Your War with Lust: 9 Gouge & Cut if Necessary

Are you willing to do whatever it takes?

Matthew 5:29

Week 5

► For a God Time use the “P.O.W.E.R. Plan” in Appendix A.

► After reading this chapter, answer the following questions:

1) What are some radical statements Jesus made about being holy in sexual sin? Do you agree or disagree these should be understood literally?

2) What do we claim God is specifically asking of you in the area of sexual purity? What would you add to this?

3) What does Joseph’s example teach us about the potential cost of sexual purity?

4) How would you categorize your level of victory over sinful lust?

5) What are the limitations on spiritual freedom in this area?

6) What was especially meaningful to you in this chapter? Why?

Origen was by far the most influential Bible scholar in third century Christianity. Even the Roman Emperor’s mother requested Origen to visit her to teach her Christian doctrine. The man’s commitment to Christ was steadfast and courageous even at a time of great persecution. And he stopped at nothing to be holy. One of his biographers was the early Church historian Eusebius. Of Origen the historian writes:

At this time while Origen was conducting catechetical instruction at Alexandria, a deed was done by him which evidenced an immature and youthful mind, but at the same time gave the highest proof of faith and continence. For he took the words, “There are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake” (Matthew 19:12) in too literal and extreme a sense. And in order to fulfill the Savior’s word, and at the same time to take away from the unbelievers all opportunity for scandal— for, although young, he met for the study of divine things with women as well as men— he carried out in action the word of the Savior. ^[1]

Origen castrated himself. That’s pretty extreme. But it was practiced among Christian men in the early Church. So much so that in the early fourth century, the Council of Nicea had to outlaw it. ^[2]

Unfortunately, both ancient and modern Bible scholars have tried to explain away what Jesus said as well. What did He say? Jesus had just told the disciples that the only reason a man could divorce his wife was unfaithfulness. “Jesus’ disciples then said to him, ‘If this is the case, it is better not to marry!’” (Matt 19:10). Jesus responded, “Not everyone can accept this statement [to not be married]. Only those whom God helps” (v. 11). Jesus went on to explain one way that men might be able to deny the natural desire to be married: castration. That’s right. Jesus said a viable alternative to having a sex drive and being married was to have your testicles removed, either by nature, others, or yourself. Despite all the efforts in both the ancient and modern Church to explain away what Jesus said, this is what He said:

For there are eunuchs [eunouchoi: “a castrated male person” ^[3]] who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it. (Matt 19:12 NASB)

And indeed it is difficult to find any teacher today who will accept what Jesus said. The NLT goes so far as to translate those “who made themselves eunuchs” as those who “choose not to marry.” That is not what Jesus said. But virtually every Bible scholar today denies the plain sense of what Jesus said. D. A. Carson writes that Matthew 19:12 “is not a commendation of self-castration but of renunciation of marriage,” ^[4] allegorizing the statement as the NLT does. But the other two examples of castration in the passage were literal, and so was the third. Accordingly, Calvin was more honest and said: “He says that there are other eunuchs, who have castrated themselves, that they may be more at liberty to serve God.” ^[5]

Why all the denial and attempted dilution of what Jesus said? Because it seems too drastic to us. Could Jesus really be condoning the practice of castration in order to better serve God? He certainly does not in any way condemn it as so many of His followers have. Sometimes Jesus’ teaching is too hard for humans to handle. Which is why He said, “He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.” He knew most would not.

Do not misunderstand us. In this chapter entitled “Gouge and Cut if Necessary” we are not going to recommend castration. Are you relieved? But what we do want to impress upon you is this: you must be willing to do whatever it takes to rid yourself of sexual sin.

This is what Jesus was saying when He taught about sinful lust in the Sermon on the Mount. He said, “anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt 5:28). And then He said:

If your right eye makes you stumble,

tear it out and throw it from you. (Matthew 5:29 NASB)

Your Father wants you to do whatever it takes

to stop sexual sin in your life.

Do whatever it takes

And again, modern teachers immediately want to deny that Jesus meant what He said. Of course Jesus was only speaking metaphorically right? No. The fact that Jesus meant this literally is confirmed when He says why someone should gouge out their eye or cut off their hand: “For [gar: “because”] it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into  hell” (v. 29 NASB). Would we all agree that it would literally be better to lose your eye or hand “than for your whole body to be thrown into  hell”? And if we agree with that, then we can certainly agree that Jesus was in fact speaking literally.

