The Way of Escape Matthew 18:7-9

There are many dangers in this world. We have natural disasters like tornadoes hurricanes volcanoes and earthquakes. We have wildlife that humans tremble at like rhinos a pack of wolves crocodiles and large snakes.

We have a fear of dangerous people who wish to do harm to other humans. People also fear death and public speaking. But all of these fears pale in comparison to what humans should be afraid of the most.

What humans should be afraid of is falling into sin and the consequences that come with it. God created a place of punishment and this place of punishment is known as the lake of fire. Revelation 2015 says if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life He was thrown into the lake of fire.

Now the lake of fire is an eternal prison and what we know about prisons is that these are holding places for those who committed serious crimes. People spend time in prison based on how serious the crime is.

The most serious crimes that anyone commits are sins against the Holy God. Romans 3 23 says for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. What does it mean to fall short of the glory of God as we look at that verse?

As one author has said it means to belittle God. To belittle him it means to continually choose idols false gods. Over the one who is worthy of all praise all honor all glory. What Romans 6 23 says is the wages of sin is death.

What we know from the context of that passage is the death that is focusing it. It's not just focusing on physical death. It's focusing on spiritual death. Eternal death. All sins are ultimately against God and the sin against the Holy God means only one thing.

The result is hell for the one who will not receive God's solution to commit a crime. Means that there must be justice. We see this in our world a crime is committed people want justice. And all of us are sinners and so we all deserve justice.

And this is where the cross of Jesus Christ comes in he faced Justice for you. He faced hell for you at the cross. So that you never have to go to this eternal prison. What is sad about the world we live in?

Is that most humans do not consider the danger that they are in. Most humans do not consider the consequences that are there because of sin. What humans should fear more than anything is the temptation to sin.

The opportunity to go down this dangerous path. God is holy and we are not. So this morning as we continue our sermon series through Matthew Jesus warns of temptations to sin and the consequences for the one who will not heed that warning.

Matthew 18:7-9 and the Call to Turn Away from Temptation

So this time I encourage you to turn in the Bible with you to Matthew chapter 18. We will be looking at verses 7 through 9 and if using a red Bible it's on page 978 the sermon is titled Finding the way of escape and I will begin by reading the text.

Matthew 18 verses 7 through 9. Woe to the world for temptations to sin for it is necessary that temptations come. But woe to the one by whom the temptation comes. And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away.

It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And If your eye causes you to sin Tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye.

Then with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire. Here's our big idea. What this sermon is calling you to do. Turn away from the dangerous the dangerous Temptations in your life. Turn away from the dangerous Temptations in your life and we will see two ways how as we go through this text and before we do that.

Let me give you a little recap of where we were one Sunday ago. We looked at the first six verses of Matthew 18 in that in that passage the disciples were talking about who is the greatest as They said this they were thinking in earthly ways.

Like people do all the time. Each of the disciples wanted to be considered the best. But Jesus told the disciples who are truly the greatest in God's eyes. To be considered great in God's eyes one must be like a child.

Children trust their parents to take care of them. Children are dependent on their parents for everything in. The same way Christians are to be this way with God. To enter God's kingdom a person must understand that he or she brings nothing to the table.

It is only the finished work of Christ that makes one makes one right with God. So coming into faith in Christ means saying Lord Will you save me? Even though I can offer you nothing. This is also how a believer should live the rest of his or her life.

It is a life of complete reliance upon God to help every step of the way through the journey of the life of faith. Now this leads us once again to our text that we've already read. But now we will zero in on and I want to first look at the beginning of verse 7 where Jesus says.

Woe to the world for temptations to sin. Now as we read this verse we are reminded of the previous passage that I just explained. Jesus said how serious it is to tempt a believer to fall into sin. So he said that he continues on the topic about temptation.

It is very bad When someone leads another in the sin, and it's also very bad for one to give in to temptation. As we talk about temptation it's a good it's good to remember where it all started. Where did the first temptation take place?

The first temptation of course took place in the Garden of Eden in Genesis chapter 3 and we know how the story goes. Adam and Eve are perfect at this point. They had never sinned. Walked in righteousness with God.

They enjoyed sweet fellowship with him but then Satan approached them and Told them to eat from the forbidden tree. Satan tempted them. What Jesus is saying here is woe to the one who tempts. We saw last week.

He takes it personally. To tempt one of his followers is to sin against him. Even attempt one of his image-bearers even if the person isn't a Christian is.

A.

Great sin because God takes it personally. These are people he created. When someone is tempted he or she is tempted to move away from God's blessing. God is the God of all blessing. And if you just follow his ways.

