Do we literally cut off our right hand?

Question:        Mt. 5:30 say that we are to cut off our right hand if it offends us.  Are we really supposed to cut off our hand?

 

Answer:          This verse does not literally mean to amputate your hand.  There are other scriptures that make mention of cutting off body parts; Mt. 18:8-9, “…..hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off…… if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee…..”   If we took these statements literally, some of us would inevitably be without any body parts at all.  We are all members of the Body of Christ; 1 Cor.12:27, “…..ye are the body of Christ…..”  Christ is the head of the body; Col. 1:18, “…..he is the head of the body, the church…..”  All of the members represent a body part, such as a hand, a foot, an eye, and etc.  If you see a member doing something that entices you to do wrong, you are to separate (cut him off) yourself from that person; 2 Th. 3:6, “…..that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received…..”  We are to adjust our life styles in such a way that we avoid any and all persons, places and things that causes us to stumble.  When you separate yourself from the presence of evil, you are in fact, cutting off that part of the body that offends you.