Deal Aggressively With This

Matthew 18:7–9

“Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes! If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you...”

A Fire in the Walls

In 64 AD, flames consumed Rome.
People screamed in the streets. Buildings crumbled. Smoke suffocated the sky. And as the fire raged, rumors spread: “Nero started this fire!”

To protect his image, Emperor Nero needed a scapegoat.
He chose the Christians.

He lit them on fire—literally. He crucified them in public. He fed them to lions.
But here's what shook the Roman world:

They didn’t scream.
They sang.

Why?
Because they had already died—not physically, but spiritually.
They had already cut off everything that tied them to the world.
They had already plucked out the desires that led to sin.

So when Rome burned, they stood ready.
Because they had dealt aggressively with sin.

JESUS MEANS WAR

Jesus is not talking gently in Matthew 18.

This isn’t a warm parable about sheep or lilies.
This is holy violence.

He says:

• If your hand causes you to sin—cut it off.

• If your foot causes you to sin—cut it off.

• If your eye causes you to sin—pluck it out.

Why so extreme?
Because sin is not a pet. It’s a predator.
You can’t tame it. You have to kill it.

“Cast it from you!”

The Greek word used for "cast" is ekballō—the same word used when Jesus casts out demons.
You don’t gently release a demon.
You don’t discuss terms with a demon.
You drive it out with force. With fire. With holy hatred.

That’s how Jesus says to treat sin.

This is not exaggeration.
This is eternity talking.

“It is better for you to enter life maimed than to be thrown into everlasting fire.”

These are the words of the Savior—not a street preacher.
This is the Jesus who died for you—telling you what it takes to live for Him.

WHY WE DON’T CUT IT OFF

We don’t want to lose things.
We don't want to let go of the relationship, the habit, the pleasure, the secret.

So we keep the hand that leads us to touch what’s unclean.
We keep the foot that walks us into the same sin.
We keep the eye that stares too long at what corrupts the heart.

But Jesus knows what we don’t:

If you don’t kill sin—sin will kill you.

BIBLICAL ECHOES – WHEN SIN WASN’T CUT OFF

Let’s walk through real stories from Scripture where people refused to deal aggressively with sin—and the price they paid.

King Saul – The One Who Spared What God Told Him to Kill (1 Samuel 15)

God gave King Saul a direct command:
“Destroy everything that belongs to Amalek.”

Saul obeyed... partially.
He spared the king. He kept the best sheep and oxen.
And when confronted, he justified his disobedience with spiritual language:

“I kept these to offer to the Lord.”

But God wasn’t impressed. He wanted obedience, not offerings.
Samuel rebuked him:

“Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft… because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you.”

Saul’s refusal to cut off the disobedience cost him the throne.
His kingdom collapsed. His legacy ended in madness and suicide.

What he didn’t kill—killed him.

Achan – The One Who Hid What God Said to Destroy (Joshua 7)

God told Israel to destroy Jericho and take nothing.
But Achan saw a beautiful robe, silver, and gold—and he took them.
He hid them under his tent. No one knew. But God did.

Israel lost the next battle. Soldiers died.
Joshua cried out, “Lord, why?”

God responded:

“Israel has sinned. They have taken the accursed thing.”

They searched the camp, found Achan, and he confessed.

Because one man didn’t cut off his secret sin—
his family died, and the entire nation suffered.

What Achan buried in his tent brought death to his house.

Samson – The One Who Loved What He Should Have Left (Judges 13–16)

Samson was anointed, chosen, empowered by the Spirit.
But he flirted with sin. He touched what was forbidden.
He fell in love with Delilah—the enemy in disguise.

She asked him repeatedly about his strength.
He lied, played games, laughed it off.

But he finally gave in.

“If you cut my hair…”

While he slept, the enemy came.
They shaved his head, gouged his eyes, and chained him like an animal.

Samson's strength didn’t leave because his hair was cut.
It left because his heart was compromised.

What he didn’t walk away from—walked him into chains.

JESUS IS CALLING FOR HOLY VIOLENCE

Let me be clear:
Jesus is not asking you to harm your physical body.
He’s calling for spiritual surgery.

Cut off access.
Burn the bridges.
Starve the appetite.
Kill the secret sin.

Not just because sin is bad—but because Jesus is better.

He’s saying:

“It’s better to limp into heaven than run into hell.”

It’s better to live without pleasure than die without peace.
It’s better to suffer now than to burn forever.
It’s better to lose something temporary than lose everything eternal.

WHERE WE NEED TO ACT NOW

1. Secret Sins

These are the ones no one knows about—
The late-night searches, the conversations you hide, the bitterness you feed.

Jesus says:

“If your eye causes you to sin—pluck it out.”

You need to confess it. Renounce it. Bring it into the light.
Don’t hide it in your tent like Achan. Expose it. Before it exposes you.

2. Toxic Relationships

Some of you are walking hand-in-hand with sin—through a person.

You’re dating someone who pulls you from God.
You’re yoked with friends who normalize rebellion.
You’re influenced by voices that entertain compromise.

Jesus says:

“If your foot causes you to sin—cut it off.”

It’s time to walk a different direction.
Following Jesus might mean walking alone for a season—but you’ll walk in freedom.

3. Prideful Attachments

Some of us love our image more than our soul.
We won’t confess because we fear embarrassment.
We won’t surrender because we want control.

But Jesus says:

“Cast it from you.”

Better to lose reputation and keep salvation.
Better to be humiliated now than condemned later.
Cut it off.

FROM CHURCH HISTORY – THE COST OF HOLINESS

In the 1500s, Thomas Cranmer was forced to sign a document recanting his Protestant faith.
He signed it to save his life. But later, he was overwhelmed with guilt.

So when Queen Mary ordered him burned at the stake, Cranmer made a bold declaration:

“I have written with this hand what I ought not to have written.
And as for my hand, it shall be punished.”

And when the flames rose, Cranmer stretched his hand into the fire first—to burn the compromise that betrayed Christ.

He literally fulfilled Jesus’ words.
He dealt aggressively.

And the fire that consumed his body lit a flame across England.

A Final Word of Fire

Let me speak as one who loves your soul:

There are things in your life right now that will damn you unless you deal with them.

That phone call you’re delaying.
That apology you refuse to give.
That bitterness you keep feeding.
That screen you stare at too long.
That pride you mask as confidence.

Deal with it.
Aggressively.
Ruthlessly.
Biblically.

Jesus said, “Cut it off… Pluck it out… Cast it away.”

Do it now.
Because eternity is not a game.
Because the fire is real.
Because the King is holy.

CLOSING PRAYER: FIRE ON THE ALTAR

"Lord Jesus,
You have spoken clearly. You have warned us in love.
We confess that we have tolerated sin.
We have fed what should have been killed.
We have walked into darkness, when You called us to light.
Today, by Your Spirit, we take up the sword.
Help us cut off every attachment that leads us from You.
Give us courage to pluck out every desire that wages war on our soul.
Purify our hearts. Cleanse our minds.
Make us holy—because You are holy.
Let the fire fall, not to destroy us—but to consume our sin.
We surrender all.
In Jesus’ mighty name,
Amen."

FINAL CHALLENGE: WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Don’t walk out of this message the same way you walked in.

If you know what you need to cut off—do it today.
If you know what’s dragging you to sin—pluck it out now.
If you hear the Spirit’s voice—don’t harden your heart.

Let this be the day you finally declare war.
The day you burned the bridge.
The day you said, “Enough.”

The day you dealt aggressively with sin—
and walked freely into life.
Amen.