go to extremes

“And if your hand or your foot is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; it is better for you to enter life maimed or without a foot, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fiery hell.”

~Matthew 18:8-9

Before I get started, I want to be absolutely clear: Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone—“not by works so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). We do not earn our right relationship with God; it is a gift. Once justified (that is, having our penalty for sin paid in full by Jesus), we do work—we make an effort to be holy as Christ is holy (1 Peter 1:13-16). The entire New Testament is our manual for righteous living as ambassadors of Jesus and citizens of Heaven. This is sanctification, and we’re on this path until we’re glorified at death or when Jesus comes back.

OK, now that we’ve got all that straight, let’s talk about righteous living. Friend, whether we’ve been saved for 50 years or 5 minutes, the rest of our lives will be a battle against sin. Although we’re made new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17) and we’ve got the Holy Spirit living in us, we’ve got our pesky flesh to contend with. Oh, and the world system, which is undeniably upside down and pummeling us from every media angle. Then there’s the enemy of our soul, Satan, who prowls around us, hissing lies and condemnation in our ears, wanting only to kill, steal, and destroy us (John 10:10). Fun times.

That’s why the God-inspired epistle writers give us lots of advice…we must put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18). We renew our mind (verse). We give thanks and keep our minds focused on Godly things (Philippians 4:4-9). I could go on and on at all the positive things to do, as we’re directed in the Bible.

And, although we are told to stand firm on our faith and the Truth of Jesus, there are also ample exhortations to flee—to do what it takes to simply get out of the proverbial trap you may be in (or just inching toward). We’re to flee from false teachers and the love of money (1 Timothy 6:3-16). We must flee youthful desires (2 Timothy 2:22). We also have to flee from sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18) and idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:14). That’s a lot of running! (Too bad it doesn’t count toward our daily step count.) 

Jesus Himself is also very clear about doing whatever it takes for the sake of righteous living. Once in Mark’s gospel (9:43-48) and twice in Matthew’s (5:27-30; 18:8-9) , Jesus uses intense hyperbole to warn His listeners that if, for example, your hand is causing you to sin, cut it off. Same with your eye. The point is not to literally cut off your hand or pluck out your eye, but rather to go to extremes for purity. What would be our modern equivalents? Does your computer entice you to visit porn sites? Get rid of it. (Or at least add some serious firewalls that only allow for the most basic of searches.) Spending hours every day scrolling your socials only to go down black holes of comparison, self-beratement, or social/political vitriol? Close your accounts. Hanging out with buddies who lure you to go to your pre-Jesus haunts and do pre-Jesus activities? Or maybe your friend group just loves juicy gossip sessions whenever you’re all together. Stop hanging out with those people. Full transparency here: If you’re obsessed with body image, and your day is either “OK” or “ruined” by a digital reading, throw out your scale.

Although we all have different sin temptations, there are no “levels” of sin in God’s economy. From porn to drunkenness to gossip to idolatry to lies—it’s all an equal playing field of sin. So, beloved, let’s do some serious soul-searching about where we stand on temptation. From what do you need to flee? And where in your life do you need to go to extremes for righteousness? 

“Lord, search me and know my heart. Reveal to me my idolatry, immorality, impurity—and show me what to do to fully surrender it all to You.”