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.