Today's scripture reading is taken from Matthew chapter 5 verses 21 to 26.
! Please follow along in your own Bibles or on the screen.
And if you don't have a Bible, please grab one around the hall.
Our passage is on page 760 in this Bible.
Starting from verse 21, we read,
You have heard that it was said to those of old,
You shall not murder.
And whoever murders will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.
Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council.
And whoever says, You fool, will be liable to the hell of fire.
So, if you are offering your gift at the altar,
and there remember that your brother has something against you,
leave your gift there before the altar and go.
First, be reconciled to your brother,
and then come offer your gift.
Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court.
Lest the accuser hand you over to the judge,
and the judge to the guard,
and you be put in prison.
Truly, I say to you,
you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
This is the word of God.
Good morning, Watermark.
It's wonderful to be here.
Wonderful to see you all.
Thank you for having us.
It really is fantastic to be here in your new venue this morning.
And it's a privilege to be sharing with you.
We really have a lot of affection for this church.
We've had members of Watermark move to Singapore.
Ryan and Catherine, some of you may remember them.
They're part of our Mandarin church plant.
Dorcas also recently moved to Singapore and has been with us.
And I know there are many others as well.
This morning we actually have Sean and Rachel from RHC who are visiting as well.
So some RHC is here too.
And that's the nature of Singapore and Hong Kong.
There is a lot of movement backwards and forwards.
But it really is a wonderful privilege to be speaking to you today.
This church,
what I always hear about this church,
from people from Watermark, from Kevin, from others,
two main things that always stand out to me.
Firstly, your warmth and your love as a church,
the sense of tight community that you have,
how you care for one another.
And then secondly,
I always seem to hear stories of people coming to faith,
coming to know Jesus in this church.
And I think God has really given you a grace
that has enabled you to be very evangelistically fruitful.
And those are two very, very beautiful things.
And I trust that as you move into this new space,
which is absolutely wonderful,
that God will continue to see these two things strengthened.
And I'm sure that this space is about those two things happening.
More and more people coming to know Jesus
and be folded into this tight-knit, beautiful community.
So it really is a privilege to be here today.
I'm going to be speaking this morning on the healing of anger.
Some of you may wonder,
why on earth am I speaking about this?
Did Kevin say to me,
hey, if there's one thing you could talk about,
could you please speak about this?
I would like to let you know that that did not happen at all.
But as we'll see a little bit later,
this is actually a wonderful text for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, I think what Jesus says applies to more of us than we think.
Secondly, I think this text does help us think a little bit more
about our relationships with one another.
It also helps us think more deeply about God
and how we view him and his work through Jesus
and how that applies to our hearts.
So I trust it will be encouraging for us this morning.
So let me begin.
I don't know how many of you have heard of Alexander the Great.
He was a great conqueror.
He conquered many, many lands, many nations.
But there was one thing that he was unable to conquer,
and that was his own anger, his own temper.
And in fact, one evening during a banquet,
he had had too much to drink,
and some of his usual filters were taken down.
And he got into an argument with one of his confidants
and someone who was a very close friend,
someone who had actually saved his life previously.
And in his incredible rage, he ended his life
and woke up in the morning and lived with a huge sense of regret,
which we'll hear a little bit about later.
But he was a man who had such power, such control,
had so much influence over others,
and yet there was something inside of him
that he wasn't able to control.
And I want to ask you this morning
if you are or if you think you are an angry person.
The reason I'm asking that this morning
is because most angry people or many angry people
don't think that they are angry.
I never ever thought I had any anger issues.
And the reason I thought I didn't have any anger issues
was because it's not my habit to shout or scream.
I certainly don't or never have, I don't think,
thrown things around the house.
And I thought, okay, well, I'm clearly not an angry person.
But as time went on, I began to realize
anger is far more pervasive than just those things.
It has many, many forms.
Some of us may have mastered the art
of the passive-aggressive form of anger.
Anybody here?
Please do not dig your spouse in their ribs, all right?
What about irritability?
In fact, what convinced me that I was an angry person
was when I read a Desiring God article
about 12 years ago on the roots of irritability
and how irritability is a form of anger
that is just under a certain kind of control.
And I realized I actually have a lot of,
I can be very irritable.
I can be very, very, very, very, very, very,
maybe a certain tone of voice
or body language to control.
Maybe for some people here,
it manifests as a kind of bitterness
or a deep desire that you never act out on,
but you play over and over in your mind
this desire for revenge.
What about in our culture,
how cancel culture is such a huge thing?
