The Great to the Least

Opening Songs

On the cross, no more I carry the weight of sin, for He has brought me from death to life. I stand in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

There is one gospel where hope is found, the empty tomb could not keep Him down. He lives, and I am free! Oh, now my Savior, my eyes, my life is His, and His hope is mine, for He promised we'll stand in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And in this gospel, the church is one. We do not walk alone; we have His Spirit as we press on to lead us safely home.

And when in glory, still I will sing of this old story that rescued me: praise to my Savior, the King of life! I stand in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Glory, we'll sing! Glory that rescued me! Praise to my Savior, the King of life! I stand in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Praise to my Savior, the King of life! I stand in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I stand in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Okay, that's it. We're pretty good with that. Yep, okay. Thank you.

Welcome and Announcements

Good morning, happy Lord's Day! We are swapping out our order a little bit, so we're going to do the announcements at the beginning of the service, if that's all right with everybody.

Well, we welcome you to this gathering of First Baptist Church of Artesia. My name is John Lee. I want to welcome you to this morning where we get to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection, right? Not just on Easter, but on every Sunday as we gather together.

A couple of announcements for us before we begin. If you're visiting us here, we're glad that you're here. If you didn't grab a bulletin, you can grab one in the back right by the offering plate. And if you noticed, there are single-page versions of these. I know some people were squinting, so we printed out full-page packets with a little staple so you can read a little better, and that'll be your guide for our service this morning.

Inside your bulletin, you can also see our other gatherings. We'll be here again today at 5:00 PM to pray together, if you'd like to do that. We'll be praying for the shooting yesterday at Stonewood Mall, as well as other issues going on in our church and around the world.

Other gatherings this morning as well: we have Sunday school every Sunday morning. We have a "Church Matters" class that goes over the basics of the faith, as well as what it looks like to be a Christian and particularly what it looks like to be a member of this church. We also have a Bible study that goes through the Book of Mark as well. And then on Wednesday night, we are continuing our study of biblical theology, or how the whole Bible fits together. So if you're interested in that, you can come at 7:00 PM as we study that.

If you'd like to give, you can do so in the offering plate in the back or online. You can see a little QR code there, or you can go to firstbaptistartesia.com. If you're visiting us here this morning, don't feel any obligation to give. We're not interested in your money; we're glad that you're here to hear more about God's word and what it looks like to follow Jesus.

Let me go ahead and lead us into prayer and give thanks to God for our offering.

Lord, we thank you for all the things that you've given us. We pray, Lord, that you would be able to utilize everything that we own for the advancement of your kingdom. We pray that you would do that in Jesus' name. Amen.

One last announcement: we announced several weeks ago that Pastor Gigi and Kim were going to move on to the next stage of what the Lord would have for them. We are going to continue to celebrate them and thank them for their ministry on April 21st. So, April 21st after service, we'll go over to the education building and have a little lunch. It's a potluck. Some people may be interested in asking what they have to provide or things like that—most people have already been spoken to in terms of those who need to bring things. So if you haven't been spoken to, you can just show up, eat the food, and enjoy the time as we celebrate and thank Pastor Gigi for his ministry here. So again, that's April 21st, so mark your calendars for that. It will be right after service; we will gather together to celebrate Gigi and Kim.

Now let's go ahead and have a moment of silence to prepare our hearts for worship before I read our Call to Worship from Psalm 29.

Call to Worship

Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

— Psalm 29:1-2 (CSB)

Let's stand, and if you have a hymnal, you can grab it and turn to Hymn 97 as we stand and continue to ascribe to the Lord His glory as we hail the power of Jesus' name. Let's stand and sing together.

Hymns of Worship

All hail the power of Jesus' name! Let angels prostrate fall; bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all. Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.

Ye chosen seed of Israel's race, ye ransomed from the fall, hail Him who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all. Hail Him who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all.

Let every kindred, every tribe on this terrestrial ball, to Him all majesty ascribe, and crown Him Lord of all. To Him all majesty ascribe, and crown Him Lord of all.

O that with yonder sacred throng we at His feet may fall! We'll join the everlasting song, and crown Him Lord of all. We'll join the everlasting song, and crown Him Lord of all.

