1 00:00:01,560 --> 00:00:03,400 Some things are much harder than they look. 2 00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:08,920 I've been surfing seriously, though inconsistently, for 25 3 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:10,960 years. I learned the basics when I was 4 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:13,520 a little kid, and I started to get real serious about it when I 5 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:17,000 was about 13. Over the years, I've had the 6 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:21,960 opportunity to try to teach several friends and family 7 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:26,680 members how to surf. What almost all of them discover 8 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:31,120 very quickly is that it's harder than it looks. 9 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:36,200 Before you try surfing, you think it will be an idyllic 10 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:42,760 paradise, the sun beaming down its golden rays on you, the 11 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:46,840 waves gently Bob under you. You effortlessly glide across 12 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:49,720 wave after wave while you're adoring friends and family 13 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:52,840 members chew you on from the beach, videoing your every move 14 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:56,360 and high resolution. Yeah, the reality? 15 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:00,760 Not so much. Depending what on where and when 16 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:04,959 you're learning to surf, the water might be cold, the weather 17 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:08,720 might be rough, and you pretty quickly discover that there is 18 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:12,720 nothing effortless about it. Paddling a surfboard is hard. 19 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:16,600 Pushing out through row after row of waves breaking on you and 20 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:18,360 shoving white water on you is hard. 21 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:21,360 Even sometimes figuring out how to sit up on the board and rest 22 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:24,840 and not fall off is hard. That's before you even try to 23 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:28,880 catch a wave. Spotting the wave, figuring out 24 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:31,640 how to line up, paddling into it, trying to jump to your feet 25 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:34,640 at exactly the right moment, also hard. 26 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:39,080 You might find yourself flying head first over the nose of your 27 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:41,760 surfboard dozens of times without catching a single wave. 28 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:45,160 If you fall in shallow water, you might come up with a 29 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:48,600 mouthful of wet sand. You might get hit on the head by 30 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:51,800 a 30 LB surfboard. You might get a six inch 31 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:55,280 fiberglass fin to the thigh. You might get stung by a 32 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:59,680 jellyfish. I could go on and on and on. 33 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:05,000 There are glories in surfing. There must be, or nobody would 34 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:09,520 do it. But for a beginner to taste any 35 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:13,360 of those glories typically involves quite a lot of effort, 36 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:20,480 even hardship, even suffering. Lots of people try it once and 37 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:24,320 then give it up forever. You call this fun? 38 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:28,320 What is wrong with you? If I wanted to get beat up, I 39 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:35,000 would sign up for boxing. Surfing is harder than it looks, 40 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:42,640 and so is Christianity. Lots of people make some kind of 41 00:02:42,640 --> 00:02:45,800 decision to embrace Christianity, or as they 42 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:49,240 understand it, start following Jesus, but without really 43 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:53,200 understanding the difficulty of what they're signing up for. 44 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:58,480 What makes Christianity hard? One of the biggest factors is 45 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:02,960 this. To become a Christian is to sign 46 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:06,560 up for a lifelong battle against sin. 47 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:10,560 It's one thing to have to endure hardship and suffering that 48 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:14,120 comes to you from the outside. Every religion or philosophy in 49 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:15,640 one way or another has to confront that. 50 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:18,560 I would still submit the Christianity's resources for 51 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:22,080 enduring suffering are the best, but it's another thing 52 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:27,440 altogether to focus not on the threats that come from outside, 53 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:31,720 but on the continual threat that comes from inside. 54 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:37,440 If you're a Christian, your greatest enemy is not out there, 55 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:43,160 it's in here. If you're a Christian, you are 56 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:49,480 locked in a life and death battle against sin until this 57 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:53,320 life ends. But don't take my word for it. 58 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:57,000 This morning we continue our series in Mark's Gospel with 59 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:00,640 Chapter 9, verses 42 to 50. If you don't have a Bible, 60 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:02,680 please raise your hand and someone will bring you one. 61 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:06,120 If you're not familiar with expository preaching, we are 62 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:08,800 just continuing to preach section by section through the 63 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:10,800 Gospel of Mark. Every time I'm up here, I'm 64 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:12,600 preaching through Mark. When Michael's up here, he's 65 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:15,040 preaching through numbers. And we'll soon start a series in 66 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:17,399 First Thessalonians. So we're just taking the next 67 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:21,200 passage of Jesus's teaching and actions in the Gospel of Mark. 68 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:27,440 In this section, Jesus continues instructing his followers about 69 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:29,160 what it means to be a disciple of his. 70 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:36,280 And his main goal in these verses is to shock you into 71 00:04:36,280 --> 00:04:40,480 taking your battle against sin more seriously. 72 00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:44,880 He is telling you it's harder than you think. 73 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:49,800 He is telling you it's more serious than you think. 74 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:55,240 Here's Mark Chapter 9, verses 42 to 50. 75 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:01,560 Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to 76 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:06,040 sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung 77 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:08,320 around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 78 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,800 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. 79 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:16,880 It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two 80 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,960 hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 81 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:24,360 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. 82 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:29,120 It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to 83 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:32,400 be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to 84 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:36,240 sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter 85 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:40,600 the Kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes. 86 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:45,280 To be thrown into hell where their worm does not die and the 87 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:50,840 fire is not quenched, for everyone will be salted with 88 00:05:50,840 --> 00:05:56,440 fire. Salt is good, but if the salt 89 00:05:56,440 --> 00:06:00,920 has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? 90 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:08,520 Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another. 91 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:13,040 Here's the main point of the passage in one sentence. 