If you will remain standing and take your Bibles and turn to the Gospel account according to Mark. And it's in chapter 9 beginning in verse 42. Mark chapter 9 verse 42 to 50. This is the word of the Lord. Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he was thrown into the sea. And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, How will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another. This is surely God's word. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for this day and for the gift of your scripture and the gathering of your people. And now, as we bow our heads before you this morning, we ask that you stamp with your own seal of approval and blessing. on the reading and the preaching of your infallible word. Amen. Please be seated. Well, first thing this morning, I want to address an aspect of this particular passage. You'll note and you should be looking in your Bibles here. you will note that there is no verse 44 and no verse 46. Take a look at it. Mark chapter 9 verse 42 begins to the end of the chapter and it appears as though there's two missing verses. The passage in our ESV Bibles leaves out those two verses because they were added well past the earliest manuscripts. The verses we have in our Bible today are the closest thing we have to the original text. At some time in the past, individuals copied the text of verse 48 and inserted it in verse 44 and then verse 46. The supposition is that the copiers of the text wanted to add an emphasis to the result of going to hell. Now the King James Bible that I was given at age 10 has those two added verses. Because the King James Bible and even the New King James Bible is based on a later manuscript in the 11th century. The Greek manuscript that was used for the King James Bible is from the 11th century. You understand that, right? But the Greek manuscripts for the ESV and other scriptures are well, well before that, hundreds of years before that. And by the way, this is not a slam against the translators of the King James Bible. It's all they had to work with at the time. Well, obviously, that's not really a good thing to do, is it? For the scribes to take the liberty of inserting words into scripture. But thankfully, we have many earlier texts that give us the versions that are closest to the original. There's another thing that needs to be said about these verses that is significant. It's not the kind of passage that is typical for the gospel accounts. Many of these words are frightful expressions and they call for reflection rather than a typical exposition. Christians should ponder our text today. Parts of it are figurative and other parts representational and all of it speaks to a real hell A hell that is eternal. So let's go back to the text beginning in verse 42 and see what Jesus has for us. Verse 42 says this, whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. Now, Jesus uses the words little ones, and he's not speaking of small children, children of a young age who are not capable of believing in Christ, nor are ready to make a profession of faith. These are, in some cases, his disciples and followers that have just joined him, and the people who, in a very short period of time, have been following him. The little ones are sacred because they are his. His real target are the people who cause the little ones to sin. For them it would have been better for just about anything rather than a millstone around the neck. Now this very thing happened in the year 6 AD to the leader of an insurrection against the Romans. An early zealot leader, his name was Judas the Galilean, and some of his men were captured by the Roman soldiers. Because of their revolt against Rome, they were tied to a millstone, and the other end of the rope was put around their necks. And the apostles knew what Jesus was talking about, and everyone else in attendance that day did as well. And in their imaginations you could see the drowned bodies of the victims tethered to the great millstones, as their bodies swayed to and fro in the current. This is a horrific image, being dropped down into the darkness, struggling, and then hanging motionless in the darkness, hidden from life and the world. Jesus uses these graphic terms to say in effect that it would be better to be drowned than to cause new believers who followed and served him to fall into sin. Woe to those involved in an evil enticement who beguile innocent babes in the faith to the horrible effect of losing their souls. Woe to the Joseph Smiths of the world. Woe to the Charles Hayes Russells, the Jim Joneses, and the L. Ron Hubbards. There is an endless horror that awaits them. And double woe to preachers who claim to be preaching biblical Christianity, even using the right vocabulary, but redefining the words. emptying them of meaning and thus leading untaught believers astray. In Jesus' words and authority, it will be better for them if they had been drowned in the sea years before. Few things disturb Jesus more than someone who caused new or weak or uninformed believers to sin. Based on the context that we have in our Bibles, the warning is specifically against causing them to sin because of an elitist, superior attitude. The attitude that projects a kind of superior toleration for the unsteady enthusiasm of a new believer. A Mr. Know-it-all who condemns the new believer's spiritual efforts with faint praise. He belittles the new Christian's accomplishments and douses his new passions with cold skepticism. Those who do so will be disciplined by Jesus. May we never be found to cause one of his little ones to stumble. Well, after discussing the responsibility to not cause others to stumble in their Christian walk, Jesus moves on to speak about the responsibility to keep one's own life free from sin. He talks about personal holiness in the most drastic of terms. So the next section of our text is from verses 43 to 48, and it says this. And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life laying than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of heaven with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. Now, unfortunately, there have been some people who have taken Jesus' words literally. Arthur J. Gossip, a renowned Scottish preacher, told of a brilliant theological student who suddenly lost his mind one night and cut off his hand with a razor. And when he was found, the student was laughing wildly, saying, I did it right. I can now look Jesus in the face. The most famous case of literalism in this regard was the early church father, Origen of Alexandria, who in the third century was said to have emasculated himself in an attempt to overcome sensual desires. Not long after this, the Council of Nicaea outlawed the practice. Such mutilization is not only contrary to scripture, but it is possible to be minus hands and feet and eyes and to be neutered and still be the most lewd, debauched, materialistic or proud person there is. What Jesus is calling for is not physical mutilation. but spiritual mortification. That is, the cutting off of harmful practices in a person's life. The hand, foot, and eye encompass the totality of life. The hand symbolizes what we do. The foot, where we go. And the eye, what we see. Jesus's logic is flawless and convincing. It is better to clean up your transient life