"Do Not Murder"
You Have Heard It Said • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:26-32
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:26-32
We’re going to start with a pop quiz this morning
Don’t answer out loud
Just answer honestly to yourself
Have you ever put something before God?
Have you ever made an idol out of money, hobbies, family, or yourself?
Have you ever used God & His name in negative or vain ways?
Have you ever dishonored your parents?
Have you ever murdered someone?
Have you ever committed adultery (in your heart through lust)?
Have you ever stolen?
Have you ever lied?
Have you ever coveted something someone else had?
If you’ve lived a life similar to mine…
Then you probably answered “Yes” to most of these
But there’s 1 on this list…
That most of us probably feel pretty good about
“Do Not Murder”
But, before we’re inclined feel proud of ourselves for that…
Jesus is going to make us dive a little deeper
You Have Heard It Said
You Have Heard It Said
In this series, we’re going to look at things…
That are often taught, said, or thought about Christianity…
That are either untrue, partly true, or slightly off base
Or to paraphrase David’s quoting of Mark Twain last week:
We’re going to be looking at things…
That people know for sure…
That just aren’t so
And we’re going to study the Scriptures…
To see what they have to say on these matters
We’re beginning with the original examples…
That Jesus himself dealt with in the Sermon on the Mount
David did an awesome job last week…
Giving us some needed context…
Especially as it pertains to the Scribes & Pharisees
They knew the Scriptures better than anyone else
They were the experts
The Bible scholars/teachers
And to the average Jew, the most righteous people alive
But in the beginning of the sermon on the mount…
Jesus says these words:
20 For I say to you that unless your righteousness greatly surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven.
How does one surpass the righteousness of the most righteous?
That’s exactly what Jesus goes on to show us
To Jesus, righteousness is more than outwardly following laws
It’s about inward transformation
That was the true purpose of the Law
And that’s what Jesus came to fulfill
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.
The original recipients of the Law were told not to murder…
But Jesus is telling us that God’s requirement goes beyond that
Rightly understood, those things that could lead to murder…
Should be avoided to the same extent as murder itself
The underlying principle of this simple command not to murder…
Was to cultivate in God’s people…
A sense of value & love for one another
Anger typically carries with it the desire to hurt the other person
Whether it be by insult, assault, or murder itself…
These are the natural outcomes of unbridled anger
And surely that’s what Jesus is referring to here:
Not simply the emotional response of anger…
But unchecked, unbridled, sustained anger & bitterness
God gave us the emotion of anger
It can be utilized as a catalyst for good/justice…
In the face of sin, abuse, & mistreatment of the weak
We could call this “Godly Anger”
It’s an imitation of God’s own anger:
Patient
Calculated
Motivated by love
But so often, our anger spawns from more personal, shallow reasons
James calls this “the anger of man”
And it doesn’t lead to the righteousness of God
It is:
Impatient
Reckless
Motivated by hatred, jealousy, & pride
But regardless of the type of anger…
It doesn’t have to lead to sin…
So long as it is dealt with swiftly
26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun set on your anger, 27 nor give place to the devil.
Paul implies that it’s possible to be angry without sinning
But He also says to not allow that anger to be sustained
Whatever is causing the anger inside me…
Needs to be dealt with:
Not soon
Not within the next few days
Today!
When anger is not controlled & dealt with immediately…
It opens a door of opportunity to the Devil
To creep right in & wreak havoc
Paul told the Colossians to put aside all anger & wrath
And he told the Galatians…
That “outbursts of anger” are a work of the flesh
And that’s essentially what Jesus mentioned after “anger”
(Matthew 5:21-22)
Anger-fueled insults & name-calling…
That are meant to hurt & belittle:
(“Raca” = “Empty-Headed”, “Good for nothing”)
(“Fool” = mōros = “moron”)
To us, that may seem insignificant compared to murder…
But not to Jesus
15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
We will be held just as accountable in the judgment…
For our anger & the outbursts that come from it…
As those who have committed murder
To our God:
Sustained anger is nothing more than hatred
And hatred is nothing more than murder
It’s not only about the action
It’s about the heart that produces the action
So, Jesus tells us that unbridled anger is dangerous
And Paul tells us that it needs to be dealt with quickly
So, how are we to deal with it?
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.
How does Jesus want us to deal with our anger & broken relationships?
He wants us to reconcile before we do anything else
Reconciliation is to be our #1 priority
But the way He explains this reconciliation is unexpected
Notice He doesn’t say:
“If you’re angry at your brother over something…”
“Go be reconciled to him.”
He says:
“If your brother is angry/has something against you”
Maybe we’re meant to assume what we ought to do…
If it is us who are angry/have something against our brother
In Mark’s account, Jesus says:
Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your sins.”
Maybe that’s the obvious answer Jesus expects us to already know
It was taught in the Mishnah (collection of Jewish rabbinic writings):
Mishnah Kippurim 8:9
“For transgressions between man and man, the Day of Atonement atones, only if the man will regain the good will of his friend.”
So maybe the answer is obvious:
If you’re holding onto anger, bitterness, & resentment…
Let it go
And if someone is holding onto anger against you…
Go to them & make it right
So, the answer is the same no matter the circumstance:
Reconciliation is of the utmost importance
If you are angry with someone, seek reconciliation & forgive
If someone is angry with you, seek reconciliation & forgiveness
But the most shocking part of the illustration is this:
Jesus tells us to put our worship on hold…
Until we make things right with our brother
There can be no vertical relationship with God…
If we’re unwilling to have a horizontal relationship with our brother
For the Christian, the vertical relies on the horizontal
When we damage our relationships with each other…
It causes damage to our relationship with God
John said it as clearly as it can be said:
20 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. 21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.
Paul says something very similar to Jesus in his letter to the Ephesians:
29 No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear. 30 And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by him for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.
When we allow anger to progress into shouting, slandering…
And all sorts of rotten language…
We hurt our relationship with God…
By grieving His Spirit who lives in us
Instead, we should trade:
Anger for Forgiveness
Shouting for Edification
Slandering for Compassion
This is how we reconcile with our brothers & sisters
This is how we continue in fellowship with God
Jesus gives one more illustration:
25 Settle the case quickly with your accuser while you are with him on the way, lest your accuser 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 never come out of there until you have paid back the last penny!
I don’t think we’re meant to over-analyze the picture Jesus is painting
The point is made in the first few words:
“Settle the case/make friends quickly”
Make reconciliation your first priority
Don’t let the sun set on anger/broken relationships
Conclusion
Conclusion
When you casually read through the 10 Commandments…
It’s easy to feel pretty good about “Do Not Murder”
But Jesus shows us that murder can begin…
Long before any blood is shed
It begins in:
Anger
Bitterness
Shouting
Insulting
Hating
Broken Relationships
Maybe no one here today is guilty of murder by man’s standard
But some of us may be guilty by God’s standard
So the question we need to be asking ourselves is not:
“Have I committed murder?”
But:
“Am I holding onto anger that I need to let go of?”
“Is there a relationship that I need to reconcile?”
If we’ve learned anything from Jesus in this text…
It’s these 2 things:
1.) In order to have a good relationship with God…
I’ve got to fix my relationship with my sibling in Christ
2.) I need to do it quickly
We’ve got to stop making excuses for our anger/bitterness
We may have to prepare ourselves for some difficult conversations
And we definitely need to take James’ advice in being:
Slow to speak & slow to anger
Maybe you need to make a phone call or send a text after service
Maybe you need to forgive & let go of something
Maybe you need some help in doing those things