There is one gospel on which I stand for all eternity. It is my story, my Father's plan: the Son has rescued me. Oh, what a gospel, oh, what a peace! My highest joy, my deepest need. Now and forever, in this I stand: I stand in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

There is one gospel to which I cling, all else I count as loss. For there, where justice and mercy meet, He saved me on the cross. No more condemnation, no more I carry the weight of sin, for He has brought me from death to life. I stand in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

There is one gospel where hope is found, the empty tomb still speaks. For death could not keep my Savior down; He lives and I am free! Oh, now my Savior, my eyes, my life is His, and His hope is mine, for He has promised: we'll stand in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And in this gospel, the church is one. We do not walk alone; we have His Spirit as we press on to lead us safely home.

And when in glory, still I will sing of this old story that rescued me: praise to my Savior, the King of life! I stand in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And when in glory, still I will sing of this old story that rescued me: praise to my Savior, the King of life! I stand in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Praise to my Savior, the King of life! I stand in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I stand in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Turn over to 463: "Precious Lord, Take My Hand."

Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, help me stand; I am tired, I am weak, I am worn. Through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light; take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.

When my way grows drear, precious Lord, linger near, when my life is almost gone. Hear my cry, hear my call, hold my hand lest I fall; take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.

Amen. You may be seated.

I don't know how you arrived this morning. Maybe you're thankful for all that the Lord has done and is continuing to do in your life. Maybe you feel like you're using up all of your energy just to sit in the pew this morning. In either case, the good news of the gospel isn't that we get to hold on to Jesus, but that our precious Lord takes our hand, leads us home, and takes care of us. That's the good news of the gospel that we get to celebrate every morning together.

If you have a Bible, go ahead and grab it and open it to the Book of Mark. The Book of Mark. If this is the first time that you've used the Bible, you can go ahead and grab the pew Bible in front of you and turn to Mark. It's about three-fourths of the way in your Bible. The big numbers are the chapter numbers, and the little numbers are the verse numbers. We're looking at chapter 9, starting from verse 33, and we'll be reading all the way to verse 50 this morning.

Mark chapter 9, verses 33 through 50, and it says this:

Scripture Reading: Mark 9:33-50

They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they were silent, because on the way they had been arguing with one another about who was the greatest. Sitting down, he called the Twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last and servant of all.” He took a child, had him stand among them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one little child such as this in my name welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me does not welcome me, but him who sent me.” John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.” “Don’t stop him,” said Jesus, “because there is no one who will perform a miracle in my name who can soon afterward speak evil of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. And whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you belong to Christ —truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward. “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away —it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. “And if your hand causes you to fall away, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go to hell, the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to fall away, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to fall away, gouge it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and 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 should lose its flavor, how can you season it? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

— Mark 9:33-50 (CSB)

Let's pray.

Lord, it's easy to be preoccupied with secondary concerns, dissensions, arguments, divisions, distractions. So we ask, Lord, this morning that you would help us by your Spirit to be able to hear these words, to take them seriously, to receive the teaching of Christ, to embed them into our hearts, and to have the strength to obey them. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Cultivating a "Salty" Culture

Tell me what you do, and I will tell you who you are. Tell me what you do, and I will tell you who you are. Every tribe, peer group, or fandom has traditions—markers that distinguish them from other people. You may see Catholics on Ash Wednesday walking around with ash on their foreheads, or right now we are currently in the season of Ramadan where Muslims will refrain from eating during the day and practice rhythms of breaking fast before the sun breaks and after sunset. Even us gathering here on Sunday morning is part of the tradition of this tribe, First Baptist Church of Artesia. That's what we do here as a community: we gather here every single Sunday to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection from the dead. These behaviors communicate something about who we are. Behavior communicates being. These traditions flow downstream from culture, shaping patterns of who we understand ourselves to be, of who we are. Christians do this; Muslims do that.

But what is a Christian supposed to be marked by? Jesus, in our passage this morning, tries to shape the culture of those who will follow Him—to create an image of what it looks like to follow Christ. In verse 50, Jesus makes clear that Christians are supposed to have salt among themselves and in their lives, in the church with one another. There is supposed to be something distinct, something salty about who they are. Following Jesus looks different, distinguishable, distinct.

So Jesus gives us three criteria or three questions to evaluate whether or not we're actually being salty, or whether we're just looking like everyone else. The question that we're going to try to answer this morning is whether you are a salty Christian. I'm not talking about a bitter Christian or an angry Christian; I'm saying, are you a salty Christian? Do you taste different?

