URGENCY IN KILLING SIN
"So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, 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 hand—even your stronger 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 be thrown into hell."
Matthew 5:29-30 (NLT)
I’ve known many people who’ve had cancer. I’ve seen some who deal with it well, and others devastated. I’ve seen many get healed, and I’ve seen several get healed through the grave. The one consistent thing I’ve noticed is that no one has a casual approach to cancer. Why? Left untreated, cancer will spread.
Jesus is using a figure of speech to show the severity of sin. We cannot have a casual approach to sin because it spreads and starts to affect everything. Jesus isn’t advocating mutilation, but He is advocating seriousness regarding sin. Jesus stresses that we must be willing to sacrifice to be obedient. If part of our life is given over to sin, we must be convinced that it’s more profitable for that part of our life to die rather than our relationship with God to die.
Sin makes us miserable in the long run, but it feels good momentarily. We can be double-minded when it comes to sin. We say we want God, and we do. However, we also want to hold onto certain sins. We must ask, do we want to let go of this particular sin? Sometimes, we’ll stay in something familiar and comfortable, but we’re miserable. Jesus stresses that the starting point is to commit to Him fully above everything else. It can’t be Jesus plus anything else. It’s Jesus alone, and anything competing for our affection for Him must be killed. If we don’t have this mentality, then our sins take over and control us. God will be faithful to heal whatever sin we’re struggling with, but we must be willing to let it go. Jesus is making it clear that we must never have a casual approach towards sin, even small sins that seem justifiable. Sin will always grow and kill the life of God in us.
APPLICATION: God is calling you to kill sin so that you can live for Him. He is better.
PRAYER: Ask the Spirit to give you the desire to let go of sin. Ask the Spirit to provide you with strength and commitment to kill whatever sin is in your life. Ask God to reveal any hidden areas of sin.