Be Radical With Sin--And Trust in Jesus Who Was Radical "For Us"

If your hand causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where "their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched." (Mark 9:43-48).

Tim Keller's words on this passage are insightful and urgent: Sinful behavior (the reference to hand and foot) and sinful desires (the reference to the eye) are like a fire that has broken out in your living room. Let's say a cushion on your couch has ignited. You cannot just sit there and say, "Well, the whole house isn't burning--it's just a cushion." If you don't do something immediately and decisively about the cushion, the whole house will be engulfed. Fire is never satisfied. It can't be allowed to smolder; it can't be confined to a corner. It will overtake you eventually. Sin is the same way: It never stays in its place. It always leads to seperation from God, which results in intense suffering, first in this life and then in the next. The Bible calls that hell. That's why Jesus uses the drastic image of amputation. There can be no compromises. We must do anything we can to avoid it (King's Cross, 75-76).

However, as Keller adds, Jesus has already pointed out that our biggest problem is not our hand, foot, or eye, its our heart: For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All those evils come from inside.... (Mark 7:20-23).

Hence, what we need more than avoiding temptation or forming accountability groups or saying "no" to sin (as important as these things are!) is an inside-out cleansing.

We need one who will take our penalty and punishment so that we can get what Revelation 19:7-8 depicts: Let us rejoice and be glad...Fine linen, bright and clean, is given (to us) to wear; yes, pure linen--perfectly clean--without stain or blemish. Hebrews 13 states Jesus was crucified outside the gate where bodies are burned--the garbage heap, a place of absolute uncleanliness--so that we can be made clean. Through the Lord Jesus, at infinite cost to himself, God has clothed us in costly garments. It cost him his blood, his life. And it is the only thing that can deal with the problem of our hearts.

So, let's be radical with sin. Let's also be radical in our faith in Jesus. He was certainly radical "for us."