though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
[romans 1:32]
looking at matthew 18:8 Jesus says, “. . . if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.” matthew 18:6 says that whoever causes one of his little ones to stumble, it would be better if they drowned in the sea…..
if someone tried to cut off my hand for an offense, i’d probably describe that as an unnecessarly aggressive act; overkill even. i’d try to protect myself, run away, or convince them of why i should keep my hand. but this is the means by which he chose to describe how we should view our sin. that no matter how difficult it is to cut out sin, it’s better. God hates sin so much that a price must be paid. i’m thankful for the atonement, for being washed by the blood of the lamb. without his atonement, there’s no possibility of being justified. however, that doesn’t mean that we should abuse his grace and continue on sinning. we are called to something more.
we are called to be a light to the world, that by building up we may show grace to those who hear. Jesus was making a point on how we should view our sin, how we contribute to others’ sin, and how we are to deal with sin: cut it out.
the question is, how are you handling your sin?
are you blind to it? protecting it? running to the father for forgiveness but still feeding it? or in light of his righteousness, is the spirit leading you to a repentant heart that desires to cut it out aggressively?
how are you dealing with others’ sin?
are you feeding their sin? approving it? growing in anger and self-righteousness against them? or are you speaking the truth of Christ’s atonement to them in love, calling them to repentance and peace through forgiveness?
Lord,
sanctify our hearts. expose our sin. create in us a repentant heart. grow our understanding of your righteousness; break our heart for what breaks yours. teach us what it means to be your beloved, to share truth in love. empower us with your spirit to share the gospel to the unrighteous and see their need for a savior first and foremost. -amen
~ joe lorsung