92 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:18,760 The path to life is putting sin to death. 93 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:25,800 The path to life is putting sin to death. 94 00:06:26,840 --> 00:06:32,360 Sin is an enemy inside you, and you have to put forth constant 95 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:38,960 spiritual effort to execute it, to eliminate it, to demolish and 96 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:44,600 eradicate it. We are not saved by killing sin, 97 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:49,760 but only those who kill their sin will be saved. 98 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:54,880 Killing sin is not the cause of our salvation, but it is a 99 00:06:54,880 --> 00:07:00,680 necessary means to the end of obtaining eternal life. 100 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:05,240 That's Jesus main message for us and in the passage he gives us 3 101 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:07,840 reasons for it. There are three sections in our 102 00:07:07,840 --> 00:07:11,000 passage. In verse 42, Jesus warns us 103 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,920 about the impact of our sin on others. 104 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:20,480 Then in verses 43 to 48 He warns us about our need to kill our 105 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:23,040 own sin for the sake of our own eternal destinies. 106 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:28,000 Then in verses 49 to 50 he uses the metaphor of salt in a couple 107 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:31,600 of different ways to show us our need to be different from the 108 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:34,520 world and totally devoted to Him. 109 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:38,320 The path to life is putting sin to death. 110 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:43,480 Why should you kill sin? 3 reasons, one from each of the 111 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:47,360 three sections of our passage .1 on verse 42. 112 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:55,320 Kill sin to protect others. Kill sin to protect others. 113 00:07:56,120 --> 00:08:00,280 Looking at a verse 42, whoever causes one of these little ones 114 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:04,000 who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a 115 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,160 great millstone were hung around his neck and he was thrown into 116 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:09,840 the sea. If you were here last week, 117 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:13,640 you'll remember from verse 37 that Jesus uses a child as a 118 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:17,760 symbol for all believers. In ancient Mediterranean world, 119 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:21,400 children had no status, and believers in Jesus are those who 120 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:24,680 have willingly surrendered any claims to status in order to 121 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:27,600 follow him. So when Jesus has these little 122 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:30,840 ones who believe in me, he's not talking about literal children, 123 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:34,120 nor is he talking about children who happen to be followers of 124 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:37,640 his. He's simply means all believers, 125 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:42,799 and he's warning of the consequences for everyone who 126 00:08:42,799 --> 00:08:47,680 causes any believer to suffer spiritual harm. 127 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:52,920 His wording here is wide open, universal, whoever causes. 128 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:56,040 But throughout the context, Jesus is instructing his 129 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:58,880 disciples about how to be a disciple. 130 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:01,520 So I think his target audience for this warning is all who 131 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:05,440 claim to follow him. If you say you're a Christian, 132 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:10,640 listen up. Jesus has a warning for you, but 133 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:12,640 what exactly is he warning against? 134 00:09:13,560 --> 00:09:17,440 The Greek phrase that the ESV translates as cause to sin is a 135 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:19,040 little bit tricky to bring into English. 136 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:22,680 The Greek verb is scandalizzo, from which we get our words 137 00:09:22,680 --> 00:09:26,040 scandalized, but it doesn't exactly mean to offend. 138 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:30,520 It's literal meaning is to cause someone to stumble, to make them 139 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:32,160 fall. Like you put a stumbling block 140 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:34,280 in front of someone and they trip over it. 141 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:38,960 Now, in Jesus teaching here, it means to lead or influence 142 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:43,200 someone into wrongdoing. The stumbling is metaphorical. 143 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:45,880 It means to trip someone up so they sin. 144 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:52,040 But the implication is that you can trip up someone else in the 145 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:55,840 way of their following Jesus. They are trying to walk along as 146 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:58,600 a disciple of Jesus. You cause them to fall, and 147 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:02,840 maybe even in such a way that they don't get back up. 148 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:09,200 That's what Jesus means when he uses the same word in Mark 417 149 00:10:09,560 --> 00:10:13,080 about those who look like followers of Jesus but whom 150 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:17,520 persecution causes to fall away. Same Greek word. 151 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:21,560 And it's also what Paul has in mind when he uses the same word 152 00:10:21,560 --> 00:10:24,920 in First Corinthians 813, where he resolves not to use his 153 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:28,120 freedom of conscience in any way that would make a brother or 154 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:33,680 sister stumble. In other words, both Paul and 155 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:39,600 Jesus are teaching that your example and influence profoundly 156 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:45,440 affect whether others faithfully follow Jesus, and that has 157 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:48,600 eternal consequences for both them and you. 158 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:51,960 What's the consequence of leading another professing 159 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:56,080 believer into sin? Jesus offers a graphic warning. 160 00:10:56,840 --> 00:11:01,600 It would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around 161 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:04,000 his neck and he was thrown into the sea. 162 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:07,040 Now, you probably haven't seen a great millstone unless you've 163 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,000 visited like a historic preserved farmhouse or something 164 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:12,080 where they show you how people used to make grain. 165 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:14,400 There could be small millstones you would use by hand. 166 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:17,480 A great millstone is so big it would have to be pulled by a 167 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:20,840 donkey in harness. It's huge, it's massive. 168 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:23,800 Jesus is using this image as if you could take that huge 169 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:27,320 millstone, put it as a collar around someone's neck, and then 170 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:30,200 deposit them into a body of water. 171 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:35,040 That's a gruesome death. That is a way to ensure that 172 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:39,560 someone is dead, stays dead, is really dead, super dead. 173 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:43,280 It's a shocking image. What's he saying? 174 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:50,360 He's saying that God's eternal judgement is infinitely worse 175 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:53,320 than a gruesome death. He's saying there are eternal 176 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:56,800 consequences for you and others, whether you obey Him and 177 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:01,680 influence others to obey Him, or whether you disobey Him and 178 00:12:01,680 --> 00:12:05,720 influence others to do the same. What will happen to you in that 179 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:09,720 latter case is worse than having a heavyweight tied around your 180 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:11,920 neck and being plunged into the sea. 181 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:18,840 Jesus is teaching that a basic part of following Him is being 182 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:22,120 concerned for others spiritual good. 183 00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:28,200 An element of basic Christianity is being diligent to do 184 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:32,080 spiritual good and not harm to other people who claim to follow 185 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:34,640 Christ. How can you do that? 186 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:38,240 Here's a rule we can distill from Jesus teaching in the whole 187 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:40,440 passage that we'll unpack more later. 