here through some healthy self-denial than to go bearing your sins to an endless hell. These bloody metaphors tell us halfway measures just will not do it. There must be a severing, a gouging out of sin. if there is to be victory. Jesus is telling us that it must be decisive and complete and as serious and as final as a hand or a foot or an eye being removed from the body. The metaphorical language here also suggests that you alone must do it. No one else can do it for you. It is your hand, your foot and your eye that must be cast off. And it is delusional to expect that anyone else can or should do it for you. Jesus' words here demand some answers. Fellow Christians, are there any places, are there any places in you where your feet carry you that you have no business going? Are there events that you attend that involve temptations that you cannot handle? What about your hands and your eyes? Are they involved in things that would be most embarrassing if others knew what you were doing? This is what Jesus meant when he insisted that his followers control their hands and their feet and their eyes. and anything else that causes us to be an obstacle to ourselves and to others, and which reflects unfavorably upon the Christ. Let's go to verse 49. For everyone will be salted with fire. The key to understanding this verse is to realize that in the time of Jesus, and for many centuries before, the temple sacrifices in Jerusalem had to be accompanied by salt. Exodus chapter 30 verse 35 says this, Make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy. Leviticus 2.13 says this, You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt. And then Ezekiel 43 verse 24. You shall present them before the Lord and the priest shall sprinkle salt on them and offer them as a burnt offering to the Lord. See, salt speaks of sacrifice. So, the thought here is that everyone who follows Christ, every disciple, is to be a willing sacrifice. Paul writes in Romans chapter 12, verse 1, I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Everyone who would minister for Christ is called to be a willing, free sacrifice. Along with the salt comes the fire, which symbolizes persecution. Every disciple should be willing to accept suffering. Here's Paul's advice to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 3. Indeed, All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Paul also says in 1 Thessalonians chapter 3, For you yourselves know that you are destined for trials. For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction. And Paul told the church in Antioch in Acts chapter 14 Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said it quite well. Suffering is the badge of true discipleship. The disciple is not above his master. That is why Luther recommended suffering among the marks of the true church. Discipleship means allegiance to the suffering Christ and therefore it is not at all surprising that Christians should be called upon to suffer. In fact, it is a joy and token of His grace." And finally, our last verse, verse 50, it says this, salt is good, but if a salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another. Now there is a Jewish maxim that says this, the world cannot survive without salt. This is a vivid reminder that salt was used in the ancient world because it preserved food from rotting. Jesus is called to be salt as a challenge for his disciples to be a preserving influence in a decaying world. whatever or wherever we are, whether it's in business, or in education, or on a campus, or in the military, Christ calls us to have a preserving influence. Our mere presence ought to quicken the conscience, elevate the conversation, promote honesty, and raise the moral atmosphere. What happens when we get to know people who are without Christ? Does our presence make a difference to them? Christ's use of salt and the metaphor is boldly positive. In the Sermon on the Mount, he says this, You are the salt of the earth. See, Jesus believes that despite Christendom's frequent failures and disappointments, we can have a healing, preserving influence on our society and the world. He believes that we can add a new, elevating flavor to life, one that we can help make the world thirst for what Jesus has to offer. I want to cite for you in our application portion a quote from a man named Alexander McLaren, a 19th century Scottish Reformed Baptist. And this is what he says about our passage this morning. Men quarrel with each other because their pride is offended, or because their passionate desires after earthly things are crossed by a successful rival, or because they deem themselves not sufficiently respected by others. The root of all strife is self-love. It is the root of all sin. The cleansing which takes away the root removes in the same proportion the strife which grows from it. We should not be so ready to stand on our rights if we remembered how we come to have any hopes at all. We should not be so ready to take offense if we thought more of Jesus. All the train of alienations, suspicions, earthly passions which exist in our minds and are sure to issue into quarrels or bad blood will be put down if we have salt in ourselves. In continuing, he says this, This makes for a very solemn appeal to Christians. The church is the garden where this peace should flourish. The disgrace of the church is its envies jealousies, ill-natured scandal, idle gossip, love of preeminence, willingness to impute the worst possible motives to one another, sharp eyes for our brother's failings, and none for our own. I'm not pleading for any overly emotional sentimentality, but for a manly peacefulness which comes from holiness. And the holiest natures are always the most generous." The application for us this morning consists of the three parts of this morning's text. First, we are to live in such a way that not one of his little ones is caused to stumble. We are to be open, accepting, and tolerant of all that seek the living Lord of the universe. Second, Jesus does not want us to stumble. If our hand offends us, we are to cut off the sinful activity. If our foot offends us, we ought to stop going to places that cause us to be disobedient. And if our eye offends us, we must put different things before us that elevate the good as God determines the good. And lastly, we must willingly embrace the salt of a sacrificial life and the fire of persecution that comes with it. Let's pray. Our Lord and our God, may you find your people faithful and obedient to the truth of your word. Help us all to be attentive and responsive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. that we might strive to live lives worthy of the acceptance we have received from Jesus. We thank you, Great Father, for the grace that you have shown us by regenerating our spirits and leading us to your Son, by teaching us the gospel, that we might find refuge from our own sin and receive an imputed righteousness because of the grace and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, we ask that you help to sustain the measure of faith that you have given us as we walk through the narrow gate that adds and leads to life with you and preserve our souls through the salt of the gospel in a decaying world. Be our sword and our shield in the authority of Christ, we pray. Amen.