Greater Righteousness: The Danger of Anger

Preface: This is the first in a series of lessons based in Matthew, beginning in 5:21. In this series of lessons entitled "Greater Righteousness" we will explore how Jesus compares the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. 

In the light of verse 19, Jesus continues to explain to his disciples that his teaching does not do away with the law, rather his teaching supersedes the law. In effect Jesus is raising the standard of what it means to be a “righteous” individual. Then He illustrates this point with specific examples related to the Law. In fact, he places anger, lust, divorce, oaths, and retaliation on the same moral plane as murder, adultery, and perjury. Over the next few weeks we will go over these particulars that Jesus has given us.

Note: While Jesus raises the standard of righteous conduct in this passage, he does not reveal the mechanism by which we arrive at this level of righteousness. On its face, Jesus is placing the Kingdom of Heaven out of reach for everyone. Later passages in the New Testament reveal that the Christian’s righteousness is given to him or her by Jesus Christ and acted out in the Christian as he or she walks in the Holy Spirit. This does not mean that Christians are immune to sin, because believers can and do still sin; however, the spirit of the believer longs to not sin, that is, be righteous. A repentant heart can always find restoration to righteousness in Jesus Christ.

The Danger of Anger 

The unrighteousness of Anger

Mat 5:21-26 NKJV - "21 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' 22 "But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 "leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 "Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 "Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny."

Unjustified anger is as evil as murder. Not all anger is sinful anger, but I venture to say that most of our anger is sinful. Jesus is speaking specifically here about being quick tempered. God is not quick tempered. Neither should we be.

The divine example:

Psa 145:8 KJV – “ The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy."

Instructions from Proverbs:

Pro 15:18 KJV - "A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife."Pro 16:32 KJV - "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city."

The evil of name calling / personal attack

Insulting the intelligence of another:

“Raca” literally means “empty head” and was a term of reproach used among the Jews in the time of Christ. It carries the idea of being intellectually void. It is a put-down term.
Jesus warning here is that angry outbursts complicate life rather than simplify it, and will even result in legal trouble. Then he explains that not only will unbridled anger get you into trouble in this world, but it can damn your soul in the next. 
Insulting the worth of another:

“Fool” here is the word “moros” from which we get our word “moron”. It means to be “impious or godless”. It is a scorn of heart and character.

People are created in the image of God, and they are loved by God. While it is okay to disagree with another person, it is not okay to devalue them. God loves the other guy just as much as he loves me.

Jas 3:6-11, 13-18 ESV - "6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? ...  

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." 

The importance of Reconciliation

 Verses 24, 25 emphasize the importance of speed in reconciliation. As soon as you figure out that you have been a heel (or someone thinks you have been a heel) you need to make amends, even if it is inconvenient. 

To continue to the next lesson CLICK HERE.

America's blood crime...

Some statistics say that in the last 40 years since "Roe v. Wade" legalized abortion in the U.S., the lives of 53,000,000 babies have been extinguished. Their little bodies have been thrown out like trash or (worse) sold for various purposes.

We have a problem.

God interacts with mankind in several different levels. He certainly deals with people on an individual level, but the Bible also indicates that he also interacts with people as social groups (such as families, cities and nations) as well.

It is the national relationship that concerns me.

Human government was God's idea, not man's. We first find it established as God talks to Noah after the flood  (Genesis chapter 9) .  The antediluvian (pre-flood) world was a world of civil anarchy, filled with violence. For this reason, the Bible tells us, God destroyed it in a flood. In Genesis 9, God is pushes the restart button. Here a social contract of self government is established that emphasizes the value of human life:

"Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image." Genesis 9:6.

Do you see the principle there? Human life is sacred because a human life is "in his own image."

This principle continues to be developed throughout the Bible. Notably it makes God's "Top Ten" list as "you shall not murder". He established the principles of "due process" and differentiates between "manslaughter" (accidental killing) and "murder". Throughout the Old Testament we find that the rise and fall of nations is in direct relation to their treatment of the innocent, particularly their children, their widows and foreigners. We find God's promise of national longevity is tied to the protection of the innocent. One of the damning sins of the Canaanites was child sacrifice to the pagan god Moloch. The horrors of the plagues in Egypt were preceded by decades of Israeli children being tossed into the Nile. Israel's and Judah's captivities were preceded by the adoption of pagan practices, including child sacrifice.

Murder, in any form, is an evil of the highest order.  When murder is committed, God takes note. If a society does not police itself by bringing murderers to justice, God will avenge the innocent himself. In the case of the abortion industry, we have failed to prosecute those who take innocent life. Even worse, as a nation, we have condoned it. There is a verse in 2 Kings 24:4 that concerns me greatly. Speaking of the ancient nation of Judah it says they, 

"... filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD would not pardon."

Then they were taken captive.

Will God judge the United States for those 53,000,000 dead babies?  I am certain of it.

How will he do it? I have no idea.

Can it be avoided? If we were to arrest and prosecute the abortionist for the last 40 years, perhaps. But we won't.

Can it be postponed? God is merciful. He allows a window for repentance and self judgment. Historically, that window has lasted for decades for many nations. Sometimes nations repent and judgment is postponed, sometimes they don't and it comes more swiftly.

What can I do?  Individually there is a lot you can do. First, repent of you sins, any and all. Sin requires judgment. If you will let him, Jesus bore that judgment for you when he died on a cross. He gave his life for you. He took your punishment. There is no sin too great for him to bear, even the killing of the innocent.

Then, for the nation, you can pray for God to work in realms of authority far higher than ours. As Christians we must remember we have a mandate to preach to all nations, but we cannot save any nation. Rather, it is individuals that we lead to salvation.
 
While the United States remains under a cloud of judgment, individually anyone can find a place redemption in Jesus Christ. He gave his life for you, if you haven't already done so this would be a good day to give your life to him...

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16