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All right, if you'll take your
Bible and turn to Matthew 5, verse 21. I've changed the title
of my message to Anger Management Class. Kind of a contemporary
title. Jesus Wrote the Textbook, and
I'm the instructor this morning, okay? So we're going to look
at Matthew 5, verse 21. for 26. You have heard that it was said
to those of old, you shall not murder and whoever murders. Where's that coming from? Oh, boy. Bluetooth. Oh, yeah. OK. Yeah, it looks like he's
got it the Bluetooth Now as I was saying for technology
interrupted us Verse 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 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,
Rachah, shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says,
You fool, shall be in danger of hellfire. Therefore, if you
bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your
brother has something against you, leave your gift there before
the altar and go your way. First, be reconciled to your
brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary
quickly while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary
deliver you to the judge and the judge hand you over to the
officer and you be thrown into prison. But surely, I say to
you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid
the last penny." You know, anger is such a growing problem in
our society today. There have been multiple school
shootings by Typically, boys in high school. We hear of angry
people shooting others at work or even at the mall. We hear
of road rage where people get hurt because of road rage. Anger, animosity, hatred and
murder is spreading and we're seeing even great anger in our
children? The world's answer is gun control
and court-ordered anger management classes. But when is someone
going to step up and say the solution is not more laws, more
regulations, more court orders, but the solution ultimately is
spiritual because the root problem is spiritual. Now this morning
we're going back to look at the root cause of murder and this
morning we're going to violence. While murder is often committed
with the hand, it begins in the heart. And the first root cause
of murder and violence is hatred. The apostle John said, whoever
hates his brother is a murderer. The other root cause is anger. The word translated angry in
verse 22 is a strong word, and it means to be wrathful. While there is such a thing as
righteous anger, We need to avoid the kind of anger that is sinful. The apostle Paul said in Ephesians
4.26, be angry and sin not. That's the kind of anger that
Jesus is talking about here. The kind of anger that is self-centered
and results in angry words and hostility and harm to others. So this morning we're going to
talk about an issue that is right where people live. Sometimes
fathers get angry at their wives and children and lash out at
them and hurt them. Sometimes we've seen political
protests where people are so angry as they express their protest. It is my prayer that the words
of Jesus will have impact upon our lives and hopefully improve
our home life as well. Jesus teaches us how we are to
deal with anger in our heart. And I want to share with you,
first of all this morning, the fact of the rise of sinful anger. Jesus mentions four different
kinds of expressions and kinds of anger that we need to be aware
of. And the first is unexpressed
anger. In verse 22, Jesus mentions someone
who is angry with his brother. And that word translated angry
does not refer to short-tempered, explosive anger that sometimes
comes and goes, but it refers to the kind of anger that is
chronic, that is seething anger toward someone else, oftentimes
fueled by malice, lingering hostile feelings where when you hear
that person you're angry at, when you hear their name or you
see their face, that anger continues to seethe in your heart and you
think, someday I'm going to get even, someday I'm going to be
vindicated. It's interesting that the same
word is found in Luke 15, 28 of the attitude of the elder
brother of the prodigal son. You remember the story? The prodigal
son finally repented, came home to his father's welcoming and
forgiving arms. His father was so happy to have
his son home, he threw a big party. Well, was the elder brother