Of course the threat of Hell does not apply to the Christian. But why do so many Christians automatically think Jesus isn’t really saying what He is saying or that it applies to them? Because they believe that having an eye or hand is more important than not sinning against Almighty God. Are you sure God would agree? Does God think that having an eye, a hand, or testicles is more valuable than holiness? Are you sure Jesus would be displeased if you lost an eye to be holy, instead of sin against Him with the same eye? We do not think so.

What is Jesus saying then? That whatever else you try in order to keep sinful lust out of your life had better work. Because if it doesn’t then you need to know that God thinks your holiness is more important than your body parts. Indeed, literally gouging out your eye, cutting off your hand, or castrating yourself are the last resort. And Jesus knew that lesser steps would probably solve the problem for most. But let us not dishonor Christ and ignore how serious He is about holiness by conveniently categorizing the above statements into some metaphorical mush just because we think Jesus is being too extreme about the seriousness of sin. Jesus is saying if other measures to stop sinful lust in your life do not work, it would be better for you to lose some body parts.

Do you doubt His wisdom? Ask someone who has been addicted to pornography and as a result has lost their job, reputation, wife, children, and any self-respect. They will tell you that losing an eye, hand, or testicles, would have been less painful and costly. And in hindsight, they wish they would have cut these things off if it would have saved them from what lust cost them.

So if you struggle with sinful lust you had better find a way to overcome it. We can offer suggestions here, but if they don’t help you Your Father wants you to do whatever it takes to stop sexual sin in your life. “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you” (Matt 5:29).

What is God specifically asking of you?

God is specifically and simply asking you this: To deny yourself the sexual pleasure that comes from willing wicked women and only experience this with your wife. He is not saying you cannot experience sexual pleasure. He in fact encourages you to do so (cf. Prov 5:18-19; 1 Cor 7:3-5). And wants to provide for you to experience something even more satisfying than cybersex. But at the core of obeying His commands in this area is this decision: to never again experience the pleasure, the rush, the high, that willing wicked women can give you.

Yep, there is a cost here. Based on the use of pornography in our world, that means giving up a considerable amount of pleasure. But that is one of the difficult costs of belonging to God on a wicked planet. Moses knew this world was not his home and living here was difficult. But “He chose to suffer with God’s people instead of enjoying sin for a short time” (Heb 11:25 NCV). Will you give up the pleasure that demon-possessed destroyers of your wife and life can give you, in order to please God? Will pleasing God be more important to you than temporarily pleasing yourself?

What are you willing to do to be holy in the area of sexual pleasure? Do you love God as much a Joseph did?

Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man, and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded.

But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”

She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible. One day, however, no one else was around when he went in to do his work. She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, “Come on, sleep with me!” Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house. . .

Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife’s story about how Joseph had treated her. So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained. (Gen 39:6-12, 19-20)

Do you see how serious Joseph was about being holy for God? Most of us don’t even have an undoubtedly beautiful woman begging us daily for sex and physically grabbing us. “She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day” (v. 10). Many Christian men are willing to give in to women merely on a screen. What ultimately motivated Joseph? He told the willing, wicked woman, “How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God” (v. 9). Joseph knew God was watching him and would be hurt by his sin. And that must be our ultimate motivation. No other will be strong enough.

We can “put the fear of God in you” by warning you of all the real dangers and destruction of pornography. And God wants you to be afraid of these things too. But love is always stronger than fear. Your love for God is the greatest power you have over lust for wicked women. The motivation to love God, and prove your love for Him, by sacrificing sinful sexual pleasure is the real battle line of your war with lust.

And there is always a cost to real love. What did Joseph’s holiness and love for God cost him? He went from being the master of an Egyptian prince’s house to being a prisoner in an Egyptian jail. What are you willing to have your holiness cost you? Joseph lost every comfort in life. All God is asking of you is to give up some pleasure once in a while by abstaining from pornography. He is asking a lot less from you than He required of Joseph.

