Jesus warned us about the seriousness of sin when He said:
If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. (Matthew 5:29,30)
The Hebraic way of emphasizing something was not to use CAPS or bold text, but to repeat it. And Jesus repeats essentially the same thought here to his disciples. Jesus is strongly emphasizing, in bold, something that the false teachers of today do not even mention: SINFUL ACTS CAN LEAD YOU TO HELL.
This passage comes from the Sermon on the Mount, which Jesus addressed to the disciples who left the multitude and climbed the mountain to hear what He had to say. The context of the passage tells us this.
Mat 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.
Mat 5:2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
It was disciples who came to Him to hear. Jesus was teaching disciples.
Friends, a sinful act can lead to a sinful habit. A sinful habit can lead to deception and estrangement from the presence of God. Not only CAN we repent of sinful acts, WE MUST REPENT of them if we wish to enter life.
The whole of the New Testament is in harmony with these thoughts. It is only by selective reading and hearing of the New Testament that we can avoid these conclusions which can strongly engender in us the fear of God.
I myself have sinned as a Christian in different ways, and by the grace of God have repented also. I have been tempted to be offended at Christ, but I don’t want to live in sin, and go to hell. I do fear God. And I do want to keep enjoying the presence of God. I encourage you to have the same attitude.
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. – Jesus Christ. Matthew 10:28
I realise this kind of teaching is not something many Christians have been taught. This is regrettable. It is by Jesus’ words that we will be judged at the end of the age, not by our theological conventions.
By God’s grace I will return to this subject soon on this blog.