Objection: Jesus Said It Is Better to Enter Heaven with One Eye or Hand Than to Go to Hell

Yes, He did say that, and it’s certainly true!  But you don’t have to choose between the two options!  It’s even BETTER to enter heaven after having had two good eyes and two good hands.

Matthew 5:29-30:
And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

This has nothing to do with sickness coming on you.  It is a statement about the awfulness of hell and an exhortation to avoid offenses at all costs.  Hell is so bad that you would be better living with one eye or hand than to go there.

Please understand that the Jews to whom this was addressed were not new creatures in Christ.  They were under the Law of Moses and they were still sinners by nature.  As a New Testament believer, you are not a sinner by nature.  You are created after God in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24).  You do not have to resort to some drastic measure to stop sinning.  You simply need to walk in the Spirit so that you do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).

Nobody in the New Testament literally maimed himself to stop sinning, so you shouldn’t either.  But unless you do, the statements about having one eye or one hand do not apply to you.  They most certainly do not apply to people who have lost an eye or hand in an accident or were born with only one good eye or hand.  It’s better to have one good eye or hand and go to heaven than to go to hell, but that isn’t what Jesus meant here.  He was stressing the drastic lengths you should go to in order to avoid temptation.  (For example, if you can’t handle the temptation to watch the sleaze channels at a hotel, you can ask the hotel to disconnect your TV.)   So don’t accept your sickness and say, “Better to be sick and go to heaven than to be well and go to hell.”  You would be right, but it is even better – and GOD’S WILL – for you to be WELL and go to heaven, and not go there before you live a full, healthy life!