Radical Spiritual Amputation
Mark 9:42-50
On April 26, 2003, Aron Ralston was hiking through Blue John Canyon, in eastern Utah. While he was descending a slot canyon, an 800 pound suspended boulder, became dislodged, as he was climbing down from it. It crushed his right hand and pinned his right arm against the canyon wall. Ralston had not informed anyone of his hiking plans, so no one would have been searching for him nor would a rescue crew ever spot him in the narrow slit of Blue John Canyon where he was pinned. If he did not get free he would die there. After being trapped for five days and seven hours, he used a dull pocketknife and cut off his forearm. He then repelled nearly 70 feet and hiked three hours before he was rescued by a helicopter. Wow! Incredible isn’t it? What if you were faced with the same dilemma, with the same set of circumstances, would you be able to do what Aron did? Its got to be a tough thing to lose a limb. But he had no other alternative. Either lose a limb, or keep it and die. Which choice would you make? In our text, Christ addresses the need for amputation, not physical but spiritual amputation. While Christ's immediate context was in reference to unbelievers - "the removal of whatever is keeping them from coming to Christ and trusting Him as their only means of salvation" ...whether it be family, pleasures, riches, or tradition, the principle of radical spiritual amputation applies to not only non-believers but also everyone of us who claim to be followers of Christ. Radical spiritual amputation is called for on three occasions.
I. Amputate anything that hinders your walk with the Savior
A. Verses 44-45 'And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
B. You do not remove things to make yourself acceptable to God. But you must remove things that keep you from coming to Christ and from walking with God.
C. We all hold on to things that keep us from fully following God, Jesus told the story of a diligent young man who wanted to know how to get into Heaven. We read in Mark 10:17-27 (ESV) "And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
D. The tragedy is that when Jesus gave him an answer, the young man walked away in sadness. The answer is not that his riches were wrong in itself, but that his riches controlled his heart. They took precedence over God. You see, Money itself does not hinder with our walk with God… but the love of money does.
E. Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
F. It's a matter of priorities. Is there anything in your life which is keeping you from being sensitive to and listening to the Holy Spirit? Is there anything in your life keeping you from absolute surrender to Christ and His will for your life?
G. The brazen serpent from the wilderness journeying was an amazing monument of God's goodness and mercy. In itself, it was a good thing, but it became a stumbling block to Israel as they began to worship it (2 Kings 18:4). Search your heart and ask, Is there any attitude, or an action, or article that is hindering your fellowship with God?
II. Amputate anything that hinders your work among the saints
A. Christ took a child, and set him in the midst of the disciples: and taking the child in his arms, He said unto them, "Whoever will receive one of such children in my name, receives me: and whoever receives me, receives not me, but him that sent me." It is interesting that the word for 'child' used in this section of Scripture is the same Aramaic word for 'servant'. Here is a play on words that conveys the simple truth that as His children, we are also His servants together for Christ.
B. But then Christ , reinforcing this unity and servanthood says in Mark 9:42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea."
C. Anyone having such a stone tied around their neck and that person thrown into the sea, would immediately be pulled to the bottom where they would drown. This image was a picture that the disciples would have clearly understood. Often the Romans carried out executions by tying heavy stones around the necks of their victims and throwing them into rivers and lakes. Jesus described a horrific death. He said it was preferable for a person to die that way than for them to cause one of His little ones or His servants to fall into sin.
D. 1 Corinthians 8:9-13 "But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble."
E. It is possible for us as children of God to cause lifelong spiritual damage to our brothers and sisters in Christ, if we become a stumbling-block to them...- David Legge
F. 1 Corinthians 10:23 "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient (helpful): all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify."
G. It is easy for a Christian to say, "I answer to God and God alone" and to ignore his brother or sister. It is true we will answer to God and God alone, but we will answer to God for how we have treated our brother or sister. Paul makes the principle clear. Our actions can never be based only on what we know to be right for ourselves. We also need to consider what is right towards our brothers and sisters in Jesus....To influence the weak brother to go against his conscience (and thereby wound their weak conscience) is actually to sin against Christ. The Corinthian Christians who abused their liberty might have thought it was a small matter to offend their weak brothers, but they did not understand they offended Jesus Christ. - Dave Guzik
H. Paul gladly gives up freedom for the sake of the younger brother's spiritual life and growth. He echoes the concern of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 18:5-6: "And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea." We ought to be concerned not just about avoiding putting stumbling blocks in the way of young believers, but about helping them grow in faith lovingly and gently, gradually helping their conscience become strengthened in truth and grace
I. 1 Corinthians 10:32-33 "Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved."
J. Is there anything in my life that would cause the work of Christ to suffer? Is there anything that would cause a weaker Christian brother or sister to stumble? Is there anything in my life that I need to change? ...that I need to amputate?
III. Amputate anything that hinders your witness to the unsaved
A. "For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
B. Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men."
C. "Salt that becomes tasteless" refers to salt that has become diluted or somehow mixed with other substances so that it has become ineffective.
D. Nothing is so useless and worthless as an inconsistent and powerless Christian - copied
E. Warren Wiersbe summarized the believer as being salt and light noting that "Salt speaks of inward character that influences a decaying world; light speaks of the outward testimony of good works that points to God. Our task is to keep our lives pure that we might “salt” this earth and hold back corruption so that the Gospel can get out. Our good works must accompany our dedicated lives as we let our lights shine. (Wiersbe, W. W. Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the New Testament. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books)
F. The distinguished Baptist pastor, George Truett once said, "You are either being corrupted by the world or you are salting it."
G. Most are familiar with the story of Lot. Lot mixed so well with the world that he lost his testimony. Genesis 19:14 "Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, “Up, get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy the city.”But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be jesting."
H. David damaged his testimony by having an affair with Bathsheba. Nathan told David in 2 Samuel 12:14 "... However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme..." - A damaged testimony!
I. A damaged testimony is hard to repair, and a lost testimony is hard to restore. Note these three things: Your testimony is important, your testimony is fragile, and your lost testimony is hard to restore. It is so much easier to maintain a good testimony than it is to repair a damaged one.
J. What in your life is hindering your witness for Christ?
IV. Amputation involves putting off and putting on
A. Change is not complete by simply telling God or others our regret or asking forgiveness. It is not enough for a habitual thief to tell God he is sorry every time he steals. When is a thief not a thief?...It's not when he stops stealing. It is when he is changed and is no longer a thief. If true and lasting change is going to take place in your life, it's not enough to simply Put Off the old man; you must also Put On the new man. It is the Principle of Replacement or the Put Off/Put On Dynamic.
B. Ephesians 4:22-26 "...put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."
C. Understand that if we simply stop some behavior by sheer will power and don’t start some new behavior the old behavior will return.
D. Psalm 1:1-2 " Blessed is the man, Who...
(Puts off) walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful/ But
(Puts on) his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
Don't be a stumbling block to yourself, don't be a stumbling block to the church - and don't be a stumbling block to the world. Billy Sunday, the great evangelist, said: 'One reason why sin flourishes is that it is treated like a cream puff instead of a rattlesnake'. Anything that would hinder us in our walk, our work or our service must be radically amputated from our lies and replaced with that which will glorify God.
