"If Your Right Eye Causes You To Sin, Pluck It Out"

A few years ago, an individual asked me this question: "Does anyone view Matthew 5:27-30 literally and if so, do you practice it?"

The above referenced text reads:

“You have heard that it was said to those of old,'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell."

In the above text, taken from the context of Matthew 5:27-28 regarding the sin of adultery, our Lord uses a figure of speech called "hyperbole," which is a rhetorical exaggeration to make a point. His point is this: Do whatever you have to do at any cost, in order to avoid sin! (cf. Romans 6:11-13; Romans 8:13; Colossians 3:5-6).

Since sin originates in the heart, or the mind of man (Matthew 15:18-19; Mark 7:21-23; cf. James 1:13-15), we need to eliminate any impure thoughts that our mind might conceive, i.e., "looking upon a woman to lust after her" (Matthew 5:28).

This is why the apostle Paul admonishes us to "bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5. No heart is fully clean before God until the very thoughts, feelings, and impulses of the heart are brought into subjection to the will of God (Matthew 7:21).

When we consistently train our hearts to do the Lord's will, through a daily study and application of God's Word (2 Timothy 2:15; Acts 17:11; Hebrews 5:14), the less impure thoughts we will have, thus minimizing our desire to sin (Psalm 119:11; cf. Psalm 37:31).

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets