In Our Heart

Kyle’s Version:

The Good Life: In Our Heart Matthew 5:17-32

How is your heart?

As someone who tries to stay in shape and be physically fit, I’m often looking at different tests which evaluate and measure the condition of my heart. There are even some tests which will take a CT scan of your heart and provide an evaluation to see if there is any calcium build-up on your heart. Today, we come to a section of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus offers us a test get a picture of the spiritual condition of our heart. Today, we will be able to get a picture of the condition of our heart. Let’s get into the heart of the matter. Please open to Matthew 5, page 1474.

The Heart of the Matter: Matthew 5:17-20

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

One of the things many of us who follow Jesus wonder about is how to relate to the section of the Bible called the Old Testament. There are some who feel they only want to focus on the New Testament and they want to disregard the Old Testament. But Jesus was clear, He didn’t come to abolish, or to do away with the Old Testament. However, there are some aspects of the Old Testament we don’t follow anymore. For example, none of you brought an animal for a sacrifice into service today. So what does it mean that Jesus doesn’t abolish but fulfills the Law?  

1. Jesus accomplished the sacrificial system. When Jesus died on the cross and then rose to New Life, He completed the system we find in the Old Testament for how people were to relate to God. There will be no greater sacrifice than Jesus, so we no longer have a need for sacrifices and no longer do we have to work through a priest. Jesus made the ceremonial and sacrificial system complete.

2. Jesus actualizes the moral law. Verse 20 is one that makes many of us uncomfortable. The Pharisees and teachers of the law in Jesus’ day where like the most religious people you know. They were devout and committed and intense in following the letter of the law. What Jesus is getting at is the fact that while the Pharisees and teachers of the law kept the law on the outside, they failed to keep the law in their own heart. Jesus explains that God’s Law hasn’t just been about a checkbox of “Did you commit that sin, yes or no?” Instead, God’s Law has always been about the condition of our heart.  

The Good Life Begins in Our Heart

Jesus, in order to make His point, gives to us six exams to test our heart. In each of these He states, “You have heard it said…But I say to you…” because He is going deeper and getting into our heart condition, not just our moral behavior. When Jesus rose from the grave He defeated sin’s hold over our heart. The Law never changed our heart, but now, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we have received a new heart from Christ. This means, the instructions Jesus is about to give to us are ways of living which are now actually possible because of His resurrection and through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Today, we are going to look at the first three of these exams and next week we will look at the next three. I’ll remind us, this entire sermon is about the Good Life. When our heart is right, our relationships are better and that’s the Good Life.  

The Heart of Murder: Matthew 5:21-26

21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

The word Raca is an Aramaic term which, as best we can tell, was a deep offense or swear word in this day. Jesus creates an interesting escalation in this section. He says if anyone is angry with a brother or sister they will be subject to judgement. Anyone who says a nasty thing about their fellow Believer will answer to the court, which would have been the Sanhedrin. And anyone who says, “You Fool” is in danger of the fires of hell, which actually is a term that refers to a valley near Jerusalem where pagan child sacrifices were performed during the ancient days of the kings when things were a spiritual mess in Israel. Here is how we can translate this: if you are angry with your fellow Christian, you might be arrested. If you use a swear word to talk about a fellow Christian you will face the Supreme Court and if you tell a fellow Believer they are a fool, you will be in danger of hell. Which seems like an extreme escalation.

Jesus is telling us; murder isn’t only about not killing someone, it is about how we speak about and treat others. To understand this, we need to back up. What is murder?

Murder is when we intentionally take the life of another person. To commit murder we are essentially saying, “I don’t believe your life has value and I determine you no longer have enough value to live.” It is an action which shows we have contempt for another human being.

Murder is contempt.

When we speak poorly and dismissively about others, we are also showing contempt for another human. We might not actually take their life, but we are dismissing that person in a similar way. Yes, actually murdering a person is by far worse, but the contempt we feel or say toward another person is the seed from which murder grows. Our words can do damage.

We have all been in these moments. There may be someone in your life right now with whom you have a personal issue. When they talk, you roll your eyes. They irritate you, bother you, and honestly, you kind of feel like life is better when they aren’t around. It could be a co-worker, a parent, someone at school, your neighbor, even someone at church. That contempt, can grow into hurtful words or even into hurtful actions.

