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•43倘若你一只手叫你跌倒，就把它砍下来。44你缺了肢体进入永生，强如有两只手落到地狱，入那不灭的火里去。45倘若你一只脚叫你跌倒，就把它砍下来。46你瘸腿进入永生，强如有两只脚被丢在地狱里。47倘若你一只眼叫你跌倒，就去掉它。你只有一只眼进入 神的国，强如有两只眼被丢在地狱里。48在那里，虫是不死的，火是不灭的。
耶稣再次用了一段强有力的图画性的语言，来描述我们对待罪的态度。你真的会砍下你的手或脚，来防止自己陷入罪恶或不信吗?在实际生活里，人为了活命，有时确实会这么做。我们为了根除癌症，会切除一个肾脏，切除一个肺，或者切除一大段的肠子。罪的疾病比任何癌症都更严重。你宁愿失去一条腿也不愿在地狱里度过永生，对吗？
实际情况是，不要说一条腿了，我们往往连更小的代价也不愿意放弃。为了不喝太多酒，你会清理你的酒柜，然后把酒扔掉吗?你会为了不让自己去看那些不该看到的东西，而切断互联网吗?如果你的工作已经占据了你生命的一切，成了你的偶像，你会辞职吗?如果某段关系正在引诱你不再相信耶稣，你会切断这个关系吗?没有什么比我们的灵魂得救更重要。
当耶稣走向十字架，将我们从罪恶中救赎出来时，他证明了这一点，他把拯救我们的灵魂看的比什么都重要。他放弃了自己的生命把我们从罪恶中拯救出来。与耶稣放弃自己的生命相比，砍掉一只手或一只脚算什么?与耶稣在地狱里为我们受苦相比，我们拒绝享受犯罪带来的快乐又算什么呢?地狱的可怕应该让我们感到恐惧，遏制我们犯罪，但我发现耶稣的爱更能激励我把罪放在一边。
祷告:主耶稣，我向你祷告，愿我生命中的任何罪都不会成为我的偶像。如果罪在我心中生根发芽，那么请你更加爱我，让你的恩典给我带来双重的医治，洁净我的罪，去除罪对我的掌控。阿们。
Mark 9:43-48: If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, 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, 48 where “‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.”(NIV)
Again Jesus uses a strong word picture for us. Would you really cut off your hand or your foot to keep yourself from falling into sin or unbelief? The fact is that we would do that to save our life. We would cut out a kidney, remove a lung, or 13 inches of our colon to remove a cancer from our body. The disease of sin is worse than any cancer. Wouldn’t you rather lose a limb than spend the rest of eternity in hell?
Unfortunately, we are often unwilling to give up much less. Would you clean out your liquor cabinet and throw it all away to keep from drinking too much? Would you disconnect from the internet to keep yourself from seeing things that your eyes should not see? Would you quit your job if your job was becoming an obsession with you? Would you cut yourself off from the relationship that tempts you to give up Jesus? Nothing is more important than our soul’s salvation.
Jesus proved that when he went to the cross to redeem us from our sins. He gave up his life to rescue us from our sins. What is cutting off a hand or foot compared to Jesus giving up his life? What is denying ourselves the pleasures of sin, compared to Jesus suffering in hell for us? Hell should scare the sin out of me, but I find that the love of Jesus does more to motivate me to set aside my sin even more.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I pray that no sin in my life will ever become my idol. And should sin find a place to take root in my heart, then love me even more, and let your grace be the double cure to cleanse me from the guilt and power of sin. Amen.