The 6 Hardest Things (you'll ever try to do) #1- Not Kill Someone; Build your Life #14

The 6 Hardest Things (you'll ever try to do) #1- Not Kill Someone; Build your Life #14 | 1st series at LakeRidge (8/4/24)

Intro: In What’s Wrong with the World, English author & Christian apologist G.K. Chesterton suggested- “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”

Let me ask you, when it comes to the Christian life, what is the hardest thing you’ve ever tried to do?(get that thought in your mind, then share it with your neighbor)

Now ask yourself the question- what is the hardest thing I’ve ever tried NOT to do? (and keep it to yourself)

We’re in series on the Sermon on the Mount. We’ve talked about the Beatitudes, or the blessed life, & we’ve talked about how to apply those things by being salt & light in the world. Next we saw that Jesus really got to the heart of the matter in Matthew 5:20, … unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

That’s HARD, because the scribes & pharisees were the best people they knew. If anyone was going to heaven, surely, they were. But then Jesus begins to explain what He meant, & that’s where we pick up today. He’s going to deliver 6 things the scribes & pharisees had down pat, most of us do too, at least on the surface. These are 6 of the hardest things you’ll ever try to do, & the 1st one up is not kill someone.

Matthew 5:21–26, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. 23Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

I know what you’re thinking, Jesus knows too- I’ve never killed someone, in fact, I’ve never come close to killing someone. That’s because you are thinking of the physical act of murder, which is one of the 10 Commandments. Exodus 20:13, You shall not murder. Jesus says to His disciples, and to us- you’ve heard it said, you shall not murder, but I say to you…, i.e., you’ve heard it said, now here’s what I meant…

Murder starts in the heart. Murder is one of the hardest things you’ll ever try not to do because it is the outward physical act of something that’s already happened in your heart. Three reasons why not killing someone is one of the hardest things we’ll ever try to do.

1. We all get ANGRY, Vss. 21-22

Anger is a human emotion. It is defined as a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility. The American Psychological Association says that “Anger is an emotion characterized by antagonism toward someone or something you feel has deliberately done you wrong.

Ephesians 4:26, Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath...

Jesus qualifies the kind of anger He is talking about- anger without a cause, & it is anger within the Christian community (brother or sister). Without a cause means for no reason, no purpose, in vain.

Jesus got angry WITH cause- when He found that the temple had become a place for trading and money-changing, He threw out the people involved. His anger was described as "zeal" for God's house.

In Mark 3:5, Jesus looked at the Pharisees in anger, grieved because of their hard hearts about Him healing a man on the Sabbath.

Jesus was angry at people who mistreated others, lacked compassion, took advantage of the poor, or did not care for children.

Martin Luther called righteous anger “an anger of love, one that wishes no one any evil, one that is friendly to the person but hostile to the sin.”

We need to be careful; we are not perfect like Jesus; our anger can have mixed motives. James 1:20, for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Jesus describes the DANGER OF ANGER without a cause:

1. whoever murders is in danger of judgment (human court of law),

2. so is the one who is angry without a cause. This ratchets things up, how can you be tried for anger, an inward human emotion?

3. whoever says ‘Raca’ is in danger of the council…

Raca transliterates rhaka, an Aramaic word that basically means “empty head,” a mild insult about someone’s intelligence. The council is the Sanhedrin, i.e., the Jewish Supreme Court. Can you imagine being called before the Supreme Court for calling someone a “knot head”?

4. whoever says, ‘you fool’ is in danger of hell.

“Fool” is probably not being used in the normal sense of “moros” (moron) but had probably taken on more of a religious meaning such as “rebel, apostate, or outcast.” R.V.G. Tasker proposes- “The man who tells his brother that he is doomed to hell is in danger of hell himself.”

As the actions seemingly decrease in seriousness (at least to us), the seriousness of the punishments increases. That’s because the real judge of our anger is not a human court, but the divine judgment of God.

Anger and insults may never lead to committing murder, but to God, they are one & the same. 1 John 3:15, Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, & you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

When you get to the heart of the matter, not killing someone will be one of the hardest things we’ll ever try to do, because we all get angry.

2. We all OFFEND, Vss. 23-24 (a prerequisite to anger)

Jesus gives us a case in point of what should happen with a worshiper when they go to church and remembers there is a problem between them & someone else.

Aside: this is one of the reasons some people stop going to church, they either offend someone & don’t want to deal with it, or they get offended, & don’t want to deal with it.

Matthew 18:7–8, Woe 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.

How does Jesus tell them to deal with it?

· you bring your gift to the altar (sacrifice of an animal, there were many legal requirements about it; also, perhaps it was a long, arduous journey to make the pilgrimage)

· you remember your brother has something against you (it doesn’t even say if their grudge is justified)

· you leave your gift at the altar & go (this could require several days journey to wherever they are)

· you go make things right (be reconciled- be restored to friendly relations after being wronged)

· you come back and give your gift

When we go to church to give God what He deserves, but realize we’ve given someone else something they don’t deserve, what should we do?

1) Deal with the offense before you deliver your offering | AN EXERCISE IN MERCY. Hosea 6:6, For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

2) Get forgiveness from your brother before you give your gift to God | AN EXERCISE IN MATURITY

ILL: (Scazzero- Emotionally Healthy Leader) life is a lot like an iceberg - we are aware of only a fraction of it & largely unaware of the hidden mass beneath the surface. There is an inseparable link between emotional health & spiritual maturity - it is not possible to be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature.

Luke 17:1–3, Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! … 3Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

Anger is something we all deal with. Offending is something we all do. These are 2 of the reasons it’s hard to not be guilty of killing someone, because murder is a heart issue- we all get angry, offend, & owe debts.

3, We all OWE debts, Vss. 25-26 (a prerequisite to anger)

The example here focuses on reconciliation with someone you have wronged (i.e., your adversary), this time in a formal court setting.

Adversary: accuser, plaintiff, opponent; the other party in litigation, esp. as a hostile enemy

Stott updates the scenario for us- ‘If you have an unpaid debt, and your creditor takes you to court to get his money back, come to terms with him quickly. Make a settlement out of court… Otherwise, once you reach the court, it will be too late. Your accuser will sue you… and you will find yourself in jail… So payment before prison would be much more sensible.’

Luke 12:58, When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, & the officer throw you into prison. The point is this- We need to come to terms with anyone who has a complaint against us (financial or otherwise).

How do we come to terms with people who have a legitimate complaint?

WE MAKE FRIENDS WITH THEM! WE FLIP THE SCRIPT! Agree: be well-disposed, or inclined toward, in the sense of befriending someone.

Reverse the relationship, i.e., flip the script. When we show Empathy, say Apologies, & Pay our debts, we turn your adversaries into advocates.

Romans 12:18–21, If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men… “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 13:8, 10, Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law… 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

It’s not hard to keep ourselves clear from a murder charge, not when we restrict murder to the act. If you can restrain yourself from strangling the person that drives you nuts, you must be good right?

Wrong!It’s hard to NOT kill someone, when the standard is not getting angry. It’s hard to not kill someone, when the standard is not offending. It’s hard to NOT kill someone when the standard is not owing debts.

The true application of the 6th commandment “do not murder” goes much deeper than our actions, it gets to the heart of our emotions, our motivations. It’s actually very hard to not kill someone because we all get angry, we all offend, and we all owe debts.

The Good News is that we know someone who paid our sin debt, so we can be free. Jesus lived a perfect life, died a righteous death, and paid our debt to God, so that we can be saved.