Word of Salvation - Vol.49 No.21 - June 2004

 

Warfare

Sermon by Rev H Vaatstra

on Mark 9:43-49

 

Scripture Reading:  Ephesians 6:10-20

 

Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The gospels provide us with a vivid description of the most powerful event the world has ever experienced: that is, the breaking in of the Kingdom of God through the work and person of the Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus came, the Kingdom of God broke into the world in a new and powerful way. Demons were cast out, all kinds of sicknesses were healed, the hostile forces of nature were overcome, even the dead were raised.

It was also a time when there was great conflict between the forces of good and evil, between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. Here and there in the Gospels Jesus warns His disciples about that conflict, reminding them that they could expect to be involved the way Christ was involved. In fact, all followers of Christ are involved in this conflict. While the Christian life provides many blessings, it is also a life of conflict because we are involved in a war, and the words of Jesus here in Mark 9:43-49 show us clearly:

1. what we are fighting against;

2. what is at stake; and, from the wider context of this passag,

3. how the battle is won.

1. What we are fighting against

Jesus said if your hand causes you to sin cut it off, or if your foot causes you to sin cut it off, or if your eye causes you to sin pluck it out. The saying evidently comes from an old Jewish philosophy that arose during the Wars of the Maccabees, 150 years earlier, that for the honour of God and defence of country, it was worth having a limb cut off or eye plucked out if necessary. This kind of heroic martyrdom was actually a horrible reality for many Jews during those war-torn years.

In fact, the loss of limb and life is a horrible reality during any war. We have seen it again on our television screens with images of the war in Iraq. In Iraq one kingdom has overcome another. The goal was to oust the evil regime of Saddam Hussein and his deputies and replace them with a more just kind of government. But in order for that to happen there was and will probably continue to be intense conflict until this is accomplished. Those involved in the fight against evil and injustice must be prepared to risk limb and life in the process. They must be prepared to lose an eye or a hand or a foot, or even their very lives if necessary, to win the war - and many do.

Well, Jesus uses the example of physical sacrifice of life or limb in order to say that similar drastic measures must be taken in the war against sin. If we are to be followers of Christ and be citizens of God's kingdom, then, according to Christ, we must have the same attitude towards sin that a soldier has against the enemy. We must be prepared to lose whatever it takes, even things that are dear or important to us, in order to win the war.

Now, of course, the battle against sin is somewhat different from a military battle. In this passage Jesus describes it as a personal battle. If your hand causes you to sin cut it off, or if your eye causes you to sin pluck it out. In other words the battle against sin is often a battle with our own personal sinful desires and our own human will, which does not always want to do God's will. And, of course, we all know that hands, feet, and eyes, are readily the instruments of our sinful desires, as the Bible often testifies.

For example, Isaiah condemned his own people for having "hands full of blood". Solomon warns his readers against the attitude of the youth who lacks judgment and "whose feet carry him towards the house of a prostitute" (Pr 7), or against those "whose feet rush into sin and are swift to shed blood" (Pr 1:16). Jesus says that anyone who even "looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart" (Mt 5:28). Hands, eyes and feet are the ready instruments of sinful and rebellious hearts and minds.

That's what sin is, you see, rebellion against God and disobedience to God's law. That's why sin is so very destructive. Rebellion against God has terrible consequences. James says when evil desire is conceived it gives birth to sin and sin when full grown gives birth to death (1:15). The wages of sin is death!

Therefore Christ calls us to fight against sin. It must not be pampered, entertained, winked at, laughed at, or tolerated. Rather it must be cut off! To use Paul's words in Colossians 3, sin must be "put to death". When there is sin of any kind, it's no good dilly-dallying about or being half-hearted about it. Christ calls His followers to be decisive about sin.

Temptation must be resisted immediately. Falling into temptation isn't going to get you anywhere. Burn that dirty book, tear up the obscene picture, switch off that soul destroying television programme if it's spewing blasphemy, unbridled materialism, lust, or infidelity into your living room. Break off the relationship with that so-called friend if he or she is trying to drag you away from Christ. Stop thinking slanderous thoughts or thoughts that may cause a "root of bitterness to grow up and defile many", as Hebrews 12:15 puts it. Jesus didn't hesitate to call for the renunciation of possessions, family, or even life itself if those things or people stand in the way of Christian discipleship.

Brothers and sisters, sin, in all its forms, is a deadly and dangerous thing. When it takes hold and rules one's life, it becomes soul destroying. As followers of Jesus we are called to take drastic measures against it as if we were waging a war.

2. What is at stake?

Why such an uncompromising stance towards sin? Well, just look at what's at stake. Jesus said, "if your hand causes you to sin cut it off, It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell." Jesus repeats the threat of hell three times. Sin with your hands, with your feet, with your eyes, and you will be thrown into hell.

In verse 48 hell is described as a place where the "worm does not die and the fire is not quenched." The Lord Jesus is drawing our attention to it as something to be avoided at all costs, as He does several times elsewhere in the gospels. For example, in Matthew 25:46 hell is described as a place of eternal punishment and a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, or a place of eternal regret.