Isn't that a form of anger?
Maybe this morning you recognize
you are very easily triggered,
like a tightly coiled spring,
just waiting to be let loose.
Some people, many people that I have had to counsel
over the years struggle,
it seems like legitimately,
with a sense of anger at deep injustice
that they have faced.
People often, I find in Asia,
have experienced deep, deep injustice
that has affected them very, very deeply,
but they found there's no way for them
to resolve it, to engage,
to confront,
to have proper resolution of those things.
And because there's no outlet,
it's just grown and grown inside of them.
Now, when you and I are prone to,
when we are inclined to think about anger,
and we think about Jesus speaking about anger,
we are probably likely to think about
the harm that our anger can do
to those around us, loved ones, etc.
And Jesus certainly is not unaware of those things.
He speaks here about murder and anger.
He equates those kinds of things.
And so whether it's physical violence,
whether it's verbal anger,
whether it's emotional abuse,
all of these things
certainly have a very destructive force
upon other people.
And this is probably a good time to say
that if you are or have been
in any kind of an abusive relationship,
it really is important
for you to get safe and to get help.
And nothing I say this morning
should be taken as a way
to justify you remaining in a situation
that you are physically unsafe in.
But when we're inclined to think about anger,
we probably think about the harm
that our anger may do to others.
But I want us to notice here
in our text today,
the way Jesus is motivating us
is not by getting us to think about
the harm it will do to others,
though that's absolutely true.
He actually wants us to think
about the harm that our anger does
not to other people,
but does to us.
So look at verse 22,
verse 25, verse 26.
I say to you,
everyone who's angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment.
Whoever insults his brother
will be liable to the council.
Whoever says you fool
will be liable to the hell of fire.
Come quickly to terms with your accuser
while you're going with him to the court,
lest your accuser hand you over to the judge
and the judge to the God
and you be put in prison.
Truly I say,
you will never get out
until you've paid the last penny.
Interestingly here,
Jesus is trying to motivate us
by getting us to think about
anger's effect upon our own hearts,
spiritually and relationally.
And this means,
I think every one of us recognize
we probably do need some help
in this regard.
And years of pastoral ministry
have shown me
people typically need help
in this area
in two ways.
Number one,
dealing with a feeling of anger
in our own hearts.
How do we let this go?
Can we?
And secondly,
knowing how to constructively engage
with those
that we have conflicts with.
And fortunately,
in this passage today,
Jesus does mention both of these.
So we'll see two things
briefly this morning.
Firstly,
the problem with anger
and secondly,
a path out of anger.
So let's start with
the path,
the problem of anger.
When we think about this text,
what Jesus is doing,
we don't have time
to look at it in detail.
Jesus is picking up aspects
of the Old Testament law,
the Torah,
and he is fleshing them out
by showing the true heart
of the law.
And one good way
to think about
the Old Testament law
is that what the law
in the Old Testament
negatively prohibits,
it does so in order
to positively encourage
the opposite behavior.
It's like if
Kev or one of the leaders
here says,
we'd really like to ask you
not to be late on Sunday.
They're not just asking you
not to be late,
they're asking you
to positively be
on time and early, right?
And so,
when the law speaks about
not doing various things,
it is urging us
to love,
to care for God's,
to care for those
around us.
So,
let's ask ourselves,
what exactly is this anger?
In verse 21 and 22,
let's read in our text,
Jesus says,
you've heard it was said
to those of old,
you shall not murder
and whoever murders
will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you,
everyone who's angry
with his brother
will be liable to judgment.
Whoever insults his brother
will be liable
to the council.
Whoever says,
you fool,
will be liable
to the hell of fire.
Jesus here is really
getting to the spirit
of the law.
He's trying to show us
the heart of it.
We think even of
the Old Testament,
how the Old Testament
even had laws
about like building parapets
or balustrades
on top of the roof
of your house
lest somebody fall off
by accident.
The heart of that
is this care
and concern
for other people
that is so deeply
concerned for their well-being
that when you're building
a house,
you're thinking
about safety precautions
lest somebody
accidentally harm themselves.
And in that spirit
of the law,
Jesus is saying
the way that we view
and treat
and feel in our hearts
toward other people
really, really matters.
And I think the three
clauses or phrases
Jesus uses here
help us think
a little bit about anger.
He speaks about being angry,
he speaks about insulting,
and he speaks about
calling someone a fool.
I think we can think
of these as like
three kind of facets
of the diamond of anger
that help us see
what he's talking about.
