in the world that truly peace may prevail, that your word may progress unheeded. that your word may progress, Lord, unhindered. And we ask, Lord, that your unhindered word might even remind those who are in power that there is a power above to which they are subject. O God, a world above to which you are bringing your own, your elect, your people. Father may your word therefore with power go forth for the peoples of the earth that they may hear it and even those in authority that they may bow to me. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.
Now it is a text like this one this morning, and that is the golden opportunity for preaching in times like these. Texts like this, preachers ordinarily do not allow to slip by. without taking advantage of the text in a way in which that their preaching emphasizes the importance, the centrality in their preaching of the whole matter of relevance. Modern preaching does not allow texts like this to slip by without improving upon the text itself.
Haven’t you all been waiting for a message on Jim and Tammy? Haven’t you all been waiting for a message on Gary and Lee? Haven’t you all been waiting for a message on the moral degeneracy of our society and the moral condition of the Church, how it too is falling prey? Haven’t you been waiting for that blockbuster of a message on the homosexual scourge and the plague of AIDS? the modern preacher proves his relevance by taking advantage of texts like these. He believes that by this route He has placed himself at the center of what God is presently doing in the world. How God is at work.
And therefore it is not uncommon to hear ministers submerge themselves in a review of all of the particular practices that have now arisen and have gained a degree of popularity in our culture. It is not uncommon to hear ministers spout to you an avalanche of statistics with regard to how far we have slipped and to what end we are coming. Ministers seem to be alarmists, and they proclaim to you the ruination of your world, your culture, your civilization, because of the moral decay that has set in. But preaching like this, you see, has its own liability.
For preaching that begins with the world invariably ends with the world. Have you noticed the appeal of the J.W.’ ‘s when they come to your door? They want to tell you in a honest fashion about all the tragedies that have overtaken civilization. And doesn’t this cause you to worry? Aren’t you on the edge of your seat? Aren’t you holding your breath, fearful of what might happen next?
But as you talk with them further, you find out that in answer to these worldly problems, they are presenting to you a worldly solution, and their hope is holy in the world. I tell you that many a fundamentalist, many an evangelical, many a conservative, Bible-believing preacher of the gospel is doing nothing less than that. In fact, it’s far worse. In fact, it’s far worse.
Presently there is a movement abroad which is called liberation theology. It is the product of neo-orthodoxy. It is also the product of what is called process theology. That theology contends that God is to be identified with the processes of liberation in the world.
He has no other identity. There is no other being for God than that being that is manifest in the processes of liberation that are presently taking place amongst the oppressed of the world. Society triumphs. This world gains the upper hand. The message is about the world processes.
But you see, As radical as that theology is, and as far removed as you may judge that theology to be from the intent of scripture, so much of what is heard now from pulpits in this land is not a hair’s breadth removed from it. Be that preaching. Be the preaching that comes forth from those pulpits, even conservatively. For the objective, you see, is to secure one’s place in the world.
It is a message about the world, the horrors that are all around us, that are taking over, that are spoiling our culture and our civilization, these things that cause us distress, and in the end, what remedy is offered? Organize. March. Vote. Change free leadership. Restructure society. Make the world a better place. You start with the world, you end the world.
Now as alarmed as you may be about moral decay and sexual infidelity and corruption. As much as you may be alarmed by the plague of AIDS and these things, to make these things the text of your preaching is to miss the purpose and the intent of preaching. Proper preaching is not so much concerned with current events, current affairs, the modern predicament, as it is with eternity and eternal matters. Get a hold of the force and power of Jesus’ message here, you see.
Because you see, he’s running right into the very attitude that we have been speaking against here today. The short-sightedness of the generation of his own time, or the short-sightedness of all generations. The short-sightedness of preachers then, and the short-sightedness of preachers now. Isn’t the judgment that is being meted out by the world that which is foremost in the mind of preachers and preaching, be it in the day of Jesus or in our own?
In Jesus’ day, the objective was to bring the offender to trial, to make him pay for his The crime was obvious, and the crime was to be punished. Therefore, thou shalt not commit adultery. And whoever commits adultery, if you were to paraphrase this twenty-seventh verse in light of what you find in verse twenty-one, for instance, whoever commits adultery, he shall be liable to the court. And the viewpoint here is one of human judgment with regard to the sin in view.
But Jesus goes deeper. He is not satisfied with society righting itself, or keeping its nose clean. He is concerned with that which doesn’t appear, which is not apparent to the society itself, at least externally. He is concerned with that which is internal and eternal. He is concerned with the heart. And therefore, that one, that one who lusts for a woman, has already committed adultery in his heart.
