"21 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. 23 Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. 25 Make
friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the
way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the
judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent."
Good Morning my beloved,
We welcome you to worship
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is my honor and privilege to have you
here with us today. We are especially grateful for those of you who have
been sharing the ministry website, and social media platforms with all of your family and friends.
Your faithfulness and commitment to share God's Word with others
continues to bring about tremendous results. People are responding to
God's Word! This is all so amazing. We ask you to pray that God will
continue to give us boldness to speak the truth in ministry in the face
of adversity in the coming days! As you may have noticed, it's becoming
more and more challenging in the day in which we live.
I
want to let all of you know how grateful I am for all of you. We are so
thankful your prayers and continue to pray for all of you. Prayer is
such a powerful tool, and a mighty weapon against the adversary. And
through your sharing, God continues to bring a number of people to faith
in Jesus Christ. Praise God! May He continue to use you and this
ministry mightily to effect change in even more lives. Let's give God some praise for all He has done!
I think that we all know people we think are going to go to Hell. The problem is that we don’t think we should. Sometimes we are tempted to think that some of the sins we commit are not that big of a deal. But have you ever gotten so angry with someone that you felt like you could just kill them? Do not raise your hand.Then, you catch yourself and say to yourself, "I can’t kill that person! You shouldn’t kill anyone out of anger. That’s a sin."
Don’t minimize your sin, because it’s not minimal to a holy God. In our text today, Jesus pushes us farther on this issue of anger. He challenges us not only on the sinfulness of murder but also on the sinfulness of anger itself. We may feel anger, but the right way to handle anger is try to resolve conflict. It's not enough not to murder someone; we must guard against harboring anger that leads to broken relationships. In our text, Jesus makes it clear that a right relationship between you and your brother or sister is so vital, that you should forego religious practices until you have resolved the matter. Jesus commands that we must deal with the issue.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, thank You for Your Word. Lord, open our minds and our hearts to comprehend and understand the true meaning of this passage. Holy Spirit, You are our resident teacher, help us to see beyond what we tend to perceive of ourselves, speak to our hearts, convict us of any hypocritical worship. Unmask the foolishness within each of us that thinks that we have arrived, that we are good enough. We acknowledge that we are still evil and sinful. We have the power within us to reconcile with a brother, yet we refuse to do it. We justify our sin. Forgive us Lord.
Help us to see ourselves and others as You see them. Break our hearts for what breaks Yours. Help us Lord, that we may live the kind of life that we should, a life of obedience. Thank You for Your grace, so we don’t have to pay the penalty that we deserve. Father, thank You for this time together to study Your truth, may it be used to Your praise and for Your glory and for Christ's sake.
It is in Christ's name we ask and pray
Amen
Today's Message: Roads To Reconciliation
Murder in our world is a very serious problem, and it's getting worse all the time. In 2020, there were 21,570 reported cases of murder or non-negligent manslaughter in the United States. In fact, twelve major cities have hit all-time homicide records, and 2021 is not over yet. Stand For America reported that 2021 is officially the year of record-blasting murder rates. Citing that all twelve of these cities are run by Democrats. Liberals
spent the past year and a half letting criminals off the hook and
demonizing brave law enforcement officers while pushing to defund them.
On a worldwide scale, El Salvador saw a murder rate of 83 per 100,000 inhabitants, making it the most dangerous country for this kind of crime worldwide in 2021. These figures do not include deaths that resulted from abortion, suicide, war, or a violent conflict.
The attack on Christianity has also increased as tech giants are continue shutting us down, claiming that it's offensive and deemed as hate speech. The world would do well to recognize God’s presence. As followers of Jesus Christ, how we treat other people important. The ways of this fallen world are devastation, apathy, oppression, deceit, and vindictiveness.The ways of God include compassion, justice, truth, and mercy. Quite a contrast!
Understanding the Beatitudes, leads to righteousness, resulting in right relationships with the people with whom we work or live because we cease making all our actions revolve around ourselves. We are to aid others to attain their best outcomes, regardless of how we feel about them. Engaging in fair, open conflict resolution is the way of the New Kingdom. This becomes plain in the illustrations that follow.
Open
your Bibles with me to the Gospel of Matthew chapter 5. I believe that this passage is very important, because what we have here are critical statements made by our Lord as He interprets the Old Testament law. Sadly, this is a section of Scripture that is often misrepresented and misinterpreted by many teaching God's Word today. In our society, most people evaluate their lives and the lives of other people based upon external circumstances and appearences. Quite often, in terms of their religious behavior. In fact, I have heard a number of both Christian and non-Christian people say that so and so is "A good person, because they are always doing good deeds for people." Jesus is say that while man looks upon the outward appearance, God looks upon the heart. God is most concerned is with the inside.
I invite you to follow along with me as I read these six verses, as we prepare our hearts for the Spirit of God is saying to each
of us. Matthew 5:21-26. Listen for the voice of our Lord.
"You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. Make
friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the
way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the
judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent."
