It's good to see all that have come to be with us this morning
as has been already mentioned. It's a Wonderful privilege to
come together as God's people and worship God in spirit and in
truth were very grateful for that opportunity.
As always is the case I do consider it an honor to speak
concerning the word of God. And I hope what we have to
consider would be helpful in edifying to you this morning.
I'm filling in for Wade, who's at Oakdale and yesterday.
I just sat down in my office and I wrote a little sermon on this
one verse. It's a verse that is very very
well known. And sometimes it's
misunderstood. So I thought what we would do is
we just take this one passage. This is our sermon and we'll
discuss the context in which Jesus spoke these words so long
ago, during his Masterpiece of The Sermon on the Mount and what
can we glean from it? Moving forward, in our life,
Matthew Chapter 5 and verse 22. But before we do that, I want to
read for you verse 21. You have heard it.
Had been said to those of old, you shall not murder and whoever
murders will be in danger of the Judgment right after the Lord
said this. He said this in Matthew 5 and
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. You know, sometimes we look and
we compared to the Old Testament and we say it was okay for at
perhaps to hate under the old law, but you just couldn't take
somebody's life. You just Couldn't murder, but
that's not true. Under the law of Moses, hatred,
of one's brother was condemned, but it didn't have the same
consequence or the same penalty or punishment as murder in
Leviticus chapter, 19 and verse 18.
It says you shall not hate your brother.
In your heart. You shall surely rebuke your
neighbor and not bear sin, because of him hatred regarding
hatred. Jesus makes hatred equal to
murder because both of them, come from an evil heart.
In fact, in Matthew chapter 5, verses 43 and 44, he said, you
have heard that it had been said, You shall love your
neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your
enemies, bless those who curse you and do good to those who
hate you. And pray for those who
spitefully use, you and persecute you to illustrate,
that anger makes one guilty as murder in the eyes of God.
Jesus uses a very familiar analogy, something they would
have understood, he uses the Jewish judicial system and in
each situation, and before each Court, anger, ultimately Leads
to guilt and conviction. We go back to our passage in
Matthew 5 and 22. But I say to you that whoever is
angry with his brother Without a Cause Thank you know, if you
look at this, it seems to imply that there's a time when it's
okay to be angry with your brother.
And as we look at this phrase, we might say, all he's saying is
you can be angry with your brother.
Just don't be angry with him without a cause another words.
If he gives me a reason, it's okay.
But this phrase Without a Cause most Scholars would agree was
not found in the original. In fact JW McGarvey and also mr.
Broaddus would say and write that it wasn't found in the most
reliable and oldest manuscripts. In fact other translations
render it this passage without those words it's actually taken
out it's not in that passage in fact in that's found in the the
American Standard Version the American Standard Version and
the revised Standard Version. So Without a Cause does not
insinuate that anger is acceptable under certain
conditions. Now I want to say this when the
Bible says be angry and sin, not It literally means don't be
angry that it causes you to sin. Wasn't giving us license to be
angry. The passive says, don't be angry
that it causes you to sin now. Is it possible to be angry and
not sin? Absolutely.
How do I know that the Lord was angry in Matthew chapter 23, as
we look back in Our Minds Eye as he's preaching to those
Pharisees, as he's preaching to the Hypocrites, he was angry.
When the Lord came into the community.
Overturned. The tables of the moneychangers.
He was obviously. SLI angry.
But he did not sin and the reason that he did not sin as he
didn't allow the anger to change his heart, he never had an angry
or vengeful, or spiteful or hatred in his heart.
So the kind of hate though and the kind of anger that the Lord
is talking about In this passage is something that is not to be
done. There are no conditions when
this kind of anger is okay, and this is what he says, if you're
angry with your brother. You're in danger of the judgment
and what's that talking about? You know, when I was younger I
thought, well, what that's talking about.
That's the Judgment Day in it. That's the judgement day.
No, the Lord is referring to the judicial system, the judicial
court system under Judaism under Mosaic law.
He is using this as an illustration.
So what does he mean? When he says the Judgment, it is
in reference to local municipal courts of the Town Elders.
In fact, we can read about that. And Deuteronomy chapter 16
verses 18 through 20 Numbers chapter, 35, verses, 15 through
32. It's talking about the local
Municipal Court of town Elders. Jesus here, warns that anger has
the potential of leading to guilt even before the local
court system, now we know that he's just using this as an
illustration. He's using this as an
illustration of the dangers of having anger and hatred in your
heart. It even leaves to judgment in
the local court system. Now, I think we all understand,
he's using that as an illustration to show what God
thinks about that. What does God think about such
anger in your heart toward your brother and reality.
