Mark 9:43 And if your hand offend you, cut it off: it is better for you to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell… I. THE DUTY HERE ENJOINED. "If thy hand or thy foot offend thee," etc. To offend, in the language of Scripture, frequently means to put anything in the way of a person, which may cause him to fall or stumble (Romans 12:21; Matthew 11:6; Matthew 16:23). Even serviceable things must be removed if an occasion of evil. II. THE ARGUMENT BY WHICH HE ENFORCES IT. It is shortly this: that it is better for us to do what He enjoins. Why better? Because not to do it will certainly bring on us greater evils hereafter. It is better to suffer a present evil, however great, than by avoiding it to incur a greater evil in the end. Thus men reason in common things. They endure present loss in hope of future gain; they lose a limb to save a life. To feel the force of this argument we must see what these consequences are. 1. We shall be shut out from heaven. "It is better to enter into life maimed," etc. Without mortifying sin now we can never be admitted there (Galatians 5:21; Revelation 21:27; Hebrews 12:14). 2. What it is to be cast into hell. 3. I remind you that if you seriously desire to set about the work, there is a powerful Friend who is ready to assist you with all needful strength and health. It is only "through the Spirit" that you can mortify the deeds of the body. (E. Cooper.) Parallel Verses KJV: And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: |
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