EXTREME MEASURES

I heard a sermon on a sermon that really struck a cord with me. It is from Matthew 5:27-30.

" “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 lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell." (Matthew 5:27-30, ESV)


What I want to blog about is not the lust part, although that is a very important issue. What struck me was the length Jesus says we are to go to battle against lust and to pursue godliness.

Jesus says “pluck out your eye” and “cut off your hand”. Clearly Jesus is speaking in hyperbolic terms. He does NOT intend for us to pluck out our eyes. The sermon I listened to referenced a news story about a college student. He read this passage and responded by taking a screw driver and sticking it in his eye.

If it is not clear enough that this is hyperbolic look at the issue Jesus is talking about. Lust is a heart issue. It is something that occurs in the mind and heart. Cutting out your eye does not solve the heart issue of lust. It is a spiritual issue not a physical issue. Jesus uses the cutting out of something physical to demonstrate how serious this issue is spiritually.

Jesus is not being literal but He is being intentionally serious. Our sin, lust or otherwise, is nothing to sneeze at. Jesus is clearly teaching us that we need to take EXTREME MEASURES to pursue godliness, holiness and righteousness.

EXTREME MEASURES. How come it seems to me that most “christians” approach is casual instead of extreme? How about me? There are way too many times in my own life that my approach is casual instead of extreme.

What does an EXTREME MEASURE look like? I don’t want to create some arbitrary box for this definition, but I can describe what it is not. An EXTREME MEASURE is not casual. It is not haphazard. It is not inconsistent. It is not compromising. It is not run-of-the-mill. It is not average. It is not ordinary. IT IS EXTREME.

Here’s my prayer: Lord, create within me the same sense of hatred for my sin that You have. Give me an intense passion for godliness, holiness and righteousness that only comes from You. Lord, give me the strength to pursue you with EXTREME MEASURES.


I want to point you to a resource that in my opinion is one of the best around. I listen to the sermons of a pastor from Abilene Texas named Kevin Ueckert. He is also a friend of mine, but more importantly He knows the Lord and His Word. He is currently preaching through the sermon on the mount. It is one of the best treatments of the sermon on the mount I have ever heard. And, I say this not to puff up my friend. The Sermon on the Mount will take you to the proverbial “wood shed”. You can access these sermons on itunes or through the church website. www.ssbaptist.org I highly encourage them to you for your own personal edification.