Matthew 5:29-30 “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.”

Certain animals such as foxes, wolves, tigers, coyotes, mice, mink, badgers, and even rhinos have been known to chew off their own limbs to escape a hunter's trap. These animals are unable to conquer their fear, they are unable to accept that they are helpless, and they must – somehow, anyhow – get their freedom back! How bad is it to be blind? How painful is it to lose a hand? How painful is it caught time and time again and suffer the consequences of a repetitious sin in our lives? How painful would it be to find ourselves separated from the presence of Christ and the Glory of God on the Judgment Day because of something that we could not give up for Him? Christ teaches us that we should abhor sin, and the entrapment of our souls to it, so much that we would be willing to do anything to get rid of it.

We have chosen to commit ourselves entirely to God. We have consecrated ourselves to our Lord and to His glory and majesty in grateful return for His gift. We therefor need to be continuously on our guard for anything that might harm our relationship with Christ. While Paul in Romans 8:38-39 taught that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God, in context it refers to the forcible removal of us from the presence of Him who has saved us. Notice in verse 37 of the same passage he states “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Notice that we are conquerors! We have already met the enemy and we have surpassed him through Christ who strengthens us! This, however, does not mean that we cannot stray or be lead further away from a renewed repentance by what we might consider a small, inconsequential personal foible which we explain away by thinking that God will forgive us anyways, besides it has no other effects of us, obviously. We are deceived!

Jesus Christ's unconditional sacrifice and unrestrained mercy must be met – by those of use who consecrate ourselves to Him – with unconditional surrender and unrestrained obedience. We have chosen Christ, not the world. The result of our unswerving quest for Christ-likeness is to be more fully like Him and a more complete desire to be unfettered by sin, whatever shape it may take.

Absolute acceptance of Christ is an absolute rejection of sin.

Where do we fall short? What common sin fetters and chains us, holding us against the complete freedom of Christ? What are we capable of doing to remove ourselves from these captivating iniquity? God is there and will aid us every step of the way! We know that God is faithful. “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phillipians 1:6 NASB)

Nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!
E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
still all my song shall be,
nearer, my God, to thee;
nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!

Matthew 5:27-28 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Sex is everywhere. A crass statement I know, and yet so true. The temptations of the flesh surround us. We can not even say that this is the worst it has ever been before! Yet our culture is more and more sexualized. I can not walk anywhere without seeing the evidence of it, this even includes church! There is such a prevalent atmosphere of lust and self gratification or fleshly appeasement (and a stated acceptance thereof) that it is okay for people to feel free discussing this! I hear at work guys telling what they did with their wife/girlfriends/both and offering advice to other co-workers to increase the “love and romance” in their lives. An insidious twist to God's gift to us of marriage and marital relations slowly turns us away from a perspective on looking out and helping out others first, to looking out for ourselves. When I hear Christian ladies say that they are unhappy with their husbands and are moving out because “its not working for me” and dating couples breaking up due to one's opinion that “I am not getting what I should out of this relationship” is proof of this! Look at the relationships that stay together, are they not preeminently based on something besides the self? Are they not based off a desire to help the other? Yet the world tells us differently.

Paul states in Galatians that “the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality...” And the world has proven this true. Everywhere are posters, advertisements, and entertainment that are based or glorify the flesh and the innate desire for intimacy. This surrounding worldly environment will slowly draw us away from our Saviour! This encompassing fleshly climate turns us towards fleshly thoughts, and we know that thoughts are just as sinful and condemning as actions! We need to therefore have our minds set on God as much as we are able and to accept the standard given in Romans 8:5 "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.”

We are called to control our bodies and minds, even flee as far as we can and are able (1 Corinthians 6:18-20, Colossians 3:5, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, 2 Timothy 2:22) but because we are sinful fallen people, we often times fall short and this is when we need the help of other believers; or if we see other believers who have been overcome by their earthly desires we need to help them as spoken of in Galatians 6:1-2 “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

God's grace to us abounds, and although we fail so miserably at all we are called to do, He is there to offer a helping hand that we may stand up and continue trying our best to walk the narrow road of the redeemed life! Let us make every effort through every temptation and test of our faith and our spiritual endurance to live as best we can for Christ and to help those around us to do the same.