You'll be blessed if you just stay within the boundaries. You will experience God's blessing. In order to truly experience joy and avoid the pain that sin causes. Means staying within the boundaries that God has assigned.

It means resisting those temptations. We know this from our experience. When we go outside those boundaries. Has it ever done well for you? You know in my life it hasn't. Adam and Eve did not stay within those boundaries.

All the trees they could eat from in the garden.

All those trees.

God is being a killjoy. God is being stingy. He should be able to eat from this tree, too. Look what happens. They're removed from God's fellowship. What great consequences. And Jesus went to the cross to reconcile those who had fallen into sin with the Holy God.

Every sinful human needs to be redeemed and without that redemption one is in great danger. This is why Jesus talks about the seriousness of temptation in verse 7. He says woe to the world for temptations to sin.

One reality about living in this fallen world is that you will be tempted to sin. And this is what Jesus says in the second half of verse 7. He says for it is necessary that temptations come. You cannot escape temptation.

You are a sinner by nature and by choice. And you live in a world full of opportunities to sin. And as we have seen there are plenty of people who will gladly lead you down the sinful path. But we must understand about every human is that your desires when you come into this world are not to go God's way.

It's to go your own way. The reason temptations are so successful you think about these industries that are out there that are just built on sin. They're moneymakers. Why are they so successful? It's because of the human heart.

The human heart is more than glad to follow the one who tempts. The temptation to go one's own way is always there and People are glad to satisfy one's sinful desires. It is a very negative thing for one to be tempted to.

Jesus says to the tempter in verse 7. Woe to the one by who the temptation comes. You're causing harm by tempting woe to the one who tempts. The temptation that leads people to sin puts people in a very bad place.

To give in to sin displeases God. It is woe to the one who tempts and a woe to the one who gives in. In Isaiah chapter 6. Isaiah Stood before the throne of the Lord and he saw the holiness of God and he realized how dirty he is.

And this leads him to say in verse 5 of that chapter woe is me for I am lost. For I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of the people of unclean lips for my eyes have seen the king the Lord of hosts Isaiah.

Isaiah realized how sinful he was as He had given it into temptations many times in his life and to give in to temptations brings one under the holy judgment of God. He knew his sins needed to be atoned for to escape the fearful reality of God's holy wrath.

When an angel touched his lips. Making him clean and the angel said in verse 7 behold This has touched your lips your guilt is taken away. And your sin atoned for. Without that atoning work the atoning work found in Christ.

The only other outcome is judgment from God. This is why Jesus says woe to the world for temptations to sin and woe to the one by whom the temptation comes to be. The tempter is egregious as it puts one in a horrible place in.

In a dangerous place everyone on planet earth Is a slave and please not please do not take each other context as I say. You are either a slave to your sin or a slave to Jesus Christ. Whatever you are a slave to that you obey.

That's like a theater. 219 says this is such a sobering verse. They themselves are slaves of corruption. It's like a little false teachers in this chapter. For whatever overcomes a person to that he isn't slave.

People think they are free when they give him the temptation. Lifestyle doing whatever you want when you want. People think they are free, but in reality There's no freedom. There's only slavery. Sometimes people people want to be someone famous.

The person who everybody knows. The person who is worth millions and millions of dollars. The person who gets invited to all the fancy dinners who is in the in the in crowd of society. But these people are miserable.

How many stories do we need to hear? Before anyone desiring wanting to be wanting to be like that. Let me describe to you the life of a famous person. Who lives for temptations to sin? Most do not have the blessing of family.

What family they have is dysfunctional? The romantic life is predictable. They are with a new person every year. Before inevitably a breakup happens and you look at Aaron Rodgers for example. Most of them are on multiple pills with the goal of hiding the deep pain that they feel.

They are unhappy. So they try to medicate themselves to help them feel better. They are like prisoners in their mansions. They own multiple homes and just about everyone knows who they are, but they are lonely.

They have very few if any real friends. The friends they think they have would not be their friends if their fame went away. All the pleasures in the world cannot fill the empty void that is in their heart as Solomon that.

Ecclesiastes.

Do not desire To have the world in the palm of your hands, but in reality be a miserable person. And as I say this I realize this is not a desire of many in this room. We tend to be more simple people here, but there's a lot of people who have this desire.

The Bible always tells the truth and what the Bible says about those who try to have it all apart from God. Is that they are slaves? As the verse is the verse I just read Says from 2nd Peter they themselves are slaves of corruption.

For whatever overcomes a person to that he is enslaved. To cut off your creator from your life is to cut yourself off from all blessing and to instead become enslaved to idols that never Satisfy. We live in a world full of deconstruction stories you see these on the Internet.

