Matthew 5:29

Verse of the Day Devotion: Matthew 5:29

“If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” – Matthew 5:29

This verse comes from Jesus’ sermon on the mount.  Let’s look at the two verses prior to our focus verse.  “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 lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:27-28.  These two verses are introductory to what he says right after that.  First, He quotes a command in the law.  “You shall not commit adultery.” Exodus 20:14.   It is probable that the Pharisees taught this as regarding the outward act only for this is predominantly how they saw the law.  However, Jesus clarifies this when He told them that just lusting after a woman is adultery, as an inward act of the heart through desires.

Then He goes on to declare the following.  “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.”  Matthew 5:29-30.

Now, this is not necessarily to be taken literally.  What He is alluding to is that whatever it is that causes us to commit adultery must be removed.  If looking at a woman causes it, then we must not allow ourselves to be tempted by what we see.  The general idea here is that whatever it is that causes us to sin, we must either get complete control over It or get rid of it.  For example, if we see some money on a table at a restaurant and we have a strong desire to take it, we must either get control of our desires and go on about our business, or if that is not possible, then we need to leave and remove our self from the temptation.

We must address this immediately, for the longer we allow the temptation to continue, the greater the probability we will give in to our desires.  With theft, it is in stealing what we want or coveting what another has.  With adultery, we will either do the deed, or we will lust after the person.  And as Jesus said above, simply lusting after anything will cause us to sin.  It is not enough to not act it out, but we must not desire to act it out.

I want to encourage us all to be in fervent prayer that we will all be able to keep our desires in check.  We must not allow temptation to cause us to sin.  God will help us in this area, and we need to rely on Him when we struggle with it.  Remember, it is not just the act that is wrong, but it is the lust and covetousness that goes along with it.  We must control both so that we can honor and please God with all we have and all we are.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

Matthew 10:28

Verse of the Day Devotion: Matthew 10:28

“Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” – Matthew 10:28
There are two different kinds of death.  There is the death of the body, and the death of the soul.  One is a temporary death, the death of the body.  The other is an eternal death, the death of the soul. Let’s look at both of these.  First, the death of the body.  According to Jesus, we should not fear those who can only kill the body.  It does not matter how old we are, our bodies are breaking down.  We can exercise, eat right, do all the things we understand are great for keeping the body in shape.  However, no matter what we do, this body will die.  It is inevitable.  Let’s look at some statistics.  The American woman lives on average, to age 86.  The American man, on average, lives to 84.  The longest expected life span, based on the longest recorded death in recent years is 122, achieved by Jeane Louise Calmet of France.  The oldest man who lived was Methuselah, the grandfather of Noah, who lived 969 years. Because of the sin committed by Adam and Eve, death was passed down to all living creatures, most importantly, humans.  However, as I stated above, if we have become true Christians, and our body dies, we will be given a new body, just like Christ’s.  “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.” Philippians 3:21. What he means by this is our bodies will be like Christ’s; immortal, glorious, and of a type that is able to experience the infinite spiritual enjoyments at the right hand of God.  Thus, we do not need to fear those who can kill our bodies, because we have a new one coming that is infinitely better than our earthly body which will be in a glorious life in the presence of God. However, we should fear Him who can destroy both our body and soul in hell.  The killing of the body and soul in hell describes the eternal destiny of those who are not justified, declared righteous, by accepting the work done through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.  Man can destroy the body; only God can destroy the soul as well as the body in hell.  And just as the Christian has eternal life with the Father, the non-Christian has an eternal destiny as well.  “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25:45-46.  Note the term ‘eternal punishment’. In closing, there are two deaths, one is temporary, and one is permanent.  We, as Christians, should not fear anyone who can only destroy the body, for these bodies are destined to die, either by the hands of men, illness or old age. We will receive a new body, infinitely better and eternal in nature.  However, we should fear God and reverence Him for, unlike men, He is the only one who can destroy the soul as well.  Praise God, for as Christians, we have a wonderful eternal life waiting for us to enjoy. William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.