You Shall Not Commit Adultery
Readers Theater - Matthew 5:27-30

by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

Part of a study on the Sermon on the Mount

Free E-mail Bible Study Bible study Grace: Favor for the Undeserving

Bkmrk

A creative reading from Matthew 5:27-30; Genesis 39:6-7; Exodus 20:17; 2 Samuel 11:2-4; Job 31:1; Jeremiah 17:9-10; Matthew 5:27-30; Mark 7:21-23; 2 Peter 2:14; James 1:14-15; and 1 John 2:16-17.
READER 1 You shall not commit adultery.
READER 2 Adultery.
READER 3 Adultery.
READER 1 You shall not commit adultery
READER 2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful....
READER 3 Desire!
READER 1 Lust!
READER 3 David sent messengers to get her.
READER 2 She came to him, and he slept with her.
READER 1 Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire,
READER 2 By his own evil desire,
READER 1 By his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
READER 3 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
READER 1 "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you
READER 2 But I tell you
READER 3 But I tell you
READER 1 that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
READER 2 Lustfully.
READER 3 With impure intention.
READER 2 With carnal desire.
READER 1 That anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
READER 2 How about a woman?
READER 3 Can she sin with lust, too?
READER 1 Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!"
READER 2 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning....
READER 3 But it can't be a sin just to look, can it?
READER 2 Can it?
READER 1 From within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
READER 2 Greed, malice, deceit,
READER 3 Lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.
READER 2 All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.'
READER 1 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
READER 2 I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind,
READER 3 To reward a man according to his conduct,
READER 2 and according to the fruit of his doings.
READER 1 "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'
READER 2 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully
READER 3 has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
READER 1 "I made a covenant with my eyes," said Job, "not to look lustfully at a girl."
READER 2 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away.
READER 3 It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
READER 1 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.
READER 3 It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
READER 1 You shall not covet your neighbor's house.
READER 2 You shall not covet your neighbor's wife,
READER 3 Or his manservant
READER 1 Or his maidservant,
READER 2 His ox or donkey,
READER 3 Or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
READER 1 You shall not commit adultery
READER 2 With your body
READER 3 Or your eyes
READER 2 Or your heart
READER 3 No, not at all.
READER 1 For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world.
READER 2 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
READER 1 Purify my looking, Lord.
READER 2 Purify my desires, Father.
READER 3 Purify my heart, Jesus.
READER 1 That I might please You.
ALL That WE might please You.

All lessons now compiled as a 220-page book available as an e-book or printed book.

Part of a study on the Sermon on the Mount found at https://www.jesuswalk.com/manifesto/

Bkmrk

Copyright © 2022, Ralph F. Wilson. <pastor@joyfulheart.com> All rights reserved. A single copy of this article is free. Do not put this on a website. See legal, copyright, and reprint information.

Sign up now!To be notified about future articles, stories, and Bible studies, why don't you subscribe to our free newsletter,The Joyful Heart, by placing your e-mail address in the box below. We respect your privacy and never sell, rent, or loan our lists. Please don't subscribe your friends; let them decide for themselves.
FirstLast
E-mail
Country(2-letter abbreviation, such as US)
Preferred FormatHTML (recommended) Plain text