Elephant in the Room — The Threat of Sin - Wednesday
Today’s Verse
Matthew 18:8-9
And 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. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire. (ESV)
Here’s a question to consider: Does Scripture allow us to believe that identifying and confessing our sins is all we need to do in order to overcome them? It may seem like a wasted question given that most of us would quickly say no based on the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament. But the reason I ask is because it challenges the way most of us live our lives.
Let’s press into this a little further. Do you ever find yourself coming back to the same old confession, year in and year out, but you’ve also noticed very little healing or growth? How could this happen? Is our confession not genuine? Was James being dishonest (James 5:16)? Is something else missing? Does Jesus have anything to offer us in this space?
Thankfully, the answer to that final question is, yes! Fair warning, though, we may not like what He has to say.
If we were to take Jesus at His word, He seems to suggest that our handling of sin goes beyond our intellectual awareness and verbal expressions, but is also deeply tied to what we physically do and don’t do (Matthew 18:8-9).
Remember, James suggests the path that leads to sin begins in our desires (James 1:14-15). Jesus, with this truth seemingly in mind, teaches that our job is to take note of the things that put our desires on the wrong path and radically remove them from our lives, even if it causes a great inconvenience, like a limp or loss of sight, metaphorically speaking.
APPLICATION
So here’s my question: Where do you need to inconvenience your flesh in order to protect your soul?
Does your spouse need to have all the passwords to your streaming devices so that you don’t walk into temptation the next time you sit down for some entertainment? Do you need to give up watching football? Take all the sugar out of your house? Get off social media for good? Get rid of your credit cards? Get a dumb phone? Show up to work an hour earlier than usual to avoid rush hour traffic (the universal anger trigger)?
The list above is clearly limited, and some examples may even feel trivial. But here’s the truth according to Jesus: It is always better to limp into Heaven than run into Hell.
PRAYER
Father, thank you for the teachings of your son, Jesus. Quicken our hearts in obedience to His Word.