Scripture has a lot to say about murder. If we go back to the Book of Genesis, in chapter 9 verse 6, we see that to take the life of a human being is to assault the image of God He created in man, and that brings about serious penalty. In fact, Genesis 9 authorizes capital punishment for those who shed blood. This does have anything to do with self-defense, I believe that we have the right to protect the image of God in our lives and the lives of our families, and those about us when they are assaulted and attacked by those who would kill us. The Bible is talking about is murder that is plotted and planned. Exodus 21:14 says "If, however, a man acts presumptuously toward his neighbor, so as to kill him craftily, you are to take him even from My altar, that he may die."
In Numbers 35, God's Word says "But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. If he struck him down with a stone in the hand, by which he will die, and as a result he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. Or if he struck him with a wooden object in the hand, by which he might die, and as a result he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. The blood avenger himself shall put the murderer to death; he shall put him to death when he meets him. If he pushed him of hatred, or threw something at him lying in wait and as a result he died, or if he struck him down with his hand in enmity, and as a result
he died, the one who struck him shall surely be put to death, he is a
murderer; the blood avenger shall put the murderer to death when he
meets him." In other words the, society was to protect itself by taking the life of the one who indiscriminately, premeditatively takes the life of another.
In Genesis chapter 4, the first murder was committed, when Cain murdered his brother Abel. Murder is basically authored by Satan. In John 8:44, Jesus said "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies." Murder is the manifestation of an evil human heart.
In Matthew 15, our Lord said "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders." Murder is the manifestation of an evil human heart. Both biblical history and modern history are filled with murderers. For the sake of time, I won't belabor all of them, if you know anything about the Bible, and pay any attention to the events of our day, you already know who they are.
Personally, I know what it’s like to have the experience having your life threatened, to have someone attempt to take your life. Perhaps, some of you have lived through a reality like that. I pray not, it's not a pleasant experience.
Back to Matthew 5, in our passage today, we see three sides of anger. Anger can be evil. This certainly would have been surprising to the hearers of Jesus, and, quite frankly, it’s probably surprising to many of us today. I believe that most of us would agree, murder is evil, sinful, and worthy of judgment. But to say that anger is worthy of judgment, well, we tend to justify our anger. Well, as if that isn't bad enough, Jesus carries it even further, when He says "whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell." Jesus is saying if you insult your brother or sister, you will be subject to the court. Here, Jesus is telling us that insulting is sinful because it is a verbal violation of God's commands. So, to be clear, Jesus is not saying that murder and anger are equal sins, just that they were both worthy of judgment. Anger should not be overlooked as innocent or acceptable before God. Anger is evil.
The term, "hellfire," is from the word Gehenna, which referred
to a trash dump outside of Jerusalem that was continually burning. Jesus
said the judgment that we could experience if we give ourselves to
anger and insulting could be like a continual fire that burns up trash.
Let's look at verse 21, "You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’" Most, if not all of you say "I would never murder anyone, I wouldn’t hurt anybody. I'm not that kind of person," right? Here, Jesus is teaching us that murdering is not enough. In verses 21 through 48, He gives us six illustrations of how our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. Like many of us today, they believed that because they would never commit such an act as murder, they convinced themselves they were righteous, and that they were holy. So, our Lord is addressing the scribes and Pharisees on this hillside in Galilee, along with the rest of the multitude. He is addressing their approach to life, this is precisely where Jesus wants to attack them, as well as us today.
While many have said "Well, Jesus had righteous anger," I would strongly encourage you to exercise the utmost caution when claiming that your anger is righteous anger. First of all, allow me to remind you that none of us are Jesus. Secondly, that Jesus’ anger was an identification of the sin of others, devoted to the pursuit of repentance and holiness for the person to whom His anger was directed. Our anger is generally selfish, self-centered and vengeful, opening the door to sin, and placing you in danger of judgement. Jesus is making the point that by partially interpreting the law, you have satisfied yourself with keeping your partial interpretation, and therefore justifying yourself. This is profound and must have been shocking to the hearer. By the way, when He says "Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court,’" the term "judgment" here is speaking about the local court. Not the judgement of God. God "desires truth in the innermost being," that's from Psalm 51.
If we are going to claim to follow Jesus, then we must truly follow Jesus, and that beloved, includes His commands to flee anger and insult. Therefore, we must pursue holiness not only in our actions but also in our hearts. That is the point.
So, He goes on to say in verse 22, "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell." Jesus is teaching us that the issue of anger and hatred in your heart. That anger can and should be reconciled. Because anger is murder’s root. Jesus is speaking in terms of social relationships, the people in our lives. If you have anger, if you have hatred in your heart, you’re a murderer. That's a pretty devastating statement. You know, if you think about it, it’s really amazing to me how we justify ourselves and our own sin. Let's be completely honest, even the worst of men justify themselves. The human heart will go to just about any length to justify itself. Hate brings you nearer to murder than any other human emotion.
