Calendar

SPIRITUAL SURGERY
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16
Mark 9:42-48

2 Corinthians 6:14-18

 

“…if thy hand offend thee,

cut it off…”

 

SPIRITUAL SURGERY
 
Drastic measures must be taken to keep ourselves out of sin and out of hell. Jesus said, “And if thy hand offend thee, cut if off… And if thy foot offend thee, cut if off…. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:43-48).
 
Is Jesus literally saying we ought to amputate and maim ourselves? If so, the church would be full of handicapped people. What Jesus was driving at was separation and sanctification. Know that the word “offend” is the Greek skandalizo (English “scandalise”)—to cause to sin, to trip up, to stumble, to entrap or entice. Jesus was calling for separation from that which scandalises so as to save ourselves from a destructive end. The only way cancer can be dealt with is to get it out of our system as quickly as possible. This applies to sin in our lives as well. Get rid of it immediately, or else it will grow and spread and kill.
 
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 explains what “cut if off” means, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” Carl McIntire rightly warned, “When unbelief is yoked with belief, it always destroys the testimony of the people of God. Evil corrupts and destroys the truth.”
 
THOUGHT: “Only the separatists have the witness that the Bible requires.” (McIntire)
PRAYER: O Lord, keep me pure and holy, separated and sanctified for Thy use.

Search