We read in Mark 9:43-47, "If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, [where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.]” If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, [where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.]” "If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, (NASB)
At the outset the above mentioned verses may seem hard and frightful to read. However, we must pay close attention to these words as these are the words of Jesus Himself. There are two destinations mentioned in Mark 9:43-47, which we can end up in after we die; one where the presence of God is, which is the kingdom of God or heaven, and the other is hell, where the worms never die, and the fire is never quenched, a place actually meant for the devil and his angels. A majority of people don’t want to believe in hell, as this would mean that they would have to alter the way they live. There are others, who comfort themselves with the thought that since God is a loving God, He will never cast anyone into hell, both of which are erroneous and contradictory to what Jesus taught.
Jesus’ admonition in the above mentioned verses is that if someone’s eyes, hands or legs causes them to stumble, it would be better for that person to sever that part while here on earth, rather than have their whole body thrown into a place of eternal torment. It is not that Jesus is commanding us to literally sever all those limbs that cause us to sin, but is an exhortation to deal severely with those sins that cause us to stumble and fall.
It is for certain that the Lord has finished everything for us on the cross of Calvary with regards to our salvation and redemption, but the things that could still hinder us from entering the kingdom of God could be our own eyes, hands or feet. There is a misguided teaching that since Jesus has paid for all of our sins on the cross, a person who is saved is saved forever, and is assured of entry into heaven irrespective of what they do or how they live. It is true that Jesus has completed His work to redeem us from our sins, but there are still obligations on our part that we must fulfill. This is explained vividly in the parable of the wedding banquet mentioned in Matthew 22. Many were invited to the wedding, but when the king came to inspect the guests and found one man not dressed in appropriate wedding clothes, he commanded that he be bound and cast away in to outer darkness. We are therefore cautioned that is not only important to accept the Lord’s invitation to be His children, but equally important to walk in holiness and obedience to His word.
The Lord Jesus did not come to the earth to grant us material blessing only as some think, but He came to forgive our sins and save our souls from hell. Jesus came to change the course of the direction of our lives, from heading towards destruction, to steer us towards an eternal life in heaven, to live with Him forever.
For those who may be confused as to what are the things we can sever, here are a few examples. When the television set in our house becomes a nuisance, and a constant source of distraction, it could mean cutting off the cable connection. If we were to explain it the way Jesus did, it would go like this; it is far better to cut off the cable connection than to go to hell with the cable connection. Another example, is if we find our mobile phones a source of diversion, tempting us to view things that are detestable to God, it would be far better to discard our phones than to end up in hell.
The Lord does not desire that we live a holy life on Sunday, and then go out to live any way we want to for the rest of the week. Our attendance at church, bible reading, prayers and offerings don’t qualify us to go to heaven. It is Jesus alone who can do that, and we must be willing to give up those things that deter us from being all that He wants us to be. The thing that Jesus rebuked in the Pharisees and the Sadducees was their dichotomy and hypocrisy. Our testimony should be such that everyone who knows us, our spouse, our children, our neighbors, our relatives or colleagues will testify that we are children of God. It is only when we have such a testimony, that many will turn to the Lord.
The point that Jesus emphasized in Mark 9:43-47 was that, losing a limb was nothing when compared to missing out on heaven. The reason Jesus went through all the pain, shame and agony on the cross was that we too could be in heaven with Him forever. Everything that hinders us, be they worldly things or any human relationship, it is better to dissociate from them, rather than allow them to become stumbling blocks in our lives.
Abraham left it all to follow God
When God called Abraham, He could have blessed him right where he was. But the Lord commanded him to leave the place where he was, leave behind all of his family, and walk by faith in obedience to God, so he could receive God’s blessings in his life. Abraham had to separate himself in order to be the recipient of God’s favor and blessings.
Jesus is the only way to the Father
Jesus said John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me.”(ERV)
Jesus re-iterated most clearly that He alone was the ‘only way’ to the Father. Therefore, for those of us who have decided to follow Jesus, there is no way we can drag along with us all those unnecessary things and relationships that the Lord is not pleased with. We are called to look to Jesus, walk with Jesus, follow Him only and throw off everything that hinders us, to attain the eternal life that Jesus promised.
Often times we seek to please people more than we please God. When we do so we will be misled by people, sometimes those very close to us, and begin to lead a life of compromise. Paul said it this way in Galatians 1:10, “Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.” (NLT) Paul was very categorical that he was called to please God and not people. We must keep in mind that pleasing men will eventually result in futility.
The way Ghazi got enticed
We read in 2 Kings 5:15, “Then he (Naaman) went back to the man of God (Elisha), with all his train, and, taking his place before him, said, Now I am certain that there is no God in all the earth, but only in Israel: now then, take an offering from me.” (BBE)
In 2 Kings 5:16, we read, “But he said, by the life of the Lord whose servant I am, I will take nothing from you. And he did his best to make him take it but he would not.” (BBE)
We also read in 2 Kings 5:18, “But may your servant have the Lord's forgiveness for this one thing: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon for worship there, supported on my arm, and my head is bent in the house of Rimmon; when his head is bent in the house of Rimmon, may your servant have the Lord's forgiveness for this thing.” (BBE)
Naaman was the commander of the Syrian army, but he was afflicted with leprosy. A young Israelite slave girl who worked in Naaman’s house, introduced him to the prophet Elisha. Having heeded the girl’s validation of Elisha, Naaman headed to prophet’s house. Elisha sent his servant with the message to Naaman to go and wash himself seven times in the river Jordan. Though Naaman was initially annoyed by the prophet’s command, he obeyed and was completely cleansed of his leprosy, his body restored like that of a little child. To express his heartfelt gratitude, Naaman offered Elisha a huge gift, which Elisha refused to accept.