What is deconstruction? It is undoing the faith that you once had. You know people give testimonies, but they're coming to faith in Christ. You know the testimonies of a leading Christ. We live in a period of great apostasy, this is one of the marks of the end times which I think We're barreling towards.

It seems. As the society becomes more secular. So-called Christians are jumping ship, and I call them so-called Christians because anyone who walks away from the faith. Never was a Christian in the first place because once the Holy Spirit is given to you the Holy Spirit can never leave.

Philippians 1 6 says He is God. He who began a good work in you will carry it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus. But people who deconstruct When they tell their stories talk about how free they feel how free they are now.

It's like Adam desiring to leave the garden away from God listening to the lies of the devil who treats God Like a killjoy. This is who tempters are. They say that God's way is no fun. So try it this way.

He's so restrictive. He doesn't have your best in mind. This is how sin happens. People believe the lie that they will be happier leaving living leaving God and Going their own way instead. But in reality they find only misery they are not free.

They're a slave and they are slaves to masters that will only leave them.

Miserable.

The temptation to sin promises happiness. But it leads to pain and ultimately it leads to judgment. So woe from whom the temptation comes. And as it puts the one who as it puts the one who is tempted in a horrible.

Place.

The sin looks good, but truly death is put before One's eyes. Jesus wants you and I to understand the seriousness of this. To give in to temptations will lead to a world of hurt. This is why he's so angry at the tempters in this world and so protective of those Who have the path of death put before?

Their eyes.

Radical Measures to Fight Sin and Avoid Hell

To turn away from the dangerous temptations in your life in the first way how is through understanding the seriousness of sinful traps. The second way how you are to turn away from the dangerous temptations in your life is through doing whatever it takes to avoid.

Falling.

We'll see this in verses eight and nine. In the first point Jesus talked about the danger of temptation. We live in a world full of landmines. And to fall into those landmines means great consequences.

Which is why it is so serious for people to lead others into sin. Because of the damage that sin causes Jesus call is for you to do whatever it takes To avoid the strong temptation to sin. Verses eight and nine I'll read these again as Jesus has here.

And if your hand or your foot Causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet To be thrown in the lake into the eternal fire.

And if your eye causes you to sin tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye and with two eyes To be thrown into the hell.

Fire.

People ask it was Jesus a fire and brimstone preacher answer. Yes right here you see it. Very much so. I was listening to a pastor this week, and he said. The call to pastors in this age that we live in is to be judgment preachers.

Why. Because you see so much evil you got to call it out, that's the responsibility of the preacher. Jesus certainly did that in his day. But yeah, he's fire and brimstone as you see here. Now he says this it sounds similar to another passage.

You've already read. And that's from the Sermon on the Mount Matthew chapter 5 verses 27 through 30. And then you read that again. We had a sermon on that probably a year and a half ago. But Jesus said you have heard that it was said you shall not commit adultery.

But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 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.

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. In that passage from Matthew 5 Jesus talks about doing whatever it takes to flee the sin of lust.

In the Old Testament, of course, you see Joseph when he was tempted by Potiphar's wife. What did he do? He fled. This is what you this is the call that Jesus gives fighting against the sin of lust. Jesus applies in this chapter chapter 18 to fighting every sin.

Just as sexual sin is enticing so every sin is enticing and Jesus calls each of you and I to take the necessary steps to fight the sin in our.

Lives.

What you'll notice is that Jesus of course does not want you to take this literally. Okay, that's obvious. This is figurative. We know that you should not cut off your hand or foot or gouge out your eye.

I mean, that's graphic. He's on a roll here with graphic illustrations, right? Last week he talked about tying a millstone around someone's neck and them drowning it in the depths of the sea. Down Jesus.

But he doesn't.

He wants this these vivid pictures to be in your mind. He wants he wants he wants to scare people. Because sometimes putting fear in people is a good thing. It's like a parent does with a child. If you cross that road.

You will get hit by that car. You don't talk about it in a happy voice, right? You're very serious about it and Jesus is serious about this. He's saying It's sin. If this if your eye causes you to sin gouge it out.

He's saying it'd be better for you to be dead than for you to lead one of these little ones to sin. He's talking in very serious tone here. But of course he's figurative here. He's not saying gouge out your eye or cut off your hand.

Or cut off your foot. He is saying do whatever it takes. To fight this thing in your life. What he says at the end of verse 9 is that giving into temptations is what sends people to hell. In the first point I explained that is why Jesus says woe to world to woe to the world for temptations to sin.