188 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:46,400 The more seriously you take your own sin, the better spiritual 189 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:50,800 influence you'll be on others. The less seriously you take your 190 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:56,360 own sin, the worse a spiritual influence you'll be on others. 191 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:01,600 In other words, kill sin to protect others. 192 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:05,320 If you are indifferent to Christ's commands, if you think 193 00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:08,040 this one's not such a big deal, this one I don't really need to 194 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:12,040 be concerned about. Your life lies to other 195 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:14,600 believers. It tells them, yeah, it's safe 196 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:17,360 to ignore Jesus. You can be His follower, you can 197 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:20,400 be on your way to heaven, and you cannot really pay attention 198 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:24,400 to how he says you should live. Whatever truth your words might 199 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:28,880 be saying about Jesus, your life is lying about Jesus and it's a 200 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:31,960 dangerous lie because of the truth of your words you're 201 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:34,520 saying about Jesus. Other people will look to you as 202 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:36,920 an example of how to follow Jesus and then they will learn 203 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:39,680 from you not how to follow Jesus, but how to be self 204 00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:41,520 deceived and on your way to hell. 205 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:52,440 That lie endangers other people. If someone sees you as a 206 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:56,680 professing Christian sin in a certain way and not care, not 207 00:13:56,680 --> 00:14:01,200 repent, not turn away, not take it seriously, you're paving the 208 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:06,600 way of their disobedience and potentially they're turning away 209 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:10,800 from Christ. Instead of setting an example of 210 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:14,320 indifference to Christ's commands, put your own sin to 211 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:16,120 death. We'll talk much more about how 212 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:19,600 to do that in the next point, but for now, the point is change 213 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:24,080 starts at home. Putting sin to death is good for 214 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:27,000 your soul, and it's necessary for your spiritual impact on 215 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:29,680 others. Influence on others is 216 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:31,920 inescapable. There is no way to live your 217 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:34,720 life sealed off in a little bubble that other people cannot 218 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:38,000 see and will not notice. You will influence how other 219 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:40,720 people follow Jesus. You will influence whether other 220 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:44,720 professing believers around you go closer to Him or farther away 221 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:46,200 from Him. You don't have a choice in that. 222 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:51,520 Your only choice is what's the character of your influence on 223 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:56,280 other believers you only choose whether you will help lead 224 00:14:56,280 --> 00:14:58,680 people closer to Jesus or farther away from him. 225 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:01,240 Kids and teens in the congregation. 226 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:03,400 I know many of you have departed the Trinity kids, but some of 227 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:06,360 you are still here Kids and teens in the congregation. 228 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:08,160 I know teens wouldn't go to Trinity kids, but you know what 229 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:14,600 I mean Kids and teens, this starts now. 230 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:18,920 It doesn't matter if you're six years old or 16 years old. 231 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:23,560 Your attitude toward Jesus commands will have a spiritual 232 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:28,240 impact on your siblings, classmates, teammates, 233 00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:32,880 neighbors. You will impact how other 234 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:36,000 people, what other people think it means to follow Jesus and how 235 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:41,200 they will do it. When I was 15/16/17, one of the 236 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:43,240 best spiritual influences on me was a friend of mine who went to 237 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:45,000 high school together. His name is Jason Farrar. 238 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:47,440 He was very serious about following Christ. 239 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:50,720 He was a cool kid, he had cool friends, and yet even more than 240 00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:54,880 that, everybody knew he was a Christian and it was a big deal 241 00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:57,840 to him. When we were in maybe sophomore 242 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:01,320 year, junior year of high school, he got me to memorize 243 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:03,920 the book of James with him. We did the whole thing and it 244 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:07,160 stuck. Memorizing James with him 20 245 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:10,040 plus years ago still bears fruit in my life today, and it helped 246 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:13,840 kick start a habit of scripture memory that has served me well 247 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,800 on and off for 20 plus years. Jason is still faithfully 248 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:19,240 following the Lord today. He's a father of five, he's an 249 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:22,440 elder of his church in Colorado, and he had a pivotal impact on 250 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:24,960 my discipleship to Jesus as a teenager. 251 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:29,520 If you claim to follow Christ, whether you're 5 or 15, you will 252 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:33,480 influence others and you can have that kind of impact on 253 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:37,360 other believers. Who can you influence positively 254 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:39,040 in the way of following Christ today? 255 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:45,120 No matter how young you are, seemingly small decisions can 256 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:48,520 have eternal implications. Do you watch that movie? 257 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:54,400 Do you say that word? Do you visit that website? 258 00:16:56,640 --> 00:17:02,360 In verse 42, Jesus wants you to consider what's better. 259 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:07,119 Not what's better for your short term selfish interest, but 260 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:09,839 what's better for your soul. And not just what's better for 261 00:17:09,839 --> 00:17:13,319 your soul, but what's better for other people's souls. 262 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:16,359 To follow Jesus is to care about not just what's good for you, 263 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:21,319 but what's eternally good for others who follow Him. 264 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:31,600 Kill sin to protect others. Point #2 Kill sin to pursue 265 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:35,040 life. That's Jesus teaching of verses 266 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:39,760 43 to 48. Kill sin to pursue life. 267 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:46,800 And as part of the passage, Jesus says essentially the same 268 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:51,120 thing three times in a row. That means it's important. 269 00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:55,200 Look with me again at those verses 43 to 48. 270 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:00,200 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. 271 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:03,480 It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two 272 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:06,640 hands to go to hell to the unquenchable fire. 273 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:09,440 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. 