I am a Jesus pusher!!! Man can never break the force of sin in his life by a simple decision. “Those of old” could see no other way to maintain righteousness because they viewed sexuality as an animal drive they could not control. Therefore, they set their boundary to be that of refraining from sexual involvement with their neighbor’s wife. All other sexual control was impossible because of the force of this sinful nature. But the force is not in the sexuality. If it were, then we must eliminate sexuality, not redeem it. The force is in the evil self-centered nature that fills man. God created man to be dependent on His nature, and sinful man decided to be independent, depending only on his self-focus and allowing this nature to dominate his sexuality.
Man’s sinful nature not only dominates his sexuality, but it dominates his emotions also. Jesus gave six illustrations beginning with “anger” (Matthew 5:21-26). The best “those of old” could do was to control their anger within the boundaries of not committing murder. No one can love in every situation and forgive everyone because of the force of the sinful nature. The answer to this problem is not in the elimination of our emotions but in the redemption of our emotions through allowing God to remove the self-focus of our nature. So it is with our sexuality! Jesus proposes a change in our nature. He wants to restore us to God’s nature, making us the Kingdom filled with His presence. This proposal is not a call to anger management or a challenge to sexual discipline. This call is to a nature change. The self-centered nature must die. Listen to the cry of Paul. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). I am a Jesus pusher!!!