And we begin our reading in Matthew chapter 5 verse 16. And the Lord says, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle, shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, You shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it's been said by them of old time, thou shall not kill. And whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother, Raka, shall be in danger of the council. But whosoever shall say thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way. First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Amen. The Lord bless this word. Let us pray. Our Father, what a Great joy it is to be in your house. Lord, we join with David when he said, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. Lord, such a blessing to sing these songs, Lord, to renew the memories, Lord, as we look at these pictures and all our time of old. And Lord, you have blessed this church, and we want to thank you tonight for that. Continue, Lord, our Father, to bless my dear brother, Joe Maldonado, Lord, those that labor here, Lord, for your work. This is your work, our Father. We want to thank you for that. Thank you, Lord, for their faithfulness. And Lord, I pray also tonight as we look into thy word, may your Holy Spirit, Lord, accompany, Lord, the reading and the teaching of your word. Open now, Lord, our eyes that we may behold wondrous things out of thy law. But we ask it for Christ's sake. Amen. Amen. Our focus tonight is going to be primarily verses 21 and 22. But before I do that, I have to explain why the Lord taught this way. Why does he say, you have said, or you have heard by them of all time, thou shalt not kill. And whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment." Is the Lord Jesus Christ changing the law? Well, He is not because according to verse 17 and 18, He says, think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. It's interesting when you look at some books and some commentaries, you know, I've heard men say that this is, This is the interpretation of such and such a book. You know, the interpretation of the Philippians, interpretation of the Colossians, and how bold are they to assert such things. Beloved, some even go further and attempt to give an interpretation of the prophetic and symbolic figures of speech found in the apocalyptic books. But brother, and brethren, the best interpreter of the scripture is the scripture. For Peter reminds us that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation. The Holy Ghost who gave the prophets the Word of God also gave that interpretation. There were many prophets to whom the Word of the Lord came, but in these last days the Son has come. He gives the clear and final interpretation of the Old Testament. Let me say that again. He gives the clear and final interpretation of the Old Testament in his teachings in the four Gospels and his explanations of the Old Testament teachings to his apostles. For you see, before his passion, he spent time teaching them concerning him out of the Old Testament scriptures. And even after his passion, He spent time explaining to them out of the law, out of Moses, and out of the writings, the things concerning himself. So what we have in the writings, in the epistles, is the explanation that Jesus gave the apostles concerning him. So before we proceed to these verses, you know, why does he say this? Why does the Lord say, think not that I am come to destroy the law? We have to take in consideration these verses. What does the Lord command us to do? Verse 16. He says, let your light so shine before men, not that they may see your good works and glorify your father, which is in heaven. We know this beloved, that the purpose in these two passages is totally different. Totally different. One seeks the glory of men. One seeks the glory of the father. which is in heaven. He doesn't say that almsgiving is wrong. He doesn't say that praying is wrong. He doesn't say fasting is wrong. Neither, but what he says what matters is the motives behind them. Why do we pray? Why do we give? Why do we fast? Why do we do the things that we do? Now, the purpose of your salvation and mine is that the Father may be glorified. So He's not glorified when we pray the loudest. when we fast the longest. He's not glorified when we give the most. He's glorified when we keep His commandments. As a matter of fact, we demonstrate His love and the work of the Spirit by keeping His commandments. Whosoever loveth Me keepeth My commandments. The Pharisees and scribes, oh, they were loud proclaimers. Oh, they proclaimed loud the law in its externals. But ingeniously devised practices to make void the law. They circumvented. They thought of ways to go around the law and yet appear righteous before men. They said, well, as long as I don't do the actual thing, I'm all right. I'm okay. And we're going to see that tonight. And this is one of them when he says, thou shalt not kill. You remember the answer of the young man when he came running to Christ, And he said, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said, the command is thou knowest. