One of our elders preached an outstanding message called "Building Real Community"; to stream or download the free MP3 audio file from Sermon Audio, click here.
He briefly
touched on the passage in Matthew 5:28-30 where Jesus says "If your
right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out... And if your right hand
causes you to sin, cut it off..." etc. There's a school of thought that places emphasis a literal outworking of this passage. If the literal interpretation is the emphasis, what if your heart causes you to sin?
With the exception of Adam and Jesus, also referred to as "...the last
Adam..." in 1 Corinthians 15:45, and Enoch and Elijah, both of whom had
sin but didn't die, sin is present in the heart of every man from
conception to death (Romans 5:12; 1 John 1:8-10; Jeremiah 20:14-18).
Jesus says that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks
(Matthew 12:34-35). This isn't narrowly referring to the words of a man,
but to an overarching principle that governs the reality of sin as it
pertains to the thoughts and actions of a man as fruit of the sin that he
already possesses; we act according to what is in our heart. If we are
not redeemed and filling our hearts with God's word, meditating on Him, His
commandments, His testimonies, His person, and His ways day and night,
what fruit will we bear? If we don't fill the glass with the living
water of God's word, what will fill the glass in its place? A glass is never empty; it's always filled with something. And since "a
tree is known by its fruit" (Matthew 12:33), what will the fruit of our
heart reveal about us?
These are questions that God
uses to check my heart. I pray that they are sharpening to you too. Lord
bless you saints. Run the race to win it, press on, and press in! This
is our glorious calling, our blessed duty, and our unmerited privilege.
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