Lust, Coveting, and the Commodification of Desire: Rethinking Sexuality in the Kingdom (Sermon on the Mount Series)

Voxology

Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 7 September 2020

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How reimagining Jesus’ teaching on lust liberates us from shame, reframes desire, and challenges harmful patterns in purity culture. Continuing their Sermon on the Mount Series, Mike Erre and Tim Stafford break down one of Jesus’ most misinterpreted instructions, engaging with the Greek text, touching on double standards around adultery, and wrestling with the weight of toxic sexuality within the church. Through blunt honesty and biblical exegesis, they uncover a subversive call to holiness—a holiness that centers dignity, community, and healing.

Key Takeaways:
• Lust Is Not Just Desire—It’s Coveting – Jesus uses the language of covetousness, reframing lust as a willful orientation toward possessing what is not ours rather than simply feeling attraction or desire.
• Smashing the Double Standard – Jesus critiques the patriarchal framing of adultery and lust by placing moral responsibility on men, breaking from ancient purity codes that blamed women.
• The Commodification of Human Beings – A warning against objectification and the addictive, soul-hollowing nature of unchecked lust and pornographic consumption.
• Beyond Shame: A Better Theology of Sex – Sexuality is not a curse but a gift. Jesus and the Bible affirm desire when stewarded rightly, honoring the whole person.
• Making Space for Healing – Personal confession and communal solidarity are essential. Healing doesn’t come through suppressing desire or shaming ourselves, but through grace, truth, and genuine transformation.

Resources Mentioned:
• Matthew 5:27–30 – Jesus’ teaching on lust in the Sermon on the Mount
• Exodus 20 – Commandments against adultery and coveting
• Ephesians 4:17–19 – Paul on desensitization and lust
• CS Lewis' concept of “Shadowlands”
• White Witch & Turkish Delight example from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
• Talmudic examples on modesty and rabbinic purity laws
• Episode guest reference: Dr. Celeste Holbrook
• “I Have a Dream” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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Music by Timothy John Stafford
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Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford

Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey everybody, Tim and Mike here. We are excited to continue our conversation in the
0:12.7	Sermon on the Mount. We are not excited that the topic today strikes a little too close to home.
0:19.1	And so we're both feeling kind of heavy about it just because I think we could spend the
0:25.2	whole, or at least I could spend, I shouldn't speak for Timothy, I could spend the whole
0:29.4	hour just sort of confessing.
0:33.8	This is a, this is an issue that got in early in my life and has stayed.
0:40.4	And, man, I certainly do not come at this as someone who has it all figured out.
0:48.6	And so I think we're going to, we're going to, we're going to just go right to the text.
0:54.4	We're going to walk through the text and then we're going to consider some implications.
1:00.4	But, you know, this is one of those teachings that isn't super hard to understand.
1:04.7	It's, it's, that's the problem.
1:08.9	Not super hard to understand, but not talked about a whole lot.
1:13.1	Yes.
1:13.8	Yes, yes, yes.
1:14.6	So we have a text reader today, and he's going to plow through the text force and then we'll join you in just a second.
1:25.2	Music then we'll join you in just a second.
1:40.6	You've heard that it was said, you shall not commit adultery.
1:46.1	But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out
1:52.0	and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body
1:57.4	to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off
2:03.1	and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body
2:08.8	to go into hell. Ah, the voice of an angel. That's our friend, that's our friend, Brandon. And so thank you for that.
	...

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