Anger is more than an Action

If you have a bible open it up to Matthew 5. I have titled the message this morning, “Anger is more than an Action.” Pray with me.

Last week I preached a message titled, Jesus believes the scriptures and the message last week flows into the messages going forward on the the sermon on the mount. If you remember what I was attempting to drive home as our main idea was Jesus believes everything in the scriptures points to him, and in those scriptures you can find the one who saves.

And in that very sermon I also made the point that Jesus believes that everything in the scriptures are perfect. Down to the finest of details. And that matters as he is going to explain the law perfectly in a context where the Pharisees and the scribes have been explaining the laws through tradition sometimes adding to it, sometimes watering down, but most importantly they were not properly teaching the law as a whole.

That is why we saw Jesus give that condemnation at the end of verse 20 last week. Remember what it said..

Matthew 5:20 ESV

20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus went hard on those teachers who were banking on the law to save them, and the scriptures show us that we cannot be saved apart from the perfect work of Jesus Christ dying on the cross rising on the third so that we can have the Holy Spirit fulfilling that righteous requirement of the law by Christ living in us.

And what Jesus shows us time and time again and we see that especially over the next few weeks is that he cares about our actions yes, but he knows the biggest problem we have is our own hearts. The Pharisees and the scribes cared about the external, but Jesus cares about our hearts.

In fact this is what I wrote down this week in my time of study was this.. Jesus knows the deepest of our problems comes from our heart not just the actions we do.

What we will see the next few weeks is the law was not suppose to be just some set our rules, but a way we live our life, and we must learn from the scriptures how to live our lives and we need to know that we need to spirit in us to even have a chance to do this.

Now before I read you the text what I see as our main idea is this…

God judges not only our actions but our hearts, so we should strive to make right all of our relationships in our lives.

Let me read now the text to you we are in this week.

Matthew 5:21–26 ESV

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

Few points to take note of today.. The First is this..

A murderous heart breeds evil actions that have horrible results.

You see Jesus in this text seem to quote something or someone or a tradition of some sorts. I tend to believe that Jesus is teaching them something the Jewish leaders should have been teaching them all along. In my study there is this common agreement that the Pharisees like I have already said focus on what someone does not there heart. There are people who have devoted their lives to studying the scriptures who say that Jesus is quoting what Moses said in the Ten Commandments here some believe that he is quoting a teaching from these Jewish teachers.

But if you read the Jewish Septuagint which was the greek version of the Old Testament it says word for word what Jesus says here in verse 21.

That if you murder you are subject to judgement. And the teachers of the day left it at that. They said don’t murder because if you do you will be punished. Noone would disagree with Jesus here, most people today would say that if you murder you should have consequences, but Jesus does not stop here is teaching that the act of murder comes directly from the heart. That murder in the eyes of the Lord goes beyond just a physical action, its a heart issue.

And I told you I believe last week that these sermons are going to convict you and myself and it might be hard for us to hear in the flesh what Jesus and the Word is trying to teach us, because of what he says in verse 22.

and before you say for a moment, well wasn’t Jesus angry at times and it didn’t produce evil actions so can’t I be angry and justified for it. Jesus was speaking of unrighteous anger, but before I unpack the text more I want to talk about maybe an anger that we can have or an anger that we see from Jesus is a righteous anger.

Jesus was angry when he cleared the temple, because his fathers house was not a house of house of trade. He was angry because of the unbelief of the man when he cured the man with a withered hand. Later on in his book see he was angry when he called the Pharisees blind fools for not seeing clearly that Jesus was the Son of God.

I believe we become angry over sin as we grow in our faith, but we should not feel that anger at the sinner, we need to call them out of it. ( that is a struggle for me I hate sin, I hate my own sin so much and I hate when I see others going down the path of sin, because i know how bad it is just from my own life.

Jesus is talking about an unrighteous anger here in the text that is not justified. In the first part of the verse he simply exchanges the word murder here for anger here saying that being anger with a brother will make you liable to judgment. ( He never says murder and anger are the same but they both say they are liable to judgment. Friends you are not good in the eyes of God simply because you haven’t killed someone. You are still liable to be judged.

You dont have to search the scriptures hard to see that anger brings about all these evil things. You can see that a murderous heart is really one who has anger and that manifests in a variety of ways. Just listen to a few.

Psalm 37:8 ESV

8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

The Psalmist warns us that anger leads to evil.

Proverbs 14:29 ESV

29 Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.

The Proverb is telling us that if we are slow to anger than we will have the ability to understand rightly and not elevate our anger.

Another Proverb says this.

Proverbs 29:11 ESV

11 A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.

This one is teaching us that we need to keep our anger in Check or its going to manifest itself in not so good ways.