The word anger
is something which would
exist in our heart.
the word is kind of
like a burning rage
that you nurse,
like a fire
that is continuing
to burn inside of you.
The word insult,
this is when you
demean someone.
You make a judgment
of them.
You judge them
by defining them
in your own heart
and your own mind.
You say to them,
I,
I mean,
internally in your heart,
I declare you
to be an idiot.
All right?
There's this sense
that you're summing them up
and concluding
who they are.
And then the last word,
fool,
interestingly,
the Greek word
is the root of which
is the word
that in English
we sometimes,
the word moron,
when you call someone
a moron,
it's like when you call
someone an airhead
or a moron.
I don't know how you
typically use that language.
You don't have to tell me
about it right now.
But typically,
if you call someone
a moron
or an idiot like that,
the way that it's often used
is in a very dismissive
kind of a way.
That guy's just a moron.
I do not have time for you.
Can you just get out of my way
and out of my life?
And what is being spoken of here
is a kind of indifference,
a dismissing,
not treating someone
as they really should be treated.
And if we put all these
three things together,
I think a good definition
that we can get
of anger
that the kind of anger
Jesus is referring to here
is an attitude of heart
that demeans
the other person,
setting yourself up
as a God
over them
to define,
judge,
and then ultimately
dismiss them.
And
I think this
captures what Jesus
is speaking of here.
Sometimes we want to
nurse a kind of bitterness
because
we may legitimately
see things
that have happened to us
that we think are wrong
and may legitimately
have been wrong.
We legitimately
have suffered.
We do not believe
that there is a God
of justice
who will ultimately
hold all people
to account.
And we think
if I don't exact
my revenge on them,
even if that revenge
is just my own anger
toward them
in my own heart,
there will be no justice.
And therefore,
because we don't fear God
or we don't believe
that he is there
to execute justice,
we take it upon
ourselves to do.
We judge,
we dismiss,
we write off,
we nurse grudges
in this way.
Now,
there are some
who at a point
like this
would probably
and legitimately
be asking,
hold on,
hold on.
What about
those people
in the world
who really,
really do commit
great acts of evil?
How do we think
about such people?
Friends,
the Bible,
the Christian Bible
certainly gives us
very clear categories
in which to understand
evil.
If we don't have God,
if we don't have
his righteousness,
we don't have
proper categories
in which to really
understand that
which is right and wrong.
And the scriptures
really do affirm
and show us
there are actions
and ways of treating
people that are wicked
and certainly
are worthy
of judgment.
And the Bible
is not saying
that we are to act
as though everybody's
behavior is acceptable
and fine.
The scriptures
themselves give us
those categories
in which to make
right judgments.
So when we see
people who legitimately
do do evil
and wicked things
as Christians,
I want to tell us
this morning,
it's entirely possible,
it's right actually,
for us to hate evil,
for us to hate
injustice,
to legitimately see
where we may have
been wronged,
but we refrain
from taking the place
of God ourselves.
It may be possible
in certain situations
that we do need
to react to
somebody else's evil
or their sin.
It could be possible
for Christians
and right in some
circumstances,
if you see someone
else being harmed,
for you even to step in
and forcibly maybe
stop somebody from
sinning or harming
another person,
that's absolutely
legitimate and that's
what the Bible
would describe as
love.
But when in our
hearts we don't just
want to see what is
wrong being stopped,
but we want to see
the wrongdoer
destroyed,
when we want to
see them pay
for their sins,
we want them to be
destroyed,
we dismiss them,
we're moving from
just enacting
justice and trying
to love other people
rightly and we're
taking the place of
God in our own
hearts.
We are moving into
an unrighteous anger
that can be evil
itself.
And friends,
I want us to notice
that Jesus says
this kind of anger
is really bad.
it's really bad for
us both spiritually,
it's really bad for
us relationally.
How is it bad for
us spiritually?
Well,
let's just notice
what he says.
If you go back and
look at the text,
I mean,
think about the
words that Jesus
speaks about.
He speaks about the
danger of the
council.
He speaks ultimately
about the danger of
hell.
What is Jesus saying
here?
I mean,
hell in Matthew's
gospel is a place
where we are alienated
from the presence of
God.
where we're
separated from him
and ultimately are
destroyed.
Jesus is really
warning us to say,
if we nurse this
kind of thing where
we're taking the
place of God,
dismissing people,
wanting them
destroyed,
setting ourselves as
the ultimate judge
over them,
this is going to
have profound
spiritual effects
upon us.
Now,
I think this is so
bad for at least
three reasons.