That's what the Lord's talking about.
Then he says this, in addition to that, whoever says to his
brother raka now, what's raka raka is a Aramaic term for
contempt or scorn. Actually, the meaning, if you
look at the direct meaning, it actually means empty-headed.
It means Blockhead or senseless. And Jesus, says, in the first
one, if you're angry with your brother, you're in danger of the
Judgment of the local courts, then he says this.
But if you say rocket to your brother, you're in danger of the
council. What's that?
Well, the council there is the Sanhedrin Israel's Supreme
Court. Are you kind of getting the
point? This is the court by the way
that tried the most serious offenses.
It pronounces, the severest penalties including death by
stoning. The Lord's Point here is the
same as before Jesus uses the court system of Israel to show
that God judges the man who resorts to verbal scorn, just as
guilty as if he were judged guilty of a capital offense.
I'm going to tie all this together.
I promise and just a few minutes.
But then he says this but whoever says you fool Whoever
says you fool. Let me ask you something.
Is the word fool in itself. A bad word.
No. In fact, I got to tell you
something, you know, times have changed and you can just look at
different generations of young people and they have their own
little language. I remember back in my day,
everybody called everybody dude, dude.
And then say something or hey, dude, that was kind of our word,
you know what it is now different.
It's yo and bro and even fool. Hey fool.
Is the word fool in itself wrong, is it sinful to use words
like fool? Well, no, because the Bible
actually talks about that and I'll get to that later on, but
what is he talking about? When he says, you fool, it
actually means to be dull or stupid with reference to moral
worthlessness, That's what that actually means.
So, the context determines whether it's right or wrong to
call this term or call somebody by this term shows, utter
contempt for God. One scholar said to criticize,
the creature is to slander the Creator.
That's why it's wrong to call. Somebody a fool in this manner,
Jesus shows that when an angry person demonstrates, such an
attitude toward his fellow man. He's not far from the actual Act
of Of murder. And then he says this.
And if you are guilty of all this, and you're guilty of
saying fool, you're guilty or in danger of Hell Fire, You know,
Health fought fire in the original language.
Here is in reference to the valley of hinnom, it's gehenna.
And by the way, that was a ravine, it was a literal place
was a ravine south of Jerusalem. And it's where the Pagan God,
Molech was worshiped in Second Kings, 23, and verse 10.
When Josiah abolish, those Pagan practices, the valley was turned
into a fiery Dumping Ground for Filth and corpses of criminals,
you remember, I've even preached on this Do you remember when I
said about the Lord that his grave was to be assigned among
wicked men, but he would be with a rich man in his death.
What an amazing passage. What he was saying is it was
prophesied that there were those that assigned his grave among
wicked men. Where was the grave among
Wicked? Man.
It was in the valley of hinnom, it was a place called gehenna.
It was the Valley waste dump, and that's where they took the
bodies corpses of those that were guilty.
Criminals. And they threw them there.
That's the literal place called The Valley Of hinnom called
gehenna. However, Jesus borrows this term
to denote the final Eternal punishment of the wicked.
And you know what's interesting here.
Some people believe that judgment.
Council and hellfire represent different degrees of punishment.
Next heard it explained that way before.
In other words, you got this stuff going on but the worst
ones calling somebody a fool. Designed to illustrate degrees
of punishment. I don't think that's right.
Death by sword, by the way, was inflicted by the lower Court's
death by stoning was inflicted by the Sanhedrin and obviously
the fire of gehenna. So some people look at that and
they say, oh, wait a minute, see that's just the degree of it.
The worst thing you could ever do is say full to somebody
because if you are, you're guilty of Hellfire, you're
guilty of losing your soul in Hell.
Let me ask you this. If it's talking about the end of
time in the word judgment, what's different between being
in guilty of the judgment and guilty of Hellfire.
There's no difference. It makes no sense.
So that's not what he's talking about.
That's not what the Lord meant. The verse is more likely
understood. If each of the infractions and
subsequent punishments are viewed as being equal.
In other words, notice Anger leads to guilt.
Rocket leads to guilt. And somebody calling somebody in
the context, in which we said, fool leads to guilt.
