Jesus uses very potent imagery in Mark 9. If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off. If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out.
Is Jesus condoning self mutilation? Isn’t injuring ourselves sin?
No, Jesus isn’t condoning us hurting ourselves. Yet His point is very powerful. Do not let the things of this world, even your own body, lay risk to your salvation. It is better to be crippled or lame or have to squint than to spend an eternity in hell where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.
Our body leads us to sin when we disobey the commands of God. But more so, our body leads us to hell when it tempts us to trust in ourselves and our own good works, instead of in the sacrifice of Jesus.
These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.
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