Firstly,
unrighteous anger
slanders
the image of God.
Unrighteous anger
slanders the image
of God.
It's one of the
most beautiful and
wonderful teachings
of the scriptures that
every single human
being is made in the
image of God.
God.
And the Bible tells us
that sin has
marred that image.
We do not reflect
God's glory perfectly.
In fact,
many of us reflect it
very,
very poorly.
And yet the
scriptures say,
even after the
fall,
we still retain
the dignity
of being God's
image bearers,
though we reflect it
so badly.
and we're to
treat other
Christians,
sorry,
not just other
Christians,
other human
beings,
all human
beings,
as image
bearers of
God.
Now,
I am from
Singapore,
and you would
know in this
part of the
world there are
many temples
that are on
just about every
corner.
Can you imagine
how people would
feel,
worshippers in a
temple around the
corner would feel
if somebody walked
in with a
massive axe
and began to
swing at some
of the idols
and gods that
are set up in
that temple.
It would be
outrageous.
And the
scriptures show us
that this entire
creation,
this world that
we live in,
is a temple to
the glory of God
with every human
being,
what,
seven,
eight billion of
them on the
planet at the
moment,
image bearers of
God.
And the way
that we treat
those image
bearers and view
them is a
reflection of
our view toward
God at some
level.
So unrighteous
anger is
particularly bad
because we are
slandering the
image of God
which speaks
something to
how we're
treating God
himself.
Secondly,
unrighteous anger,
I think even more
seriously,
sets us up in
our own hearts
to take the
place of God.
When we decide
that we will be
the ultimate
judge,
we will make
permanent
decisions about
someone,
dismiss them
in a certain
way,
we are setting
ourselves up
in the place
of God.
And friends,
the scriptures
show us we
cannot do this
without this
having a profound
effect upon our
own hearts.
The Bible shows
us so clearly
over and over
whenever we
displace God,
we end up
idolizing
something or
someone else.
In fact,
I've seen so
often how people
who trust in
people above
God,
then when those
people let
them down and
disappoint them,
there's a deep
anger that begins
to grow.
But more than
that,
our hearts do
become profoundly
disordered when
we take the
place of God.
Romans 1 shows
us that when
we replace God
and we set
ourselves up as
gods,
one of the
effects of that
is a kind of
spiritual blindness
in our lives.
I think the
language that
Romans 1 uses
is we become
futile in our
thinking.
I don't know
how many of
you have ever
seen this play
out in your
own life.
This means that
when other
people sin
against us,
and we become
angry with
them,
we become
blind to our
own sinful
response to
their sin.
I don't know
if this has
ever happened
to you.
Someone sins
against us,
and we feel
we're just
filled with a
huge sense of
rage.
But instead
of being
aware of
how wrong
our anger
is,
and how
we're now
treating them
in a very
unfair way,
or judging
them,
or misunderstanding
their motives,
we're just
locked in and
focused on
their own
errors.
And so
often,
I find for
myself,
I'm tempted
into sin
because someone
sinned against
me.
And just
because someone
sinned against
me doesn't
justify me
sinning against
them,
but in my
anger,
I get blind
to my own
sinful response
to them.
And if
you're like
me,
then you
probably start
to feel
justified.
You think
certain things,
you act in
a certain
way,
maybe indulge
in more
gossip about
them,
you say
things about
them,
scripture clearly
says that we
shouldn't do,
but you're
entirely blind
to it because
it feels
entirely justified
because of
how bad
they are.
In other
words,
when we set
ourselves up
in this
way,
we can see
even in
our own
hearts,
there's a
blindness
that creeps
in,
that affects
us.
And finally,
unrighteous
anger shows,
I think most
seriously,
Matthew 6 will
show us in
the next
chapter,
that we have
not properly
received God's
mercy.
There's something
in our own
hearts that
have not
truly understood
the nature
of who God
is.
What about
relationally?
And this,
I don't need to
spend as much
time on this
morning,
the passage
shows relationally
even in terms
of just your
own self.
There's an
accuser,
there's the
threat of
court,
of jail,
not getting
out until
you've paid
the last
penny.
I mean,
this text is
saying there
can be real
social and
relational and
practical
implications to
not managing
our anger
properly.
And I don't
know how many
of you,
maybe it's
true of you
this morning,
maybe you
know others,
who find
themselves trapped
in relational
prisons because
of unforgiveness,
because of
bitterness,
because of
anger.
You refuse to
forgive,
you refuse to
let something
go,
and you find
yourself more
and more
estranged,
withdrawn.
