Uprooting Anger
Notes
Transcript
Intro: Jesus said in John 15:8 that God is glorified if we bear much fruit and so prove to be his disciples.
A critical part of bearing fruit is knowing what needs uprooted from our lives.
Anyone who has a garden, flowerbed, or farmed knows how destructive rocks or weeds growing in the soil can be.
Healthy, fruit bearing discipleship needs to pay serious attention to the things that have the potential to hinder good fruit.
**The next two weeks we will deal with two common-timeless things that need uprooted from a disciples heart: anger and lust.
Jesus begins (v21) : You have heard the command: Do Not murder
You have heard=takes on the sense “You’ve understood”
The traditional understanding of the 6th commandment: Do not murder—taking innocent life unlawfully.
Back in summer of 1998 I took a trip to New Orleans for an inner city ministry trip. Most of the time we did street evangelism.
I vividly remember one conversation, and even the man’s name. His name was Joey—probably mid-forties; very friendly guy, easy to talk to. I don’t recall any of the details of our conversation—but one thing did stand out. Joey said that he had just gotten out of prison and had been in for 20 years for murdering “a couple of people”
Now the reason I remember Joey, is because it was so uncommon to me to know someone who has murdered “a couple of people”
So most people hear the command: You shall not murder…and can sleep well at night without our consciences bothering us.
But thats’ not going to deal with most of the darkness of our hearts;
In the SOM, Jesus shows us the true direction which the law points (D.A. Carson)
Jesus’s teaching moved toward the direction of the heart (Ezek 36:26)
Another way too look at it: all the words of Jesus, moving forward are working out (V20)—shows us the direction of true righteousness.
To get that, we need to first know the direction that anger takes us:
THE DIRECTION OF ANGER (22)
THE DIRECTION OF ANGER (22)
First it’s important to see this is “relational anger”
There is situational anger—or even impersonal anger:
e.g. I hit my thumb with a hammer so I throw the hammer.
Jesus is addressing relational anger: at your brother; in the context of church =your fellow believers.
Now there is a category of righteous anger—when God’s commands have been violated, and his glory devalued (that’s the test)
We get a couple of examples anger manifesting
Whoever insults (v22)
Literally (KJV; NIV) an Aramaic word Racca—which translated may have meant “feather brain” was a condescending term like “airhead” —probably used pretty common.
Whoever says: You fool
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.
Even the smallest insult from our lips “kills” another person
“Every idle word which we think of so little betrays our lack of respect for our neighbor; The angry word is a blow stuck at our brother, a stab at his heart” (Bonhoeffer)
The consequence of unjustified relational anger: Judgment
1) From human court (Local courts, Sanhedrin)
2) From the divine, eternal court (v22)
“In danger of the fire of hell”
If heaven is the place of unending, everlasting love; hell is the place of unrepentant and unforgiven anger
Apply: We may think that only murders are going to hell—but Jesus redirects it: No, angry, condescending folks who use their words carelessly.
It’s so much more than actual murder—hatred, bitterness, unkind feelings, thoughts, resentment, deliberate fault-finding, verbal attacks, condescending criticism
The way to know our heart is follow our words-
**So the warning from Jesus—the direction of all that is the direction of hell. Hell is the final destination for those who head down the direction of anger.
So take this teaching serious. Take serious anger that still resides in your heart.
Take serious the words that fly from your mouth.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue
THE DIRECTION OF RECONCILIATION (23-26)
THE DIRECTION OF RECONCILIATION (23-26)
The way to avoid judgment is always the same: take sin seriously and take Jesus’s word seriously.
Now the first part of Jesus teaching deal with personal anger; this verse moves into any conflict and the need to move in the direction of reconciliation
In the two examples Jesus gives (v23-26) t’s interesting that neither deal with the issue of our personal anger, but taking steps to deal with someone who may be angry with us.
Apply: It other words, as disciples we not only are about out own heart, but the hearts of fellow brothers and sisters.