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not, thou shalt not, thou shalt not. And the young man could answer honestly, well, I haven't done that. I have not killed. I have not committed adultery. I honor my mother and my father. What lack I? Yes. And he said, one thing thou lackest. Thou shalt all that you have, give it to the poor, and come. And follow me. The Lord pointed right at the root of his problem, which was covetousness. Yes, sir. Covetousness. See, but they, they, they proclaim that they were the keepers of the law. They, in its externals, but they somehow, they always try to circumvent. They try to get away from keeping the law. They proclaim to be rigorous observers, religious celibates. Remember what Paul said. Concerning the law, he says, oh, I was zealous of the law. I was blameless according to the law. And then again he says, but when things came for me, I counted them but dumb, lost for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. It was dumb, it was manure, because those things that were counted as something in the eyes of men were driving the Apostle Paul to hell, to hell. So now, these Pharisees that come before Christ, you know, they proclaim to be observers of the law, they proclaim to be the teachers of the law, but yet in practice, they deny the law. So that's why I believe the Lord Jesus gives us an explanation of these commandments. For example, Verse number 21, he says, you have heard that it was said, and he does so in other places. Verse 27, you've heard that it was said, thou shalt not commit adultery. Also, verse 21, whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement. Again, verse 33, he said, you heard been said by them of all time, thou shalt not persuade thyself, et cetera, et cetera. Verse 38, and it goes on and on. Verse 43, He explains, he gives an explanation of what that means. Why does he do that? Because he's a lawgiver. He gave that law. And he gives the explanation of that law. He brings, beloved, a very important point. The Lord Jesus Christ does. That is, he brings the letter of the law and the application. He also addresses their incorrect interpretation. Let me say that again. He brings out a very important point. The letter of the law, thou shalt not kill, still stands. But also the application of the law and also their incorrect interpretation. Let me give you an example. Look what he says in Matthew 15. Now in Matthew 15, we have a clear commandment. Very clear. Look what he says in verse number three. The Lord Jesus says, why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? He says, God commanded same. This is God's commandment. And it still stands, children. It still stands. You know that? He says, honor thy father and mother. That still stands. That is still a commandment from our God. And he that cursed his father or mother, let him die the death. But notice what he says. But Jesus said, whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, it is a gift, but whatsoever thou mightest be profitable. You know, I have this money that I could help you, mom or daddy, but I'm going to give it to God. And thus, the great beloved, one of the greatest commandments. Honor your father and your mother. What should I do, brother? Give it to your mom. Give it to your dad. You see, verse number 6 says, and honor not thy father and mother, he shall be free. Thus you made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Not only this one, there are several other commandments that they would break without actually breaking. But you know what, Brother Joe? I think sometimes that's a thought and I'm sad to say of a lot of young Christians or Christians that have grown in Christian homes. That is, children that have grown in Christian homes. They try to find a way to circumvent God's commandments. As if they were wiser than God. and they have their reasons. And all I hear the loud proclamation tonight, we have liberty. You know, let me say this, the liberty is liberty not to sin. Right. See that? The liberty that Christ gives us is not to sin. I was a slave of sin. I served on righteousness. So now when I see someone proclaiming, this is liberty, I say, that's what held me bound for years. I was a slave of sin. So when I hear someone say, well, I got liberty to do that, and I'm a Christian, I say, well, I got problems with that. I got serious problems. I'm not speaking because I learned it from a book, I speak from experience. I know what sin can do, Brother Joe, and I know the depths of sin. So when some young Christian, I guess maybe in their ignorance, or let me say something else. As we were looking at the pictures, and I've been telling my church, because sometimes they say, well, what about Spurgeon? What about, and they name people. What about so-and-so? What about so-and-so? They're Christians, and they do these