Remember the parable of the rich man (Luke 16), the one dressed in fine linen who lived in luxury every day but didn't pay any attention to the beggar at his gate? This rich man went to hell. It was so terrible there that he longed for just a drop of water to soothe his dry and swollen tongue. Now whether we are meant to take that literally or otherwise, it doesn't really matter. It's clear from the Scriptures that hell is real. It is a terrible place of pain, suffering and regret. It's the place where those who love sin and let it rule their lives go to. It's the place for the sexually immoral, murderers, idolaters, the greedy and those love and practice falsehood, as Revelation 22:15 puts it.

On the other hand, those who are prepared to fight the good fight and resist sin and deal decisively with it, they enter the Kingdom of God and receive life - life that begins with the enjoyment of knowing that you are God's child and that His Spirit reigns in your heart. It includes the peace which surpasses all understanding and the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor 4:6). Moreover, this life looks forward to the new heavens and the new earth and eternal life.

Yes, there is a lot at stake when it comes to dealing with sin, isn't there? Eternal life and the blessing of communion with God, or eternal separation from God and suffering under God's wrath in hell forever.

So, the message Jesus gives to us here, then, is that in many ways, life is a serious battle! There is, in fact, a war going on - a war against Satan and sin. As followers of Christ we must take drastic action lest we are defeated in the battle.

And now, from the wider context of this passage...

3. How the battle is won

A pressing question at this point is, can we be sure of victory? We all struggle with sin and temptation and sometimes we fail miserably. How can we win this struggle against sin?

Our text doesn't give us a clear indication. At that particular point in His ministry, Jesus Christ simply gave the disciples a strong challenge to deal decisively and, if necessary, drastically with sin. "Cut it out of your life", He said, "because there's too much at stake. It's a matter of heaven or hell!"

That message is repeated elsewhere in the New Testament. Galatians 5:19 and 20 says, "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity ... hatred ... selfish ambition", to mention a few, and it finishes with the warning, "No one who lives like this will enter the kingdom of heaven."

Nevertheless, the disciples must have wondered, as you and I do, how is it possible to find the strength to consistently resist Satan, the lure of an unbelieving world and the weakness of our own flesh? In the final analysis we would all have to admit that in our own strength, it would be impossible.

Rather, these demanding requirements of discipleship that we find in the gospels must be seen in the light of the cross. And, of course, Jesus was continually pointing his disciples in that direction. For example, in Mark 10:25 Jesus said, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." The disciples were amazed and said to each other, "who then can be saved?" Jesus replied, "with man this is impossible but all things are possible with God."

In Christ we can be certain of the victory in the war against sin. Throughout His earthly ministry we see Christ and His kingdom advancing and Satan retreating. Demons were cast out. The sick were healed and the good news was preached. The dead were raised.

The decisive victory over Satan and sin was won for us by Christ on the cross. Until that time Satan had a stranglehold on mankind through the power of accusation. He could accuse us through our failure under God's law - that law which would have condemned us for our sin and delivered us over to Satan's side.

But on the cross Jesus Christ defeated the one who held the power of death. He defeated the devil in order to set us free. Paul summed up the benefits of that event in Colossians 2:13-15 where it says, "He forgave us our sins, having cancelled the written code with its regulations that was against us and that stood opposed to us. He took it away nailing it to the cross."

Elsewhere Paul writes, God "gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." We are more than conquerors through Him who loves us. Our sins are forgiven, our victory over sin is assured through faith in Him.

So when the battle against sin gets rather desperate and we ask ourselves how can we possibly have the victory, the answer is found in Christ. Christ has already won the victory on our behalf.

So in the war against sin, we could not possibly succeed in our own strength any more than a barefooted soldier without weapons can succeed in a military battle. But we are not doing this in our own strength. We have Christ, and therefore we also have the full armor of God, as Paul describes it in Ephesians 6:

the belt of truth,

the breastplate of righteousness,

the gospel of peace,

the shield of faith,

the helmet of salvation, and

the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.

Furthermore, since Christ came to Earth and returned victoriously to the Father, His victory is extended through the work of the church. The result of that is that every person who is a true child of God will be able to turn away from the power of Satan and turn towards God through the power of the Holy Spirit. For every person who is a true child of God is no longer under the tyranny of sin. Jesus once said, whoever sins is a slave to sin but if the Son sets you free then you are free indeed.

In Christ we are free from the tyranny of our sinful human nature, including the cravings of sinful man, the lust of the eyes, the boasting in material possessions, selfish desires, and so on. Jesus said, "I have overcome the world", and in 1 John 5:4 and 5 it says, "Everyone born of God has overcome the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."

Yes, we are involved in a life and death battle against Satan and sin. Sometimes the battle rages within us as we struggle with the weakness of our own flesh, the temptations of Satan and the deception of an ungodly world around us. Therefore, we must take Jesus' words very seriously because in the battle against sin there's even more at stake than ideals, lifestyle or even life and death. The fight against sin is about heaven and hell, it's about eternal life or eternal condemnation.

And if at times it may seem that you are fighting a losing battle, then don't despair. Through faith in Christ our victory is not just possible, it is certain! Satan has been defeated at the cross and open grave. One day Jesus will return to destroy him altogether. Those who are going to join Jesus Christ on that day are those who, as Revelation 7:14 says, have washed their robes and made them white by the blood of the Lamb.

Amen.