So how are we deal with contempt toward another person in our own heart?

23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

Settle Disputes Quickly and On Your Own

Jesus says to settle the matter quickly. When Jesus speaks of the altar, that altar was at the Temple in Jerusalem. He is speaking to people by the Sea of Galilee, about 90 miles north.  Imagine you walked for several days to get to the Temple, then you remembered a dispute you have. Jesus says, go all the way back, reconcile, and then go back to the altar. For us today, it would be like coming to church, realizing we have a beef with someone and getting up, during the service, going to reconcile, and then coming back. Which, by the way, whenever I see someone get up during the message, I just assume they are going to apologize to someone.

25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”

Jesus continues to tell us to be urgent in how we settle issues with others. In the case of the court, the idea is to not allow someone else to settle the issue for you. As followers of Jesus, we are to be the ones to deal with conflict directly. This is convicting for many of us, we live in a passive aggressive society. We’d much rather talk about someone than talk to them. Jesus tells us that builds up contempt. When we have an issue with someone we go to them directly and quickly and we go on our own effort. The Good Life is found in keeping short accounts with people and not harboring contempt.

The Heart of Lust: Matthew 5:27-30

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Jesus is using exaggeration here. For those who struggle with lust, removing the eyes won’t actually help. The issue isn’t with the eyes, it is with the heart. Like murder, we think the action is the only thing which God is focused on, as long as we don’t actually have sexual intercourse with someone we aren’t married to, we are good. But Jesus says, no. The actions of adultery grow from the seeds of lust. Like murder and anger come from viewing another person with contempt, so adultery and lust view the other person as an object.

Lust is objectification.

When we lust after another person, we are using their physical appearance for our pleasure. We are not treating them in terms of what is good, kind or right for them. We are using them for our own enjoyment. Lust objectifies another person. It is dehumanizing, we aren’t focused on them as a person, just them as an object for our pleasure. And the problem with lust is that it grows. The more we feed it the more it grows. Lust can’t be controlled, it must be choked out. Jesus teaches us to be drastic in avoiding sin.

Be Drastic in Avoiding Sin

So we are not to literally gouge out our eyes, but we are to take drastic actions. If this is an area of struggle for you, consider being drastic. Cancel Netflix, get off tempting social media apps, or install a content filter like Covenant Eyes which gets its name from the verse in Job we just talked about. If you have kids, consider using a content filter like Bark, but don’t rely only on the filter, talk with your kids about the content they are viewing and the dangers of lust. Also consider the movies you watch, even if they aren’t explicit, how do they talk about people and how do they show and value people? Consider the music you listen to, stop listening to songs which cheapen or objectify another person. 

If you are struggling in this area, there is hope and there is freedom from the addiction of lust. Celebrate Recovery is a ministry here at Wooddale which can help you find freedom from lust.

Before we get to the third exam today, I want to make a comment. Jesus’ upcoming words are truthful, they are for our best, and they are a key to the Good Life. But these words will also come as a challenge because it runs counter to what our world says. Jesus teaches on a topic which isn’t preached on often in church, even though many of you have experienced directly or indirectly the topic Jesus mentions. Divorce.

The Heart of Divorce: Matthew 5:31-32

31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

During the days of Jesus there was a great debate happening about divorce. There were two Rabbis, neither of which were still alive when Jesus was teaching, who had two views on divorce. One stated divorce was only in the case of adultery, which Jesus affirms. The other view was that divorce was acceptable for “any case” as long as a certificate for the divorce was given. In this culture, only men could divorce women. Women didn’t have the legal standing to issue a divorce, this created all sorts of injustice. If a husband didn’t feel his wife was serving him like he wanted, he could divorce her for any case. In that culture, her life was basically over unless she could find another man to marry because women didn’t really have jobs and were cared for by either their father, their husband, or their sons. Jesus, making the claim He did, was promoting justice and teaching how to treat one another. We are to serve others, not use others.

We might ask, how does divorce even come up here? It seems like it comes out of nowhere! This is the natural outcome from the previous two case studies. If we allow ourselves to objectify others, even our spouse. Expecting our spouse to meet all our needs is a form of objectification and it sets us up for contempt. Eventually, our spouse will let us down and when that happens, if we give into contempt, it can lead to divorce. In a sense, this teaching is the capstone of the first two exams.