Ecclesiastes 7:9 ESV

9 Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools.

This one is much like the last one adding to the fact that an angry spirit really makes it home is a fools heart.

Some New Testament verses now.

Ephesians 4:26–27 ESV

26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil.

This one seems to be the most serious so far outside of our Matthew text. Paul is saying don’t let anger take your time, because if you do its going to give opportunity to the Devil. And its going to fuel all these unrighteous things.

Paul in another place uses anger in conjunction with other things saying this…

Colossians 3:8 ESV

8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

In that section of scripture he is describing the new man or the new women in Christ and things they need to put off or put on, and he starts with anger which breeds things like malice, slander, and obscene talk.

Final one is this..

James 1:19–21 ESV

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

This one to me is the greatest application of the text in Matthew in my option. We have alot of anger alot of evil actions that take place because we are not quick to hear. This is my problem to often, James the brother of Jesus tells how we can manage our anger.

If you have ever watched any sort of videos of supposed interactions on the internet you see all to often this anger from others who are not quick to hear, and slow to speak in fact the flesh is the opposite we hear yelling and not even interactions with one another, because we are triggered by something or someone, and in our hearts the ways we respond according to Jesus and his word is actually murderous.

James teaches us just like Jesus really that anger does not produce the righteousness of God,

Not only does Jesus say in the text in Matthew that those who are anger with a his brother will be liable to judgement, but also who insults his brother will be liable to the council.

What Jesus is talking about here in the text is if you talk bad about someone you are going to be subject to the Sanhedrin. What were the Sanhedrin they supreme council and tribunal of the Jews during the time of Jesus there big boss you would say is the High Priest and they would have religious, civil, and criminal jurisdiction.

And first thought for you might be what is Jesus saying here. Is he saying that if we insult someone we are subject to a council. Especially with the group of people we have here we are in alot of trouble. Jesus is telling us though that we need to watch the way we talk to people. There are consequences for what we say to one another.

John MacArthur said this..I don’t know a civil court in the world that would give the death penalty to somebody for getting angry.  They may give it throughout history for murder, but not for anger.  But if God’s calling the verdicts, and God’s sitting on the throne, He is saying in effect that the one who is angry is as guilty as the one who kills.

Now I want ya to notice the second illustration He uses in verse 22.  “Whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council.”  Now what does this mean?  Well, this person is also condemned as a murderer.  This is another person who ought to go before the council and get the same death penalty.  He’s saying to the Jews, “You’re afraid of the death penalty for murder?  On God’s terms, it ought to be the same penalty for anger, and there ought to be the same penalty for saying ‘Raca’ to somebody.”

Now Raca is an interesting term.  It’s very hard to translate.  In other words, it doesn’t mean anything.  It was sort of a term of derision that doesn’t really translate.  It meant something in that time and they all knew what it meant.  It is a malicious term.  Some have said it means “brainless idiot.” Some have said it means “worthless fellow, silly fool, empty head, blockhead, rockhead.”  And commentators go all over every place with it.  But what it is is a verbal expression of slander against the person.  Maybe more directed toward his personality, and toward something in his character, or something in his looks, something of that sort.  It is a word of arrogant contempt.  It is a word of despising.  You know, it’s when you cut off a guy, and he rolls his window down and says it to ya.  In our language it’s different, but it’s basically the same thing, or he can do the same thing by making gestures with his hand or whatever.  It’s the same thing.  And I've heard it a few times in my life.  It didn’t come out “Raca” but it was “Raca.”  But the person who does that is the same. Contempt, says our Lord, is murder in the heart, and the death penalty is equally deserved.  Beloved, what Jesus is saying is what you feel - now listen to me - what you feel inside is enough to damn you to eternal hell as much as what you do on the outside.  Do you hear that?  That’s the message.

But he doesn’t end there. He says. Whoever says you fool, will be liable to the hell of fire. Looking at the greek the word fool comes from the word moros. Which is where we get the word moron.

One man said this.. The use of moros in Matthew's Gospel shows that it is far more severe than merely calling someone an idiot. The word is used in other places in Matthew to describe those who do not truly belong to the kingdom. Calling a brother "moron" was essentially calling him unregenerate and unsaved and consigning him to hell.

Jesus is clear this does not need to be in our language. Because it subjects us to damnation. So much so that he uses the ultimate judgement for anyone and that is hell. Jesus if you did not know speaks of hell more than anyone in the bible. Hell is the place where all sinners go without the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

And the Word that Jesus uses for hell was known as a place south of Jerusalem where these horrible kings offered child sacrifices, and a good king later on Josiah made that place unclean and its where they burned bodies and garbage, and it symbolized the eternal punishment for those who do not know God because it was always burning.

