Words of Jesus Christ in "Red" 
How many of us as Christians really "hate Sin" as we should? How many of us really understand its "awful consequences" in our own lives and the lives of others? Nowadays there is such a lightness and a frivolity about Sin. TV shows abound which joke and laugh about such Sins as fornication, adultery, and homosexuality. The sad commentary is that among the viewing audience are found "Christians - people who supposedly have been enlightened by the Holy Scriptures." Without realizing it, in our everyday conversation at work or among family and friends, we can give way to such lightness and frivolity. At all times and in every place, we must keep a constant watch upon our conversations so that we do not in any way grieve the Spirit of God with such baseness and compromise. There seems to be no more perfect Scripture that stands as a warning to us of the terrible consequences of Sin in our own lives and then in the lives of others than as found in Matthew in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ:
What exactly is an "offence"? It is anything that produces Sin, causes one to Sin, or draws men from that which is good to that which is evil. It is anything that causes another to stumble or fall. It can also be a scandal or a persecution. Jesus Christ tells us in the Scripture - "Woe unto the world because of offences!" There is woe and suffering in this world because of Sin. There is no doubt about it! "Offences" will always be present. In other words, there will always be those who will attempt to entice others to Sin. There will always be wicked people who will try feverishly to get Christians to fall and stumble in their walk with the Lord. The world will always contain those who will "actually rejoice" when they succeed in causing another man to stumble and fall from his own steadfastness. Our Lord goes on to tell us - "...woe to that man by whom the offence cometh." There is no greater evil or wickedness than that found in the heart of a man who seeks to destroy another man's soul. "Woe to that man." "Woe to that man." "Woe to that man." God forbid that we would ever come under the category of those who "offend one of these little ones which believe in Me." Should we ever draw a believer in Christ into Sin, grieve and vex a brother or sister in Christ, play the part of the devil in tempting others to Sin, give excuses for them to Sin, make Sin pleasurable to them so that they desire it, sets snares and traps so that they stumble and fall, discourage and obstruct their progress in any way, oppose them in their freedom in Christ, restrain them from doing good, or hinder them from being used of God or obeying God - our judgment will be most severe! It will be utter ruin! What will be our punishment? There cannot be more graphic words than that found in this passage of Scripture, depicting God's view of those who "offend" one of His "little ones" - "it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." What a horrible way to die! In Syria and Greece this was the mode of punishment for criminals. They would drown a hard-core criminal by hanging a vast stone - a weight - about his neck. The weight commonly used was a mules' millstone. In ancient days they did not have wind and water mills, so these millstones were turned by mules and donkeys. As we read between the lines, we see that God is classifying every one who turns one of His "little ones" from the ways of righteousness as a hard-core criminal who is worthy of the vilest of deaths! Death by drowning! Death by having a millstone tied around one's neck and then to be cast into the sea! "Woe!" "Woe!" "Woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!" The Lord Jesus' words are then directed to each Christian's personal walk - "Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee..." "And if thine eye offend thee..." Now His focus is on the care of our own soul. What He is saying here is that there will be things that will come into our lives that will cause us to stumble and fall from our own steadfastness. There will be things that will be enjoyable that will cause us to Sin. There will be things that will be very dear to us as our own eye, hand, or foot that will prove to be an occasion of Sin for us. They may be something good in itself as a talent, friendship, or an employment, but it must be avoided at all costs if it leads us to Sin. "...if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee..." "And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee..." This is Very Strong language used by our Lord, wouldn't you agree? What He is advocating is that we do whatever we have to do to get rid of that thing, person, relationship, job, position, membership, etc. - however delectable, dear, and ever so pleasing it may be to us - rather than "to be cast into hell fire." Abandon it! Crucify it! Starve it! Make no provision for it! Cast it away! Keep at a distance from it! Consider it as a gangrened part of the body that must be eliminated so that it does not bring death and ruin to the rest of the body! It is best to suffer in this life and be without something - however painful that might be - than to forever suffer eternal torment in the flames of Hell! We must realize that the devil is not stupid here. He will not entice us with something that is disgusting and unpleasurable. He did not bring an ugly woman to Samson. He brought a beautiful Delilah to the man of God to entice him to Sin, lose the Anointing on his life, and reap the horrible judgment of God on his life and ministry. That was Satan's plan for Samson. What are his plans for you and me? He hates the Anointing on our lives more than anything else in this world. He, Satan, will do whatever he can to get us to lose it - that is for sure! But we also must take care here and not always "blame" Satan when we fall into sin as so many today seem to do. So many of us don't even need to have him tempt us ... the majority of us are lead into sin by our own lusts, desires, thoughts, etc. without any help from anyone! It's not a time to lay your head in some Delilah's lap and go to sleep on God! Wake up!
The devil will bring something that may even be used as an instrument of good - something enjoyable, fulfilling, pleasurable, rewarding, and satisfying - into our lives and turn it into something that entices us to Sin. It must, must, must be parted with. There is no question about it! We must at all times and in every place maintain a good conscience before God and man. Lastly, let us look at what Paul said in Romans as a final warning from God to us this day:
Sin is oftentimes represented by the word "falling." So we see that the Scripture above is telling us that we must not lay anything in the pathway of our brethren which would cause them to "fall" or Sin. What could that include? We must be very careful that we do not say or do anything that would cause another to "fall." We must be careful to always maintain a godly example before all. "We must strive to be living epistles by our mannerisms, the way we dress, the way we talk, the way we handle our everyday affairs, etc." How displeasing it is for people to hear "Christians" cursing on the job, fighting in their homes, screaming at their children, telling off-color jokes, or gossiping on the job. How shocking it is to observe women who profess godliness to be scantily dressed as they go about their daily business. How disgusting it is for the sinner to observe preachers who are more interested in money than the souls of men. How the world mocks and scorns the "believer" who is dishonest in his business deals. In our Romans verse above we are told that "...no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way." "No man". God wasn't joking when He said these words. He meant you and me here. We are never to be the cause of someone else's Sin. God Forbid that we ever would be. Whatever we have to do - whatever changes need to be made - whatever phone calls or letters need to be written - whatever transactions need to be carried through - however painful it may be - we must cut off all occasions to Sin in our lives. If we don't destroy any and every source of Sin, it will eventually destroy us. 
 Send E-mail to Russ: webslave for Christ ( russ@jesuswept.com ) with questions or comments about this web site and it's content. Last modified: 12/04/2002 |