Help me then in every tribulation
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation
Offered me within Thy holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
Ever to take, as from a father’s hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.

Matthew 5:21-26 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”

A life that is centered on Christ, someone who is trying their best to follow Christ must do some hard things. This is one of them. Christ reiterates that it is the thought that matters just as much as the action. Not just killing someone, but saying to them “I'll kill you” even if in anger is just as damning to one's soul as killing them and their entire family. Words spoken in haste and anger are just as vile as thoughts that we have pondered during our normal, everyday actions.

But what about trouble between us? Between people? What then? Well, if we have a problem with someone, we need to work it out. Of course that is fairly obvious. If we are at fault, we need to say sorry and apologize right? Yes! But what about when we are not at fault? We still need to pursue reconciliation with whoever we need to, even if it is just over a haircut! In fact Christ not only told us to do so, He showed us the way.

Christ himself practiced what he preached; He lived what He taught. If someone has something against us, we need to seek them out and be reconciled, even if it means leaving whatever we are doing for God and going and taking care of it! It is that important to Him! Our ministry, our work, teaching Sunday school, taking communion, leading prayer in class, even praying over our food! If we remember someone who we are not reconciled with, we must drop everything and try our best.

I said earlier that Christ led the way. Mankind was separated from God. There was a problem, and Christ left the very presence of God and allowed Himself to be restricted to being human just so He could be reconciled to us! If He did that, how are we able to say that we can't at least try to work things out with someone else, no matter what the argument or problem is or who is at fault?

If we are unable to do this, we can not truly claim the title of “little Christ” or “Christian.” Who do we need to remember and reconcile ourselves with?

O Master, from the mountainside
make haste to heal these hearts of pain;
among these restless throngs abide;
O tread the city's streets again.

Till all the world shall learn your love
and follow where your feet have trod,
till, glorious from your heaven above,
shall come the city of our God!

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?”

I recently watched a film where in one scene, one of the villains shows up inside an old, ruinous, broken down cathedral. Inside the walls of this cathedral there is a green garden full of life and flowers. The villain walks into the middle of this pastoral scene, smells the scent floating on the air and says that the smell is disgusting! He did not like the smell of new life.

Smells are everywhere in this season of springtime: the smell of freshly mown hay. the oder of newly relieved cattle, the scents of the first backyard barbeques of the year, the freshness after a rainfall, the muskiness of stored clothing being aired out in preparation for summer. Smells encompass us, and so we can turn and think about the smells of God.

The Bible is full of ideas about tastes and sights and even smells! God asks us to be a pleasing aroma to those around us. Why should we be a pleasing aroma? Can't they smell us? Quite frankly in most cases, no! Sin is a stench. Foul smelling as it is, most people do not recognise it. The stink of sinfulness is much like an offensive body oder or bad breath. The person doesn't know they have it, they can't smell it, they don't notice it! Others do notice it however. We as Christians are filled with God's holiness and scent. We also do not notice it unless it is pointed out. We become so used to it that it is normal!

Frequently though there are people to whom the fragrance of Christ is sickening. They can smell the rot in their own life and they try to mask it with deodorants and perfumes and lotions. They see the lack in their own life and they fill it with yoga, new age mysticism, Buddhism, materialism, etc. They try and mask their oder with something else, but it never works. They will avoid anything to do with Christ because they want to be able to change their scent for whatever suits them. The cologne of today can be exchanged for the aftershave of tomorrow, which can be exchanged for the deodorant of the day after, all according to the whims and vagaries of the popular world. The way to smell of Christ is through being deep cleaned in the hyssop of His blood.

One of my former teachers tells the story about one of his first dates. The girl came out of the house when he arrived to pick her up for their night out, but the only thing he could say after he saw her was “You smell good” she was that breathtaking to him. As Christians, our lives should be lived in such a way that people will stop and stare at us and come up and say “You smell good” (spiritually speaking) due to our relationship with Christ. We should also be willing to take the time to explain to them why we smell good.

Fill Thou my life, O Lord my God,
In every part with praise,
That my whole being may proclaim
Thy being and Thy ways.
Not for the lip of praise alone,
Nor e’en the praising heart
I ask, but for a life made up
Of praise in every part!