Mutilators of the Flesh

 I was listening to a little clip the other day where a pastor was talking about Matthew 5:27-30. "You have heard it said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks lustfully at a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body that for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right eye causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell." For years this was read and taught as anyone could read it without the Holy Spirit. Basically, every way I heard it preached was like 'just cut it off if it causes you to sin", just like it says. But the pastor I heard referring to this scripture was talking about how you can cut everything off, but the lust will still be there because its a heart issue. I have found this to be true in my own life. The more that I removed things from my life in order that it no longer cause me to sin, only revealed unbelief that was in my heart and governing my life. This is a design law of the Lord. the Bible says that Salvation belongs to the Lord. It comes from no one else. As we begin pruning our life we always come to this place where it either makes us self righteous or it makes us humble ourselves and receive salvation through the finished work of the cross. If you go over a little ways from Matthew 5:30, And read Matthew 6:22, "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" Was Jesus actually teaching self mutilation in Matthew 5? No! The right eye and the right hand are reference to your power and your ability. Without revelation knowledge scriptures are read literally. But once we are filled with the Holy Spirit, He distributes gifts. One of these gifts is revelation knowledge. (Word of knowledge 1 Corinthians 12:8-10). When this happens, our eyes become single and our whole body is full of light. Therefore everything we read and see is now illuminated with the light of life, who is Christ. This is what it means to be in Christ. From this point forward everything we do is now through Christ. If we continue on in the flesh, we will only become mutilators of the flesh. But Scripture tells us to die to flesh and live by the Spirit. Living by the Spirit is the only way to die to flesh. A learned person will teach the law. But the law is powerless in the flesh. God made foolish the wisdom of the world. For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness that was preached to save those who believe. 

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18. 

True obedience is given through the Holy Spirit through grace by faith. Grace empowers obedience by faith in the finished works of Jesus. Those who live trying to control their flesh and cutting off their flesh are still living in the flesh. God chose the things that are not- to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God- that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore it is written, "Let he who boasts boast in the Lord!" If you are still trying to please the Lord in hopes to make heaven or earn rewards, you are in the flesh. The only way God is pleased is when we come to Him by faith. Some people do come to Him by faith initially and then fall from grace which means to go back under the law. We have been called to live in the grace of Christ and further the Gospel. But there are people who turn to another gospel and try to pervert the gospel of Christ. Those people are under Gods curse! We are not to preach a gospel of human origin or a gospel we learned from man, but only that which we have received by revelation through Jesus Christ! And if we have received this through the Spirit, it is by the Spirit that it will also be made complete in us. We do not finish by means of the flesh! If the law of sin and death is at work in us we are still under the curse! But the righteous will live by faith! It is by faith that we receive the promise of the Spirit. And when we live by the Spirit we will not gratify the desires of our flesh. We are kept under the custody of the law until the coming of faith. Faith isn't something we muster up. It is given to us when we believe God. Until then, we are held in custody under the law of sin and death. 

In Philippians 3:2 it says, "Watch out for those dogs, those evil doers, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by the Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus and who put no confidence in the flesh!" Is your confidence in your flesh? To sin or not sin? An evil doer is one who does without Christ. A mutilator of the flesh is one who never accepts Christ and tries their best to follow scripture by means of their own effort (which is the flesh), where they put their hope in what they do. But us who serve God by HIS SPIRIT and boast in Christ Jesus, we put no hope in our flesh.  

No matter if it was good or bad, we will all sit before the judgement seat of Christ. Our knee will bow and our tongue will confess that Gods judgement is just. Mercy triumphed over judgment and it is the blood of Jesus that is on the mercy seat. He paid it all and if you put your trust in Him and come to God through Him, He is able to save you completely because He always intercedes for you.  You will never have to worry about the second death. It will not hurt those who have been made right with God through His Son, Jesus- according to Revelation 2:11.