We're going to look at three questions. First, do you compete or do you serve? Second, do you gatekeep or do you focus? And third, do you deceive or do you kill sin?

Do You Compete or Do You Serve?

Let's look at the first question here: do you compete or do you serve? Let's look at verse 33 again: "They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, 'What were you arguing about on the way?' But they were silent, because on the way they had been arguing with one another about who was the greatest."

Jesus and His disciples are continuing to travel through Galilee. We looked last week at how Jesus gave another prediction of His death—about how He would lose His life, He would be killed, and then He would rise from the dead three days later. We see that the disciples didn't understand it, and they were too afraid to ask Him what Jesus meant. So they take all that brain energy they have, and they decide to start bickering with one another about who is better. Like kids caught by their parents when questioned, they decide to say nothing. Their eyes instead study the floor because they're engaging in disciple power rankings. Who is the greatest? I mean, who cast out more demons? Who spent more time with Jesus? I mean, Peter, James, and John just spent solo time with Jesus climbing up the Mount of Transfiguration; they got to see Him hanging out with Moses and Elijah, so they have to be the top three. They take the privileges of their ministry and start using them as an opportunity to prop up their pride.

Have you ever done that? Taken the privileges of ministry and used them as an opportunity to say something about yourself, to elevate yourself? I mean, sure, Jesus loves everyone equally, but perhaps He loves some of us more equally than others. I mean, look at all that I do for the church. I can carry six chairs in my arms on one trip.

We know it's wrong. We know that type of thinking is wrong. But all it takes is one Sunday where you see someone sitting down a little bit too comfortably, or one Sunday where someone does something that frustrates you, or a Sunday where you feel like you're expending all of yourself, and you look around and start to feel a little too comfortable, a little too eager. We know it's wrong. I mean, the disciples here are embarrassed by Jesus just asking what they were talking about. We know it's wrong to think this way, but we just can't help it. You start to look at brothers and sisters in Christ as competitors. Favoritism starts to creep in. You start spending time with people that you think are helping you grow more than others. We can even take our godly goals and measure them using satanic scales: "I'm better than you; you should be doing x."

And Jesus takes their selfish, self-exalting scales and flips them on their head. You can see that in verse 35: "Sitting down, he called the Twelve and said to them, 'If anyone wants to be first, he must be last and servant of all.' He took a child, had him stand among them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 'Whoever welcomes one little child such as this in my name welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me does not welcome me, but him who sent me.'"

Jesus deliberately here speaks in paradox: you want to be first, then seek to be last. To drive His point home, He calls a child and has him stand in front of them, saying whoever welcomes this child welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. Almost all of us have heard this verse talked about all the time. You want to be first? Be last. You want to be king? Then be a servant. After a while, it might just become white noise—stuff that you've heard before, something that you already know, something that you could put in your back pocket. "I already learned this at five years old in Sunday school; I don't need to hear this again."

But what Jesus says here in verse 35 marks one of the largest shifts in all of human history. He fundamentally changed the way this society works. You see, up until this point in Roman culture, the way that you determined someone's value was by their power and by their honor. Roman society didn't uphold the dignity of every single human being. The idea that every single person is of equal worth and value—that did not exist in Roman society. They didn't care for the concerns of the poor and the needy. The thought that status and service would be tied together made no sense to them whatsoever. Princes don't serve paupers.

And if you're a kid and you're sitting here, I'm really glad that you're here. I'm sure Jesus is glad too. But the reason why Jesus takes this kid and puts him in His arms isn't because children are cute and adorable, but because you're annoying and useless. I'm serious. Kids were not valued in Roman society. They didn't do much work, they weren't strong, they were saps on your own resources, and they were another mouth to feed. In Roman society, they didn't hold much honor or success. You were pretty much considered to be lower than a human being until you could actually do something and contribute to society.

In fact, this is how Glenn Scrivener describes the treatment of children in Roman society. Just three examples here: Plato thought that in order to be worth rearing, children must be "malleable, disposed to virtue, and physically fit." If they did not prove themselves worthy, a parent would "properly dispose of them in secret, so that no one will know what has become of them." Aristotle thought defective children should be exposed—that is, discarded on rubbish tips, abandoned on hillsides, thrown down wells, or drowned in rivers: "As to exposing or rearing the children born, let there be a law that no deformed child shall be reared." In other words, it would not be immoral to do this. Infanticide was so widespread in the Roman world—in fact, all the world—that the first known treatise on gynecology included the vital section, "How to recognize a newborn that is worth receiving." If they did not make the grade, the advice was: "Expose it and try again."

