Sermon Tone Analysis

Radical Discipleship - confronting the causes of sin

Introduction:

- Sometimes the norm adopted by others seems radical.

- Sometimes the norm accepted others seems radical.

Sometimes the norm adopted by others seems radical.

Russia & Ukraine - early days - driving on the left-hand side, the right-hand side, the sidewalk or the good side of the road.

When the expected norm ceases to be the norm, the refocused norm is usually deemed radical.

Is most of the discipleship today, the New Testament norm or is the New Testament norm now deemed radical?

While each of us must decide for ourselves how the New Testament norm for discipleship compares with what we accept and expect today, the stark harsh words used by Christ serve to underscore what He demands of disciples and in light of that, the seriousness of sin and causing others to stumble.

Jesus reminded His disciples of the need of a radical view of:

Sin -

Jesus reminded His disciples that they needed to have a radical view of sin.

The sin that He speaks of here is not the sin of unbelievers but rather the sin of of believers in how they treat fellow believers resulting in fellow believers are caused to sin/stumble because of other believers.

There can be no doubt that this a further explanation and answer to how the disciples would have treated those who did mighty works in Jesus name and followed Jesus, but did not follow the disciples.

We are not privy to motives.

They might have been totally sincere but they were wrong from Christ’s perspective.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS NOT ABOUT MAINTAINING THE INTEGRITY OF THE GOSPEL AND THE WORD OF GOD.

IT IS ABOUT PREVENTING MINOR ISSUES FROM BECOMING MAJOR.

EXAMPLE:

- BAPTISM - 3 TIMES FORWARD

- IMMEDIATELY AFTER PROFESSED CONVERSION OR AFTER SOME DISCIPLESHIP/CONFESSION

WHICH TRANSLATION AND THE THEOLOGICAL TRANSLATION OF THE TRANSLATORS

How believers treat/impact impact other believers/those who come to Him by faith, has alway been important to God.

Ps 105:

Zech

In the passage before us, Jesus again underscored this.

The way that we treat other believers, is an indication of the way that we treat Christ, the body of Christ and the Word.

Mk

Sin - to cause to fall - to stumble

Sin - word - skandilizo - translated sin means to cause to stumble.

In Matthew’s account, Jesus used this word to describe Peter.

In the judgment, how believers treat other believers will be a major factor.

Matt 25:

The Apostle Paul used the same word with regard to anxiety of the churches that caused him to fall.

2 Cor 12:2

Little ones who believe in me

Believers in Christ - true believers

Great millstone - large upper millstone

So serious is causing another believer to stumble that drastic action is required.

Large upper millstone turned/pulled by a donkey or men in a circular motion to grind grain.

Extremely heavy.

Not able to be carried.

Casting a believer into a watery grave graphically communicates how serious Jesus saw this.

Such a horrifying dreadful death preferable to causing other believers to stumble

Such a horrifying dreadful death preferable to causing other believers to stumble

Exaggerated symbolism emphasizing that disciples should dread causing other believers to stumble/sin so much that if the choice was theirs, they would opt for horrible death.

The context would suggest that the believers who might be caused to stumble are not who are immature, blown about by all winds of doctrine.

Rather, these are caring on fruitful ministry in Jesus name and in His power.

Their only downside is that they do not follow the disciples.

ILLUSTRATION: Robbie Symmon response to Matt V

Sacrifice

2. Purity - , ,

In vs 43, Jesus shifts from what causes others to stumble to what causes the individual - him or her to sin - skandalizo.

As we work our way through verses 43 -48, some of your translations will include verses 44 & 46, which in thee original Greek manuscripts are exactly the same as v 48 - where Jesus quoted .

I would in no way discredit those translations.

These variations come because of the 2 schools of thought that line up behind the later groups of early Greek manuscripts -

- Textus Receptus, the basis for the KJV.

- The other preferring the earlier MAJORITY TEXT - with many more manuscripts - in number and completeness.

- For those who are equally committed to the verbal, infallible, inspired Word of God, there is the question as what to do with small textual variations in a few passages, most of which have NO DOCTRINAL implications.

In this case none of the earlier manuscripts, which outnumber the TEXTUS RECEPTUS manuscripts, included verses 44 & 46.

So the question was, “Did Jesus quote in what all would agree is , one time or three time?

I will leave that to you to decide.

THE FINAL DECISION IS FAR ABOVE MY SCHOLARSHIP QUALIFICATIONS AND PAY GRADE.

Whatever you decide, I would passionately remind you, all translators are fallible.

Every translation has weaknesses.

My preference will always be a word for word translation in the language that we speak today, avoiding as many idioms as possible.

Cut it off - figurative

Cut off hand, foot, tear out eye - metaphoric hyperbole that Jesus sometimes used for effect

Speck & beam/log

Camel & eye of a needle

Scribes & Pharisee & whited sepulchers/tombs

Matt

With the exception of circumcision, masochism - deriving pleasure or satisfaction from one’s pain & body mutilation were taboo in Judaism - ; ;

Whereas Greek Platonism saw the body as something as a load stone that was inferior and pulled us down, the Gospels and the Epistles affirm that the body demonstrates spiritual - cup of water to drink and caring for those in need was seen as unto Christ.

While what Jesus said was not to taken literally, it is clear that I must take even extreme steps to remove in ourselves what cause me to stumble.

The metaphors of eyes, hands, and feet are all-inclusive of what we view, what we do, where we go.

No amount of self mutilation can deal with the cause of sin - the heart

We cannot do this self surgery.

Only God by His spirit can renew the heart.

The Word of God speaks of that again & again.

Ezek 36:26

Jeremiah spoke of the need of a new heart.

No salvation apart from a heart that seeks after righteousness and continues to seek after it.

Hell - Gehenna - Greek word referencing the Valley of Hinnom garbage near Jerusalem

Gehenna - used 12 times in NT - all but one - - by Jesus - all ref to place eternal fire and punishment.

South of Jerusalem

Place where apostate Jews sacrificed infants to pagan god Molech - false god of the Ammonites

Even some kings sacrificed there - Ahaz & Manasseh

2 Ch

Eternal hell - never the place of the dead in general

Unquenchable - asbestos - fire

Kingdom of God -

These words compose the strongest call to discipleship our Lord ever gave.

He challenges everyone to either deal radically with sin, or be cast into the eternal garbage pit of hell, “the outer darkness” (Matt.

8:12), “the furnace of fire” (Matt.

13:42), where “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt.

22:13).

Dealing ruthlessly with what causes me to stumble should be take as seriously as heaven and hell.

3. Sacrifice -

At first glance these verses seem obscure and cryptic.

The OT helps and explains that when salt and fire are spoke of together it is the context of OT sacrifices .