happy that his brother came home? Was his elder brother happy to
join the party that his younger brother was the one the party
was all about? No. The Scripture says that he
was all sulking and angry at his father and his brother. Now, when you get angry and you
don't deal with it, when you get angry and you don't resolve
that anger, it usually goes to the next level that Jesus talks
about here. Oftentimes, when there's anger
in your heart, it's going to first come out through your mouth. Jesus said in Matthew 12, 34,
for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Now look at the examples of angry
words that will typically come out when you have prolonged seething
anger in your heart. And the first example is calling
someone stupid. When we get angry with someone,
we may verbally attack their mental competence. In verse 22,
Jesus said, whoever says to his brother, Raka, shall be in danger
of the council. The word Raka is probably Aramaic
and it's equivalent to saying, you blockhead, you empty head,
you idiot. It's intended as a verbal expression
of scorn and public contempt. Have you ever become so angry
with someone that you have called someone an idiot, a blockhead,
stupid? If so, you have allowed your
anger to hurt someone. And you know what happens when
parents get angry with their kids and call them stupid, imbeciles,
or something like that? It hurts deeply. After a while,
they may start to believe it and actually affect their ability
to believe that they can learn anything. If you don't deal with
your anger, That is what can happen. And then it can escalate
to something that's even worse, calling someone a fool. Jesus says in the last of verse
22, whoever says you fool shall be in danger of hell fire. Now you have to understand the
difference between Greek culture and Jewish culture. In Jewish
culture, the fool was someone who was not intellectually deficient,
but someone who is deprived of good moral judgment, good moral
character. A reflection of this meaning
of fool is found in Psalm 14.1, where it says, the fool has said
in his heart, there is no God. Or it can be translated, the
fool has set in his heart. No, God. It's a word that describes
someone who's a moral reprobate. Someone who is rebellious against
God. And the Greek word is moros. We get our English word moron
from this word. And so Jesus is describing someone
who gets so angry with someone that they give them the ultimate
insult in Jewish culture, and that is to call them a fool,
someone who lacks moral judgment. It is a form of public defamation
towards someone. Have you ever attacked someone's
character? Not just their mentality, but
also their character, their moral character in your anger. Where you not only hurt their
spirit, but you damage their reputation. That's what Jesus
is talking about here. When you feel that coming, when
you feel that anger starting to flow from your lips to where
you are attacking their mentality, you are attacking their moral
judgment, then you better give heed to Proverbs 17, 27 that
says, whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who is
of cool spirit is a man of understanding. Finally, if you don't resolve
your anger towards someone, it will not only cause you to say
words that you ought not to say, but it may cause you to harm
them physically in serious ways, even to the point of murder,
which is what Jesus refers to, the command against murder in
verse 21. murders the unjust taking of
human life. In the Code of Virginia, it must
be willful, deliberate, and premeditated to qualify as capital murder. Now look, manslaughter can result from
a quick temper. It's not something that you planned
to do, it's just in a fit of rage you committed manslaughter. But the kind of anger that Jesus
is talking about, again, is that seething, unresolved, continual
anger to where you begin to plot their death. You commit premeditated
murder. Listen, God is the one who is
the living God. God is the creator of life. Only God can take life. Only God can authorize the taking
of life in capital punishment, for example. And then we think
of the story of Cain and Abel. Remember how Cain got jealous
of his brother became angry toward his brother and then at some
point murdered his brother. You say, I can never do that.
