Jesus said He came to FULFILL THE LAW, which means He was making SOUL-SENSE of what had been narrowly interpreted as LAW-SENSE. On the issue of lust and adultery, He wanted His listeners to take seriously the eternal consequences of damaging their souls and thus limiting their futures to hellfire. To make this point, He used dramatic expressions. Indeed, He caught the attention of His listeners when He said.
“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 than for your WHOLE BODY TO BE THROWN INTO HELL.” (Matt. 5:29) Let’s understand something about us first, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you COMPLETELY; and may your whole SPIRIT, SOUL, and BODY be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thess. 5:23)
The Greek word for soul is psuche. This word implies our MIND, WILL and DESIRES as seen in our personal preferences, choices, and emotional responses to life’s situations. Our soul is reflected in our personality. The Greek word for spirit is pneuma. It refers to the part of man that connects and COMMUNICATES WITH GOD. Our spirit differs from our soul because our spirit is always pointed toward and exists exclusively for God, whereas our soul can be self-centered. The joy, comfort and peace of God’s presence can only be experienced THROUGH OUR SPIRIT.
So, what has to be “THROWN AWAY” is, “our OLD MAN was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be SLAVES OF SIN…Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be DEAD INDEED TO SIN, but ALIVE TO GOD in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore DO NOT LET SIN REIGN in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.” (Rom. 6:6, 11-12)
LET’S THROW AWAY OUR DESIRE TO SIN AND LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY…
-Bill Stockham