Jesus and the ten commandments: no adultery.

Jesus is not interested in outward performative actions. This is the righteousness of the Pharisees, but has little to do with the kingdom of God. Instead Jesus calls his people to a much deeper, more fundamental level of heart righteousness.

Lust is the root cause of adultery, and it has no place in those who take their inclusion in the kingdom of God seriously. At its heart, lust is a misdirected, misaligned, corrupted desire. When desire rules us, as opposed to us it, we degrade the image of God in other people, and in turn ourselves.

Instead Jesus calls us to redirect our desire, a holy gift from God, to where it is supposed to point: firstly to Him, and then appropriately and with godly boundaries to other people, in whom we see the image of God. This is where freedom from being bullied by our desire lies. Jesus is looking for men and women He can trust, so that He can empower them to do whatever they want, knowing that whatever they want is whatever He wants.

By Ed Flint