Verse 27 says, “You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.” This is the old law, the commandment not to commit adultery (Exo. 20:14; Deut. 5:18).
The new complementing law regarding adultery is found in verse 28: “But I say to you, that every one who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” The law of the old dispensation deals with the outward act of adultery, whereas the new law of the kingdom deals with the inward motive of the heart.
We must consider the seriousness of such a sin in relation to the kingdom. The seriousness of this sin is indicated by the Lord’s word in verses 29 and 30 about plucking out our eye and casting it from us and cutting off our hand and casting it from us. In both of these verses the Lord said, “It is better for you that one of your members perish and not your whole body be cast into Gehenna.” This, however, should not be observed literally; it can only be carried out spiritually, as revealed in Romans 8:13 and Colossians 3:5. I know the cases of some who applied this word in a literal way. One of these cases was a gambler who literally cut off his hand after reading this portion of the Word. Eventually he discovered that, although his hand had been cut off, there was still within him an inner hand desiring to gamble. He learned that cutting off his physical hand did not work, for the problem was with the inner hand. Although this word is not to be taken literally, it reveals the seriousness of such a sin.
According to the Lord’s word in verses 29 and 30, it is possible for saved persons to be cast into Gehenna. This means that even the saved ones may be hurt by the second death. In Revelation 2:11 the Lord Jesus said, “He who overcomes shall by no means be hurt of the second death.” As we have pointed out, Gehenna is a symbol of the lake of fire, which is the second death (Rev. 20:15). The Lord’s word in Revelation 2:11 indicates that it is possible for believers to be hurt by the second death. The Lord’s word in Revelation 2:11 corresponds to His word in Matthew 5:29 and 30. As a saved one, if you are not serious in dealing with this kind of sin, you will some day be hurt by the second death. As the Lord Jesus says here, you will be cast into Gehenna. This does not mean that you will perish; it means that you will be disciplined. Furthermore, the Gehenna of fire does not refer to the purgatory of Catholicism. But this word on Gehenna warns you that if you are not serious in dealing with this sin today, when the Lord Jesus comes back, He will exercise His judgment over you. (For a further word on the matter of being hurt by the second death, see Life-Study of Revelation, message eleven, pp. 136-138).
As we have seen, the three kinds of judgment spoken of in verse 22 all refer to the judgment of Christ at His judgment seat. This judgment has nothing to do with the unsaved, who will be judged at the great white throne after the millennium (Rev. 20:12,15). No unsaved person will be qualified to stand before the judgment seat of Christ at His coming back. All those who appear before this judgment seat will be saved ones. The believers will be judged there, not for the matter of salvation or perdition, but for reward or punishment.
The word spoken by the Lord concerning judgment and being cast into the Gehenna of fire is a serious word. Such a word should make us sober and cause us not to be loose in dealing with this kind of sin. Never consider this sin as an insignificant matter. The situation today regarding fornication is deplorable. We must never be loose about this. The Lord’s own word shows us how serious it is. We must be sober and deal with this in a very serious manner. However, we do not deal with our members in a literal way. Rather, we must mortify our sinful members by the cross of Christ. As Romans 8:13 reveals, by the Spirit we must “put to death the practices of the body,” and, as Colossians 3:5 says, we must mortify our “members which are on the earth.” This is the proper way to deal with our sinful members.
Verses 29 and 30 also indicate that we must put away the motive of such a sin at any cost. The Lord’s intention here is to make us sober so that we would put away not only the action, but also the motive of this kind of sin. If we fail to do this, He will put us into the Gehenna of fire when He comes. This is a very sobering word.