Wednesday, July 7

If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
Matthew 5:29-30

Ouch! This is a really harsh passage. Is Jesus advocating some form of self-mutilation? What exactly is Jesus teaching here?

The primary message here is that we must take sin very seriously. Sometimes, in focusing on the grace of Jesus, we forget the significance of the enormous price he paid for the forgiveness of our sins. The fact that by the grace of God we have been forgiven of our sins, must never become an excuse for us to live with flippant attitude toward the sin in our lives. Jesus is saying that ANYTHING which tempts or entices us to sin must be ruthlessly eliminated from our lives.

The Apostle Paul puts it this way in Romans 6…

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. - Romans 6:12-14

The second piece of wisdom Jesus is giving us is that we must pay attention to what we see and what we do if we are to avoid sinful behavior. Think about it for just a minute… Jesus could have used any body part he wanted as an example for his message. Why did he choose the eye and the hand?

Eye – What you see; the TV shows you watch, the websites you view, and the images you expose yourself to have a tremendous impact on your heart and mind!
Hand – What you do; the kind of activities you engage in, the kind of environments you put yourself in, all have incredible potential to help you or harm you in your efforts to avoid sin.

It is easy to rationalize this and make the excuse that we live in a culture where it is unavoidable. Temptation surrounds us on all sides everyday. How are we possibly to avoid it all? This only demonstrates how much more seriously we need to take Jesus’ words. The problem is really not our society (although our world is certainly full of temptation) - the problem is us!

D. L. Moody (certainly one of the more godly men of the modern era) wisely recognized the source of the problem when he said, “I have more trouble with D. L. Moody than with any man I know. The man I see in the mirror each morning is my greatest impediment to holiness and godliness.”

Take a few moments to reflect on Jesus’ teaching on the impact of your eye and your hand on your spiritual life…

Consider what changes you need to make in order to live the life that Christ is calling you to…

Ask God to help you make the necessary changes in your habits and lifestyle…

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you have given us the words of life and you have taught us the way to live in your kingdom. Now grant us your grace that we might live this way – Amen.

Jeff Frazier