Probably, the reason Elisha refused to accept the offering from Naaman was the fact that though Naaman acknowledged that only Yahweh, the God was Israel, who healed him of his leprosy, was the true and living God, he was unwilling to let go of all that he had back home in Syria. As Naaman’s position and job were of much importance to him, in spite of having received the miraculous healing from God, he asked Elisha to pardon him for the times he would have to visit the temple of Rimmon, along with the King of Syria whom he served. Naaman requested Elisha to seek God’s reprieve, for whenever Naaman accompanied the King of Syria to the temple of Rimmon for worship, he too would have to bow down in worship as the king would lean on Naaman’s hand. Elisha did not desire or think it appropriate to take an offering from Naaman, for whom his position and status were far greater importance, than the Lord who healed him of his leprosy.
The same was true of Cain and Abel too. Both of them presented their offerings to the Lord, but the Lord delighted and accepted Abel’s offering while he rejected Cain’s.
When the Lord answers a prayer request, there are those who like Naaman, are content with bestowing an offering to the Lord, and don’t remember the Lord until another need arises. It’s a good reminder that one can’t live any way they want, and expect the Lord to accept or approve of their tithes and offerings.
Elijah was a mighty prophet of God and Elisha was his servant. Elisha followed after Elijah every step of the way and when Elijah was taken up into heaven, the mantle of Elijah fell of Elisha. Elisha was blessed doubly because he associated with the right person. On the other hand, Elisha had a servant Gehazi whose eyes were fixed on the wrong things. When he saw the enormous gifts that Naaman offered Elisha, he as filled with greed. Like Elisha, Gehazi had the opportunity to be the next prophet, but unfortunately Gehazi lost the blessing, because his eyes were focused on the wrong things.
If we are not in association with the right people, we too like Gehazi will lose out on God’s blessings.
In 2 Kings 5:21 we read, “So Gehazi went after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from his carriage and went back to him and said, Is all well?” (BBE)
As Gehazi’s eyes coveted the gifts that Naaman brought, his legs that walked behind Elisha, now ran after Naaman. Gehazi lied to Naaman and received in his hands the money and clothes, which he hid in his house. We see the process of how Gehazi used his eyes, feet and hands to sin, and also hid it from his master Elisha.
We read in 2 Kings 5:27, “Because of what you have done, the disease of Naaman the leper will take you in its grip.” (BBE)
When Gehazi went back to Elisha, the prophet was fully aware of all that Gehazi had done. The consequence was severe; the leprosy that left Naaman clung on to Gehazi and his descendants forever. Naaman came to Elisha unclean, but he got cleansed, and Gehazi who was clean became defiled.
Like Gehazi a major temptation to so many, are those pertaining to the lust of the eyes. If one wonders as to where it started, it was way back in the Garden of Eden, where Satan tempted Eve with what she saw. This is the enemy’s clever scheme, that we must be aware of and overcome every day.
In recent times, we are bombarded with loads of visuals on our cell phones, newspapers, television, and magazines etc. that are an abomination to the Lord. Smith Wigglesworth said it this way, ‘If I read the newspaper, I come our dirtier than I went in. If I read my Bible, I come out cleaner than I went in, and I like being clean.’ The newspapers today are filled with news on murder, rape, theft, fraud etc., and instead of filling our minds with all these evils, we should discipline ourselves to spend more time with the word of God, which alone can refresh us and cleanse us.
Irrespective of whether man looks at us or not, we must desire to be holy and pleasing to God and make holiness our lifestyle. There is nothing that is hidden from God who knows our every thought, motive, desire and word even before it proceeds from our mouth. Many young people conceal crucial matters pertaining to their lives, and eventually land up in loads of trouble, not realizing that it is far safer to be open about the issues they face, especially with their parents.
The way Judas Iscariot got enticed
Judas Iscariot went down a similar path of allurement. When Mary, the sister of Lazarus anointed the feet of Jesus with an expensive ointment, as a mark of gratitude to Jesus, Judas Iscariot was counting the cost and grumbling. The reason was because Judas’ eyes craved for money, which prompted his feet go, and conspire with the high priest, to betray Jesus for a measly thirty pieces of silver. He took the money that was offered in his hands, but sadly his end was pitiable and pathetic.
As believers we must realize that this world is only our temporary residence, and heaven is our eternal abode. Jesus has paved the way for us to get to heaven, but it is a fact that nothing unholy or defiled can enter heaven, since it is filled with the presence of a Holy God. It is true that it is becoming more and more difficult for us to lead holy lives, but it is certainly possible if we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, and walk with Him every day, that we will lead lives that are holy and victorious.
May we surrender our bodies, every part of it to the Lord, so He will control our minds, our mouth, our eyes, our hands and our feet. Let us decide to deal with the sin and temptation harshly, no matter how insignificant it may seem. We should ask God to grant us His grace and strength to overcome every sin, so that no earthly thing or relationship will hinder us from entering heaven. May we be willing to forfeit everything in our lives, for the sake of entering the Kingdom of God.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