You see, the problem with ancient preaching and modern preaching is that it simply doesn’t take the predicament seriously enough, as seriously as that preaching may in vain against moral depravity. It has hardly considered the circumstance adequately, for our eyes are not to be focused upon society righting itself, or even bettering itself. The vantage point is much different.
The vantage point is in terms of eternity, for it’s not the human course that you need to fear, as Jesus goes on to make plain in verses twenty-nine and thirty. The judgment that is in view here is not just some human court meeting to decide your case. And the judgment that is exacted by that court is not some sort of judgment that merely ends your life within society so that society itself might be purged. You see, the judgment in view has to do with your heart, and the judgment executed has to do with the eventual destination. of your soul.
Heaven and hell. Heaven and hell. If you’re right, I, the cause of you stumbling, Pluck it out, throw it away. The things that a human court would be unconcerned with, the judgments that a human court couldn’t even make, begin to make, those are the things that concern God.
And that’s the scrutiny that here asserts itself in the ministry and preaching of Jesus. The perception then that comes through Christ is so utterly different than what the world offers and sadly what much of the church offers. The perception that we are to have is the perception that comes to us because the light of heaven has shined. We are being scrutinized by a divine light, not a human light. And it is before that divine light that we are presented.
What court of the world is capable of prosecuting a case of lust? None. But it is the court of heaven that prosecutes such cases. It is the coming of the kingdom of heaven that is asserting itself in Christ’s words. Now you may be thinking that, that being the case, what in the world can we do about our condition before the scrutinizing of heaven, we are undone and undone thoroughly for what man can stand before this indictment, this sentence by Christ. But as much now as we preach the fact that we must begin with heaven, so also we preach that we end with heaven. All those who preach from the earth end with the earth. Those who begin with heaven end there.
And the message that is given to us by root of this kind of preaching is one of utter and thorough grace. By what act did you constrain God to come in the first place? By none. It was utterly and thoroughly by grace that the kingdom of heaven broke forth upon us in Jesus Christ. And it is utterly and thoroughly by grace that we, before the scrutinizing of the bar of heaven, are brought into that heavenly kingdom and secured within it.
Adultery has to do with fidelity and faithfulness. And as much now as Jesus is preaching about these so-called moral matters, he is speaking as well about loyalty and integrity of soul. And he’s not doing this, nor do I make these comments, to make the demand any less upon you. I’m simply saying to you that the power with which you now are to live is found in this one who has gone before you.
Who is the one who is put aside every distraction? Who is the one who is pushed aside every hindrance, everything that would get in his way, everything that would deter him from fulfilling completely and thoroughly the will of God, the Lord Jesus Christ?
Who is the one who plucks out his eye if necessary? Who is the one that cuts off his hand if necessary? In order that the purpose and will of God would be fulfilled, is it not the Lord Jesus? Does not the Lord Jesus keep faith? He does. He is the utterly faithful one. So that the vantage point of heaven not only grants you by grace the kingdom and lays upon you the demand, but it also provides you the power to live as one who lives from heaven and from the one who has preceded you, namely the Lord Jesus Christ.
What struggles are there for you now? Is it a battle for you day in, day out with your own lust? Is it a struggle for you? Have you given up? Did you give up long ago and say, well, that’s life. Who can endure? Who can face these temptations? Who can triumph in the midst of them? I can tell you.
The Lord Jesus Christ. And you. You buy him. Buy an earthly power. by some sort of act of self-will? No, not at all. You remember that by virtue of the coming of the kingdom of heaven, by virtue of the grace of God, you have now been repositioned Out of this world, a citizen of a kingdom above, and in that kingdom above, is there adultery? Is there lust? No. No. And so there is to be none in us. That’s the vantage point. That’s the perception. Herein is the power.
If you start with the earth, you will end with the earth. The power that you muster will be only the earth’s power. You start with heaven, you will end with heaven. And I dare say, you will end in heaven with the one who has preceded you, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us pray. Father, your church is in need of great and good and proper preaching. Preaching that does not forget the coming of the kingdom. Preaching that directs the eyes of the people of God, first of all, to heaven. Preaching that makes plain that because of your grace we have been positioned in heaven. Preaching that makes plain that the power by which we are to live is not a power that comes from us, it comes from you.
And it is the very power of your Son and the power of the kingdom of heaven above. O Lord, may we understand that we can in fact live as you have called us to live through him, the one who was faithful, who pushed aside every distraction in order to fulfill the purpose, the mandate given him by you. Do forgive us, Lord, wherein we are weak. And Lord, all the more may we cling to Christ, who is our only hope.
The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.