And the reason for this is because the evil thought begins
the process. The thought in the heart begins
the process. So when interpreted correctly as
brought us wrote, he said these verses Show, Jesus saying that
God's law, not only forbids murder, but also anger, with all
of its oral manifestations every infraction.
Even those of the heart is liable to judgment before.
God. What are they again?
Angers your emotional distaste for another Raucous corns, a
man's mind and calls him stupid fool, scorns, a man's heart, and
a man's character. So the point of this verse is as
follows No one has the right to emotions that lead to
contemptuous speech or harmful, Deeds or actions against his
fellow man there for Christians. Should avoid calling others
terms, that demean them as they were created in the image of
God. I got to make a point and you
all will relate to it. I know you will.
Because you know why, we've all done it.
I'm going to say something we've all done, okay?
But let me preface it by saying this. sometimes we think we have
the right to say whatever we want to say because after all
freedom of speech, if I want to say that I get to say it No, you
don't. The laws of the land may say
that you're allowed to say it but there are things we
shouldn't say to each other. There are still things that are
Christians, shouldn't say it all.
So we should never think that we have the right to say it just
because we feel it and just because we want to, let me tell
you something, here's what we all have done.
Sometimes we also justify poor behavior and we justify saying
things that anger by saying, well, I was just mad.
You ever done that? I have I was angry but you know,
what happens when you say things when you're angry?
I think there's two things that are possible.
Number one, you say things, you do not mean and sometimes you do
that as a weapon lashing out because you're angry.
So sometimes number one, you say things when you're angry that
you do not mean. But number two you say things
that you do mean, but shouldn't say, did you get what?
I just said. You can actually mean something
and doesn't give you the license to say it.
So I think two things are. I think it applies to all of us?
We say things in Anger, that we don't mean, and we say things in
Anger, that we do mean, but shouldn't say, should keep to
our self. You ever said something when
you're angry and think, man. I wish I hadn't said that I
can't tell you. The number of times I've had to
go to somebody and apologize and everybody that's married
understands this. Sometimes the gloves come off
and we say things we shouldn't. And then what do you got to do?
You got to apologize to your spouse but you know what here's
the problem. The problem is the damage is
already done. If you say something the damage
can be hurtful things that are said in anger and those things
build up and you can be forgiven.
But sometimes The damage doesn't go away.
And it affects relationships. So there are things that we just
should not say. I think that's what the Lord was
talking about and it begins with the heart.
Jesus was often angry though, let me just say this, as I wrap
up my remarks, he was angry with the Pharisees, and on occasions,
he already called them. He called them fools.
The conclusion drawn is that such language might not be
essentially wrong in every situation.
The terms however are reserved by Jesus for the hardest hearts
and not to be spoken in flippant anger.
Are you seeing the point? You might say this, if I do
something that is foolish, you could say you know what, Frank
did something that was foolish. Therefore he was a fool in doing
that. Anything wrong with that?
No, not at all. All.
Because my behavior was foolish. There's a difference between
saying something, describing, a foolish Behavior or act and
calling. Somebody something in flippant
anger, that is hurtful. There's the difference and
that's what the Lord condemned when you call somebody, you fool
in that way. Okay, couple other examples. the
Bible even talks about the word fool, in fact, in Psalms 14 and
verse 1, It says the fool says in his heart, there is no God.
It describes somebody that says there is no God, you know what,
he's a fool in his heart. Remember when Jesus was dealing
with that, that rich man. When he was dealing with the
rich fool, he was talking to him.
And he said, this man said I got all this stuff.
I'm going to do all this. Here's my plans and all that,
but he didn't leave God in his plan to do what Jesus says, Thou
fool. This night, thy Soul shall be
required of Thee. See, the point, the word fool in
itself is not wrong how it's used in the context in which is
described. That's what's in question,
that's what the Lord condemned. So, from this passage that we
learn, we learn this, we learned that things that we say, matter,
and all of the things that Jesus said and spoke of all the things
were guilty of judgment and we put ourself in line for being
judged or condemned as a result of that.
So we need to watch what we say. Begins in the heart, sometimes
that's difficult. I've always been one of those
quick speaking, guys. In other words, quick
responders. But the Bible says, I need to be
slow to respond. I'm better now than I've ever
been, but it's a work in progress because you want to say
something right back, sometimes it's better to just sit back.
Take a deep breath swallow. As my dad would say, and then
use your words and season them with salt.
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