It begins to
affect you more
and more.
Alexander the
Great,
when he woke
up the next
morning and
realized what
he had done,
it affected
his life
profoundly,
plunged into
a deep
depression,
and he
could hardly
recover from
it.
What about
ending his
life on
multiple
times?
It was
deep
self-loathing.
Friends,
I'm sure we
can think of
multiple ways
these kinds
of things
affect us.
In other
words,
the effect
is not
even just
on those
that we
are angry
with,
and that
would take
another
entire
sermon
to unpack
those
things.
But let's
remember here,
Jesus is
actually
motivating us
by asking,
what does this
do to our
own hearts?
spiritually,
our relationship
with God,
our view
of him,
our understanding
of his mercy,
our sense
of self,
and all of
this means,
friends,
that these
anger issues
that Jesus
is talking
about here
are really
not minor.
They are
significant,
and they're
things we need
to pay
close attention
to.
It may be
a good idea,
don't do it
now,
but to ask
a friend
if you feel
like,
I don't
have any
anger issues
at all.
Maybe you
can ask
a friend,
a close
friend,
ask a
spouse,
pick your
moment
carefully,
wait till
there's time
for a
longish
conversation.
I see
some of
you jabbing
one another
here and
there,
but we
really should
take this
seriously.
So what
exactly is
the path
out of
anger?
And I
think as I
mentioned
earlier,
we really
need help
with this
command in
two ways.
I think
we need
help with
both dealing
with the
negative
emotions and
feelings that
we feel
in our
own
hearts,
and then
secondly,
knowing just
some tips
or some
help and
how do we
practically reach
out to
others?
And fortunately,
Jesus does
mention both
of these.
So let's
look firstly
at the
vertical path,
our own
hearts.
Jesus in
the Sermon
on the
Mount has
been speaking
to his
people over
and over
about their
need for a
deeper
righteousness,
a righteousness
that is rooted
in a correct
view of God,
not a dismissing
of God,
not a forgetting
of him,
not a taking
the place
of him,
not fearing
that God
won't do
anything in
the future
and therefore
we step
in and say
no one's
going to
stand up
for me,
I will
have to
take action,
but a
right trust,
reverence,
awe of the
God of the
Bible as
he shows
himself to
be.
We need
a right
view,
a right
fear,
a right
healthy
Christian
fear of
the Lord.
And this
right fear
needs to
change our
hearts,
Jesus needs
to change
our hearts
at a deep
level so we
can worship
and trust
him with a
pure heart,
seeing right
and wrong,
not becoming
those who
dismiss wickedness
and say it
doesn't matter,
you can see
clearly,
but who
respond from
a pure
heart that's
not marked
by taking
the place
of God
or being
bitter.
How exactly
do we do
this?
And I think
the scriptures
show us that
when we are
sinned against,
we are supposed
to come to
our God,
our God of
justice,
and to
entrust our
justice to
him.
Friends,
the scriptures
show us that
our God is
indeed a God
who believes
in justice,
is profoundly
committed to
our justice,
and we
can entrust
the wrongs
that are
done to
us into
his hands,
and we
can trust
him.
We serve
a God,
friends,
who
mercifully
treats you
and I
far better
than,
he treats
us far
better than
those we
treat who
sinned against
us.
The scriptures
show us just
the depth of
our own sins
against God.
God,
if we
just think
this morning
about our
own anger,
we just
think about
the enormity
of that
sin against
God,
and yet,
how does
God respond
and treat
us when
we sin
against him
and legitimately
grieve him?
Friends,
the Bible
tells us that
rather than
destroying
those who've
sinned against
God,
whom he has
every right to
do,
he has every
right to do
so,
rather than
dismissing
us,
saying,
I don't
have time
for you,
the scriptures
show us in
the deep
heart of
our God,
it is a
love and
a compassion
and a
care even
for those
who've
wronged
him,
that sins
Jesus,
he will
leave the
comforts of
heaven to
pursue us,
to love
us,
to take on
the consequences
of our sin
himself in
mercy,
so that
ultimately our
hearts can
be healed.
Though we
had wronged
him,
how does
God deal
with us?
Does he
pout in
heaven?
Do we see
him passive
aggressive in
the scriptures?
Is that how
God responds?
No,
he pursues
us with a
soft and a
tender heart
full of
mercy.
God,
friends,
truly treats
you and I
as his
image bearers,
as profoundly
precious to
him,
not dismissing
us.
