“And if your right 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 go into hell.”

Matthew 5:30
Before these sobering words, we read, “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away.” What is Jesus saying here? If we took those words literally, there would be a lot of us wandering around without hands or eyes. He speaks more deeply than that. Because the sin problem is always a matter of the heart, Jesus is saying in no uncertain terms that when there is sin or a stumbling block to sin in your life, sever it. Even if the sin pattern you’re clinging to is as valuable to you as your right hand, get rid of it. A radical change must be made.
In Jeremiah 17:9 we read, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Our hearts serve as the control-room for every part of our body, and without Christ they are beyond cure. Our body parts need to be disciplined to run from sin. When our hearts are clean—made so by the saving blood of Jesus—our whole body will fall in line, and we can stand before our holy God. Let Jesus cut away what is sinful and purify your heart.



Scripture Focus

Matthew 15:16-20

Insight

O God, cleanse our hearts today. We want the world to see Jesus in everything we do and say.

Bible In A Year

  • 1 Samuel 20-21
  • Psalm 130
  • 2 Corinthians 12

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