Throw It Away

The late Dr. Tom Keller… Imagine your present self looking at your past self, say 10 years ago. Your present self thinks your past self was a fool. Your present self looks back and says, “Back then, I needed guidance I didn't understand. I was so naive. I was so silly. I was immature. I behaved badly.” So, your present self always thinks of your past self as a jerk. Well, the problem is that your future self will think of your present self as a jerk 10 years from now. You'll look back now and say, “Back then, I thought I needed guidance. I thought I understood, but I was such a fool.”

Here's the blunt bad news about our condition: You're always a jerk, but you always think you're just getting over it. We always think that we've just arrived. It's what you thought when you were 15. Then, then you looked back at your 12-year-old self and said, “Now I've arrived. Boy, what a dummy I was when I was 12. I'm ready for the world now.” By the time you're 20, you say that 15-year-old self was so ignorant and flawed and sinful. But you see here’s the point: you’re always ignorant and flawed and sinful, but you continually think you're just getting over it. Sin is deeper in us than we ever imagined.

Today again we are indeed faced with the reality of sin. The depravity of sin. The noetic effects of sin. Sin is a real problem and it has real and eternal consequences. More and more everyday the topic of sin is being ignored and if it is talked about, it is greatly diminished… its simply a mistake, or a misunderstanding, or simply a result of other peoples problems. And to top it off there is no real mention of any eternal consequences. The irony of this new trend that has been going since the victorian era, is very vivid. Shane you cannot talk about sin. If you do nobody will come to your church. Stop talking about sin it is not good for their self-esteem. Stop talking about sin it is not politacally correct. You talk about sin you might get canceled. You will be very unpopular. You need to simply love them. We talk about love and blessings and peace and prosperity. They need to be loved.

But to not tell the truth about sin and its eternal consequences in hell is one of the most unloving things we can do. Jesus warned of the wrath to come, why don’t we? If we believe that Hell is the worst place ever. Gehenna. The place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, eternal torment, eternal fire, the worm never dies. The place reserved for the Devil and his angels. And if we believe that all those who have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and are not covered by the blood of Christ is going there to be tormented forever. Do you think it is loving to not tell them?

And oh the long lists of reasons why we do this at the very top is we are so sinful and selfish that we wont be honest not to protect them but to protect us. We don’t want to get canceled. We don’t want to be persecuted. We don’t want people ridiculing us or calling us names.

I remember during bible college years I worked part time at a restaurant. One particular day, a waitress asked me about christianity and our view on sin. I did not hold back. At the end the bartender and one of the managers called me a freak and left. Days after they still made fun of what I believed about sin. Shane’s going to tell you that you are going to hell. Shane is deceived… hell is a made up story to tell kids to make them behave. Yes, this stuff happens today. And the Bible tells us to be happy about it … don’t avoid it.

Matthew 5:11–12 NLT

“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

Sin is such a serious thing that we have got to have a clear understanding about it. We have got to understand that all that the Bible teaches us about hell is clear, its not foggy, its not confusing, there is no ambiguity. Hell is worse than we can ever imagine. It is a must. It has to be in effect for justice to truly happen. Like Jesus said it is better for us to go through life maimed than to go to hell. Its that bad. Let’s check it out.

Matthew 5:29–30 NLT

So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, 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. And if your hand—even your stronger hand—causes you to sin, 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 be thrown into hell.

The grass withers the flower fades but the word of our God stands forever.

Throw It Away

No Condemnation

The first thing we will look at is the seriousness of sin and its eternal consequences. Second, we will see how the love of the Father, the grace of our lord Jesus, and the fellowship with the Holy Spirit saves us from the fires of hell into life and life more abundant.

Thesis: Though sin and the pattern of this world causes us to ignore and diminish the reality of sin, it is the power of the Holy Spirit and the truth of scripture that will cause us to see the reality of sin and hell driving us to call for the savior that the Father did provide.

I. Throw It Away

-Better to prepare for eternity.

A. Again, from what we saw last week, there is a real stark standard for sexual purity. The need to recognize this is vivid that is why Jesus gave us such a stark example. What is essentially being communicated here… It is far better to prepare for eternity then for you to enjoy the sinful pleasure of this life. Way better.

B. Of course we know that when it is time to lust with the eyes we use both of them. Jesus is making a more forthright point when he says your good eye. The right eye or your good eye was known as being especially valuable, just like we understand the significance of your strong arm. Righty lefty. For workers and warriors the good eye was priceless. This is why if you remember Nahash the Ammonite king who was willing to make a treaty with Israel but first he would gouge out the right eye of all the men to bring disgrace to Israel. There would not be a revolt. No measuring distance from enemy, no aiming a bow.