Sin leads to grave consequences and Jesus explains in verses 8 and 9. That the one who does not belong to him who is bound by sin will be thrown into hell. He describes hell in two different ways in these verses.

He describes it as the eternal hell in the hell of fire. It's interesting that Jesus talks about hell more than he talks about heaven. He wants people to be in heaven. And he knows that most of the world is on its way to hell.

So he has to talk about it. He has to warn people if you want to go here, you need to do. What the Bible tells you to do to avoid going here so that you end up here in paradise. People wonder if these images of hell the eternal fire and the hell of fire Should be taken literally.

You don't know for sure if there is fire in hell where people are being burned. All the time but at minimum the fire description indicates that hell is a place of enormous suffering. It is a place that no one would ever want to go to it's a place where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth.

People are sorrowful people are angry that they are there. And what Jesus says here is that hell is a place of suffering that will never end. For the one who goes there. How do we know that? The fire is what?

Eternal.

Eternal. I was troubled a month or so ago as I sat around a pastor's table and one of the pastors said That the Bible is not clear as to the duration of hell. But there is a problem in evangelicalism with the softening of what the Bible said.

People either deny hell or say it is not as bad as people say. It's interesting that we were in something in the Old Testament today from first Kings and Barb made the comment man, that's that's pretty intense.

And she's right because because we we tend to. The prophets of the Old Testament just went right after it. We read these passages and it's like wow. That's pretty graphic and Jesus does the same thing here now.

Some people say though that hell is not forever. As I just mentioned Those who say that the suffering of hell is temporary are known as annihilationist. That's the theological term annihilationist. In other words after a while those in hell cease to exist.

This is not biblical. According to verse 8 the suffering of hell is eternal if Jesus calls it the eternal fire. In Mark 9 48 Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah concerning hell. He says it is a place where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.

I don't say this because I really want to be a fire and brimstone preacher. I Say this because this is what the Bible teaches and we need to warn people about this horrible place. That they would turn from sin and find refuge in Jesus.

There is a semi truck coming towards you and We are the ones who are there to push the person out of the way. We don't say you know what that truck. It's really not that bad.

No, we say it's gonna kill you.

We're gonna push you out of the way. That's what love does. There are lots of problems in the world that the greatest problem that anyone has Is that he or she is a sinner in need of saving and Jesus is the only one who can save the sinner.

He is the only way I am the way the truth of life. No one comes to the father except through me. In these verses Jesus is warning that to continue in sin without repentance will lead one to this horrible place.

It is a reminder to every Christ Christian That we have been set free from the bondage of sin and we've also been freed from the consequences of sin the judgment of sin. And in an eternal sense we are free from.

With this in mind it is foolish to continue in sin. In Romans 6 1 the Apostle Paul writes. Shall we go on sinning that grace may abound? By no means. How can we who died to sin still live in it? What Paul is saying is that you have been set free from the bondage to sin.

You are free to no longer offend God and you are free to avoid the pain sin brings. So no longer live in it. This passage is a call for unbelievers to find the refuge in Christ and stop sinning, but this passage is not for unbelievers only.

It is also a call for believers to live in the power. They now have to avoid the pain that sin causes. Even if hell does not await the believer sin is still always brings harmful consequences. And so believers are called to do whatever it takes to fight sin.

If I'm not a good husband, if I'm not a good father my wife. My kids I experienced the consequences. I thought sin works. There's always consequences to sin. When you get angry at someone there's consequences That come out from that.

We want to live in the blessing of you do things right you don't have to apologize, right you can you can live freely. This illustration that Jesus gives helps you fight the temptations that come your way.

When Jesus says that you are to cut off your hand or foot and cut out your eye He is stressing to you and I to do whatever it takes to prevent the sinful desires in your heart. From leading you away from God.

From leading you into this dangerous place. Consequences of sin which are harmful which are painful. This means that you need to be willing to give up whatever might lead you to sin. The most important thing in your life is to pursue God and his righteousness.

And if anything causes you to sin, you need to be aware of this and act accordingly. Earlier I read the passage from the Sermon on the Mount. Where Jesus said that every person needs to turn from the lustful desires in his or her own heart.

And I just want to talk about that sin right now. Number one. Do not be alone with someone from the opposite sex who is not your spouse. And I'm not saying that anything would happen, but you do not want to even put yourself in that position.

This is a good rule to follow. President Harry Truman, by the way, has had this rule as a politician. Billy Graham had this rule. It was called the Billy Graham rule.

A good rule to follow.

Second if being on certain internet sites causes you to lust then avoid going to those sites. Even if the site is not in itself bad, for example, you might go to a news site to read the news. Or what is at least described as news right and there might be inappropriate links on there.