274 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:11,960 It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to 275 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:14,840 be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to 276 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:17,480 sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter 277 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:20,240 the Kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown 278 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:25,760 into hell, where their worm does not die and the fire is not 279 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:29,160 quenched. Here's Jesus point in a 280 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:35,120 nutshell. You must always be killing sin 281 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:42,200 or sin will be killing you. You must always be killing sin 282 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:49,040 or sin will be killing you. Because he says the same thing 283 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:50,920 in three different ways. I'm not going to sort of walk 284 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:54,000 through the verses in order, but I'm going to itemize 3 main 285 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:58,520 ingredients. The danger, the duty, and the 286 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:08,560 destination first, the danger. Either sin must die now, or you 287 00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:16,840 will die eternally three times. Jesus says it's better to get 288 00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:21,640 rid of a part of your body than to be thrown into hell. 289 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:26,200 Here we need to first note that Jesus explicitly teaches that 290 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:29,120 God will punish sin and sinners in hell. 291 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:31,600 This is not a doctrine that Christians made-up. 292 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:36,040 This is not a doctrine that later church tradition invented. 293 00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:40,360 This is straight from Jesus own mouth and he says it three times 294 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:42,640 in verse 48. He adds emphasis. 295 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:44,560 He adds a detail to drive the point home. 296 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:48,680 He cites the very last verse in the book of Isaiah, chapter 66, 297 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:53,400 verse 24, where their worm does not die and the fire is not 298 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:56,000 quenched. Both of those images are of 299 00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:59,200 everlasting torment. The worm is an image of being 300 00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:03,920 gnawed away, eaten, tormented. The fire is not quenched. 301 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:09,160 It always keeps burning. Now, sometimes people are quick 302 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:11,240 to say, well, these are just metaphors. 303 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:14,920 He's not speaking literally. They'll use that observation to 304 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:20,520 suggest, maybe not in so many words, that hell isn't as bad as 305 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:22,760 these kind of gruesome metaphors make it out to be. 306 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:27,720 After all, they're just metaphors, brothers and sisters. 307 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:29,960 That has it exactly backward. The reality is just the 308 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:35,400 opposite. Jesus uses such horrifying 309 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:40,080 metaphors because the reality is worse than our minds can 310 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:44,120 comprehend. He speaks figuratively because 311 00:20:44,120 --> 00:20:48,760 the reality is worse than literal language can capture. 312 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:53,360 Hell is real. Hell is God's just judgement 313 00:20:53,360 --> 00:20:56,840 against sin and sinners. Hell is forever. 314 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:02,360 Hell is, scripture warns, where many, many people will spend 315 00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:05,920 eternity, and it is nowhere that you want to be. 316 00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:09,440 If you're not a believer in Jesus, I imagine you kind of 317 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:11,840 instinctively resist or reject the doctrine of hell. 318 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:14,400 You might bridle at it. You might find it emotionally 319 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:17,520 abhorrent. You might find it intellectually 320 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:22,200 unrespectable, but I want you to take a step back. 321 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:25,520 I want you to hop around and look at it from the other side. 322 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:31,000 What if the Bible is true? What if the God of the Bible is 323 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:34,760 real? If the God of the Bible is real, 324 00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:40,040 then it is not your job to tell him how to run the universe. 325 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:45,080 You do not need to sit in judgement of God. 326 00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:49,480 Instead, the most crucial task for you is to learn how you can 327 00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:54,720 escape and be spared the judgement of God, and we will 328 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:59,560 talk about that. In order for all of us to 329 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:03,200 rightly relate to Jesus warning about hell, we have to keep a 330 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:09,000 glorious truth in mind. The eternal judgement of hell is 331 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:14,080 what Jesus has already endured on the cross for everyone who 332 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:18,240 believes in Him. On the cross, Jesus suffered 333 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:24,040 God's wrath that would otherwise be poured out on everyone who 334 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:28,760 believes. Our sin really is that big and 335 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:32,200 that bad that it took the crucifixion of God the Son to 336 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:35,160 pay for it. God's holiness, as we've sung, 337 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:39,200 Holy, holy, holy, God's holiness really is that absolute and 338 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:42,680 pure, that to do anything less than judge sin in that way would 339 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:47,320 be sweeping it under the rug. And God is not a janitor 340 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:50,640 cheating at his job and just sweeping sin under the rug as if 341 00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:52,360 it doesn't really, it's not that big of a deal. 342 00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:56,640 You can just kind of hide it. God's holiness is that pure, 343 00:22:57,120 --> 00:23:01,200 that perfect. God's mercy is that vast that He 344 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:04,000 didn't just give us up to sin. He didn't just hand us over to 345 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,520 sin. He sent Jesus to die on the 346 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:09,400 cross and to rise again as an outpouring of mercy. 347 00:23:10,040 --> 00:23:13,120 God comes to us in mercy. We don't work our way to Him in 348 00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:16,960 righteousness. He comes to us in mercy and love 349 00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:20,320 through the real events of what really happened in Jesus dying 350 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:23,840 and rising again and Christ's sacrifices. 351 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:26,800 That's sufficient. It really does pay for all the 352 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:29,040 sins of everyone who will turn from sin and trust in Him. 353 00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:35,080 His love for us is that great that He would endure hell itself 354 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:40,280 on the cross in order to deliver us from sin. 355 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:45,760 If you're not a believer in Jesus, Jesus teaching about 356 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:49,040 putting sin to death is important for you, but it is not 357 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:50,800 the first thing you have to do. You would completely 358 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:53,320 misunderstand everything I'm saying in this entire sermon. 359 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:55,560 If you went home and thought, OK, what's the sin I got to go 360 00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:59,760 take care of? The only way to begin to fight 361 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:03,120 sin is to be reconciled to God through trusting in Christ. 