That was the society in which they were living. And so when Jesus takes this child into His arms, He isn't saying, "Welcome the cute and the adorable," but "Welcome the useless and the insignificant." See, the idea of service and greatness, the idea that every person is worthy of dignity and respect, isn't a human idea. It's a Christian idea. See, Jesus reaches down to the lowest rung in society and embraces them in His arms.

What about you? How much do you love the least of these—those who provide no benefit for you? That annoying church member that seems to be a leech on your own happiness, the ones that drive you crazy? Do you love them? Every single person that you dread has God's imprint on them. We are all made in the image of God and are worthy of love and respect.

In fact, Jesus goes as far as to say welcoming the least of these is directly connected to how you receive Him: that the way that you receive the child is the way that you receive Jesus, and the way that you receive Jesus is the way that you receive God the Father. See, one good way of evaluating your love for others is your love for the church community. Do you actually love the church? I'm not talking about the parts of the church that you like. How much do you love all the church? Joe Lee once gave me a quote from one pastor, and I think it sums up this passage really well. He asks, "How much do you love your least favorite church member? That's how much you love the church."

Jesus changes the competition from exalting yourself to exalting others around you. See, true greatness isn't determined by your own power, but by how you use that power to serve others. Romans 12:10 says to outdo one another in showing honor—not in gaining honor, but the competition is in giving honor to other people. It's service. Do you compete with others, or do you serve? Do you serve?

There are so many here who have served well. I mean, I so appreciate people, from sound to counting to serving one another's needs in prayer and serving throughout the week. Thank you for modeling godly, salted, honoring service in all that you do each week. But His disciples, Jesus' disciples here, they don't get it. Instead of salting themselves with service, they focus their attention from the least to shut down those who aren't part of their crew.

Do You Gatekeep or Do You Focus?

If the first question was, "Do you compete or do you serve?" the second question is, "Do you gatekeep or do you focus?" Do you gatekeep or do you focus? Let's look at verse 38: "John said to him, 'Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him because he wasn't following us.'"

John pivots the conversation away from himself and onto someone else. There's someone casting out demons in Jesus' name, and he shuts them down because "he wasn't following us." Notice he doesn't say "he wasn't following you"; he says "he wasn't following us." I always laugh when I talk to sports fans who say, "We won!" I'll say, "No, you didn't. You weren't on the field. They won." And that's exactly what tribalism does: it changes the "you" to an "us." And because this guy wasn't part of our group, our tribe, the disciples tried to stop him because they equate the ministry of Jesus with the ministry of the disciples. That's what tribalism does: it equates the work of God with the work of us.

It's especially ironic because, if you remember from earlier in this chapter, we saw the disciples unable to do what this man is doing. They couldn't cast out the demon for the father's son. And this man can cast out demons! Rather than rejoicing in the work that God is doing, they took that as an opportunity to shut down this man's success.

How would you respond if this happened? I'm not talking about denouncing false teaching. We should be absolutely clear on what the Bible teaches and doesn't teach. There's nothing wrong with clarifying what this church should teach in contrast to a false teaching; I don't think that's what Jesus is concerned about here. But what John's talking about—what if we were to pray for revival, and revival does happen, but it happens at Trinity Reformed down the street? Would we be more concerned about nitpicking their methodology, their ministry philosophy, or their denominational affiliation? We try to armchair-quarterback their revival because that's exactly what the disciples are trying to do, because they couldn't stand the thought of the work of God being separate from the work of us.

But Jesus doesn't want them to gatekeep; He wants them to focus. Look at verse 39. This is Jesus' response: "“Don’t stop him,” said Jesus, “because there is no one who will perform a miracle in my name who can soon afterward speak evil of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. And whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you belong to Christ—truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward."

