6"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!
8"If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. 9And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.
Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin... Jesus just talked to His disciples about how we need to go to Him as little children, humble, and full of trust in Him. I don't think this text today is necessarily about little children, but anyone who comes to Him like a child. For someone like that to be brought into sin would be awful, with major punishment going to the one who caused them to sin.
Woe to the world because of offenses! Sin will happen! There is evil in this world. Offenses must come! Why must offenses come? Why must there be sin and evil in this world? The greatest thing and the worst thing that God gave us is freedom of choice. We are all free to choose what we do. Good seed and bad seed is planted for everyone. The evil will grow as freely as the good if it finds receptive ground.
Jesus said there is evil in this world. Offenses will come. You will see sin all around you. But just because everyone else is doing it does not mean it is OK for you to do it too.
Jesus said don't be the one who causes offenses. Don't be the one to bring sin into the world. For woe to you if you do. You are given a choice. But you are also given the knowledge to distinguish right from wrong. Jesus tells us there are consequences if we are the ones to cause the offenses, and those consequences are worse than being tossed into the sea with a millstone around your neck, a drowning you cannot struggle against.
But this brings up an interesting subject. The first couple lines of this text talk about one who causes another to sin. Can someone cause you to sin? Can it be someone else's fault? Are you not to blame if it is caused by someone else? Can it be entirely not your fault?
I think Jesus is saying He understands that there may be some who cause you to sin, and they will be in very big trouble. But He immediately goes on to say if your hand, foot, or eye cause you to sin, get rid of them, for it is better to be without these things than to be cast into hell fire. So I think He is also telling us that even though someone else may cause you to sin, it is still partly your responsibility. If someone else takes you somewhere, gives you something, or shows you something at which point you cannot help yourself from sinning, it is still your responsibility to stop yourself from sinning. I don't think Jesus is really recommending bodily mutilation, but recommending you take drastic measures that you do not go to places, have things, or see things that may cause you to sin. Though if bodily mutilation is the only thing that will do the trick, then even that would not be as severe as the alternative.
Yes, you can stop yourself from sinning. There is no sin which you cannot resist or stop, though it may require some drastic measures. But even the most drastic measures are better than being cast into the everlasting fire. Pray to be lead from temptation, but also take some action that will help keep you from temptation.