Divorce is a deeply personal and emotional matter. It has impacted so many of us that as soon as we read the two verses Jesus gives about this, a number of specific questions come rushing into our mind.

Before we get into some of the questions we have on this matter, we first need to hear what Jesus is forin His teaching. So quickly we want to jump into what Jesus might be against that we can miss what He is for.

Jesus is for true marriage. Marriage is God’s idea, not humanity’s idea. Since God made it, He knows what it is truly. Later, in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus gives more teachings on marriage and in that teaching He affirms God’s design for marriage.

“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” Matthew 19:4-6 (NIV)

Marriage, according to Jesus, is one man and one woman for life. This, by the way, is why true marriage has no place for polyamory relationships. There is a trend against monogamous relationships right now, but there is no place for polygamy in a Christian marriage. Marriage is a two-become-one-for-life union.

Why does Jesus hold this view of marriage?

He views marriage this way because marriage is actually an illustration about Himself and us. In writing about marriage the Apostle Paul states:

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:31-32 (NIV)

Marriage has never been about many of the things we make marriage out to be in our society. I’m married and l love being married, but our world has idolized marriage. It is not the capstone to the Good Life, it isn’t required for the Good Life. Marriage is an example of what Christ does for us.

If you are married, the purpose of your marriage is for you to treat your spouse like Jesus has treated you. It gives you a practical and tangible opportunity each day to show love to another person in the way Jesus has showed love to you. If we end our marriage because it “isn’t working for us” we aren’t being like Jesus. Jesus never leaves us when we are difficult, so we aren’t to leave our spouse. The ongoing covenant of marriage is to be an example of the ongoing covenant God gives us in Christ Jesus.

While this is the ideal of marriage, our relationships on this side of eternity are not ideal. God realizes there will be times when a marriage can end in His sight. I believe Scripture provides three situations in which divorce is permissible in God’s sight.

1. In verse 31 Jesus says adultery, actually the word He uses means any form of sexual misconduct, breaks the marriage covenant and allows for divorce.

2. The Apostle Paul, later in the New Testament says if your spouse abandons you because of your faith in Jesus that is a reason for divorce, and

3. I believe abuse of a spouse also is included in that sense of abandonment.

In each of these three situations the two-become-one covenant has been broken. Here is the challenge of this teaching; many of the divorces in our lives haven’t fit one of these three areas. It is actually offensive in our day to think that we are to stay in a marriage that isn’t making us happy.

This is why it is such a challenging heart exam.

The point of the moral Law has always been about loving and serving God and others.

The heart of God’s Law is to love God and love others.

Our world tells us the Good Life is found when all of our relationships work for us. Jesus says the Good Life is found when you work for the good of those with whom you are in relationship.

We are to work for the good of others and serve them. Practically, what does this mean for us.

§ To those divorced. Your divorce is not what God intended for marriage and He is with you in the pain and heartbreak, even if you are the one who caused most of the relational breakdown. With God there is hope and there is healing. God’s mercies are new each morning. We have a group at Wooddale called Divorce Care which can walk you through processing the divorce from a biblical perspective. 

§ To those divorced and remarried. If you have realized the terms of your divorce and subsequent remarriage don’t fit what Jesus has taught, acknowledge that to God, ask for forgiveness, but stay married to your current spouse. Causing more pain through more divorce won’t help the situation. In your current marriage, you have become one with that other person.

§ To those married. Do whatever it takes to build up a strong and healthy marriage. Don’t blame your spouse. Even if all of the problems are 100% their fault, treat them like Jesus treats you. A few programs which can be helpful if you need to strengthen your marriage:

o Re|Engage

o Christian Counseling

o Do an annual check-up with a Christian Counselor

§ If, however, one of those three situations of adultery, abandonment or abuse are occurring, divorce isn’t required. But you need godly counsel. If you are in an abusive situation now, call the church, talk with a pastor, call a loved one, get help, get to safety. God is not asking you to be abused.

The call of Christ is to love God and love and serve others. When we truly show love to others from our heart, our relationships improve and we begin to experience, The Good Life.

End with a moment to pause before communion and have a time of confession.