马太福音18:8-9: 你若一只手或一只脚叫你跌倒，就砍下来丢掉。你缺了一只手，一只脚进入永生，强如有两只手，或有两只脚，被丢在永火里。倘若你一只眼叫你跌倒，就剜出来丢掉。你只有一只眼进入永生、强如有两只眼被丢在地狱的火里。
谁要砍下他们自己的手、脚、挖出他们自己的眼睛呢?我不认为耶稣在这里是夸张的表达。他的意思是，如果我们的生活中有任何的罪，可能会使我们跌倒(也就是迷失信仰)。我们应该除去生活中一切会使我们犯罪的东西。
我读过一个故事，讲的是一个男人的酗酒习惯已经成为他和他家庭生活的一个毒钩。他向他的顾问坦白道:“当我下班开车回家，经过一家酒馆时，就好像有一块强大的磁铁吸引着我。’顾问问他在哪里工作，他的家在哪里。结果发现，这些酒吧离回家的最直接路线一点也不近。
如果喝酒是个问题，那就不要在家里喝酒。如果看色情片是一个问题，那么把‘契约之眼’（一款监视人们浏览色情网站的软件）放在你的电脑上。如果花费太多是个问题，那就把每一笔花费都写下来，每个月和你的配偶或一个值得信赖的朋友分享。
但最终，每一种罪都是内心的问题，不是吗?保罗为我们心中的罪提供了一个解决方案。‘你们受基督割礼的时候、既受了洗、与基督一同埋葬、就脱离了肉体的全身。你们也因信那叫他从死里复活神的功用、与他一同复活。(歌罗西书2:11-12)当你受洗的时候，耶稣在你的心上做了一个手术。你向罪而死，却活在基督里。当你在基督里过着悔改的生活时，每天都会发生这样的事，那就是除去冒犯主的肉身之罪。
祷告:主耶稣，求你教导我不要向那使我最烦恼的罪屈服!撒旦想让我相信我无法摆脱他们。但我知道，在你里面、在我的洗礼中，我所有的罪都赦免了，罪也不能胜我。你要从我心里除掉一切缠着我的罪，使我可以只为你活。阿们
Matthew 18:8-9: If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Who would cut off their hands or feet or gouge out their eyes? I don’t think that Jesus is exaggerating here. The point that he is making is that if there is any sin in our life that might cause us to stumble (i.e., lose our faith), we should remove anything in our lives that would lead us into that sin.
I read a story about a man whose habitual drinking had become a problem for him and for his family life. He confessed to his counselor, “When I drive home from work and drive past a tavern, it’s as if there is a powerful magnet that just pulls me in.” The counselor asked where he worked and where his home was. It turned out that the bars weren’t anywhere close to the most direct route home.
If drinking is a problem sin, then don’t have liquor in your house. If watching pornography is a problem, then put Covenant Eyes on your computer. If spending too much is a problem, write down every expense and share it with your spouse or a trusted friend every month.
But in the end, every sin is always a problem of the heart, isn’t it? Paul offers a solution for the sins that dwell in our heart. “Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.” (Colossians 2:11-12) Jesus performed a surgery on your heart when you were baptized. You died to sin and you live in Christ. Cutting off the sin that offends you is something that happens every day as you live a life of repentance in Christ.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, teach me not to give in to the sins which trouble me the most! Satan would have me believe that I cannot rid myself of them. But I know that in you and in my baptism, all my sins are forgiven and sin cannot master me. Remove from my heart any sin that entangles me so that I might live my life for you. Amen.