things. Well, I tell you, like I tell my church, and I tell my children, and I tell myself, they are not the example. Right. It's Christ, brother Joe. Amen. That's it. Set your eyes on Jesus. Amen. I mean, we've seen men that, you know, proclaim to be, but they're falling by the side. You look at the pictures, there's the proof right there. And there were some questionable things in their lives. And you said, well, they're surely they're Christians and they're falling by the wayside. Now, I don't wish that upon anyone, but I'm saying don't use that as an excuse or as a license to sin. They're not the norm. They're not the example. You know who it is? It is God. It is God. Wherefore, current the loins of your mind, he says, and a seed which call you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. Your example is God. My example is God. He is holy. So, therefore, my life should reflect His holiness. What has He done in my life and in your life? Right. But, nevertheless, I took off on a tangent. Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? That those who proclaim the loudest were the worst offenders. They fully rejected the commandment of God. The Lord was dishonored. The Lord was evil spoken of, or as the apostles said, the name of God is blaspheme among the Gentiles. So the question is asked, is Jesus just another teacher? Remember, they don't know. They don't know that he is the Son of God. They don't know who he is. Is he just another rabbi? Is he like the other rabbis of the day who would break these commandments? Would he teach the same things as they did? His most ardent opposers were those who claimed knowledge of the law. They even labeled him as a Samaritan, a half-breed, who only believed the first five books but not the rest of the Old Testament. They questioned him regarding the law. What sayest thou? They questioned the greatest commandment from him. They questioned his authority. Beloved, Jesus' teaching is in harmony with the law of God. Their teaching and practice was in this harmony with the law of God. So he reveals their misapprehensions. Saying this, verse 17, think not. Jesus never broke a single commandment, not a single one. Yet we find the Pharisees enraged at him. They're mad at him for supposedly breaking the Sabbath, eating with publicans, eating with sinners, touching the unclean. But all their accusations were unfounded. For the law sayeth, I desire mercy and not sacrifice. You've forgotten the weightier matters of the law, haven't you? Justice. This is what God loves justice, a just man. How's he gonna show that? They had a forefront of light. For example, in the book of John, please, John 15. In John 15, I must lay this foundation before we briefly touch on the commandment given by our Lord Jesus Christ. As some of you know, I like science fiction. I like science fiction. I like Star Trek and I like Star Wars. So when I found this word here in John chapter 15 verse 22, he says, if I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin. But now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hated me hated my father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin, but now they have both seen and hated both me and my father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law. They hated me without a cause. What's my point here? I'm going to borrow verse 22. He says, they have no cloak. The word is prophasis, a forefront of light. Jesus revealed their wickedness. He exposed them. And I say this because if you're familiar with Star Trek and Star Wars, they put up a cloak so they could not see the enemy, so that the ship is hidden from the eyes. But you can't hide from the eye of the Lord. There's no forefront that you and I can put before Him. He can see right through it. And even though they dressed themselves in long garbs, though they made long prayers, though they fasted often, though they gave alms, all that was a cloak. And it was not sufficient to enter the kingdom of heaven. It was not sufficient. Therein lies the great danger. Because we're all susceptible to fall into this hypocrisy. into thinking that as long as the outside is right, as long as I keep the forefront of life before men, it's going to be all right before God. Beloved, that is dangerous. Jesus said it. Matthew chapter 5. He said it in this matter. Not only does he reveal the importance of the law, but he says, I came not to destroy the law, but I came to fulfill it. And he came also to give this explanation of, for example, this thou shalt not kill. And you may say tonight, I've never killed anyone. Well, I'm going to show you otherwise. Come on. There's a great danger. And these verses right here, look, for example, in verse number 21, look at the end. Whosoever shall kill shall be in danger. Verse 22. Danger. Danger. Danger. There's a great danger in putting a forefront before men. Our righteousness has to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees. The ones that proclaim to keep the law