SERMON ON THE MOUNT
Matthew 5:21-25
KEEPING THINGS RIGHT, AM
#13 - SERMON ON THE MOUNT
One of the most difficult tasks we face
as Christians is the practice of being right with people at work, people at
home, people in school and our brothers and sisters in
church. It is likely that there is at least one person in your life that you
are currently at odds with or he is at odds with you. It is very possible that
you are holding a grudge against someone who did something to hurt you or
someone you love.
Why is it hard to get along well with
all people all the time?
It is simply because we are human and
have our faults.
It is simply because they are human and
have their faults. Romans 12:18
So how do we keep things right between
us and others?
The Lord Jesus answers this question in
Matthew 5:21-26.
ANGER
The greatest cause of problems between
us is anger.
That doesn’t mean you always blow your
top.
It is possible to be annoyed, provoked,
or mad because you’re hurt, upset by another’s actions without them ever
knowing about it. You don’t have to
yell, scream or holler in order to be angry.
When I am angry at someone, things are
not right between us. When someone is angry at me things are not right between
us. We can not sense the love of God when there is a division caused by anger
in the brotherhood of Christ.
Vs. 21 – Jesus
gives us the statement of the Old Testament
Law, as taught by the leaders of
His day.
The only requirement, as seen by the
religious leaders of the day, was not to murder (They were not talking about
accidental or unintentional killing.).
As long as nobody was murdered, a person
was allowed to be as angry as he or she cared to be.
Vs. 22 – In this
verse Jesus shows us how guilty we are!
But
I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his
brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment:
How often have we been angry without
cause?
Jesus is telling us that the anger that
leads some people to become murderers is wrong!
And many have wished in their hearts that they could murder someone, or
that a certain person would experience harm. We can become murderers in our
hearts when we are angry for the wrong reasons.
There were times when Jesus became
angry.
Jesus knew how to be angry at sin, and
not to have a personal vendetta against the sinner.
Much of our anger is caused because we
feel wronged, hurt or offended!
Jesus continues saying, and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council:
The word Raca
means “empty”.
It is the equivalent today of calling
someone, “birdbrain, numbskull, or idiot”.
When we say these phrases, especially in
anger we are actually ridiculing someone who was made in the likeness of God.
John MacArthur said, “To slander a
creature made in God’s image is to slander God Himself and is equivalent to
murdering that person.” John
MacArthur, Kingdom Living Here and Now
( Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1980), p. 295
And if this isn’t bad enough already,
Jesus concludes this verse by saying, but
whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
The word translated fool, according to
MacArthur, “means ‘stupid’ or ‘dull’ and is the term from we get moron. It was
sometimes used in secular Greek literature for an obstinate, godless person…To
call someone you fool was to accuse
them of being both stupid and godless.” ibid
Most of us here are Christians.
Probably you are already a believer.
And yet, you can think of times when you
have been angry without cause. And you can think of people you still hold a
grudge against. Psalm 66:18
ALTAR
Matthew 5:23 - Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
The altar was in the
The altar was where, as a part of
worship, sacrifices were made for sin.
The altar here is probably symbolic for
worship.
So you try to worship God by coming to
church.
And you try to worship God by singing
hymns and songs of praise and adoration.
And you try to worship God in your
prayers.
And you try to worship God in your
giving.
And you try to worship God in your personal
devotions.
But, as you try to worship God, it comes
to your mind that you are angry with someone – confess it as sin.
Or, as you try to worship God, it comes
up in your mind that someone has something against you. You have made someone angry. Perhaps you
didn’t even mean to or do it intentionally, but you
know that someone has something against you. What do you do? Matthew 5:24
Someone has something against you!
Stop the worship!
Go, make it right!
Confess sin, if necessary.
Ask for forgiveness.
If the person forgives you, all is well.
You can worship
If the person doesn’t forgive you and
you have tried to reconcile with that person to the best of your ability, come
and worship. You’ve tried! It’s out of your hands!
AGREEMENT
Vs. 25 - Jesus uses the illustration of
being in debt to someone. Your opponent is taking you to court.
If thrown in jail in those days, you
didn’t get out until you paid up. It was a debtor’s prison type deal.
The only way you could get out was if
someone could raise the money to get you out.
So, if you could come to terms with your
creditor, and make agreement on the way to court for a plan to pay the man
back, you were certainly better off.
How does this relate to us today?
It is far more pleasant to agree with a
person than to argue with him. It is far more pleasant to come to compromise,
if doctrine is not involved than to have a hassle.
And especially, if you are the one to
blame, the debtor, you should be the one who is trying to straighten things
out.