Matthew 5:27-30 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205&version=NIV)
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’[e] 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, 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. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, 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.
Some of you may be thinking, “Why would Jesus say such a thing?” Gouge your eye out or cut off a limb? Let’s take a little closer look at this verse and see what Jesus may be saying to us through these verses. Look closely at the end of verse 28, it says that sin has already been “committed with her in his heart”. Now that is where we need to start, with the heart. Someone who is addicted to pornography can still sin in this way even without eyes. They have vivid pictures ever etched in their brain that will cause them to sin over and over again. Some of our actions may never be erased from our brain but we can be free from them by confessing them and handing them over to the Lord.
As I read this scripture I was brought to another passage that speaks of the body of Christ. I Corinthians 12:12-26
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
In this scripture Paul is trying to emphasize the importance of each member of the church but in the same way we need to remember that if there is one part of the body that is going wayward, it causes the whole body to stumble. As I thought of this some friends came to mind who told us of their conversion experience. Our friends accepted the Lord as adults and had close friends that they liked to associate with. These friends had rejected the gospel message and continually tried to pull them down, cause them to sin, and go back to their sinful ways. They knew that the only way to be free from this was to disassociate with them. Yes, it hurt but they knew that in order to grow in Christ they could no longer be around these friends but had to find friends that would encourage and lift them up. In essence they detached themselves from these friends and became a part of the body of believers.
So it is with all of us. There are things in our lives that cause us to slip away from the truth. We find ourselves worrying about things of this world, we find ourselves falling into the trap of doubt, dissatisfactions, anger, resentment, and the list goes on. Anything opposite of the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control are all signs that we need to take a triple look at what we are doing with our body. Maybe it isn’t an eye or a hand that is causing us to sin maybe it is the television, the internet, the telephone, or maybe even a friend. As you examine your life today, look at what it is that causes you to stumble. Begin with your heart and ask the Lord to purify you and make you clean again. Confess your sins to Him and He will hear. Then, take action in your life to make sure that you are continually seeking Him with all your heart. Maybe it is turning off the television or internet and reading His word instead, immerse yourself in Him not in worldly things. Choose Christian friends who will bring the best out in you, not your worst. Choose the one true friend who is Jesus Christ our Lord. Seek Him daily with your whole heart and the things of this world will no long matter.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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