Thank you, my dear friend, for this very important question, because any and all sins are serious matters with deadly consequences. I do believe that for true Christians, we should be willing and even glad to take any measures needed to resist, run away from, or by any means necessary to avoid all temptations to sin. But my response to your specific question, in a word, is “no”. So, why then does the Lord Jesus mention such radical measures in these verses in question? Let’s take a look at the verses you cite, and I’ll quote from the New King James version of the Bible: “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.” Now, my dear friend, we know from the Scriptures that born again Christians will not be going to hell, because we are saved by grace through faith alone in Christ Jesus, by His  finished work on the cross at Calvary (Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16; John 5:24, and many other verses could be named). Applying a strictly literal interpretation of these verses might suggest that one is saved by his or her own good works, or by keeping the law perfectly, which is simply not possible for the children of Adam (Romans 4:5). Only Christ is perfect, and this is why He alone could die to save sinners from hell. We cannot be made righteous, even by removing offending body parts. For this reason, we need to consider these verses in the context of the Lord’s message to His disciples in this chapter, rather than settling on a strict literal interpretation.

We must remember that sin is utterly abhorrent to God, and it leads to death (Romans 6:23). Furthermore, in James 2:10 we read: “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” Thus, if a man could keep the law so perfectly that he only might sin once, that sin alone shows him to be a sinner and lost. And we know from Romans 3 that no one can keep the law, even the most diligent of religious men. Indeed, the Bible teaches us that all men have sinned and thus we need Christ to be our Savior. So then, what does the Lord Jesus mean in those verses in Matthew 5? It is my belief that our Lord is warning His disciples against the level of pride that the Jewish leaders of Israel were demonstrating in Bible times, that would make them to believe that they could keep the law perfectly enough to gain life, when in fact they did not realize that without the Savior, Jesus Christ, they demonstrated daily that they could not keep even one of the laws perfectly. God’s law requires “perfect obedience,” and none of us are perfect. The Jews might have felt that just because they did not openly commit adultery, that they had kept the law. But Jesus shows us in this chapter that even to look upon a woman to lust after her was in fact breaking the law.

If it might be possible therefore to put out our eyes, would that take care of lust? No indeed, that desire to commit adultery is yet in the man’s heart, which means that he has already broken God’s law and is therefore condemned. We need a Savior, and that is why Christ Jesus came into the world (1 Peter 1:3-5; John 3:16; John 5:24). But now, this all might be important for the ungodly, but what about those of us who are saved already? Are sins still so serious a matter since we know we are going to heaven? Yes, they are very serious indeed. Just because we are saved by the grace of God, this does not mean that we should no longer be concerned about sinning (Romans 6:1-2)! We who are born again are expected not to sin, and sinning should be so abhorrent to us, as children of God, that we should be willing to do whatever it takes to remove the sources of temptation from our lives, and to apply the discipline that the Holy Spirit, by His transforming power, provides us. To be pleasing to God is or should be the deep desire of all true Christians, and so by the power and discipline of the Spirit, we must apply obedience to God’s Word, because God hates sin. Furthermore, it is expected that we do not sin, but if we do sin, we must confess our sins and request His forgiveness.  (SF)  (660.2)