Cut off Your Hand and Pluck out Your Eye?
Quoted Bible passages are from The New American Standard Bible, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1977.
Introduction
Jesus said that if your hand causes you to sin, cut if off. Otherwise,
if the sinful body-part remains attached to the body, the whole body will
be in danger of being thrown into hell. He meant this literally,
but he gave an alternative.
Cut It Off
Matthew 5:27-32 (similar passages are in Matthew 18:8-9 and Mark
9:43-48)
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’;
28 but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her
has committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29 “And if your right
eye makes you stumble, tear it out, and throw it from you; for it is better
for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole
body to be thrown into hell. 30 “And if your right hand makes you stumble,
cut it off, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of
the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to go into hell.
From the Heart
The problem with cutting off a hand that causes us to sin is that sin
generally originates in the mind and heart. So to enter God's kingdom
on our own merit, in addition to cutting off a hand we would probably have
to also cut out our minds and hearts.
Mark 7:20-23
20 And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that
is what defiles the man. 21 “For from within, out of the heart of men,
proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22
deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy,
slander, pride and foolishness. 23 “All these evil things proceed from
within and defile the man.”
The Alternative to Cutting off Body Parts
Jesus instructed us to cut off our body parts that cause us to sin
in order to emphasize that we can enter the Kingdom of God on our own merit
only if we are completely without sin. Unfortunately this is impossible,
since we have all sinned.
Romans 3:20-23
20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His
sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. 21 But now apart
from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed
by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith
in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...
Before Jesus' death and resurrection, there was no payment, no covering,
for sin. The Torah (the Law) defined and exposed sin. Just
one sin is enough to eternally separate a man from God (James 2:10 "For
whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become
guilty of all"), who is perfect (1 John 1:5 "...God is light, and in Him
there is no darkness at all"). The Torah, therefore, revealed mankind's
need for a savior.
Jesus paid for infinite sins when he sacrificed his own sinless body
as an offering for sin.
1 Corinthians 15:56-57
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but
thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:1-11
8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you
free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For what the Law could not do,
weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness
of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who
do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
The alternative to cutting off all our sinful body parts in an attempt
to enter God's kingdom on our own merit is to believe in Jesus' sacrifice
for our sins. Our sins are then covered and we then have eternal
life through Jesus the Messiah. This truth is emphasized in the passages
below. Note that the first passage, from John 3, is a quote from
Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews who came to Jesus
by night to ask questions. In this dissertation, Jesus revealed the
focal point of the Bible: the transition from the foundational Torah
(the Law) to the building of God's kingdom through grace, in which our
sins are covered through believing in the Messiah's flesh and blood atonement
for our sins. We subsequently enter into God's eternal kingdom, which
was the theme of Jesus' entire ministry, as he preached "repent, for the
Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17).
John 3:14-16
14 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 that whoever believes may in Him have eternal
life. 16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."
John 14:1-6
14:1 "Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also
in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not
so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if
I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to
Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And you know the way
where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You
are going, how do we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way,
and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me."
Conclusion
As human beings, we are unable to enter God's kingdom and have eternal
life on our own merit, since we have sinned. We cannot enter into
God's kingdom with any sinful body parts. Thus, Jesus said that it
is better to cut off sinful body parts and enter God's kingdom maimed than
to keep those sinful body parts and have the entire body thrown into fiery
hell. Although Jesus meant this literally to emphasize that none
of us can enter God's kingdom on our own merit, Jesus provided an alternative
to cutting off sinful body parts. Jesus paid for our sins by sacrificing
his sinless body on a cross. If we believe in his sacrifice, our
sins our covered. We enter into God's kingdom, we have eternal life,
and we are saved through Jesus' righteousness. There is then no need
to cut off our sinful body parts, because atonement has been made for all
our sins.
Home
Copyright 1998 by truthresearch@hotmail.com