362 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:07,680 Have your sins forgiven, paid for, done away with by the blood 363 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:11,000 of Christ, and receive from Him the gift of the Holy Spirit that 364 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:14,520 you can change inwardly. You do need to fight sin, but 365 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:18,440 first you need to repent of sin and trust in Christ. 366 00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:22,520 And if you do, you will be made right with God now and forever. 367 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:25,520 The glorious truth of the gospel is that everyone who believes in 368 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:31,040 Jesus is safe from hell through what he's done for us alone. 369 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:34,040 That's glorious truth. That's reassuring. 370 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:35,560 That's encouragement we all need. 371 00:24:36,360 --> 00:24:38,560 And yet it still leaves us with kind of a lingering question 372 00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:43,240 about this passage. If everyone who believes is safe 373 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:47,640 from hell, why does Jesus warn his disciples about failing to 374 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:50,520 kill, sin, and thereby being thrown into hell? 375 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:54,560 Again, consider his very words from verse 43. 376 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:59,200 It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two 377 00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:01,400 hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 378 00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:03,800 Now I think both these things are true. 379 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:07,080 Every believer is safe from hell through the blood of Christ 380 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:12,680 alone, and this is a real warning about what we must do to 381 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:15,520 stay on the path of life. How can we put those two things 382 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:19,320 together? One key truth is that Jesus came 383 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:24,560 to rescue us from sin, not to leave us in sin. 384 00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:29,320 Jesus came to deliver us from the penalty of sin and He 385 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:31,320 accomplished that in his death and resurrection. 386 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:36,040 One day when He returns, he will perfectly deliver us from the 387 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:39,640 presence of sin. At Jesus return, there'll be no 388 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:42,160 more sin in the glorious new creation that he establishes. 389 00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:45,000 There'll be no more sin in us. We will be perfect. 390 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:48,000 The creation will be perfect. He came to deliver us from the 391 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:50,800 penalty of sin. He came to deliver us eventually 392 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:54,080 from the presence of sin. And in the meantime, here and 393 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:57,600 now, in the course of our lives, he means to deliver us from the 394 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:01,040 power of sin that begins in every believer's life. 395 00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:04,440 When you first believe you are not only forgiven of your sins, 396 00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:07,280 but sins, power in you is decisively broken. 397 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:09,160 That's what it means to be born again. 398 00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:11,840 That's what it means to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 399 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:16,000 As Paul puts it in Romans 6, you are no longer a slave to sin. 400 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:18,680 To trust in Christ is to be set free from sin. 401 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:24,360 And yet, as Paul also puts it in Romans 7, even those who trust 402 00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:27,240 in Christ still have sin dwelling within them. 403 00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:32,720 So Jesus delivers us from the power of sin, but in this life 404 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:35,200 he accomplishes that progressively. 405 00:26:36,120 --> 00:26:38,920 He accomplishes it through the power of the Spirit in US, and 406 00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:42,840 He accomplishes it through empowering our own effort. 407 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:47,280 He does not do that without us, but through us. 408 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:53,040 He doesn't do it despite us, but by enabling us to put sin to 409 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:54,800 death. As we read in Romans 8. 410 00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:59,960 If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you 411 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:03,400 will live. Paul's echoing Jesus's teaching. 412 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:06,960 So what does all this mean? It means that a mark of every 413 00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:12,640 genuine believer is constant warfare against their own sin. 414 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:17,680 If you do not put your own sin to death, you show that you are 415 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:24,800 not a genuine follower of Jesus. Putting sin to death proves the 416 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:28,840 genuineness of your faith. Putting sin to death is not the 417 00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:32,920 cause of our salvation. We are not saved because we put 418 00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:37,000 sin to death. We are not saved by putting sin 419 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:39,480 to death. But putting sin to death is the 420 00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:42,320 path we walk to heaven. It is not the cause, but the 421 00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:47,680 means to the end. So what's the danger Jesus warns 422 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:51,600 of? The danger is that if you do not 423 00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:57,560 kill your own sin, if you do not mortify your own sin, you fail 424 00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:02,120 to walk the path to heaven. As John Owen put it in his 425 00:28:02,120 --> 00:28:04,720 fantastic book on the mortification of sin. 426 00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:09,840 Let not that man think he makes any progress in holiness who 427 00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:13,120 walks not over the bellies of his lusts. 428 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:19,920 He who does not kill sin in his way takes no steps toward his 429 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:24,640 journey's end. He who finds no opposition from 430 00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:28,400 it and who sets not himself in every particular to its 431 00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:34,400 mortification, is at peace with it not dying to it. 432 00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:38,240 So that's the danger. Next is the duty. 433 00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:43,520 The duty is puts into death. Why does Jesus talk about your 434 00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:46,600 hand or eye or foot causing you to stumble? 435 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:50,000 It's because those are different ways in which we access sin. 436 00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:52,760 The hand is the instrument by which you commit sin. 437 00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:56,240 The foot is your means of transportation to some place 438 00:28:56,240 --> 00:28:59,920 where you can sin, and the eye is the means by which temptation 439 00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:03,080 enters in. So Jesus is pointing out that in 440 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:05,040 different ways. Rather, he's using different 441 00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:08,720 images to point out that sin still dwells within us. 442 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:13,480 Whatever evil impulses you experience come from within. 443 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:21,280 No one forces them on you. In the believer, sin is like a 444 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:27,320 foreign, hostile force occupying territory that doesn't actually 445 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:32,920 belong to it. Sin is not you, but it is you, 446 00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:37,200 and yet you're still responsible for it because sin is in you. 447 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:39,840 It's in your mind and heart. You're responsible for every 448 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:43,840 evil thought, every sinful impulse, and all the actions 449 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:49,080 that break the surface, that start out as evil thoughts and 450 00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:52,720 impulses. So the duty Jesus is urging on 451 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:54,480 us is this. Don't commit sins. 452 00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:57,200 Don't go anywhere near a place that would tempt you to sin. 453 00:29:57,600 --> 00:30:01,360 Don't even think about or inwardly entertain sins. 454 00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:04,840 Instead, kill sin. That's the point of Jesus 455 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:07,680 graphic hyperbole. When he talks about cutting off 456 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:10,960 your hand or foot or gouging out your eye, he doesn't mean that 457 00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:15,120 literally, but he does mean it seriously. 