Jesus isn't concerned about what that man is doing in His name. And notice that Jesus doesn't make any qualitative statement in terms of what the man is doing. He's not saying that what the man is doing in casting out demons in Jesus' name is correct. In fact, Jesus says later as an example that there will be those on the last day who say, "Did we not cast out demons in your name?" and Jesus would still respond, "Depart from me, I never knew you." He's not saying that what every single person does in casting out demons or using Jesus' name to accomplish their own goals is right. Jesus is not giving everyone a blank check.

What He's saying is that the disciples shouldn't be concerned about what other people are doing. That shouldn't be their primary concern. The man who is acting in the name of Jesus will not speak ill of Jesus. The ones who do insignificant things for Jesus will receive great rewards. In other words, don't be primarily concerned about what others are doing. That's not your job. Your job is not to gatekeep or figure out whoever the faithful people are outside the walls of this church. Because whoever is not against us is for us. Whoever is not against us is for us. In other words, if they're not in our way, then they're allowing us to continue to work, which means you should just leave them alone.

Now, I want to be careful here not to overstate what Jesus is saying. This doesn't automatically give license for not caring about all misrepresentations of Jesus or about unrepentant sin in our church. You could kind of take something like this and overapply it to every single concern that you may have and just shut it down and say, "Hey, whoever is not against us is for us." But Jesus says the opposite in Matthew 12:30. He actually says:

— Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not gather with me scatters.”

— Matthew 12:30 (CSB)

He says the exact opposite of this—that he who is not with Me is against Me. And Paul in 1 Corinthians 5 even says that we should be concerned and even judge those who are in the church who are claiming to follow Jesus and yet are engaging in unrepentant sin. This is not trying to turn down your discernment receptors. He's not saying, "Shut your brain off," when He says, "Whoever is not against us is for us." Jesus here is not talking about other people's salvation; He's talking about the disciples' priorities. He's talking about you, saying, "Hey, forget about the other people for a second. Focus on you."

Whoever isn't getting in your way and the work of the ministry is working with you, not against you. In other words, don't pick fights with people who aren't in your way. Don't go out of your way to start punching other people that aren't on your road of following Jesus. Stay focused on the bigger mission, that following Jesus means sharing Jesus' priorities. This means that we should be less concerned about making sure everyone's doing ministry exactly like us, and more focused on making sure that we're being faithful ourselves.

Are you focused on building up, or are you focused on just breaking down—on deconstructing? When you look online, the people that gain clicks, followers, and greater voices are the ones who criticize, the ones who look over the fence and begin to gatekeep what other people are doing, screaming into the void to make sure that they're absolutely correct and that everyone else understands that they're the right ones. They do this to make sure that people support their presidential candidate, to make sure that Christians hold to their specific understanding of parenting or caring for the poor or advocating for Christian morals. It's not wrong to have concerns or think through those things. It's totally fine to have a position and even to voice your position at times.

But when that occupies the majority of your mind space, when it occupies your work, it impedes your ability to focus on following Jesus. It wastes your energy and your ability to obey the Lord. In other words, those things aren't supposed to be your priority. Your priority is Jesus. That's what you're supposed to prioritize. Do you gatekeep or do you focus? Are your objections an obstacle to your obedience?

Instead, we should be focused on following the important work of telling other people about the gospel, about being faithful here in this church. And as we do, we can be pleasantly surprised by those who come alongside us to support us in our mission. Those who help us in our mission will be blessed by Christ; even the smallest act of service to Christians will reap big rewards.

We want to be focused on the main thing. That's why we spend so much time looking at the Word together, gathering together. When we gather here on Sunday morning, we're not spending time spray-painting picket signs to go out and do work—not because we don't care about the issues in society, not because we don't care about suffering, but because we care about eternal suffering. Our priorities are placed here because we believe that this Book contains the words of life, and we want to major on what this Book prioritizes.

But deceiving the least of these—doing the opposite of that, focusing on little things, even going as far as to be tempted by sin and to tempt others into it—will reap infinite judgment. Infinite judgment.

Do You Deceive or Do You Kill Sin?

The second question was, "Do you gatekeep or are you focused?" Here is our last question in determining whether or not you're a salty Christian: do you deceive or do you kill sin? Do you deceive or do you kill sin?

Let's look at verse 42: "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away—it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea."

Jesus doesn't just care about receiving little ones, but also protecting little ones. In college, I went on a trip to Israel and we went to an olive tree ranch. Next to all the trees that were growing olives, you would see a millhouse or a place where they would make olive oil. You go in, and inside you can see a massive millstone—like a concrete circle that rolls right in a little circle. An animal or a human being would have a rope tied around them as they pulled the millstone around in a circle, and the stone would crush olives and press them so that you could cook dinner.

