{"id":22676,"date":"2020-05-19T21:36:14","date_gmt":"2020-05-20T02:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=22676"},"modified":"2020-05-19T21:36:14","modified_gmt":"2020-05-20T02:36:14","slug":"if-your-right-hand-causes-you-to-sin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-your-right-hand-causes-you-to-sin\/","title":{"rendered":"If Your Right Hand Causes You to Sin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n

Jesus talked about “causing” ourselves or others to sin, and in making His point cut deep, He showed that retaining sin <\/b>is far more serious than cutting off a hand or plucking out an eye (Matthew 5:27-30). You can go to heaven without a hand or an eye, but you cannot go to heaven without cutting off or plucking sin out of the heart. Sin is far worse than living without some part of the body. Why? Because there are eternal <\/b>consequences of sin. Losing a hand or eye is only a temporary condition. <\/p>\n

\"\"Now, as vivid as the imagery is, does Jesus mean to imply that the actual cause <\/b>of sin might be your hand or eye? No! Sin starts much deeper than that. The cause <\/b>of sin is not the hand or the eye. These may be instruments used to carry forward a sin, but sin actually starts in the mind or heart. That is where it must be addressed. Get down to the cause <\/b>of sin. Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death (James 1:14-15). <\/p>\n

Where did David go wrong with Bathsheba? He looked to lust<\/strong>, the lust grew and he did not cut it off at the heart. He was enticed by his desires, and that moved him into the decision to call for her. He sinned in his heart, in his decisions, before he ever engaged the physical sexual act. Was his eye the cause<\/strong>? No! It was only an instrument of sin, not the cause. The cause was that he fed the desires in his heart and used his eyes to feed his desires. That is where the real cause <\/b>of sin needed to be addressed. <\/p>\n

If your hand is really the cause of you stealing something, then you should cut off the cause of sin. But the hand is not really the cause of stealing, is it? The cause is much deeper. That is Jesus’ point! Cut off the cause of sin where sin is being conceived. It is in lust and desires. Take that more seriously than cutting off a hand or plucking out an eye. Sin has a beginning point, and if not dealt with properly will land us in hellfire. That is a misery far worse than losing a hand or an eye.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Terry Wane Benton Jesus talked about “causing” ourselves or others to sin, and in making His point cut deep, He showed that retaining sin is far more serious than cutting off a hand or plucking out an eye (Matthew 5:27-30). You can go to heaven without a hand or an eye, but you cannot…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[156,179,76],"class_list":["post-22676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-lust","tag-sin","tag-terminology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":45245,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-vowed-to-cut-off-my-hand-if-i-sinned-again-will-god-hold-me-to-that-vow\/","url_meta":{"origin":22676,"position":0},"title":"I vowed to cut off my hand if I sinned again. Will God hold me to that vow?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I've been reading the answers on your website and find them helpful. However, with regard to vows, I am not sure where I stand, even after reading some of your answers. Many years ago I was caught in some very sinful behavior that ultimately landed me in prison\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24448,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-meant-by-where-the-worm-dieth-not\/","url_meta":{"origin":22676,"position":1},"title":"What is meant by “where the worm dieth not?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 8, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What exactly does the scripture mean in Mark 9:44,46,48 where Jesus said, \"where the worm dieth not\"?\u00a0 Does it mean that pain will never cease for a person who is in hell?\u00a0 Why the reference to a worm? Answer: \"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":92044,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/buried-with-him-and-raised-with-him\/","url_meta":{"origin":22676,"position":2},"title":"Buried with Him and Raised with Him","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton The action of real baptism is very misunderstood today. People see a man dunking another person in the water and think it is a strange initiation rite, but there is much more to it than what you see with the physical eye. What is supposed to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8347,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-thinking-about-sin-a-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":22676,"position":3},"title":"Is thinking about sin a sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 2, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: It is a sin to have that thought? Even though I didn't act upon it? Answer: A thought is not a sin. Otherwise, there would be no temptation -- only sin. Satan has to get us to think about sin to lure us into it. What should happen is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1505,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-hell-a-proper-translation-of-gehenna\/","url_meta":{"origin":22676,"position":4},"title":"Is “hell” a proper translation of “Gehenna”?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 21, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: The word Hell like the word baptism is not really a proper translation is it? I looked up the word hell and it is Gehenna, and Gehenna is a place, Originally the Valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem (ISBE). So it would be helpful to use Gehenna instead of hell,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31032,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-giving-a-hand-job-sinful\/","url_meta":{"origin":22676,"position":5},"title":"Is giving a hand job sinful?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm a Christian girl and I have been dating a Christian boy for almost a year now. We kiss and hug but now he wants me to give him a hand job. I know that he loves me for me not because of my body, etc. I'm truly afraid\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22676\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}