Jesus said,
And if your right hand
causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away;
it is better for you to lose
one of your members
than for your whole body
to go into hell.
Matthew 5:29
We get in our own way.
Our eyes wander and we lust. We covet and want and our hands steal things. We feet walk us into the wrong places. We mind dwells on the wrong things.
Cut it out!
And yes, you should read "cut it out" in either of two important ways.
· First, cut off or out every source for your sin.
· More importantly -- just stop! (Indeed, as I said to my boys when they were acting out, "Hey, kids! Cut it out!)
Let's be clear ... With statements like this, Jesus isn't contradicting the fact that were saved by grace and suggesting that we rely on our works to keep our whole body out of hell. No.
He's simply revealing a simple truth: Our conduct often reveals the state of our heart. And we dare not let anything -- including our hands or eyes -- lead us into terminal temptation.
(For Monday’s devotional, I'll tell you my favorite story to go along with this truth!)
In Christ's Love,
a guy who needs a hair cut
(I'm not sure how my few hairs
are causing me to sin,
but I'll be glad to cut them off)
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