Well, I'm sure there are people on death row that didn't think
they would ever commit murder. If you don't deal with anger,
if you allow anger to linger and fester and go unresolved,
it could happen even to you. So I hope we will heed the warning
of how anger can escalate into harmful words. It can escalate
into harmful actions. And to help us prevent that,
notice also in our text the results of sinful anger. There are many
negative consequences of sinful anger that Jesus identifies and
that we can mention this morning. One is health consequences. Do you realize that anger, especially
prolonged anger, can have health consequences? When you have anger,
adrenaline and other stress hormones are released in your body. and
when they're released in your body, your breathing gets heavier,
your heart rate begins to increase, your blood pressure rises, the
muscles in your arms and legs will tighten, you become more
aggressive, and it can lead, chronic anger and chronic stress
leads to heart disease, it leads to stroke, it leads to other
health problems. But such anger can also result
in relational consequences. How many marriages have broken
up due to unresolved anger? How many parent-child relationships
have become strained or severed because of anger? How many siblings
have gotten angry with one another and they quit speaking to one
another and the relationship is severed? How many friendships
have ended over anger that has not been reconciled and resolved? Relationships can be affected
by our anger. But also there can be, and Jesus
warns of this, legal consequences of our anger. He mentions two
different levels. In verse 22, he talks about the
judgment there. The local court in the synagogue,
for example, where they would judge lesser cases. And then
he mentions the Sanhedrin, the high court in Jewish society
that would deal with the more serious legal cases. And if you allow yourself to
go so far as to commit slander, you can end up in court. If you
go so far as to not control your anger to where you actually commit
murder, the Bible teaches that the penalty of murder is capital
punishment, and the Bible does not offer any lesser punishment
for premeditated murder. How many people have ended up
in jail or the hospital because they could not control their
anger? How many parents have lost custody
or visitation rights over uncontrolled anger? Anger is a foolish thing
that can lead to serious consequences, not only for the other person,
but can also affect you. You see, anger can get to the
point where you can't control it. And you're gonna do or say
things you're gonna later regret. It's been my observation, it's
been my experience, and I've lived long enough to gain experience,
that the more emotional you are, the less rational you are, the
less self-controlled you are. And if we allow the emotion of
anger to fester and grow, oh, there can be terrible consequences,
including legal consequences. And Jesus talks about that in
this text of Scripture, getting thrown into prison, staying in
prison until the fine and penalties have been paid. But there are
also spiritual consequences. Unresolved anger can reveal your
spiritual destiny. Jesus warns in the last of verse
22 that if you allow anger to keep rising in your heart, you
shall be in danger of hellfire. And that word literally refers
to the Valley of Enam, outside of Jerusalem, which became the
garbage dump for several centuries. And that garbage would be on
fire constantly. They'd throw the bodies of criminals
into that garbage dump, and it became a picture of hell. And Jesus is indicating here
that someone who lives with prolonged anger and hatred in their heart
are manifesting an unconverted, unregenerate nature and you're
in danger of going to hell someday. Now Jesus is not saying that
if you inadvertently call someone a fool that it's an unforgivable
sin and you're going to hell for it. He's talking about the
kind of anger that is prolonged, that's unresolved, that indicates
someone who is not really saved. 1 John 2 says, anyone who claims
to be in the light but hates his brother remains in darkness. And furthermore, unresolved anger
can affect your worship. Look at verses 23 and 24. Therefore,
if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that
your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before
the altar, go your way, first be reconciled to your brother,
and then come and offer your gift. Jesus indicates here that
if your Relationship with your fellow man is not right. It can
affect your relationship and worship of God. Psalm 66, 18
says, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear
me. And so have you ever had trouble
worshiping? Have you ever had trouble praying? Perhaps the reason is that things
aren't right with somebody, and it's interfering with your worship
of the Lord. Folks, that's a terrible price
to pay in not resolving the anger of your heart, or as we shall
see, the anger in someone else's heart. And so we see last of
all this morning the reconciliation of sinful anger. That's the answer,
folks. The answer is to do what you
can to reconcile the relationship where there is anger. And so two things. One is what you should do if
someone is angry at you. Again, verses 23 and 24 tells
us, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember
that your brother has something against you, leave your gift
there before the altar and go your way. First be reconciled
to your brother and then come and offer your gift. Now in Jewish religion, One of