and the ones who proclaim to know the law. You think knowledge of the law impresses God? Do you think knowing the law impresses God? Oh, I have a man that would testify of his knowledge of the law. That would testify of his seal of persecuting those that follow this way. There is a man that would stand against you. He trusted in his righteousness. But he says, all is done. It's done. It's done. Because it's leading me to hell. So we find here in Matthew chapter 5 an explanation or the explanation of some of the commandments in the Old Testament. And now we have to remember why the Lord gave this interpretation of the law to establish this. A righteousness is needed to enter the kingdom of God. You can't enter the kingdom without righteousness. You can't. It's a kingdom of righteousness. But secondly, the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees is insufficient. It's inadequate. It won't give you anywhere. It'll give you the applause. It'll give you the glory of men. It'll give you the admiration of men. But if that's what you're seeking, if that's what I'm seeking, then you have your reward. All these words apply to us, as well as to every Christian in every age. Notice what it says in verse number 21. You have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. I want you to see here the commandment. It's a clear commandment. But also, how do they diminish the commandment? Well, they add to it. They add to the commandment. And Jesus gives us not only the explanation, but he gives us the spirit of the commandment. Oh yes, there's more than that. And that's what they missed. They missed the spirit of the commandment. They missed the spirit of the law. What does it mean when it says thou shalt not kill? What Jesus says, He says, verse number 22, have you ever been angry with your brother? Do Christians get angry with their brothers? Even to the point of killing? I think so. Ephesians wouldn't be written. You should be angry and sit not. Neither let the sun fall upon your wrath. He says, listen, whosoever, you like the whosoever's? I love the whosoever's. You ever hear that? Oh, I love, I believe in whosoever's, so do I. I believe in the whosoever's. There's one right there. Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, Raka, it's in danger of the council. And whoever says to his brother, Fu, it's in danger of hellfire. There's the explanation. And then in verse 23, we have the application. So what do I do with that, Brother Joe? I mean, you taught me this is what it means, so what do I do with now? He says, you bring your gift to the altar. Oh, and there is an examination when you bring your gift. There should be an examination. And I'm going to get into that in a little bit. But there, if you remember, your brother had out against thee. What do I do? Well, I'm going to offer the gift and then I'm going to go make things right with God. No, you make things with God first. No, this was hard on me. Because how many times have, and I'm going to bring it up, how many times have my wife and I quarreled and come to the church? How about you? Come on. Oh, come on. Come on. You think that pleases God? Well, then I won't come to church. You're double sinning. See, that's the righteousness of the scribes. They always find a way to get around it. It doesn't say that. He says, you make things right first. You leave your gift here so you can come back, go make things right, and then come and offer your gift. Is that difficult? No, it's not difficult. If you love the Lord. So he gives us a commandment. He gives us the commandment diminished by the scribes and Pharisees. He gives us the spirit of the commandment and then he gives us the application of that commandment. Again, again, righteousness. Let us examine tonight what righteousness do we have before the Lord right now? What is your righteousness and what is mine? I'm talking about Brother Joe. But in the light, in his light, if we would examine ourselves, what is your righteousness? And what is my righteousness? May he permit us to examine our hearts. May the Holy Spirit search the depths of our hearts and minds. May we be honest with ourselves and consider this question. Because at the end of the day, it's not how do I compare to this list? You know, we're about, let me begin with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, I was, I kept number 4. I was at the house of the Lord. You know, that's pretty good. It's not keeping the list of commandments. I'm not saying you do away with the commandments. Don't misunderstand me. But how is my heart and my disposition before Him? Oh, how I love it all. It is my meditation all the day long. And may the Lord forgive our hypocrisy and our failures and turn our heart to Him. The commandment was given by Moses. It is the sixth commandment. It is established in the passage in Genesis. I'm not going to turn there. Genesis 9, 5, and 6. But it prohibits the unlawful taking of man's life. Life is a gift from God. And