The Devil has launched a massive attack on the holiness of God’s sons. Many are being defeated. But we are not to take the Devil’s attacks laying down. We are not to cower and give up. Our motto is never “resistance is futile.” On the contrary, our motto is what Winston Churchill said in 1941 when Hitler’s power had reached a climax:

Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

Many men in Scripture failed in the area of sexual purity. Many more men in the Church today are sinning against God in this area. Will you be different? Will you give in to the enemy like so many do? Or will you be like “Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite”?:

As one of David’s three mighty warriors, he was with David when they taunted the Philistines gathered at Pas Dammim for battle. Then the Israelites retreated, but Eleazar stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day. (2 Sam 23:9-10 NIV)

When everyone else retreats and gives up their fight against wicked women on the Internet, will you keep fighting the Devil? How hard are you willing to fight for your love for God?

Depending on how much sinful lust controls you, you will need varying levels of effort and commitment to be free. One experienced counselor warns:

Some men fail at recovery simply because they are not committed to their program. They may be in recovery only to appease their wives or to look good to their family. While they may struggle with some denial, pride, and shame, ultimately they simply don’t want to do the work required for recovery. . . They are generally not ready for recovery and soon drop out. To be successful in recovery one must want it more than anything and be willing to do whatever it takes to recover. ^[6]

Some want to take an easy short cut to holiness and just keep asking God to change their heart. But God is probably not going to take away your natural desire for sex. Instead, you have to make a decision. Will you love pleasing Him more than the pleasure of your sin? You can have consistent freedom from sinful lust. But you must do whatever it takes. “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you” (Matt 5:29). Your Father wants you to do whatever it takes to stop sexual sin in your life.

Where are you at and where are you going?

In the FREEDOM study of the Christian Essentials we discussed the various stages of Christian experience. These included: Defeated, Coping, Growing, Free, and Fruitful. ^[7] What are you experiencing in the area of sinful lust?

Spiritual Defeat in this area could be labeled as an addiction to pornography. One author defines this as follows:

Men with a pornography addiction need stronger forms of support and accountability. These men seek out pornography daily, a few times a week, or go on long binges every few weeks. The amount of time a man spends viewing pornography has steadily increased and the type of pornography has become more extreme. ^[8]

Essentially, if you are looking at pornography from daily to once a week, we would suggest you are spiritually Defeated (even addicted) in this area of your life. It is controlling you rather than you controlling it. The first goal for you is to help you get to the Coping stage.

A Coping Christian has more control over sin than a Defeated one. Their struggle against sin is a rather constant and difficult struggle with periodic defeats. But in general, through “will power,” determination, and taking the necessary steps, they are able to have some consistent control over an otherwise sinful habit. Obviously this is better than being Defeated. But as we describe at length elsewhere, there is something better. It is spiritual Freedom.

Spiritual Freedom is the absence of even temptation toward a particular sin. It is an automatic and effortless power over a sin because you are being controlled by the Holy Spirit of God. And the Spirit’s power is a result of being “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom 12:2).

While a man may not be able to be free from his natural desires for sex, he can be free from the feelings of selfishness, lonliness, and boredom that lead to sinful lust. Therefore, in the following chapters we will share steps of how to move from spiritual Defeat to Coping and even to a considerable amount of Freedom in the area of sinful lust.

But you must do whatever it takes. “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you” (Matt 5:29). Your Father wants you to do whatever it takes to stop sexual sin in your life.

► Return to the beginning and answer the questions there.

► Recite Ephesians 4:30 from memory.

► Memorize Matthew 5:29 in the translation above or another.

1. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, online at www.ccel.org, Book 6, section 8. ↑
2. For early Church history regarding castration in response to Jesus’ statement in Matthew 19:12 see “The Practice and Prohibition of Self-Castration in Early Christianity,” Daniel F. Caner, online at

   http://extra.centenary.edu/dotto/rel332/Caner%20article.pdf ↑

3. BAGD. ↑
4. D. A. Carson, Matthew in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Zondervan, 2010), 474. ↑
5. Calvin’s Commentaries, online at

   http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/matthew-19.html ↑

6. Kleponis, Loc. 3612. ↑
7. For a discussion of the “Stages of Christian Experience” see chapters in Christian Essentials study #4: FREEDOM. ↑
8. Kleponis, Loc. 3232. ↑