Jesus says so clearly the bible says it so clearly anger in your heart separates you not only from God, but from fellow man. Luke 12:5

Luke 12:5 ESV

5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

Jesus is telling us that our anger subjects us to hell. And we don’t have to murder someone to be liable to the one who can cast those in to hell.

I read this week this saying.. Has Christ's radical righteousness truly penetrated our relationships with others? Or are we full of hostility that causes us to verbally or silently murmur “fool" or "worthless" as we go through life? If so, we need to repent, calling upon the Holy Spirit's renewing power. The righteous, those who have received the radical righteousness of Christ, must guard their hearts and mouths. Because A murderous heart breeds evil actions that have horrible results.

2nd point this morning is this..

God wants us to get our relationships right so when we make our sacrifices to him they come from a right heart.

Jesus teaches us an important lesson here and he uses an interesting example to do it. Say someone is going to an alter and he or she is going offer a gift and they remember when they are going to make this sacrifice and that someone has something against them, the Lord says leave the gift on the alter go make right the wrong.

And many believe Jesus is teaching these people this because alot of people have done wrong things to people and they try to make up for it by giving a sacrifice to God. The pharisees were notorious for doing this. We do this. We will give to you God all the time but say I am done with this person even though I may have wronged them. God wants our sacrifices to come from a pure heart and pure conscience.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones said this..I think I can say again that we all know something about this tendency not to face directly the conviction which the Holy Spirit produces in our heart, but to say to ourselves: Well, now; I am doing this and that; I am making great sacrifices at this point; I am being helpful in that matter; I am busily engaged in that piece of Christian work." The whole time we are not facing the jealousy we may feel against another Christian worker, or something in our personal, private life. We are balancing one thing with another, thinking this good will make up for that evil

Maybe our sacrifices don’t seem so pure because we have something going on between God or someone else maybe our heart is in a state on anger and we need to reconcile that with him or with someone else.

One man said it so well… The Bible is clear that God is concerned with more than the external giving. He is concerned with the heart of the person who gives. Second Corinthians 9:7 teaches us, "God loves a cheerful giver." Matthew 5:24 adds that God loves a giver with a clear conscience. And Matthew 5:9 tells us that citizens of the kingdom are peacemakers. Our text before us calls us to be peacemakers before we worship, specifically, before we worship God with our giving. Otherwise, our gifts mean nothing as far as God is concerned.

God wants us to get our relationships right so when we make our sacrifices to him they come from a right heart.

Final point is this.

God wants us to deal with our problems in our relationships sooner than later so they do not escalate into something major.

Again he uses an interesting illustration. Like a court setting saying Matthew 5:25-26

Matthew 5:25–26 ESV

25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

We all know that when we mess around with issues that can be taken care of quickly to often they get out hand. There is a principle being taught in this passage that we don’t think about enough and that is we need to be concerned about being reconciled to one another as we are reconciled to Christ. God cares about our relationship with him so he also cares about our relationships that we have with one another.

How can we ourselves deal with someone like it says in the text. I quoted this a few weeks ago, but Romans 12:18 is a great place to start.

Romans 12:18 ESV

18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Couple of principles that I learned from John Piper this week that is helpful to us. 1. We are only responsible for what others hold against us when its a real sin or blundering on our part.

2. We are responsible to pursue reconciliation, but live with the pain if it does not succeed. In other words, we are not responsible to make reconciliation happen.

Let us as believers do our best to not let things get of hand, if there is any group of people who never have issues get out of hand it should be us. To often that has not been the case but let be among you people.

V26 is thought provoking in the grand picture of the bible, and the message of this section of scripture. I have mentioned this before, but Jesus is going to the heart of matter in all these things he is preaching on the mountain top.

And the ultimate accuser Satan knows he has your number. He can go to God even through this text and say look this man or this women they have broken your law they are liable to judgment they are liable to hell, they can’t repay ever last penny no matter how hard they try. And he is right, but Jesus stands in the heavenly courtroom in our place, and when Jesus is on the stand in our place the accuser has no ground to say anything because while we were sinners Christ died for us, he paid it all. The bounty on our head is so great for what we have not only done to God, but to one another, but Jesus paid it all.

So we should not let our murderous hearts breed evil actions that have horrible results. We should want to get our relationships right so when we make our sacrifices to him they come from a right heart. We should want to deal with our problems in our relationships sooner than later so they do not escalate into something major.

We all have questions to ask ourselves as we leave here today. That we have seen from the text such as are we angry with someone in a unbiblical way. Have we been insulting others calling them names in an unChrist like way. Do we need to settle anything with anyone before we make our offerings back to the Lord.

But most importantly do we know for ourselves that have we been reconciled to God through his Son Jesus Christ. Let us pray.