43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: 48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 49 For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. 50 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another. (Mark 9:43-50 KJV)
Purging ourselves of what causes us to sin
Jesus warns all his followers to take care not to ruin their own souls. If we must take heed not to hinder others or cause them to sin, how much more must we avoid anything that will lead us away from duty or into sin ourselves. Whatever does so, we must part with, even if it is as dear to us as an eye or a hand. This was taught in Matthew 5:29-30 and 18:8-9, but is here urged even more strongly. The case supposed is that our own hand, eye, or foot offends us; that some beloved corruption or temptation has become as dear to us as an eye or hand.
Suppose we cannot keep what is dear without it becoming a snare and stumbling block; we must choose to part with it rather than with Christ and a good conscience. The duty prescribed is to pluck out the eye, cut off the hand or foot—mortify the darling lust, kill it, crucify it, starve it, make no provision for it. Let the things that have been delightful idols become detestable. Stay away from temptations, however pleasing. The gangrened part must be removed for the preservation of the whole. The part incurably wounded must be cut off to save the sound parts. We must endure pain to avoid ruin; deny ourselves to avoid destruction.
The necessity of doing this is clear: the flesh must be mortified so we may enter life (Mark 9:43, 45), the kingdom of God (Mark 9:47). Giving up sin may feel like being halt and maimed now, but it is for life—and all that a person has, they will give for their life. It is for a kingdom, the kingdom of God, which we cannot otherwise obtain. These scars will be marks of honor in that kingdom. The danger of not doing this is that sin must die or we must die. If we keep our hands, feet, and eyes—those instruments of sin—we will be cast into hell with them.
Our Lord often warned of the torments of hell awaiting those who continue in sin. With what terror these words are repeated three times: “Where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched!” (Mark 9:44, 46, 48; Isaiah 66:24). The reflections and reproaches of the sinner’s own conscience are the worm that does not die; it clings to the damned soul like worms to a corpse and preys on it forever. “Son, remember” (Luke 16:25) will set this worm gnawing. How terribly it will bite with the words (Proverbs 5:12, 23), “How I hated instruction!” Damned sinners will forever accuse and condemn themselves for their folly, which they once loved but which will bite like a serpent and sting like an adder.
The wrath of God fastening on a guilty conscience is the fire that is not quenched, for it is the wrath of the living and eternal God. There is no operation of the Spirit of grace on the souls of the damned; the fuel of their torment remains forever combustible. There is no application of Christ’s merit to them to quench the fire. Dr. Whitby notes that the eternity of hell’s torments was the constant faith of the Christian church and also of the Jewish church. Josephus says the Pharisees believed the souls of the wicked suffered perpetual punishment, and Philo says their punishment is to live forever dying, in unending pain and grief.
The last two verses are somewhat difficult, and interpreters differ. “Everyone shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt” (Mark 9:49). By the law of Moses, every sacrifice had to be salted with salt (Leviticus 2:13). It was the food of God’s table, and no flesh was eaten without salt. The nature of man, being corrupt and called flesh (Genesis 6:3; Psalm 78:39), must somehow be salted to be a sacrifice acceptable to God. Our chief concern is to present ourselves as living sacrifices to God’s grace (Romans 12:1), and to be acceptable, we must be salted with salt, subduing and mortifying our corrupt affections, and having in our souls a savor of grace. Thus, the offering up of the Gentiles is said to be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:16).
Those who have the salt of grace must show it; they must have salt in themselves—a living principle of grace in their hearts, which drives out corrupt dispositions. Our speech must always be with grace, seasoned with this salt, so no corrupt communication proceeds from us, and we loathe it as much as putrid meat (Colossians 4:6). This salt will keep our own consciences clear and help us live peaceably with others, not offending Christ’s little ones. We must not only have the salt of grace but retain its savor. If this salt loses its flavor, if a Christian turns away from Christ and loses the savor of grace, what can restore him? This was taught in Matthew 5:13.
Those who do not present themselves as living sacrifices to grace will become dying sacrifices to God’s justice. Since they refused to be salted with divine grace—to have their corruptions subdued—they will in hell be salted with fire. Coals of fire and brimstone (Ezekiel 10:2; Job 18:15) will be scattered on them like salt on meat. The pleasures they lived for will eat their flesh like fire (James 5:3).
The pain of mortifying the flesh now is nothing compared to the punishment for refusing to mortify it. And since hell’s fire will not be quenched, though it might be objected that the fuel would not last forever, Christ here intimates that God will preserve both the fire and the fuel eternally. Those cast into hell will experience both the corroding and preserving qualities of salt. A “covenant of salt” signifies a perpetual covenant, and Lot’s wife, turned into a pillar of salt, became a perpetual monument of divine vengeance. Knowing this terror of the Lord, let us be persuaded to crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts.