Are You An Adulterer?

The summary of the introduction to the Sermon on the Mount and the theme of the whole thing is:

Matthew 5:20: For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.

What follows, from 5:21-48 is a series of examples which each illustrate what He means in verse 20. These illustrations all have the same formula. Jesus introduces them with You have heard the ancients were told . . . In each case, then, He refers back to statements in God's law which had become well-known quotations from the Law.

Jesus then shows that true righteousness involves more than mere outward observance such as what was practiced by the religious leaders of His day. He empha- sized the true inner spirit of each precept to offset the shallowness and abuses that were the rule of the day. Today we look at the subject of sexual sin. Are you an adulterer?

1 - The Letter of the Law (27-28)
2 - The Seriousness of Sin (29-30)