C. Even our good hand. The good hand was invaluable as well. If one of them had to be cut off our first choice would not be our good hand. Our strong hand… oh the list of all the things we do to get through life with our strong hand. I try to think how long it would take me to pound in a nail with my left hand. We need our good eye and we need our good hand to get through life.

D. The vivid point our Lord is making… think of your life. Think of all the things you cannot live without. Talent, success, possessions, valuables, accomplishments, rewards, all the things you prize most in life and you cannot live without. You don’t know how to function in life without them. All the things that give you worth. All the things that make you not a loser. All the things that make you strong. All the things that make you smart. All the things tht make you capable. All of the things celebrated in life and culture. If any of these things cause you to sin. Cut it off, cut it out, and throw it away.

E. How serious is sin? It is better for you to be lame, mutilated, maimed, a nobody, a recluse, a loser, poor and needy, a wimp, a dummy, incapable, and a good for nothing, then for you to go to hell.

Dr. Hugues - “Jesus is telling us that anything that stands between us and him must be ruthlessly, even savagely, torn out or cut off and thrown away.”

F. And here’s something very controversial. He means it. Now this is not gonna be very popular. He means it literally. This is not hyperbole. This is not figurative. Sin is so serious and Hell is so terrible… that this is the better way. Now the early church saw this as a real literal statement and people including the great theologian himself, Origin, began to maim and mutilate their bodies. Of course modern commentators are quick to dismiss this and judge the lack of spiritual insight of the early church. But hold on.

G. Family, please hear me on this. Jesus meant it and the early church understood it. I wonder today… do we hate sin and fear hell enough to mutilate ourselves. Are we willing to do all that we must to keep anything from coming between us and Christ? Jesus means it. Hell is not a place for us to belittle. It is real and it will be terrible. It will be worse than any horrible thing in life. Think of the worst of the worst that could happen and be in this life… hell is gonna be way worse. If there is anything that comes between you and Jesus today you “ruthlessly, even savagely, tear it out or cut it off and thrown away.”

H. Wait wait wait… Shane. Ok Ok Ok. You still have your eye and you still have your hand. Why did you not cut it off. Why do we not do this then. We don’t be cause we cant do this. If I do this… my eye, my hands, my feet, my mouth, my stomach, my legs, my arms, my nose, did I say my mouth, my head, my mind, my heart, my lungs, my brain, it all causes me to sin. Everything about me causes me to sin. No matter how maimed and mutilated we are, we will always sin. In order for me to stop sinning I have to literally die. This is not possible. Here again we have another example of how if we are going into the kingdom our righteousness need to exceed that of the scribes and pharisees.

I. You don’t go out and cut stuff off. It will not work. You will not be able to cut enough off. Christ again here is fulfilling the law. He is showing us how we cannot fulfill the righteous requirements of the law.

Romans 7:21–25 NLT

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?

J. How can we be saved? How can my righteousness exceed that of the scribes and pharisees? I’d have to kill myself to stop the sinning. Can I be saved form this?

II. No Condemnation

-Set free from the law of sin and death.

A. And it gets worse. Jesus mentioned Gehenna. Understood as the Valley of Hinnom. A ravine just south of Jerusalem that was once associated with the pagan god Molech. This was the area that people even kings sacrificed their children in worship of the god Molech. There were horrible practices and rites performed there in adulterous idolatry against God. King Josiah came in and abolished all these idolatrous practices and turned this place in a trash and rubbish dump the place where the worst of trash, filth and corpses of criminal were thrown there. It was extremely discusting. Tradition says in the first century, the place was still used as a trash dump with a fire that burned it up and the fire was always going and never stopped.

B. This was the picture used to describe the reality of eternal torment in hell. Gehenna is the worst place ever on earth. Hell will be the worst place ever. We cannot fathom or imagine the depts and leangths to the great blessing of God that we will see and experience in Heaven. It will be the same with Hell. There we will experience the worst of the judgement of God. But eternal Shane serious? Yes.

C. The only payment for the transgression of an eternal God is eternal obligation. Eternal punishment. Anything less than eternal punishment would be unjust. It must be eternal and it must be terrible. If you transgressed the Best it is logical that the punishment be the worst. Hell is real and it is terrible. Jesus is warning us of this. A huge warning. You do not want this…ever.

E. But He has overcome the world. Jesus came into the world to seek and to save that which was lost. Jesus gave himself as a ransom for many. His life was given for the sheep. Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures and he was buried and he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners. So is there salvation? You bet there is.

F. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God and you will have life in His name.

G. Rejoice family. We have new life in Christ. We have life and life more abundant in Christ and in Christ alone. And because we are cover by the perfect sacrifice of Christ. Because we have the righteousness of Christ on our account… now our righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees.