Jesus uses an interesting method to show to us the ridiculousness of our own attempts to rid ourselves of sin apart from Him.  The Hyperbole He uses  makes obvious just how maimed we would need to be if we had to make ourselves righteous in order to be accepted by God.  

In Luke 14:26-33; Jesus, uses hyperbole to first get our attention, and secondly to make us think, and thirdly to drive us into the study of His word to find meaning to what He says.  For example:  Matthew 18:9 If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell. Exaggeration?- Yes. But what is the point He is making?  If we study Scripture we will see that, first Jesus teaches that there is a hell to be feared by man. Secondly, we see that He and Scripture agree that sin does defile or offend us personally, but more importantly it offends the entire Godhead, and we see that sin not dealt with has consequences. 

The ultimate consequence will cause loss of life–eternal life, and can result in destruction in hell. Jesus said Matthew 10:28 Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 

We live in a day when men no longer fear God. They do not see themselves as needing redemption, they know better than God how they are to live and relate in this life. Jesus teaches that if they don’t accept Scriptures warnings, they will face God’s destruction of body and soul in hell, at the second resurrection of the unrighteous dead.  

The greatest thing that you can do for those you love, and even for those you find hard to love is to point them to Jesus– the Word of God as He is found in the Scriptures. He is the fountain  shown in that word,  who is provided for our cleansing. Our faith cometh by hearing of Him and hearing Him by and through the word of God. Jesus placed greater importance on Spiritual food than on physical food– He taught them, then He fed them. 

I have created this blog in order to offer to men Spiritual food for our day wherein there seems to be little consideration given to God perspectives by our world.  Is my take concerning these subjects from Scripture always 100% correct?  I would seriously doubt that, but if I can in my own feeble way drive even one soul to dig deeper into God’s word, I will have done what I am called to do.  Without the fear of God in this world mankind will do exactly as they please, with no constraints on their inner man. 

Consider Jesus exaggeration in this teaching concerning the eye. The eye nor the hand can be guilty of sin, it is the “I”, who is the inner man, who is the guilty one.  We have no means of removing this “I”.  We are the offenders, and unless we can die “in Christ” to self we will enter into the same Hell that He suffered. It is only in a commitment of our life to Christ that we can escape this fate.  He died to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. 

So what is Jesus truly telling us when He says that if a given body part offends us that we should get rid of it.  It’s kinda like saying if guns offend you get rid of them.  And just like with the gun the hand is only doing what our heart or our inner man tells it to do.   

Jesus, does not say it, but we will eventually come to see through His teaching that only He can give us the promised new heart or the changed inner man. A new birth, an inner restraint, which brings new purpose for the hand or eye to bear fruit for God.  This is what the new covenant is all about that He came to bring about for each of us.  Don’t ever you think that by cutting off your members that you can solve the sin problem that only can be solved by the acceptances of The New Covenant promised and purchased heart. His gift for you purchased by His own blood covenant.  Jesus is the Savior sent by the Father to pay for and work in our life to eventually remove from us all sin.  

We cannot trust ourselves to present ourselves pure and worthy before God, but Jesus in us, in the person of His Holy Spirit, is worthy before God on our behalf.  He is our covering, when we come before Gods throne. If you have not yet asked Jesus to give you new life in Him; then today is the day of Salvation. “Ask and it shall be given.” Put your Faith and trust in Him to do what He has told you that He will do, if only you will have ears to hear.

Jesus said: I come that you may have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).