the most important ways to worship God was to bring a sacrificial
animal to the temple in Jerusalem. And so here's a man who has brought
his sacrifice. More than likely, it was a trespass
offering where he confesses his sins and then offers his sacrifice. But as he's bringing his offering,
he remembers that Somehow he's offended or hurt his brother. What should he do in that case? Or to bring it into contemporary
example, suppose you come to church. You're singing hymns
with us. You're praying with us. You're
about to give your offering to the Lord. But then you remember
that God reminds you that somebody is really upset at you, and you're
not dealing with it. Perhaps you haven't tried to
make reconciliation, and so God brings that to your mind and
to your attention. And so what should we do in that
situation? Well, Jesus says, first be reconciled
with your brother, and then you'll be able to worship like you ought
to. So what do you need to do? First, you've got to recognize
the problem, verse 23. He says, where you remember that
your brother has something against you, that something would be
some grievance, some hurt. And you know they're angry at
you. They're not even hiding it, right? So you recognize the
problem. And then the next step is to
go and talk to them. Verse 24, go your way, first
be reconciled to your brother. Folks, that's one of the commands
of this text of Scripture. Now, when you go and talk to
them, this is what should happen. Okay? It not will happen, but
this is what should happen. First of all, You find out what
the problem is. You want to hear their perspective,
okay? And then you have the opportunity
to clear up any misunderstanding. You have the opportunity to address
any misinformation they may have received. You work on reconciling. Sometimes you realize, you know
what, I am at fault and I apologize. I'm sorry. I want to make things
right. That is what should happen. But sometimes you even have to
go beyond that and actually make things right. Maybe restitution
or in some other way. S.A.S. Frank Borkum. wrote about an imaginary journey
in time that he had in the days of the prodigal son that we mentioned
earlier. And you know what happened with
the prodigal son? He finally came to his senses, he repented,
he went back home, his father welcomed him and forgave him
and celebrated his return. And imagine that someone who
knew the situation went back to the far country and reported
the good news as to what happened to the prodigal son. And the
person that he talked to just so happened to be the grandfather
of a girl walking down the street with a baby in her arms who the
prodigal got pregnant. The grandfather says, well, you
know, that's all well and good. But when is that prodigal going
to come home and try to make things right with my granddaughter?
Oh, and by the way, you see that man with the eye gouged out? Well, that man was gambling with
the prodigal and they got into a fight and he lost his eye.
Oh, and you see those three young men walking down the street that
are already drunk and it's not even 12 o'clock noon yet. Well, that prodigal led them
down the wrong pathway. They were fine young men until
they got mixed up with the prodigal. When is the prodigal going to
come back and get things right with those young men? I think
you see the point of the story. And so Jesus says, do what you
can to reconcile the situation. Furthermore, He says, let's say,
especially in this case where they're upset you and they're
going to take you to court. Don't delay reconciliation. Verse 25, agree with your adversary
quickly. The time for reconciliation is
now and don't think, well, you know, they'll get over it at
some point. I want to tell you the remembrance
of actual or perceived hurt is not soon forgotten. That's why Ephesians 4.26 says,
do not let the sun go down on your wrath. Don't delay. We tend
to do that, but Jesus says don't do it. And then finally, be generous
and gracious in your efforts at reconciliation. This is implied
in verse 25. Agree with your adversary quickly. And that word agree is also a
command, and it means to be well-disposed toward, to be kind toward them,
to have goodwill toward them, not to be hard-nosed and stubborn
toward them. Now let me ask you something. Let's be honest here. If you
know somebody really upset at you, and you go talk to them,
Are you naturally going to be well disposed toward them? Are
you naturally going to want to be kind and generous toward them? I don't think so. But with the
power of God's changing our lives and changing our hearts, it is
possible. In verse 44, Jesus says, love
your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who
hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute
you. Yes, it is possible to agree,
to be well disposed toward your adversary. And Jesus also says
in verse 25 that effort should be made to settle disagreements
quickly before you go to court. Have you ever had a legal conflict
with someone to where it ends up in court? I want to tell you
something, you don't want that. By the time you get through paying
attorney fees, and run the risk that the judge has this big old
long docket and he doesn't want to hear this case, and he's not
in a good mood and things turn against you. Folks, you better
listen to what Jesus says, and you better try to be friendly
with your adversary and settle it before it gets to court. My great-grandfather Felker was
an attorney. and for several years a judge.