458 00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:17,800 He doesn't want you to harm your body. 459 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:22,320 Instead, he wants you to kill your sin. 460 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:29,000 Jesus point is that in order to kill sin, it's worth making any 461 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:33,240 sacrifice, it's worth suffering any inconvenience, it's worth 462 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:39,360 foregoing any earthly advantage. To kill sin and thereby pursue 463 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:43,240 eternal life is worth any earthly loss, even something as 464 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:46,240 dear as your hand or eye or foot. 465 00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:51,840 Jesus saying that a test of whether you're serious about 466 00:30:51,840 --> 00:30:55,840 killing sin is what you're willing to give up in order to 467 00:30:55,840 --> 00:31:01,480 do it. How long does a gardener have to 468 00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:05,360 keep pulling weeds? The answer is as long as they 469 00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:09,680 keep growing. You must always be killing 470 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:13,960 weeds, or weeds will be killing your garden. 471 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:16,960 The only way to get rid of those weeds is to pull them up by the 472 00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:19,680 roots. There's a nasty little weed in 473 00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:22,520 our yard that grows on this kind of vine structure and then 474 00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:26,440 shoots out all these little round green circle things. 475 00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:29,240 It's a pain. It's everywhere. 476 00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:35,600 It's gaining ground as I preach this very sermon to get rid of 477 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:38,200 that weed, what do you have to do? 478 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:42,720 Mowing doesn't do it. Pulling up handfuls of the 479 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:46,000 shoots doesn't do it. You got to get down on the 480 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:50,240 ground, feel around with your hands and find the vines that 481 00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:53,160 all those stupid little things are going on and pull up as much 482 00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:58,200 of the vine as you can. That's the only way to get rid 483 00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:02,320 of that weed. That's a little picture of what 484 00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:06,400 killing sin is like. You'll be tempted to perform 485 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:09,280 quicker, easier, more superficial solutions. 486 00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:12,000 You'll think that just running it over with the lawnmower is 487 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:14,160 going to do the trick. It won't. 488 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:19,240 You have to pull them out by the roots indwelling. 489 00:32:19,240 --> 00:32:21,920 Sin remains in every believer this side of glory. 490 00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:26,360 The need to fight lasts as long as this life lasts, as the 491 00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:29,240 Puritan John Flavell put it. The Saint, when he draws the 492 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:33,240 sword in this warfare against sin, throws away the scabbard. 493 00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:36,880 No end of this combat with sin till life end. 494 00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:41,640 Their life and their troubles are finished together. 495 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:47,680 So how, how can you put sin to death? 496 00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:50,920 We're going to camp out here and have kind of a big long 497 00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:55,960 application point on how to kill sin. 7 Practical Points of 498 00:32:55,960 --> 00:33:03,800 Counsel for How to Kill sin #1 Resolve to obey God 499 00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:10,320 comprehensively. Determine in advance that 500 00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:15,040 anything God hates, you'll hate. Anything God loves, you'll love. 501 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:17,960 Anything he forbids you'll forsake. 502 00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:21,400 Anything he commands, you'll do it from the heart. 503 00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:32,040 Obedience that holds something back is not obedience #2 Know 504 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:39,600 what sin is and what is sin. Study the whole of Scripture to 505 00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:43,640 educate your conscience. Labor to progressively bring 506 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:48,800 your conscience into line with everything God commands and 507 00:33:48,800 --> 00:33:55,040 forbids. Third, learn to name your sin 508 00:33:55,040 --> 00:34:00,120 with biblical language. Which of the 10 commandments 509 00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:05,800 does a particular sin violate? Or does it express any of the 510 00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:10,000 lusts of the flesh that Paul names in Galatians 519 to 21? 511 00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:15,920 Does it express any of the vices Paul identifies in Colossians 35 512 00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:19,480 to 9? Consider Paul's teaching just in 513 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:22,480 Colossians 35 how it echoes Jesus teaching here. 514 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:28,400 Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you, Sexual 515 00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:32,040 immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and covetousness, 516 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:39,000 which is idolatry #4 Pray and search your conscience. 517 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:42,520 What sin have you committed but not confessed? 518 00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:47,040 Confess it to the Lord. Ask for forgiveness. 519 00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:51,520 Resolve to turn from it if you think it would be helpful. 520 00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:53,880 Confess that sin to another believer, especially not a 521 00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:56,560 fellow church member, and ask for their help in fighting 522 00:34:56,560 --> 00:35:01,320 against it. Another crucial step here, which 523 00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:06,280 is essential to the whole battle, is this #5 aim at heart 524 00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:09,000 change. This is how we pull up sin by 525 00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:10,680 the roots. Aim at heart change. 526 00:35:11,240 --> 00:35:15,520 Every sin you commit outwardly comes from a disordered desire 527 00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:17,040 in your heart. That's where it started. 528 00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:19,880 That's where it comes from. As Jesus teaches in Mark 7, it's 529 00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:23,080 out of the heart that all types of uncleanness come. 530 00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:29,240 And as John Owen put it, every unclean thought or glance would 531 00:35:29,240 --> 00:35:35,000 be adultery if it could. Every covetous desire would be 532 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:38,480 oppression. Every thought of unbelief would 533 00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:42,440 be atheism. Might it grow to its head? 534 00:35:43,320 --> 00:35:46,920 So how can you work to change your own heart? 535 00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:49,240 Seems like a paradox. It seems like you're trying to 536 00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:51,400 turn around and like, use your own eyes to look at yourself. 537 00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:54,480 How do you work on your own heart? 538 00:35:54,880 --> 00:36:01,480 The key is to cultivate a love for God that drives out love of 539 00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:05,040 sin. To do that, meditate on the 540 00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:09,200 greatness of God's character. Meditate on the infinite depths 541 00:36:09,200 --> 00:36:11,640 of His love. Meditate on the love 542 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:15,840 specifically He showed you on the cross. 543 00:36:16,960 --> 00:36:19,640 Meditate on His promises of heaven in the new creation. 544 00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:28,040 Meditate on the heinousness and hatefulness of sin. 545 00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:31,720 Part of how sin gets a foothold in our minds and hearts is that 546 00:36:31,720 --> 00:36:37,840 we don't see it in its evil, gruesome, true, ugly colors. 