A disciples attitude is not just: You do you; that’s your problem,
A disciples attitude is not just: You do you; that’s your problem,
It’s a strong warning of not only being angry, but provoking someone to anger
Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Apply: Some get angry, others, like to get people angry—button pushers (some have gained expertise in their marriages or on social media at this skill)
The first is in the context of temple worship (v23)
The point of the illustration is that completing the sacrifice is urgent when you are worshiping, The Pharisees would have loved this—check the box type of righteousness
But there is something very urgent in our personal relationship that we can’t miss!
We can see how this would works itself out today: you attend all church serviced dutifully, but in the background are broken relationships —in the background are people you are at odds with and are at odds with you.
There is a ton of bad advice out there on how to handle those things, even from Christians leaders.
I remember when I was at CIU—studying for ministry. In a class once, One of the faculty members (no longer works there, I checked) told our class how he handed the stress in ministry, and people who got him angry that week.
On Friday, he would go to the driving range, and hit a bucket of balls. Every person that got him angry, he would picture as he teed up his shot—and would release all his anger.
That would not work for me for two reasons; my tee shots are inconsistent enough it would multiply more anger….
But most importantly it’s not what Jesus says!!
Jesus does not say to get rid of anger by driving golf balls, punching the wall
Jesus says: talk to the person. Move in the direction of reconciliation. It’s urgent!!
Apply: Let me just add a challenge to those who are temperamentally nice, or the Souther culture:
Be honest. We need to be honest enough both on the give and receiving end.
“Did I offend you” “Do you have a problem with me we need to sort out?”
In those moments, if someone is attempting at reconciliation—we can’t just say:
I’s not big deal, everything is cool…but then go and tell 2 friends to pray for you because of how hurt you are and the bitterness continues to boil.
Move in the direction of reconciliation
Take whatever steps necessary to restore harmony
2. The second context is a legal scenario—the point: settle the matter quickly (v25)
If you came home after church and found water all in your kitchen, what are you going to do? Find the leak and fix it; or call Jon Douglass.
Or if you get a flat tire, you are not going to keep driving on the rim; it’s going to cause so much more damage.
In other words—fix the problem before its too late!
(V25) Come to terms quickly
—How much more critical is it to fix, work out situations where there is malicious anger?
God calls us to deal with anger now
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.
Sum: Hate, anger, bitterness, resentment….have not place in God’s kingdom
They need to be uprooted.
**Jesus does not give this teaching for disciples to despair, but be delivered!
THE DIRECTION OF THE GOSPEL
THE DIRECTION OF THE GOSPEL
For some, anger is the besetting sin—it’s the one that clings closely
The Gospel transforms angry people into loving people; sacrificial people
If anger is a besting sin, I recommend a dose of Col 3.
Discipleship is aiming at a positive goal —it’s not merely a defensive strategy,
But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
1) See anger as an identity of your past
2) See anger as something that must be overcome
3) See anger as incompatible with your new self
So much of our gospel growth is rooted in how we see ourselves.
Apply: Do you see yourself as an angry, bitter person—or a new creation in Christ, with a divine capacity to love, be compassionate
**The positive goal: PURSUE compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, love
All of those are totally incompatible with anger
Finally,
The Gospel reminds us a few things
1) The one who is most justly angry at us, and the relationship most in need of reconciliation is with God
2) The gospel irony is that the way of murder, anger, revenge, bitterness—is through a murder
I find it ironic that the One who utters this command and teaching, his final chapter in his earthly life would be a murder scene. That’s what Calvary is.
I remember reading a John MacArthur book years ago—“The Murder of Jesus”
Even as we enter into Advent —marvel: that little baby Jesus, the Babe the Son of Mary—would be murdered.
Mom’s think: if you were told that your son’s that his life would be ended by murder.
Yet that is the destiny of the Babe, the Son of Mary
Conclusion:
**Gospel—we are all complicit when it comes to the murder of God’s Son.
Maybe I could not relate to Joey, the man who had spent 20 years in prison for murder—but I am responsible for one murder: The Lord Jesus Christ.
That’s how bad my sin is; that is how horrendous every act of anger—from the smallest insult to deep seated hatred and bitterness.
**In rich, gospel irony, the murder of God’s son is actually the way out of a lifestyle of hatred and anger!
Move in the direction of the gospel today
If you need forgiveness
If you need freedom
Move toward the gospel with thanksgiving for a Savior who died for your sins