And he made national news in 1940 because 32 years prior someone took him
to court over some business deal. My great-grandfather drug out
that case with appeals and delays and so forth to where that case
lasted for 32 years before it finally was settled in the Georgia
Supreme Court. And guess what? After 32 years,
he lost. He was rebuked by the Georgia
Supreme Court. He lost, I'm sure, a good bit
of money. His daughter, and I have that
daughter's letter, she tried to get him to, don't do this,
daddy, don't do this. And on top of that, he was an
active member of the First Baptist Church of Monroe, Georgia. He
should have. Listen to Jesus. Amen. He should have listened to Jesus. And when I get to heaven, I want
to talk to him about that. Oh, listen, settle it quickly. Try to be as agreeable as you
possibly can. Now, that's what happens when
someone is upset at you. What about when you're angry
at someone else? Well, that's dealt with in verses
21 to 22. Oh, we need the Lord's help to follow
what Jesus talks about here. What can happen when you're angry?
You've got to calm that spirit. You've got to ask God to help
you to be self-controlling over your anger. The Holy Spirit will
help you. But let's say that you are upset
at someone, what should you do? Well, Luke 17 3, Jesus says,
if your brother sins against you, rebuke him. Proverbs 27
and 5 said, open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Now, you want to be gentle in
your reproach, but Listen folks, there are times when you've been
hurt and the other person doesn't even realize what they did. And
so, if you talk to them and work on reconciling why you're upset,
then again, they may They may agree with you and apologize,
or they may share their perspective, and you realize, you know, I
shouldn't have got upset in that situation. Folks, work it out. Work it out. And then forgive. Forgive. Jesus doesn't talk about
that in this text, but if you move over to chapter 6, Verses
14 and 15, Jesus says, if you forgive men their trespasses,
your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not
forgive men their trespasses, neither will your father forgive
your trespasses. The apostle Paul said in Colossians
3.13, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if
anyone has a complaint against you, even as Christ or against
another, even as Christ forgave you, so you must also graciously
forgive." And you know what? Sometimes you just have to forgive
unilaterally. Because prolonged anger is going
to hurt you as much or more than the other person. Forgive. And you know what's going to
happen if you don't forgive? The Bible warns that that prolonged
anger and unforgiveness can lead to bitterness. Hebrews 12, 15
says, Looking carefully, lest anyone fall short of the grace
of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and
by this many have become defiled. If you don't exercise the grace
of forgiveness, your spirit will become bitter and you will lose
your joy. You will become an unpleasant
person to be around. And you know what? When you become
an unpleasant person to be around, who wants to be around you? You're
going to lose friends and relationships. So forgive as God has forgiven
you. So has anger entered into one
of your relationships? Well, heed the warning of Jesus
about the terrible consequences of prolonged and unresolved anger. You could end up in court. You
could lose an important relationship. Furthermore, The Bible commands
be reconciled to God. Be reconciled to God. We are
sinners. We have sinned against God multiple
times. God is a holy and just God and
He must punish sin. Let me advise you, don't go to
hell that Jesus talks about here, but settle out of court. by repentance and faith in Jesus
Christ. And then, yes, if there are unresolved anger and problems in your relationship
with someone and you haven't taken steps to try to reconcile
that, as we pray in just a moment, ask God to give you the strength
to do what Jesus tells us to do. Let's pray. Heavenly Father,
we know what anger can do, especially prolonged anger. And we pray,
Lord, that we'll take the warnings of Jesus and the teaching of
Jesus to heart and do what we can to control our anger, to
control our tongues, to control our actions, and to always engage in reconciliation
and forgiveness wherever possible. Lord, help us to do what we need
to do in this time of response and invitation, I pray and ask
in Jesus' name. Amen.
Anger Management Class
Series Sermon on the Mount
In this expository sermon Dr. Felker shares a message about anger that causes harm. He shares how anger can linger in the heart and escalate to verbal attacks and even murder. Then he shares four consequences of unresolved anger, including spiritual consequences. Finally, he shares how to address anger that is directed to you and how you should address anger toward someone else.
| Sermon ID | 820251845394560 |
| Duration | 40:55 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday Service |
| Bible Text | Matthew 5:21-26 |
| Language | English |
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