And in
fact,
when there
is and
was a
profound
debt to
be paid
because of
the wrong
of our
sins and
what we've
done wrong,
the Bible
says Jesus
comes to
pay that
debt.
And he
paid it
down to
the last
penny.
He was
thrown into
the jail of
death and
hell for us.
he didn't
get out
until he
paid the
last penny
for you
and I,
the debt
of our
injustice.
Friends,
you know what
this shows
us, just
as a quick
aside, when
you and I
try to take
the place
of God and
enact justice
on other
people, we're
playing God
very badly.
We're not
even acting
like the
true God.
We can
praise God
this morning
that he is
far, far
better than
you and I.
And the
question is,
how does
the way God
treats us
then heal
our hearts?
Two ways
for us to
reflect on.
Firstly,
what Jesus
does for us
and how God
loves his
people who
have wronged
him so
deeply.
This firstly
reconnects our
hearts to
God so that
we now have a
relationship with
him and can
trust our
heavenly father
to fulfill
all justice
on our behalf.
What does this
look like and
what does this
mean?
Because Jesus
has reconciled
us to God,
our relationship
with God is
restored.
We now love
God above
everything else.
We don't need
to idolize other
people and get
their approval or
something from
them, which
when we don't
get makes us
angry because
we worship and
trust and love
and find everything
we need from
our father
above.
This also
means that we
are far quicker
to see our
own sins of
anger in
reaction to
other people's
sins.
To trust God
in those
areas.
But maybe even
more significantly,
because of what
Jesus has done at
the cross,
because Christ has
come to suffer
and die for all
of our sins,
this in one
level elevates
God's justice
in our view.
God,
friends,
surely,
the scriptures
say,
will deal with
everything that is
wrong in this
world one day.
the cross is
not a dismissing
of God's
justice and
God saying
justice doesn't
matter.
The cross is
God saying
justice does
matter.
Everything
wrong must be
exposed and
revealed and
dealt with.
And friends,
the cross shows
us that every
wickedness done
to you,
every bit of
evil that you
have faced at
the hands of
other people,
will one day
certainly be
dealt with.
Either those
people who
have committed
sin against
you will
confess their
sins to
Jesus and
have Jesus
carry them
at the cross
where justice
is done and
those sins are
fully dealt
with,
or if they
refuse to do
that,
they will have
to stand
themselves before
God one day
and give an
account for
their own
sins where
justice will
be done.
Friends,
the cross is
the instrument,
the means by
which we see
God's love,
but at the
same time,
it's the
place where
we are
guaranteed,
it underlines
the commitment
God himself
has to
justice.
And so when
we stare at
that, when
we look at
that this
morning, it
strengthens our
sense that
God we serve
is a God of
justice who
will make
things right.
It's possible
those who
have sinned
against us
will be
forgiven just
as we've
been forgiven
of our sins.
But if not,
it will be
done.
Justice will
be seen
one day.
And this
means, secondly,
friends, if you
hear this
morning struggling
with wickedness
done to you,
you can go to
Jesus who
has literally
himself carried
on the cross
the weight,
the guilt of
many wicked
peoples, the
evil that they've
committed.
Jesus understands
that.
You can go to
him today.
This trust that
we can have now
in Jesus, that
he will make
this right,
means you
and I this
morning can
set aside our
role of
demanding justice
on our own
terms right
here and
now.
Now, this
is a short
sermon.
I only have
another seven
or eight
minutes to
go.
We can't
deal with
all the
nuances and
complexities.
Sometimes the
most loving
thing to do
for someone is
to go to
the police
and they
will need
to really
pay the
consequences.
That is
often the
way that you
love your
neighbor.
If someone's
committing crimes,
it's going to
affect other
people.
You lodge a
complaint, you
go to the
police, and
that is one
way that justice
gets done.
I'm speaking
here about our
own sense of
wanting, our
own vindication
and revenge
upon someone
where we are
taking the place
of God in
their life.
And only when
we trust God
as our true
judge can we
release this
bitterness and
this anger and
entrust it into
his hands.
And the
cross shows
us we can
do that
knowing it
will certainly
be dealt
with one
day.
So let me
just pause for
a moment and
just ask this
morning, what
maybe are some
of the seeds
of bitterness
or maybe
indifference or
dismissing others
that you're
watering in your
heart this
morning?
Friends, every
one of us can
lay an axe
to the root of
that bitterness
in our hearts
this morning.
And we do it
by laying the
axe of the
gospel to our
hearts.