547 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:41,800 It's especially crucial to unmask sin's deceptions. 548 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:45,640 Sin always lies. And sin doesn't just bait its 549 00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:48,720 hook to lure you. It baits the hook to hide the 550 00:36:48,720 --> 00:36:50,760 hook. It baits the hook to hide its 551 00:36:50,760 --> 00:36:53,880 true intentions. Sin seeks to enslave you. 552 00:36:54,800 --> 00:37:02,000 Sin feels like freedom until you're trying to stop, so search 553 00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:04,320 your heart for the roots of disordered desires. 554 00:37:04,480 --> 00:37:07,720 What sins are you particularly prone to? 555 00:37:08,080 --> 00:37:10,400 You might be tempted by sins in a certain direction that another 556 00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:14,120 believer barely struggles with. Even on a similar kind of issue, 557 00:37:14,400 --> 00:37:16,600 your temptations might go in opposite directions. 558 00:37:16,920 --> 00:37:20,280 Are you prone to be too ambitious and to let others pay 559 00:37:20,280 --> 00:37:24,040 the cost for your ambition? Or are you prone to defer your 560 00:37:24,040 --> 00:37:26,960 ambition for the sake of someone else, but then quietly smoulder 561 00:37:26,960 --> 00:37:33,080 and bitterness and resentment? Search your heart for the idols 562 00:37:33,080 --> 00:37:38,000 you're tempted to serve, and then find targeted biblical 563 00:37:38,240 --> 00:37:41,360 remedies. Find truths that counter sins, 564 00:37:41,360 --> 00:37:44,280 lies. Find glories in God and his 565 00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:47,040 promises that answer and undermine the false promises of 566 00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:51,280 idols. Find biblical prescriptions for 567 00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:53,520 your specific struggles against sin. 568 00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:56,880 If you need help with that, talk to a church member you trust or 569 00:37:56,880 --> 00:38:00,960 one of the elders. That's all on how to aim at 570 00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:08,400 heart change. Number six, take every action 571 00:38:08,680 --> 00:38:15,760 necessary to stop the sin. It's easy to think you've done 572 00:38:15,760 --> 00:38:19,760 everything you can when you've barely gotten started. 573 00:38:20,720 --> 00:38:24,320 What action is needed to prevent you from falling back into this 574 00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:26,640 sin? Is there any habit you need to 575 00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:29,240 change? Is there any access to a 576 00:38:29,240 --> 00:38:31,040 particular sin you need to cut off? 577 00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:35,320 This is where you need to apply Jesus test of cutting off your 578 00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:40,160 hands. And in all of this number 7. 579 00:38:40,160 --> 00:38:48,400 Finally seek others help. Getting help killing your sin is 580 00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:53,880 a great reason to join a local church, and as you consider your 581 00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:56,920 relationships with other church members, assess whether they 582 00:38:56,920 --> 00:39:00,720 involve any elements of helping each other kill sin. 583 00:39:01,680 --> 00:39:07,040 Ask yourself what sin would keep you from heaven or drag you into 584 00:39:07,040 --> 00:39:09,680 hell? Who knows about it? 585 00:39:10,680 --> 00:39:14,840 Who's helping you fight it? And who are you helping to fight 586 00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:19,960 their particular temptations? If you're not a committed member 587 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:24,600 of a healthy local church, you are in massive danger. 588 00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:28,000 You're at an enormous disadvantage. 589 00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:30,640 You're fighting alone when you should be fighting in a 590 00:39:30,640 --> 00:39:33,440 squadron. A Christian who's not a member 591 00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:38,240 of a healthy local church is an easy target for Satan. 592 00:39:40,440 --> 00:39:43,640 One last element of Jesus teaching in these verses 43 to 593 00:39:43,640 --> 00:39:50,760 48 to consider the destination, the danger, the duty, the 594 00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:55,480 destination, killing sin is the path to life. 595 00:39:56,280 --> 00:39:59,160 It's the path to heaven. That's what makes the hardship 596 00:39:59,160 --> 00:40:01,920 worth it. Jesus says three times what's 597 00:40:01,920 --> 00:40:06,640 better to enter life, to enter life, to enter the Kingdom. 3 598 00:40:06,640 --> 00:40:08,200 Two different ways of saying the same thing. 599 00:40:08,880 --> 00:40:12,120 For instance, verse 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear 600 00:40:12,120 --> 00:40:14,840 it out. It is better for you to enter 601 00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:19,000 the Kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown 602 00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:22,360 into hell. Now, when Jesus talks about 603 00:40:22,360 --> 00:40:26,800 entering eternal life crippled or with one eye or lame, he's 604 00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:30,920 not speaking literally. He's not implying that harms we 605 00:40:30,920 --> 00:40:34,600 suffer due to our fallen condition persist into the new 606 00:40:34,600 --> 00:40:37,880 creation. Instead, his point is simple. 607 00:40:38,760 --> 00:40:45,840 Any sacrifice is worth it. Anything you give up is more 608 00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:50,240 than compensated. Any sacrifice you make, any 609 00:40:50,240 --> 00:40:54,360 price you pay to fight sin is nothing compared to eternal joy 610 00:40:54,360 --> 00:40:58,600 with Him. The hope of heaven is one of 611 00:40:58,600 --> 00:41:00,400 your greatest motivations to fight sin. 612 00:41:00,960 --> 00:41:05,840 Every loss of pleasure now will be infinitely compensated by 613 00:41:05,840 --> 00:41:09,600 better, purer, richer pleasures with Jesus in heaven. 614 00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:12,320 What does Psalm 1611 say? In your presence there is 615 00:41:12,320 --> 00:41:15,640 fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures 616 00:41:15,800 --> 00:41:19,160 forevermore, though it lasts as long as this life. 617 00:41:19,160 --> 00:41:23,320 Your struggle with sin is short, and eternity in God's presence 618 00:41:23,320 --> 00:41:28,280 is gloriously long. Throughout this passage, Jesus 619 00:41:28,400 --> 00:41:31,240 is telling you what's better for you. 620 00:41:32,160 --> 00:41:35,640 There is a death that needs to take place, death to sin, the 621 00:41:35,640 --> 00:41:37,480 death of sin. There's no way around that 622 00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:39,880 death. And yet the whole point is, this 623 00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:42,400 is better. The whole point is eternal life 624 00:41:42,400 --> 00:41:44,800 is better. The whole point is the joys of 625 00:41:44,800 --> 00:41:46,480 knowing Him and following Him are better. 626 00:41:47,160 --> 00:41:49,880 Jesus is saying what's better for you, and what it means to be 627 00:41:49,880 --> 00:41:54,520 a follower of Jesus is to believe him and to act on it. 628 00:41:55,240 --> 00:42:00,160 Jesus is not a killjoy. Instead, he is only a killer of 629 00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:03,640 false joys. He wants you to kill false joys 630 00:42:03,640 --> 00:42:07,400 in order to pursue true ones. He wants you to kill fleeting 631 00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:09,840 joys in order to pursue lasting ones. 632 00:42:10,680 --> 00:42:15,040 He wants you to kill poisonous joys in order to pursue joys 633 00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:19,720 that will make you healthy now and happy forever. 634 00:42:20,200 --> 00:42:23,760 That's what Jesus saying is better for you. 635 00:42:24,240 --> 00:42:28,640 Trust Him, He knows what he's talking about. 636 00:42:31,240 --> 00:42:35,000 A third reason to kill sin in verses 49 and 50. 637 00:42:35,840 --> 00:42:43,920 Kill sin to preserve devotion. Kill sin to preserve devotion. 638 00:42:47,640 --> 00:42:52,400 Devotion to whom? To Jesus above all, and also to 639 00:42:52,400 --> 00:42:55,560 his people. Let's start with verse 49. 640 00:42:56,560 --> 00:43:01,040 For everyone will be salted with fire. 641 00:43:02,280 --> 00:43:07,240 This verse is challenging. I think one key to interpreting 642 00:43:07,240 --> 00:43:11,480 it rightly is to understand that Jesus is echoing an Old 643 00:43:11,480 --> 00:43:16,040 Testament instruction about how to offer sacrifices. 644 00:43:16,800 --> 00:43:18,600 Sacrifices are offered with fire. 645 00:43:19,120 --> 00:43:21,320 There's one text in the Old Testament that says they should 646 00:43:21,320 --> 00:43:24,880 all be offered with salt. So we get salt plus fire. 647 00:43:25,360 --> 00:43:30,240 Leviticus 213 You shall season all your grain offerings with 648 00:43:30,240 --> 00:43:32,840 salt. You shall not, you shall not let 649 00:43:32,840 --> 00:43:35,240 the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your 650 00:43:35,240 --> 00:43:38,400 grain offering. With all your offerings, you 651 00:43:38,920 --> 00:43:44,280 shall offer salt. So the point of Leviticus 213 is 652 00:43:44,280 --> 00:43:47,280 that every offering is to be offered with salt. 653 00:43:47,720 --> 00:43:50,720 What happened to every offering? It was burned up with fire. 654 00:43:51,520 --> 00:43:54,720 That burning symbolized the offers, devotion, and dedication 655 00:43:54,720 --> 00:43:56,880 to the Lord. The sacrifice was completely 656 00:43:56,880 --> 00:43:59,960 consumed, symbolizing that the one making the sacrifice is 657 00:43:59,960 --> 00:44:03,000 completely handing themselves over to the Lord. 658 00:44:03,680 --> 00:44:08,160 So salt symbolizes covenant. Salt symbolizes commitment. 