​To be Jesus’ disciple, you must deal decisively with sin and where it begins—the heart. The problem is not your eye or your hand—it’s your heart. You need a new heart—you must be born again. Jesus promises a new heart to all who believe Him, receive Him, and are truly born again of His Holy Spirit.

What if you have been truly born again and yet you still struggle with lustful looks and lustful thoughts? You still must deal decisively with sin by confessing, repenting, and proving your repentance by not doing it again. Don’t minimize, rationalize, or entertain the sin, but have a plan of action.

The best plan of action is found in 2 Timothy 2:22:
“Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” 

When sin comes, flee! Then pursue righteousness. Replace sinful habits with righteous ones, which include living according to God’s Word (see Psalm 119:9). There is power in the Word of God to strengthen our spirits, renew our minds, and tell our bodies what we will or will not do. There is power in the Word of God to even take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Jesus. 

​In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shows how sin starts in the heart. It’s there that Jesus tells us we are just as guilty as if we committed the outward act. The second example Jesus speaks about deals with lust and adultery. 

Not only does Jesus want us to steer clear of adultery, but also of where adultery begins—with one lustful look. Just like contemptuous anger and murder, lust and adultery have serious consequences. We must deal decisively with sin, and yet gouging out our eyes and cutting off our hands isn’t enough.

What are we to do? Thankfully Jesus gets to the heart of the issue, which is the issue of the heart. Watch or listen to our study of Matthew 5:27-32 as we meditate on the importance of dealing decisively with sin.