God's mercy to
us, the
certainty that
God will deal
with these
things and we
entrust our
lives and even
the grievances
we have into
his hands
knowing that he
will do so.
And we ask
him to make
us to be like
himself.
ask his
spirit to be
at work in
us.
And secondly,
the way the
gospel affects
and heals
our hearts is
it reconnects
our hearts to
God, not
just so that
we know that
justice will
one day be
done, but it
reconnects our
hearts to God
so that deep
in our hearts
we begin to
feel a sense
of mercy
toward others
just as you
and I have
received the
mercy of
Jesus.
Friends, God's
mercy toward
us, his
forgiveness of
our sins
against him
turns our
hearts toward
God in a
deep way
which then
begins to
soften our
hearts toward
others as
well.
We can now
see other
people's sins
without being
self-righteous
and just judging
and dismissing
them because we
recognize, yep,
they may really
have sinned,
I'm a sinner
too in need of
God's grace.
And we realize
we've received
such profound
mercy at the
hands of God
as well.
Friends, Jesus
helps us see
the value of
every person,
even those who
are our enemies
which he's going
to go on later
on in Matthew
chapter 5 and
speak to us
about.
And so when we
see Jesus and
who he is and
what he's done,
it both deals
with our desire
for revenge
ourselves and
taking the place
of God and
executing that
ourselves, we
can entrust
that to him
and it
softens our
hearts toward
our enemies.
Now, as I
mentioned earlier,
there are some
crimes or sins
that have been
committed that
really require
authorities and
others to be
involved.
And I think
the heart of a
Christian is that
even if you need
to do that,
and in our
church we will
definitely counsel
people to do so
in certain
situations,
we recognize
sometimes people's
actions require
real justice
this side of
eternity.
There may
need to be
police reports,
they may need
to go to
jail for a
long time,
and a
Christian will
do so if
doing so is
truly loving
for that
person, is
truly the
best thing for
that person
and society,
but will do
so with the
heart of such
tenderness and
compassion that
is not gloating
or glad or
pleased that
they'll be
destroyed, but
if they could,
would wish that
they could even
take their
place, if
taking their
place would
truly be in
the best interest
of that person.
Friends, when
this heart starts
to get into us,
we start to see
our hearts now
have been shaped
by our great
and glorious
God who has
loved us in
such a deep
and profound
way.
So this
morning, who
is it that you
could begin to
pray for,
maybe begin to
show mercy
toward as
you've received
it from
Jesus.
And then
finally, our
last couple
of moments,
Jesus wonderfully
does talk about
a horizontal
path as well.
One of the
commentators,
Frederick Bruner,
speaks of
verse 23 to
26, saying
these are,
once we've
dealt with our
hearts, the
little steps of
obedience that
you and I
can take.
And let's
read verse
23 and 26.
He says,
so then,
if you're
offering your
gift at the
altar and
there,
remember,
your brother
has something
against you,
leave your
gift before
the altar
and go.
first be
reconciled,
then come
and offer
your gift,
come to
terms quickly
with your
accuser while
you're going
with him to
court,
lest your
accuser hand
you over to
the judge,
the judge to
the God,
and you be
put in
prison.
And what
this, I
should have
mentioned this
a little bit
earlier, but
one of the
reasons we
know this is
so bad for
us spiritually
is because
anger, Jesus
literally says,
if this is
living inside
your heart,
it cannot be
done while
you're
worshipping God
at the same
time.
But Jesus
here does
give us
practical steps
to do.
And very
simply, the
two things
that he
urges us
to consider
as we
want to
walk this
out with
other people
is to
act
proactively
and to
act
quickly.
Now, I
am very
conscious, this
is another
disclaimer, again,
a tough topic
this morning,
but another
disclaimer.
There are
many places
and churches
where some
of these
commands that
Jesus gives
have been
used to
manipulate
people, to
act in a
way that
their hearts
aren't ready
to do, or
to maybe even
keep people
in abusive
or wrong
relationships.
And that's
not Jesus'
intention here
at all.
But I do
want us to
see the
wisdom that
Jesus gives
here, that
when there
are relational
issues, he's
urging us to
act both
proactively and
quickly.
So, proactively.
Verse 23 to
24, if you're
offering your
gift, then you
remember your
brother, leave
your gift before
the altar and
go.
First be
reconciled.
Now, what's
amazing about
this is Jesus
is not even
talking here
about you in
this situation
necessarily having
anger toward
another person.
He says if
you're worshiping
God and you
realize there's
a conflict
between you and
someone else and
they have
something against
you, rather
seek to repair
this before you
worship God.