659 00:44:08,760 --> 00:44:12,240 Salt symbolizes devotion and communion. 660 00:44:13,440 --> 00:44:16,720 What does Jesus mean by saying that everyone will be salted 661 00:44:17,120 --> 00:44:20,640 with fire? I think he's trading on the many 662 00:44:20,640 --> 00:44:24,160 different associations fire has based on the many different 663 00:44:24,160 --> 00:44:27,720 things that fire can do. Fire can consume, fire can 664 00:44:27,720 --> 00:44:30,680 destroy, but fire can also purify. 665 00:44:31,640 --> 00:44:34,160 Fire can also reveal by bringing to light. 666 00:44:36,800 --> 00:44:40,960 I think in verse 49. So in verse 48, fire clearly 667 00:44:40,960 --> 00:44:43,160 stands for eternal judgement, eternal punishment. 668 00:44:43,840 --> 00:44:47,920 But I think in verse 49, fire stands for purification, 669 00:44:49,080 --> 00:44:54,760 testing, and revelation. In a nutshell, Jesus is teaching 670 00:44:54,760 --> 00:44:58,760 in verse 49 that to be his disciple means to be totally 671 00:44:58,760 --> 00:45:01,600 devoted to him. Not only that, but Jesus says 672 00:45:01,600 --> 00:45:04,680 everyone will be salted with fire. 673 00:45:05,200 --> 00:45:09,960 I think this means that as a disciple of Jesus, this offering 674 00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:14,040 by fire is something you'll undergo, It's something you'll 675 00:45:14,040 --> 00:45:16,640 suffer. It's not just something you do, 676 00:45:17,720 --> 00:45:22,400 it's something that will be done to you, like an offering being 677 00:45:22,400 --> 00:45:28,480 handed up into the flames. I think Jesus is implying that 678 00:45:28,480 --> 00:45:31,040 every believer's devotion to him will be tested. 679 00:45:31,680 --> 00:45:35,360 It will be tested through the process of killing sin. 680 00:45:36,440 --> 00:45:37,880 It will be tested through suffering. 681 00:45:39,200 --> 00:45:41,000 It will be tested through persecution. 682 00:45:42,720 --> 00:45:46,400 Note that Jesus uses the word for to begin this verse. 683 00:45:46,840 --> 00:45:50,320 He's giving us another reason to kill sin, or perhaps an 684 00:45:50,320 --> 00:45:52,920 explanation of why it's necessary to kill sin. 685 00:45:53,200 --> 00:45:57,200 Killing sin is one of the ways we prove our devotion to Him, 686 00:45:58,240 --> 00:46:01,400 and it's one of the purifying fires that every believer will 687 00:46:01,400 --> 00:46:07,520 pass through in this life. Everyone will be salted with 688 00:46:07,520 --> 00:46:12,720 fire. The test will differ, but every 689 00:46:12,720 --> 00:46:18,200 believer will be tested. The struggles will differ, but 690 00:46:18,200 --> 00:46:21,800 every believer must put their sins to death. 691 00:46:23,120 --> 00:46:28,120 The fires that God uses to purify us will differ, but every 692 00:46:28,120 --> 00:46:31,120 single believer has to pass through the flames. 693 00:46:34,840 --> 00:46:38,680 In verse 50, Jesus uses salt in a slightly different way. 694 00:46:38,680 --> 00:46:43,120 I think he's kind of teaching from different angles, using a 695 00:46:43,120 --> 00:46:44,880 kind of keyword to link his teaching. 696 00:46:44,880 --> 00:46:49,680 So in verse 48 fires judgement. In verse 49 fires purification 697 00:46:49,680 --> 00:46:53,320 of revelation. In verse 49, salt is devotion. 698 00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:57,920 In verse 50, I think it stands for difference. 699 00:46:58,800 --> 00:47:03,320 Verse 50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, 700 00:47:03,320 --> 00:47:04,840 how will you make it salty again? 701 00:47:05,320 --> 00:47:08,080 Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another. 702 00:47:08,640 --> 00:47:11,160 Here I think salt is what makes us different from the world. 703 00:47:11,160 --> 00:47:13,040 So what is that salt? It's our holiness. 704 00:47:13,400 --> 00:47:15,160 It's the result of putting sin to death. 705 00:47:15,480 --> 00:47:17,880 If you put sin to death, you'll be different from the world. 706 00:47:18,080 --> 00:47:20,680 If you put sin to death, you'll be conformed to Christ's 707 00:47:20,880 --> 00:47:23,840 character. Now sometimes people stumble 708 00:47:23,840 --> 00:47:26,720 over Jesus saying about salt losing its saltiness. 709 00:47:27,080 --> 00:47:32,520 Strictly speaking, the compound that salt is, sodium chloride, 710 00:47:32,680 --> 00:47:36,120 is stable. It doesn't go bad. 711 00:47:36,960 --> 00:47:40,840 That's true of refined salt. It has no expiration date. 712 00:47:41,800 --> 00:47:45,320 But in Jesus region and time, the salt that people commonly 713 00:47:45,320 --> 00:47:48,360 used may have been unrefined salt gathered from deposits 714 00:47:48,360 --> 00:47:51,400 around the Dead Sea. It wasn't pure so it could leach 715 00:47:51,400 --> 00:47:53,120 out and leave other minerals behind. 716 00:47:53,480 --> 00:47:55,480 But that is all beside the point. 717 00:47:56,320 --> 00:47:59,320 Jesus is not offering a chemistry lesson. 718 00:48:01,200 --> 00:48:05,840 Instead, he's offering a vivid picture for something that is 719 00:48:05,960 --> 00:48:09,520 utterly worthless. Good for nothing. 720 00:48:10,520 --> 00:48:15,000 You have salt so that it can flavor or preserve your food. 721 00:48:15,440 --> 00:48:18,800 If that salt is not salty, it's worthless. 722 00:48:19,320 --> 00:48:22,640 If you accidentally put in sugar when you meant salt, the recipes 723 00:48:22,640 --> 00:48:25,480 not going to work. If you put in baking powder 724 00:48:25,480 --> 00:48:27,640 instead of salt, strange stuff's going to happen. 725 00:48:28,440 --> 00:48:31,880 Salt is only good for what it's good for, and it has to have 726 00:48:31,880 --> 00:48:35,520 that distinctive character or it's good for nothing. 727 00:48:37,120 --> 00:48:40,320 What is he saying is worthless when you translate the image? 728 00:48:41,720 --> 00:48:46,960 An unholy Christian, a believer who lets sin win rather than 729 00:48:46,960 --> 00:48:50,000 putting sin to death. He's saying that we need to put 730 00:48:50,000 --> 00:48:53,240 sin to death in order to be devoted to him and distinct from 731 00:48:53,240 --> 00:48:56,320 the world. All the purposes that Jesus has 732 00:48:56,320 --> 00:49:00,400 for us in the church and in the world depend on our holiness. 733 00:49:00,960 --> 00:49:04,320 A holy Christian is useful for anything and everything. 734 00:49:05,680 --> 00:49:07,840 An unholy Christian is useful for nothing. 735 00:49:10,040 --> 00:49:14,680 Then Jesus points to one more payoff of killing sin and 736 00:49:14,680 --> 00:49:19,240 pursuing holiness. He says have salt in yourselves 737 00:49:19,280 --> 00:49:21,400 and be at peace with one another. 738 00:49:22,240 --> 00:49:24,680 Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another. 739 00:49:24,680 --> 00:49:29,280 I think he's implying that the first one have salt is the cause 740 00:49:29,600 --> 00:49:34,960 of being at peace. Holiness enables unity. 741 00:49:35,880 --> 00:49:40,480 Devotion to Christ empowers devotion to other Christians. 742 00:49:41,080 --> 00:49:46,240 Sin divides the church. Mortifying sin unifies the 743 00:49:46,240 --> 00:49:50,480 church. Putting pride to death makes you 744 00:49:50,480 --> 00:49:53,320 more able to receive instruction and correction from other 745 00:49:53,320 --> 00:49:56,680 believers. Putting fear of man to death 746 00:49:57,520 --> 00:50:00,640 makes you more able to give instruction and correction to 747 00:50:00,640 --> 00:50:05,560 other believers. Subduing selfishness makes you 748 00:50:05,560 --> 00:50:09,840 more forgiving. Subduing ambition and 749 00:50:09,840 --> 00:50:14,560 covetousness and envy makes you more loving and selfless and 750 00:50:14,560 --> 00:50:19,200 caring. The better you know the sin of 751 00:50:19,200 --> 00:50:24,200 your own heart, the more gracious and gentle you'll be in 752 00:50:24,200 --> 00:50:28,200 dealing with others sin. The more you mortify the sin in 753 00:50:28,200 --> 00:50:31,440 your own heart, the better you'll be able to deal with 754 00:50:31,440 --> 00:50:34,920 others sin in a way that actually unifies the church 755 00:50:35,760 --> 00:50:38,800 rather than dividing it. Why kill sin? 756 00:50:39,760 --> 00:50:44,720 To protect others. To pursue life and to preserve 757 00:50:44,720 --> 00:50:47,280 devotion both to Christ and to His people. 758 00:50:48,600 --> 00:50:53,720 There is no way to faithfully follow Christ without giving 759 00:50:53,720 --> 00:50:55,800 yourself up to Him as a living sacrifice. 760 00:50:56,520 --> 00:50:59,880 There's no way to give a sacrifice without handing it 761 00:50:59,880 --> 00:51:04,680 over, putting it on the altar. You have to pay the cost. 762 00:51:05,360 --> 00:51:09,360 You have to give it up. There is no way for you to live 763 00:51:09,360 --> 00:51:14,560 as a burnt offering without your whole self going up in flames. 764 00:51:16,400 --> 00:51:21,640 Jesus gave everything for you. Jesus is worth giving everything 765 00:51:21,640 --> 00:51:24,520 for. Jesus promises to give 766 00:51:24,520 --> 00:51:28,320 everything to you. Jesus is worth giving up 767 00:51:28,320 --> 00:51:34,720 everything in order to gain Him. Following Jesus is harder than 768 00:51:34,720 --> 00:51:38,640 you think, and it is more worth it than you can imagine. 769 00:51:40,080 --> 00:51:49,680 Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you 770 00:51:49,680 --> 00:51:54,840 for these loving warnings, and we thank you for these bracing 771 00:51:54,840 --> 00:51:57,400 instructions about the path to life. 772 00:51:57,960 --> 00:52:00,360 We pray that we would pursue them by your grace. 773 00:52:00,880 --> 00:52:02,920 We pray that we would pursue them by faith. 774 00:52:03,600 --> 00:52:07,000 We pray that we would believe your promises and so have the 775 00:52:07,000 --> 00:52:11,440 confidence to make sacrifices now in order ultimately to 776 00:52:11,440 --> 00:52:14,200 receive an eternal reward with you. 777 00:52:15,040 --> 00:52:20,960 Father, we pray that by faith we would choose to give up anything 778 00:52:22,240 --> 00:52:25,640 rather than giving up Jesus. We pray in his name. 779 00:52:26,520 --> 00:52:27,280 Amen.