Feb 24 2008
Sunday, Feb 24th
Reading for today: Genesis 16:1-9 and Matthew 18:1-9
“And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.” - Matthew 18:9
Jesus is using an “eye” as a metaphor for “whatever causes you to sin.” If you look at something that causes you to sin, blinding yourself isn’t going to take that away - it’ll still be in your mind. Sin is a heart thing, it is committed in the heart. Jesus is telling you to remove things that can cause you to sin. Do you watch things that you shouldn’t? Block those channels. Get rid of the cable. Computer causing you problems? Get rid of it if you can, otherwise put barriers and safeguards in place. You must cast that thing away from you.
” Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” - 2 Corinthians 7:1
“The flesh, with its affections and lusts, must be mortified.” Gal.5:24. When Abraham left his native country, for fear of being enslaved in the idolatry of it, and when Moses quit Pharoah’s court, for fear of being entangled in the sinful pleasures of it, there was a right hand cut off. Nothing should be too dear to part with for the sake of our Lord Jesus.
They that are Christ’s have nailed the flesh to the cross, but it is not dead yet; its life is prolonged, but its DOMINION is taken away, and the deadly wound given to it will never be healed. Thank you Jesus! We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
It kind of like soap. We take the steps to get our hands clean by allowing the soap to clean them. But we need to remember that it’s not us that make the hands clean. It’s the soap. And without it all the
rubbing of our hand together does not remove the dirt.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…
I like that analogy - it is Christ, an external source, that cleanses us.