He is urging a
proactive initiative
toward dealing
with any kind of
relational breakdowns.
fascinatingly, later
on in Matthew
chapter 18, Jesus
says if your
brother does sin
against you, go
to him privately
and show him
his fault.
In other words, if
someone sins
against you, or
if you just know
someone's upset
with you, whether
or not you think
you did anything
wrong, Jesus
is saying the
initiative is always
on the Christian
to go and try to
make those things
right.
And I think as we
think through these
things, as we
think through our
own hearts, we
can respond by
asking God to
fill us with a
sense of mercy to
enable us,
to proactively
reach out to
others.
And then the
second thing he
says is settle
quickly.
So he speaks
about being
proactive, and
then he speaks
about setting
things quickly.
In verse 25, he
says, come to
terms quickly with
your accuser while
you're going with
him to court, lest
your accuser hand
you to the judge, the
judge to the God, and
you be put in
prison.
And I want to
encourage us this
morning that there
is real wisdom in
us following Jesus'
advice here to
deal quickly with
offenses that we
have.
I've been married
for 22 years.
I know that
sometimes when you
are in an argument
or you're in a
difficult moment, it
can really be wise to
just say, let's take
an hour and let's
just gather our
thoughts and think
how we can engage in
this in a wise way.
That's certainly a
moment to kind of
cool off, gather your
thoughts, pray through
things, very, very
healthy in
relationships.
But what can be
really unhelpful is
when we just put a
long distance between
people that we are in
conflict with.
Jesus is urging us
here to deal with
these things quickly.
And I think the
reason for this, as
we all know, when
you're estranged from
someone over a long
period of time, and
there's a deep sense of
anger in your heart,
what has to happen
over time is,
firstly, you don't end
up humanizing and
personalizing that
person anymore.
And you need to
justify that anger.
And so what happens
with the distance is
you act, maybe you're
not like me, but I
act like a very good
defense attorney.
And I can think of
all the reasons of
all the things that
they've done wrong, and
then I start attributing
motives to them.
And instead of
humanizing them and
standing in their
shoes, I just build my
case in a stronger and
stronger way.
And what ends up
happening is that
rift and that
divide just gets
larger and larger and
larger.
And I've seen some
people who refuse to
deal with things
quickly, and then
suddenly it's years and
years, and you think
this will never, ever be
resolved.
Jesus is urging us as
his people, who see
every human being, all
human beings as image
bearers, to reach out
proactively, to try and
deal with things quickly,
to humanize them, to
listen, to see, and
ultimately to extend the
kind of mercy that God's
given to us.
And we can do so knowing
that ultimately everything
wrong in this world is
one day going to be made
right.
Jesus' death and
resurrection confirms
that.
It shows us God is full of
mercy toward us who've
sinned against him, but
God is so merciful that he
will absorb in himself the
consequences of our sin to
him.
And he is now inviting
all of us as his people,
to be a people who are
not just learning some
practical steps about how
can we try and serve
people better, but who
really see and wrestle
with our God and his
character and the work
he's done on the cross in
a deep way in our hearts
and then slowly learn to
live this out.
I've been a Christian for
many, many years.
These things take me a
long time.
They do not come naturally
or easily, but this is
what it means to be a
Christian, to receive God's
incredible grace and then
ask him to work that out
in us slowly.
I've been so encouraged by
just meeting so many of
you over the last couple
of days and over the
years that we've known
many of you.
This, friends, is a
church where people, I
believe, love each other
deeply.
And as you continue to
love each other deeply
and richly, this is the
kind of community God is
so eager to add people to
where they'll be folded
in and together as God's
people we learn to live
together like him,
displaying his character
to our watching world.
Can we close our eyes
and let me pray for us
this morning?
Father, we ask you this
morning that you would,
by your spirit, you would
peel away some of the
layers of our hearts,
maybe where we've
justified some of our
own responses or anger.
Father, even where those
of us have been deeply
wounded and hurt in a way
that grieves you
profoundly.
Father, I ask that by your
spirit this morning, you,
by your mercy, would peel
away some of those layers
of hardness that have
grown in our hearts and you
would enable us to bring
our wounds, our sufferings,
the injustice to you, to
entrust it into your hands,
to ask you to carry it,
and then to ask you to
soften our own hearts,
to make us more human,
to make us more like you.
Won't you heal us?
And as you heal us, Lord God,
won't you, I want you to
heal our relationships,
and won't you heal our world?
We ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.