What Jesus is saying here is that leading little ones astray is so evil, so detestable, that it would be better for that massive millstone that crushes olives to a pulp to turn into an anchor, and that rope be turned into a noose. Jesus hates sin. He hates evil, and those who participate in evil or cause these little, impressionable children to fall away deserve the greatest degree of punishment.

But when we think about little ones being led astray, we often think about extreme examples like trafficked children or abuse. That's absolutely evil and included here in terms of Jesus' condemnation, but that's not Jesus' primary condemnation here. It's not just anyone who causes it; it's anyone in particular, if you look here, "who causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away." Little ones who believe in Him to fall away—tempting little ones who are trying to follow Jesus, unwittingly doing the work of Satan in deceiving the impressionable. Think about what Satan does in the garden with the ignorant. Adam and Eve didn't need to be abused. He didn't need to maul them or hurt them or do some drastic action. He only needed to deceive them. He only needed to deceive them.

Kids are more perceptive than we give them credit for. They're sharp little boogers. They're sponges; they pick up everything, and they can see when our talk and our walk doesn't line up. If your behavior was a language, what are you saying to those around you? Parents, what does the drive to and back from church look like? Grandparents, how would your actions at home reflect who Jesus is? When we're placed in authority over these little ones, and God places them in our care, what we do reflects who God is. When they see the way you parent, when they see the way that you care for them, when you speak to them or even when you act around them, they are learning. They are receiving what God must be like. Are they thinking that God is a good, holy God who showers care on those under Him? Or are they thinking that God is a hypocrite, a hater, someone who gives lip service while following their own true, evil priorities? They don't just hear what you say; they hear what you do. And it would be better for a millstone to be tied around your neck than for you to cause a little one who believes in Jesus to fall away. God forbid that we wreck Christ's witness with our own recklessness.

And that's why Jesus follows up this statement with the opposite. See, the opposite of deceiving these little ones is to pursue holiness—to kill sin. We see that in verse 43:

“And if your hand causes you to fall away, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go to hell, the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to fall away, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to fall away, gouge it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”

— Mark 9:43-48 (CSB)

Jesus is absolutely clear: we must kill sin ruthlessly, relentlessly.

Now, Jesus here isn't saying that you need to literally maim yourself. There are laws in the Old Testament that prevent that from being the case, that don't allow for self-harm, especially in Deuteronomy. Jesus here isn't focusing exclusively on actions, but on the attitude that you need to have towards sin that leads towards your actions. Do you kill sin? Do you kill sin—not just major sins, but the hidden ones, the respectable ones, the habitual sins? Many claim to be willing to die for Jesus while being unwilling to kill sin in their own lives. But Jesus wants us to be militant in killing sin. Like cancer spreading throughout the body, you need to make every single effort to completely eradicate it from yourself.

And notice that Jesus isn't just saying what you should do; He's also making a statement of what you should want to do. What you should want to do. He says it is better for you to enter life maimed, lame, and with one eye than it is for you to have those things and be thrown into hell. It is better. It is better. It is better. He's making a statement of goodness, of value.

Do you really believe that it's better? It's better to lose those things? It doesn't feel that way in the moment, does it? When the spotlight focuses in on sin, it starts to captivate you, the music stops, it seems like everything else loses its color, and all you can see is sin. It's so easy to get swept away by it, to crave it, to obsess over it. But behind sin's face are hell's flames. Any pleasure of sin pitted against the punishment of hell is not worth it. It's just not worth it. It's a clear answer. Verse 48 tells us that in hell, "their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched." In other words, this punishment is for eternity. It's not something that you just enter into and then cease to exist. This is eternal, conscious torment, and no temporary pleasure is worth eternal punishment.

Killing sin is better. Do you believe that? Not just do you know that, but do you believe that that's actually better? Because if you truly believe that it is better, it will affect what you do. Jesus is not here just concerned about our agreement—"Yes, we agree that it's better"—but if you truly agree, you would do something. You would actually act. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. In other words, make conscious, radical decisions for your own obedience to the Lord. Actually do something.

