Choose Life!
Mark 9: 43-48 “And if your hand makes
you sin, cut it
off.
It is better for you to enter life maimed, than having two hands, to go to hell, into the
fire that shall never be quenched – where their worm does not die and the fire
is not quenched. And if your foot makes you sin, cut it off. It is
better for you to enter life lame, than having two feet, to be cast into hell,
into the fire that shall never be quenched – where their worm does not die and
the fire is not quenched. And if your eye makes you to sin, pluck it out.
It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes, to be
cast into hell fire – where their worm does not die and the fire is not
quenched.”
How can your hands make you sin you ask, by taking things that do not belong to you or writing things that are untrue about someone online. What about your legs you might ask, by taking you to places that you know you shouldn't be going. What about your eyes, looking at things that are sinful, like lusting after someone, looking at pornography.
But all these sins are the outward manifestation of our fallen nature. A mango tree is not called so because it has produced a mango fruit but rather because that is its inherent nature. So off or on season, it is still a mango tree. And so are we with sin. My hand, leg or eye may not make me sin at one point, but sooner or later, when the circumstances are right, I will succumb to my nature and produce the fruit of my sinful nature that is lusting, fornication, hate, stealing, lying and cheating etc.
The only way we are able to overcome our sinful nature is if we our nature is changed. Just like a mango tree can produce another fruit when it is in-grafted into the other fruit. So we can only stop producing fruits of sin and begin producing fruits of holiness and righteousness when we are in-grafted in Jesus Christ (John 15:5).
The choice is yours. You can remain in yourself and produce sinful fruit as per your nature. Or you can choose to be in Christ and produce fruits of holiness and righteousness through and in Him. Sin produces death but the gift of God is eternal in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:38). I pray that you choose life.
But all these sins are the outward manifestation of our fallen nature. A mango tree is not called so because it has produced a mango fruit but rather because that is its inherent nature. So off or on season, it is still a mango tree. And so are we with sin. My hand, leg or eye may not make me sin at one point, but sooner or later, when the circumstances are right, I will succumb to my nature and produce the fruit of my sinful nature that is lusting, fornication, hate, stealing, lying and cheating etc.
The only way we are able to overcome our sinful nature is if we our nature is changed. Just like a mango tree can produce another fruit when it is in-grafted into the other fruit. So we can only stop producing fruits of sin and begin producing fruits of holiness and righteousness when we are in-grafted in Jesus Christ (John 15:5).
The choice is yours. You can remain in yourself and produce sinful fruit as per your nature. Or you can choose to be in Christ and produce fruits of holiness and righteousness through and in Him. Sin produces death but the gift of God is eternal in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:38). I pray that you choose life.
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