Mark 9:42-50 “And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. 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: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 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: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 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: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. 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.”
It is popular now-a-days for preachers, some of whom claim to be evangelicals, to say that God is too loving to send anybody to hell. These preachers say that eventually every person who ever lived will enter into eternal bliss. However, if Jesus’ words mean anything at all, then eternal punishment in hell is a reality for those who reject Christ.
Jesus is not recommending physical mutilation. He is simply saying that a person would be better off being mutilated than to go to hell. He is not saying that mutilation will keep a person out of hell. If an unsaved person cuts off his arm, he will be a one-armed person on his way to hell. The reference to salt in verses 49 and 50 means that a believer’s testimony has the possibility of keeping sinners out of hell, and that should be our work and our influence in this world.
The doctrine of hell is weakened in some of the new translations which leave out verses 44 and 46. The verses are eliminated on the basis of manuscript evidence, but the manuscripts adhered to are inferior. The verses are found in most manuscripts that have the passage. The words, “the fire is not quenched” are repeated four times for emphasis in this important warning. In some versions “hell” becomes “rubbish heap.” This is totally unwarranted and should not be thought of as real translating.