Five Points Blog
Enter Life at All Costs!
- Brent Nelson
- Feb 03, 2012
Nothing could be more important to Jesus Christ than you and I entering into eternal life with Him. His entire mission hinges on his people gaining life at all costs. He has no time for anyone or anything that causes his beloved ones to sin and so jeopardize their certainty of eternal life. Better to be dragged to the dark depths of the angry ocean by the plunging of a millstone strangling your neck than to cause a beloved believer in Christ to sin (Mark 9:42).
Why is that horrible death called ‘better’? Better than what? It would be better to die in such a swift manner, than to die a death that never comes in the endless suffering of the unquenchable fires of hell. Why is hell in view? Three more times in the context our Lord warns of the certainty of hell for those in the unrepentant grip of sin (v.43, 45 & 47). Our Lord unashamedly and dramatically warns us of the fires of hell to motivate us to love God and His promise of eternal life. His warnings to us vividly express His love for us.
No wonder he calls us to enter life with violent words. He presses his point home: “if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire” (Mark 9:43). Again: “if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell” (verse 45).
What causes you to sin? Whatever it is, ask yourself this: “Is this sin in my life, worth missing heaven over?” Is the whiff of pleasure it gives, worth enduring endless estrangement from God and relentless suffering from justice? Surely it is not. Let the violence of our Lord’s words stir you broad awake to the horrors of hell and the wonders of eternal life.