Sermon Tone Analysis

Questions

What do I want them to know?

To do about it?

You can live free (from guilt, shame, and separation from God) tomorrow by making investments and sacrifices today.

Sin always has a cost, that cost is lower when the sin is un-acted upon.

How will they know it?

In the first 2 of 6 statements by Jesus about what the law really means, Jesus highlights that our anger becomes murder and lust becomes adultery.

Jesus calls us to make sacrifices of Pride, anger, desire, and action that lead to investments of peace, forgivenessgrace, purity, and freedom

Why will they care?

Who will be changed by it?

Announcements

Right Now Media

Groups

SHAPE Class

Men’s Study and others

Picnic and Outdoor Service

Elder prayer time this week

Kids

Any of you ever get in trouble?

Me too!

I remember sometimes when I would get in trouble, I would get mad at my parents for me being in trouble…even though I was the one who broke the rules.

The Bible tells us that we have to be really careful with our anger.

It can get us in trouble really quickly.

A part of our passage today is from Matthew 5 says “if you are on your way to court, try to make things right NOW”

It’s always easier to apologize and make things right today instead of tomorrow.

So next time you say something you know you shouldn’t because you’re mad…whether it’s your parents or a friend, apologize fast

Sermon

Problem

(What is true for gas inflation is true for sin.

Jesus wants us to know that sin starts far earlier than we think)

Saw a guy at pump 2 yesterday put $10 worth of gas in his car…made me wonder where he’s heading…probably pump 3.

A friend told me they were robbed at the gas station the other day.

When the police asked if he knew who did it, he said, yes…pump 5.

It’s strange, do you remember when you could get air free at the gas station, but now it’s a couple bucks?

Inflation.

Sometimes you have to laugh or cry.

Gas prices seem to be on a non stop flight up.

Though I did check the average on Google today for Vancouver Gas prices have gone down this last week by 2.9 cents.

So there’s something...

Inflation is a phenomenon by which prices go up over time.

Lots of complicated reasons that aren’t the point of today’s message, but it is a clear reality.

Though home prices seem to be stabilizing at the moment, as we look back on a year since we bought our house…we couldn’t have done it now.

Not this house anyway.

The reality of inflation adds to that sense that we should act now.

That if we are thinking about getting something, we should do it, because tomorrow it may cost more.

In today’s message, Jesus begins to press in to what the law really means.

As we covered last week, our salvation is not by law, but by grace because Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the law.

So we are saved because Jesus died and rose, not because we “do” or “achieve” anything.

But the law is still in effect because the law describes the gap between us and God.

Between us and who we were designed to be.

And in that space there are still consequences for us and others.

In that space there is still separation from God if we are not trusting in Christ to renew that relationship.

The pharisees, the religious attorneys of the day had, through their oral tradition, some over simplification, and attempts to check boxes for the law instead of understand it, reduced the understanding of what the law intended for their listeners.

So Jesus goes into 6 statements that all begin with a variation of, “You have heard it said” which progresses to “but I tell you”.

We are going to look at these two at a time over the next couple weeks.

Why is this so important for us?

Today’s message is about people and their value.

Do you know who puts a high value on people?

God does.

As we just pointed out, The God of creation came into creation to fulfill the law through his life, death, and resurrection because GOD thinks people are worth that.

Jesus knows that our blessed life, our life of freedom and joy is hinged on our living according to our design and loving others according to their value (which he established by creating and redeeming them) and so he needs us to get this if we are going to be his followers.

Understanding

(5:21-22, 27-28)

Let’s look at the two statements together

Matthew 5:21-22 ““You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment.

But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment.

Whoever insults his brother or sister, will be subject to the court.

Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to hellfire.”

Matthew 5:27-28 ““You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery.

But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

There’s the law, and the heart, which is the real law.

Murder is the intentional destruction of a human being made in God’s image with malice.

If we listen to Jesus, we realize that there’s more to it than killing.

We can also see inflation at work.

Three addendums:

Angry - subject to judgement - lowest level of the legal system.

Anger is not always bad.

Jesus was angry, we see God angry…and there are things worth being angry about.

In Mark 3 Jesus gets angry because of the hard hearts of the pharisees and the damage it was causing to the vulnerable.

But in Psalms and Ephesians we read this:

Ephesians 4:26 “Be angry and do not sin.

Don’t let the sun go down on your anger,”

Anger is supposed to communicate something to us, and then be dispersed.

God can be trusted to act in anger…but far too often…like every time…our anger is no where near pure.

How many terrible decisions and broken relationships come because someone was angry and held it.

Inflation kicks in here for sure.

the longer we hold our anger, the higher the price for resolving it…often doing permanant damage in our hearts…

Insults - Now inflation starts to kick in faster.

This idea of insulting is anything that lowers the value of another human.

A word or action that takes away from their life to add to ours.

Again, subject to judgement.

You haven’t murdered them…but you have taken a part of their life unjustly and ungraciously, for your purposes.

This is not love, this is hate.

Hate is only possible when we lower someone’s value.

There is no room for it in the church or in the Christian...

1 John 3:15 “Everyone who hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.”

John was listening to this message.

If you are willfully reducing another person, you are acting in hate and you are on the murder spectrum.

“You fool!” - This one translates poorly.

The phrase here is more than an insult.

I remember reading this and thinking, that “you fool” was a pretty soft insult for this increased judgement to hell fire.