So, in verse 22, Jesus is using three illustrations to reveal this sin. "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell." Jesus is saying "Whoever is angry with his brother is in danger of judgment." Now, as I stated earlier, there are times when a believer has a right to be angry, especially the holier we become the angrier we become about certain things. However, in our society today, all anybody wants to talk about is love and their right to love who and what they want, I have found that most pastors don't dare to say anything against anything. They won’t stand for anything that goes against the grain of the culture, for fear of backlash.
The word used here for angry, is the Greek verb "orgízō," from the root word "orgē," which is a swelling, long lived anger, rising up and it is always negative when arising from the flesh. Jesus
is teaching us there is hope, and that we should even be an
expectation, that anger can and should be reconciled between others. In fact, in verses 23-24, He believes so strongly in this reconciliation that He actually instructs us
to pause our worship of God in order for us to make things right. In other words, it is an extremely high priority. Think about that for a moment, the worship of God is worth more than anyone in all the universe! Yet, Jesus is telling us go and reconcile with others, before worshiping God. Whoa! "Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering." Jesus is getting right to the core of the matter, our words not only affect our righteousness, they affect our worship of God. That's an incredibly powerful statement. Because obedience in the heart is far better than sacrifice, God condemns that kind of worship. Every Jew would have understood that statement.
Whenever you onto hold a grudge against somebody, a bitterness arises in your heart and that turns to anger. That anger then turns into hatred. Jesus is saying that capital punishment should belong to you, just the same as a murderer. In terms of God’s divine judgement, the God Who is sitting on the throne, the one who is angry is as guilty. The word "raca" is an Aramaic term, very difficult to translate, is an expression of arrogant contempt, a verbal expression of slander against the person. It’s like calling someone a moron in today's vernacular. The point here is, it's the poison under the tongue, and is enough to dam you to eternal hell. By the way, Jesus isn't saying anything new, this had always been God’s standard.
Look at Isaiah 1, "What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?" Says the Lord. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? Bring your worthless offerings no longer, incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them." In other words, "Don't you dare come to Me with your religion until you’ve made your life right with the poor, and the oppressed, and the orphans, and the widows, fix the issue. Deal with that first, then come and deal with Me"
Just think about how many issues in the world would be resolved if we just sought to work things out according to God's plan. Meeting the need of others before approaching God, making right your relationships with others. And, it isn't just if you have something against your brother, but even if he has something against you. That's a fascinating point. Do you see how important this is? How many times do we justify not making right a relationship because the issue is on the other persons end?
Look,
I understand that it's not always easy to make things right with
someone, in fact, sometimes, it down right hard, but because it is so
important to God, we should keep trying. I would also like to draw your attention the fact that Jesus does not mention anything, at all, about who’s in the right and who’s in the wrong. Just that it needs fixed! When
it comes to imperfection and sinfulness, we’re all in the wrong! Apart
from Christ, we are completely unrighteous people who desperately need a
Savior.
We
all know that somebody’s upset with us, we may not even understand why
they feel like they do. But I do know that we need to be intentional in
resolving, as much as it is possible with us, not because I say so, but
because God does! And, in pretty strong terms too! Because we have been reconciled to God, we must strive to also be reconciled to others. I John 4 says "If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also."
And, in Psalm 66 it says that "If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear." I'm
not suggesting that you should just run around all day asking everybody
if they're upset with you. But if you know somebody is, best you
resolve it. Once
you've asked for forgiveness and tried your best, there's really
nothing more you can do. Except pray for a change of heart. I can speak
from experience, I've tried to be reconciled with some people, it's
very difficult. And when I no longer know what to do, I pray for a
change of heart for both of us. And ask that He start with me.
That brings us to our last two verses for today, verses 25 and 26. "Make
friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the
way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the
judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent." Jesus is teaching us that anger can have consequences. It's far better to work thing than to go before a judge, whether it's a human judge or a holy Judge.
Look at verse 25, "Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way." The implication is do it now, tomorrow just maybe too late. And you will be left without the possibility of ever paying back that debt. Don’t let this thing continue! This is pretty graphic imagery. I can speak from my own personal experience, the longer you wait to make things right the more difficult the situation becomes. Reconcile before it’s too late and severe judgment comes and you can’t reconcile at all. Though He isn't specific, it could well be that before you die or the other person dies. It could also well mean that God will chasten you and judge you, and it will be too late. Hell is the real punishment.
In Closing..
Ultimately, the issue comes down to our relationship with God. Anger is a sin that separates us from God as well as others. We must go to God, through our Lord Jesus Christ and repent of our anger. I encourage you to address any anger or resentment toward others you've been holding in your heart and try to make it right. Even if things do not work out, you will have tried.
To be clear, I'm not speaking about a situation where your life is in danger. Your safety must come first. So excluding that situation, I ask you to keep in mind, God had every reason to be angry with us, yet He sent His Son Jesus, to die on a cross because He seeks to reconcile us to Himself. If He can do that for us, surely we find it in our hearts to be reconciled to our brothers and sisters for His sake. Jesus wants us to live for Him in all aspects of our life. Not just on Sunday mornings.
May it be so..
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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