I know one brother whom I discipled for years who traded in his smartphone for a flip phone for the sake of his own purity, because it's better to lose digital convenience than to lose your entire self in the flames of hell. There are those who have traded their own freedom of access to alcohol for the sake of their own sobriety to avoid drunkenness, because it's better to lose your own flexibility than to lose your entire self in the flames of hell. It is better. It is better. It is better.

What about you? Is there a domesticated sin in your life that you've convinced yourself that you can cohabitate with, that you can continue to live with? Make no mistake: you cannot serve two masters. Or as John Owen says, "Be killing sin, or it will be killing you." If you follow your sin, you will die. Verse 49 is clear: everyone will be salted or purified by fire. You will either be purified in this life with the flames of your own discipline, or you will be punished in the flames of hell.

Christ, Our Savior and Our Sweetness

But that's not all. It's not just that we avoid hell. Obedience is not just better because hell is worse; it is better to lose the pleasures of sin because it means that you get to obtain the pleasures of Christ. The truth is, all of us here will fail to obey Christ's command. All of us have had times where our hands, our heads, our hearts have led us into sin. And let's just be honest: you can be a blind quadriplegic and still be headed for hell. The issue isn't just our actions; it's our hearts. We need more than just obedience; we need a Savior.

And the good news of Christianity is that there was a Man who did this perfectly, and His name is Jesus. A Man who resisted the greatest temptation from the greatest tempter, Satan. One who walked completely in step with the will of His Father, who welcomed little ones and stayed on God's mission. And unlike us, who will ally with the strong and sacrifice the weak, Jesus willingly sacrificed Himself for the survival of the weak. He died bearing the weight of sins in His body on the cross, and He rose from the dead three days later, victorious over sin and death. His blood has quenched the flames of hell for anyone who would turn from their sin and trust in Him.

If you feel small, insignificant, feeble, weak—the good news of the gospel is that if Jesus tells His disciples to welcome the little ones in their arms, He can welcome you too. And there is no sin that's worth the value of that Savior.

Why can you radically resist the temptations of sexual immorality? Because it is better to kill lust and to have Jesus. Why can you proactively kill pride that tempts you to exalt yourself over others? Because it is better to kill that selfish part of yourself if it means you get to have Jesus. Why can you sacrifice any selfish, idolatrous dream that you've held in your heart for so long? Because when you let that go, you acknowledge it is better to lose the entire world if it means that you get to have Jesus. You can have all this world, but give me Jesus.

And when you grow, when you see that, when you understand the glorious pleasure of Christ, when you put the spotlight on Him and let His light shine in your heart and in your life, that's when sin's pleasures begin to grow dull. That's when sin starts to look ugly, because Christ is so sweet. And that new, accurate view of reality shapes our entire lives.

The blood of Christ makes service less about ourselves and more about being like Christ—that you can serve with your whole heart, because when you serve others, you get to serve out of an overflow of your love for Christ. You get to care for them. You get to stay focused because it's better to follow Jesus, and you get to share that news with other people. And when you see other people acting differently, it has no bearing on your confidence in following Jesus. And when you stay focused on Christ, sin becomes a burden to you, where you happily get rid of it all because the pearl of great price is ahead of you. It sours any taste of sin and makes obedience sweet.

Jesus is the salt that sets us apart, and when we follow Him, we will have Christ among ourselves. He will dwell in you, and you will have peace with one another because that's who Christ is and that's what Christ does. Are you a salty Christian? If so, then follow Jesus.

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for your word. Lord, we know that we cannot obey this with our own strength, so we pray, Lord, that you would help us by the power of your Holy Spirit. Help us, Lord, to believe this and to obey it. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Closing Song and Benediction

We talked about the cost of following Jesus. Let's go ahead and grab our hymnals and turn to Hymn 376. Hymn 376, and stand together as we sing: "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus."

I have decided to follow Jesus; I have decided to follow Jesus; I have decided to follow Jesus; no turning back, no turning back.

The world behind me, the cross before me; the world behind me, the cross before me; the world behind me, the cross before me; no turning back, no turning back.

Though none go with me, still I will follow; though none go with me, still I will follow; though none go with me, still I will follow; no turning back, no turning back.

Will you decide to follow Jesus? Will you decide to follow Jesus? Will you decide to follow Jesus? No turning back, no turning back.

Amen. Amen.

And now, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.