The last post on the blog was titled Addiction and Repentance-The Gospel Changes Everything. It was the first post in a series that is designed to address relevant topics for people who are struggling with life-dominating sin (addiction). Last month was on the gospel and repentance. This month is on radical amputation. In reality, this post could be an extension of the previous post on repentance because all true repentance includes radical amputation.
Proverbs 28:13: Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
This verse is a great description of biblical repentance. Repentance involves confession of sin and forsaking sin- radical amputation. Too many times we stop with confession. We have “unburdened” ourselves because we have confessed sin but we don’t move on to forsaking sin through radical amputation and that keeps us stuck in a cycle of confessing sin and quickly repeating the sin we have confessed. Years ago I heard Pastor Andy Bittle say “Repentance always has a plan.” If we confess our sin without a plan to forsake sin we have not truly repented.
Have you ever been in a cycle of confessing sin to only go back to it and then confess it again only to go back to it? That can be a lonely hopeless place but there is hope in Christ!
What is radical amputation?
Matthew 5:29-30: 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
This passage is where the concept of radical amputation comes from and it has very relevant things to say for battles against addiction. The Clevland Clinic says “Amputation is surgery to remove all or part of a limb or extremity.” It is not normal or right to amputate healthy limbs or body parts but when there is a severe injury or infection that could cause death it becomes necessary to remove a limb to save a life. This is not only true in our physical life but also in our spiritual life. Sin is a very serious infection that must be removed at all costs. In our fight against habitual sin, we must be willing to remove anything or anyone that leads us to temptation or sin. If you struggle with drinking too much you should make a commitment to avoid alcohol at all costs and take practical steps to live out that commitment. If you struggle with pornography you should cut off any pathway to pornography whatever it might be.
What is the motivation to be radical?
We become willing to be radical in our fight against sin when we see the real danger that sin brings into our life. Sin does not bring life, it brings death. Sin will lead to eternal death for people who do not know Jesus as their Savior. Sin will also lead to destruction and hurt in the lives of Christians who walk in a season of unrepentant sin. So why be radical? Because being radical to remove all pathways to sin leads to life. We need to take sin seriously and when we do nothing will stop us from radically removing sin from our lives, no matter the cost. Years ago I counseled a man who was struggling with pornography. In one of our sessions, I asked him if Facebook was a source of temptation for him. He admitted that Facebook had been a problem but he was not willing to get rid of Facebook. He justified to himself and to me why he could keep Facebook and it would be ok. It was not long before his struggle was not just with pornography but had expanded into sexual immorality with his girlfriend. You may think that you can handle your sin without being radical but that does not lead to freedom and victory it leads to bondage.
A Serious Warning
Matthew 5:29-30 mentions hell two times. It’s better to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. This passage is teaching that if you are not willing to fight sin, if you make peace with sin, then you are not on the path to heaven but on the path to hell. This does not mean that Christians do not struggle with sin because Christians struggle with sin and can even struggle with sin in very serious ways but for the Christian, there is a heart that fights sin and keeps fighting sin until they are in heaven. The person who makes peace with sin, who is comfortably continuing in sin, who does not feel conviction over sin needs a serious warning because that is not how Christian lives.
1 John 3:7-9: 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.
Those who know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior become like Jesus, their lives change, and they don’t stay the same. If you have professed faith in Christ but have never been changed after professing faith in Christ you need to examine if your faith is genuine. If you find that it is not real run to the cross and truly repent and put your faith in Christ. In fact, you will never get serious about killing sin or turning from addiction if you don’t know Jesus. Knowing Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior is the most important part of battling addiction.
You Can’t Do it Alone
If you are caught in a cycle of sin and want to be free it can be tempting to read a blog like this and set out in your own power to radically amputate sin from your life. Your desires are right but you can’t do it on your own, you need the power of the Holy Spirit! If you are a child of God you have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of you to help you make these tough decisions and follow through when it is hard. Lean into the power of the Holy Spirit! Pray for God’s help and for God’s power. You also need other Christians who can hold you accountable. You need to share what is going on in your life with someone. If you think you can radically amputate sin from your life without telling someone else you aren’t truly serious about killing sin.
It will be hard but you will never regret it
If you are struggling with a habitual sin (addiction) it is time to get really serious about cutting off that sin before it is too late. Don’t wait till it has cost you everything! This starts by surrendering and being willing to do whatever it takes to radically amputate sin from your life. After you do that you need to find someone who can walk with you and guide you, someone who is going to push you and help you follow through. This could be a pastor, counselor, or a trusted Christian friend, but you need someone. Take the first step today. It might just be a phone call or text message that says “I need help” but that could be all it takes to get the process started.
I can tell you from my own personal experience that radically amputating sin is hard. Making significant changes to my life to pursue holiness has meant that I gave up things, things that are not inherently sinful. It meant that I had to confess to people and have hard conversations so people can walk with me. It has meant that there are men who know everything about me and can ask me about anything. It means when I fail, I own it. None of this was easy in the moment, but I have never regretted any of it because it leads to joy that I would not trade for anything!
Psalm 16:11: You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
1 https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/21599-amputation