What Is In Your Heart?
Pastor Bill Nichols - January 17, 2010Introduction
Twice an hour every 24 hours, seven days a week, 365 days of the year there is something that happens in the United States. Can anyone guess what it is?
According to statistics by the U.S. Disaster Center, between the years 2000 and 2008 there were over 16,000 murders per year that took place in the United States. Not a statistic that Americans can be proud of in any way.
Murder is a serious offense. As a matter of fact, it is one of the five big "Thou shalt not's" in the Ten Commandments that is directed toward man's relationship with other human beings. The first four Commandments deal with our relationship with God, the other six with our relationship with each other. This is the first, and most serious of the do not's dealing with man.
Murder is such a heinous offense to God because man was created in His image. So to God, to murder another human is an attack on His image and likeness, and maybe even the character of God.
Because of this, God established laws in the Old Testament to exact punishment on those who killed another human being. Exodus 21:12-14 distinguishes between intentional and accidental homicide, and gives different punishments for both offenses. God Himself designated capital punishment as the sentence for those who intentionally kill another human, but He made allowances for those who unintentionally killed another man. There are other references in the law that give greater detail concerning this, but suffice it to say that the command in Exodus 20 deals specifically with intentional or premeditated murder and not accidental killing or involvement in just wars, etc.
When Jesus was preaching to the crowd on the mountain, Matthew 5:21-26, He begins with the topic of murder as a means of introducing a greater lesson concerning the condition of the heart. He wants them to see that the attitude of the heart can be just as much an affront to God as the actual commission of the crime of murder.
I. You Have Heard That it was Said.
While Jesus is addressing the crowd that had gathered, He is acutely aware of the presence of the teachers of the law who were also there listening to what He had to say. The words "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago" would have been words that the teachers of the law would have said to the people. The law of God was good and it was righteous. But a problem that had arisen over the years since Moses had first given the law and that was the hypocrisy of those who taught it. The Pharisees, and most people both then and now, could say: "I'm a pretty good person because I have kept the laws concerning murder and stealing and adultery and so on. Because the Pharisees had kept the letter of the law they were arrogant or self righteous concerning themselves. Jesus teaching is intended to destroy this self righteousness so it can be replaced with the righteousness that comes from knowing Him.
Do Not Murder! Anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. (Jesus is referring to the penalty under the law which was capital punishment)
But I tell you! Here is where we see a radical difference between the teaching of Jesus and the teachers of the law. The law says this, but I tell you: Can you imagine the Pharisee's consternation at this statement? Who is Jesus to redefine what the law means? Why, He's just a carpenter, not a teacher of the law.
Jesus mentions three internal attitudes and that are just as evil in God's eyes as is murder. What are they?
- Anger - "Anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment." What kind of judgment? The same as those who commit murder! Wow! Have you ever been angry with someone? It happens all the time! I get angry with my wife. I get angry with my kids. I get angry with my dog. I get, well, you get the picture. So I guess the question I have is, when I get angry is that equal to murder? Is that what Jesus is saying here? John MacArthur believes that there is a distinction between anger in general and the kind of anger Jesus is here talking about. This anger is not the righteous indignation concerning the evil and sin in the world that Jesus expressed. Jesus became angry, but He did not sin. The Scriptures also teach that "in your anger do not sin." Ephesians 4:26. So this must be a specific kind of anger. MacArthur states that "the anger Jesus is talking about here is selfish anger. . . which is sort of a brooding, nursed anger that is not allowed to die--it's a smoldering, long-lived kind of thing. . . When you bitterly hold a grudge against somebody, no matter how small, Jesus says that you are as guilty as the person who takes a life, and consequently, you deserve the same judgment." I can only think of one such person in my life. A boss I had when I was stationed at the Air Force Accounting and Finance Center in Denver Colorado. I was so angry with this man and hated him so much that I fantasized about killing him with my buck knife. (By the way, I was not living for God at that time, and I have since asked God for forgiveness for my attitude toward him.) You see anger and hatred are root causes of murder. While you and I may restrain ourselves from the physical violent act of murder, God is concerned with the inner attitude toward our fellow man. To harbor hatred and anger is the same in God's eyes as murder and deserves equal punishment.
- Slander - Next Jesus says that if you slander someone you deserve to answer to the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was the ruling class of Israel, made up of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and it was their place to make judgments against the people. The word Raca basically means empty headed. It was an expression of utter contempt, much like our word 'stupid' or 'idiot'. In Jesus progression of terms here, it is worse than anger because it is the outward expression of the inner heart. When I was growing up my mother taught me a little saying that was supposed to make me feel better when someone said something bad to or about me. "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." The truth is words hurt a lot more than sticks and stones. A broken bone will heal but a broken spirit may never heal. James 3:9 says:
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness."
Once again the hypocrisy in our lives between who we profess to be as Christians and how we act out toward others, who were made in the likeness of God. This is more than simple name calling because the root of this is an attitude of hate or contempt in the heart. Do you find yourself expressing this attitude toward others? Jesus says you are worse than a murderer, and deserve to be punished by the ruling council. - Cursing - Finally Jesus says
"But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell."
I do not know about you but I am sure that I have called someone a fool before. But Jesus is not talking about name calling here except in an extreme sense of the word. The word fool used here is used in the sense of being in rebellion against God. It was a term that described someone who did not believe in the one true God, God the Father. Psalm 14:1 states:"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'"
In the Jewish culture it would be equivalent to calling someone a pagan. The Pharisees were proud of their relationship to God through the Mosaic covenant, and loathed unbelievers. The problem was they did not look at unbelievers with a sympathetic heart and seek to introduce them to God, instead they looked upon them with contempt and cursed them. What about us? What is our attitude toward the unbelievers that we come into contact with every day in our lives? Do we give any consideration to their spiritual condition? Do we harbor in our hearts a contempt for their unbelief? Do we think of them as fools because they do not have Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives? Or do we have a love and compassion for them that makes us want to reach out to them with the love of Jesus Christ. The Pharisees attitude was one of rejection, and Jesus response to that attitude was they deserved to be punished in the fire of hell.
Conclusion
I do not know about you, but when I really read and study the words of Jesus, I find I do not measure up too well. God set the bar pretty high for kingdom people. While I may be able to restrain myself from murdering someone, I find that I struggle with the real heart of Jesus teaching, the attitude of my heart. I, we all, deserve punishment.
And that is the very reason Jesus came to this earth. God knew that we could never live up to His kingdom standards.
Romans 3:23
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Romans 6:23
"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Jesus Christ came to bear the penalty of your sin and mine on the cross. And because He did, we do not have to rely on a self righteousness for eternal life. Our righteousness is found through our faith in Jesus as Lord.