Go to those sites with a careful eye so that you do not put yourself in a position where you might stumble. If thinking of a certain person makes you have lustful thoughts, then replace those thoughts with holy thoughts and pray for that person.

God wants you and I to think of those who are not your spouse as brothers and sisters. The Lord wants you to think this way, especially in the body of Christ. In first Peter 5 to Paul told Timothy to treat younger women as sisters in all purity.

You would not look at your sibling in this way. So of course it should be. It should be Egregious in your mind to even think about looking at anyone that way. He was not your spouse. So now what I just mentioned is the sin of lust, but what about other sins?

There are certain conversation topics that make one prone to gossip. Avoid those topics. There are certain people where you might tend to gossip with. Beware of that and make sure you have gone on ring conversations.

You might have temptations to shop and buy things. You don't need. This is called impulse buying. Don't go to those stores that are going to tempt you or go with someone who will hold you accountable.

Food and drink are great gifts of God. That are to be enjoyed but what if there is a certain food or drink that becomes excess. There's a time for feasting, but sometimes something can have a hold on us.

You don't want to be held in bondage by anything. So you have to draw some lines. If watching too many sports or too many TV shows has a hold on you take a break and limit your intake. If work keeps you from worshiping the Lord With his people and family and friend time then something needs to go in your life.

Work is good, but workaholism is not. This person needs to do whatever it takes to not neglect that which is most important. So here are some examples, but there are many more sins that you and I can be tempted with.

And we need to do whatever it takes to put these things to death to not put ourselves in positions when we let it fall. What Jesus is telling you is do whatever it takes to avoid these temptations. It is imperative to stop the temptation before it is seriously entertained.

Do not put yourself in harm's way. If a small temptation comes do not let the temptation grow. Flee the scene whether it is a location or whether it is in your mind. As 2nd Timothy 2 says flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness.

Faith love and peace along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. What a believer finds over time is that as one grows in faith the temptations to sin will not be as strong as they once were.

Because the sin will not be as attractive. You are to sever those sinful impulses that arise within you as the Apostle Paul wrote in 1st Corinthians chapter 9 Verses 25 to 27 every athlete exercises self-control in all things.

They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we do it to receive an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly. I do not box as one beating the air. When I discipline my body and keep it under control.

Lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. Self-discipline in his walk in the walk with with the Lord. Then he writes in another place in Romans 6 verses 12 to 14. But not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions.

Do not present your members your body that is as sin. To sin as instruments for unrighteousness but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life and Your members to God is instruments for righteousness.

For sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under law, but under grace. If you know Jesus Christ is your Lord Savior and treasure. You have the Holy Spirit and you are able to kill the sin in your life.

You don't have to be sick.

It's awesome. Shall we go on sinning. That grace may abound. You don't have to go on sinning. You don't have to experience the pain that sin brings. You can live in the freedom that is in Christ Jesus.

As Jesus said Do you believe in me? The truth will set you free. You will be free indeed. Do not let sin control you. But control sin with the Spirit's help. You are the master With the Spirit not the other way around.

Temptations will lie to you saying you have to sin. But as a Christian you can say no, I don't I. Choose the path of blessing. First Corinthians 1013 as I read earlier No temptation has seized you which is not common to man and God is faithful.

He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but always will provide the way of escape. The key to fighting sin is this the desire to please God and have joy in him.

Supersedes the.

Superficial pleasure of sin. Let me say that again. The key to fighting sin is this the desire to please God and have joy in him supersedes the superficial pleasure of sin. The goal is to discipline yourself Where you are strong in your fight against sin and also to get to the point where the sin becomes more and more unattractive and Following God's way is more and more appealing.

Then the temptation won't have as much hold. And if there is a temptation that has a really strong hold be extra careful not to put yourself in harm's way. There might come a day where you can put yourself more out there where you're saying.

What.

The less mature you are in your walk with the Lord the more sin will have a hold on you. What is interesting is that we are all wired differently? Some sins have a hold on one person, but someone else does not feel this temptation to sin.

Someone might be susceptible to impulse buying. That's not my temptation, okay. But one thing I noticed in my life is I started to have some tips of anger like in the last couple years. Where is this coming from?

I gotta deal with that. I don't know if the world has gotten so bad. But we need to we need to know where we are prone to sin. My wife will tell you I hate chopping. It's not a temptation right, but there's other things that are temptations to me.

And we need to know we need to know ourselves. We need to be students of our own weaknesses and fight the fight. The fight against sin will be there for the believer until the day of death or Christ return.