Purify Your Mind Series (Part 1) by Joe KirbyNäide

Radical Repentance

Sadly, this verse has been so misinterpreted by some people in the past that they have literally torn out their eye, thinking this would solve their sexual sin. I heard of a man who took the previous verse (“If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you”) literally and put his arm on a railway track, so he would not do sinful things with his hands anymore. But clearly, removing an eye or hand will not deal with the root of the issue. I heard the story of a pastor who used to counsel a blind man, and what was the blind man’s besetting sin? Lust.

When Jesus used this graphic illustration, He was saying we need to have a radical type of repentance; we should be ruthless with sin, not our bodies. Christ’s body was mutilated on the cross, so we certainly don’t need to mutilate our bodies, too.

So, what is radical repentance? It means finding and avoiding the enabler that allows you to sin. What activities, what routines, what devices, what places are leading you to sexual sin?

Perhaps I took this too far in my early twenties; when I first got married I had a difficult conversation with my bride, and we decided not to have the Internet in the house. So, for five years, I had to go to local libraries or coffee shops if I needed to use a computer. And honestly, as inconvenient as this decision was, I’m glad we did it because the Internet was the enabler for my sin. Take a moment now to consider what the enabler is for your sin. Then, ask yourself, Am I willing to radically change my life to stay pure? So, if your laptop causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. (But please don’t send me the bill if you regret the decision in a week.)