to us, it's precious. All of this life is precious. He provided cities of refuge for those who accidentally, unawares, killed another person. You know that? He provided a refuge. You find that in Numbers, and I'm not going to turn there. I'm just going to give you citations. Numbers 35. verses 10-12, 15-25, and 30-31. We find also, according to Leviticus 24-21, that there was no ransom or there was no atonement for homicide. If you killed knowingly and willingly, you couldn't buy a ransom. You couldn't pay for your atonement. This, beloved, and other passages teach the judgment of God against the unlawful death of an individual. Why would God care the death of a lost person? Why would He care, villager? Why would He care if I kill you? Because you have a soul. And as soon as your body dies, that soul is going to come before the judgment of God. And if you're not in Jesus, you're going to end up in eternity hell. That's why he cares. That's why he made this provision, thou shalt not kill. It's precious. Even in justifiable cases such as in time of war, David was not allowed to build the house of the Lord because he shed too much blood. But like the other commandments, they lay aside this commandment to keep their tradition. How can I get around it? How can I walk as close to the edge without really falling over? They diminish it, listen, Matthew 5 verse 27. They diminish it They lay it aside by interpreting only as literal homicide. And the greatest danger that you can fall into is you get to be taken to court. Because when those cities of refuge you were to run and you were to be judged by the congregation, well that's the greatest danger you have. Even if you kill someone, it's a legal court decision. Yet how many in our day think that they're keeping the law blameless, such as this rich young ruler in Mark 10, 18-22. Don't need to turn there. But what does Jesus say? He says, notice, verse 22, I say unto you. He doesn't do away with the law. He's not giving another law. He's the law giver. And he explains what the spirit of the law is, which we read in this passage also in numbers. Yeah, in numbers. You read the same. Yes, sir. The law prohibits more than the outward act of taking a life. It deals with the motives. It deals with the intentions. It deals with the thoughts. It deals with the feelings. That's the reason, my dear people, than one the law of God displayed because the conscience is pricked. It's stirred up. Jesus demonstrates this. Murder may be accomplished in the heart by hatred. The root of homicide is hatred. Anger. Malice. These proceed from within. And they defile the whole man. Let me say it again. Hatred. Anger. Malice. Proceed from within. These are described as the works of the flesh. For example, you ever read Mark? I know this is one of Father Joe's favorite verses. Mark chapter five, right? If you've known Brother Joe for a while, you know which verses he quotes a lot. This is one of them. Amen? Boy, they haven't been paying attention, Brother Joe. What is, what is, I said, I said, no, I'm not going to go there. Excuse me. No, I'm not going to go there. Excuse me for that. I'll leave that for later. Pardon me. It's Mark chapter 7. Mark chapter 7. Mark chapter 5 is another one of his favorites, the gathering of the mooniacs. Yes, sir. But it was Mark chapter 7 where he says, verse 21, from within. Yes, sir. Out of the heart of many. What's the first thing that proceeds? Evil thoughts. Adulteries, fornication. murderers, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. And Paul says, I had not known these things had the Lord not said thou shalt not covet. Is the law then against God? Is the law sin? Oh, the law is good. The law is just. The law is holy. The law is not the problem, beloved. It's my disposition. It doesn't want to keep God's law. It doesn't want to submit to the law of God. It doesn't want to obey the law of God. I want to try to get away from it. Not before someone accuses me of being legalistic, I don't believe the law can save you. Right. I don't believe the law can save you. Only Jesus can save you. Amen. But notice what he says. Again, if you read Genesis, you would notice that the first murder, the first one, little brother killing his little brother. Yup. Not have to be hard. Why did you kill Abel? I was angry at him. Why were you angry at him? That's because of God. He didn't accept my sacrifice. You see, anger without a cause is not only the works of the flesh, it's a hindrance to entering the kingdom of God. You won't enter the kingdom if anger rests in your bosom. That's the danger. Yes, sir. Oh, you say that's a life thing. I mean, it's not murder. Yes, it is. But Jesus says danger, danger, danger, danger. Anger without a cause is not only the works of the flesh, it's a hindrance to entering the kingdom of God. But on the other hand, love is a manifestation we pass from death unto life. Amen. I wouldn't agree with that one. Not a first John. I love John. I love the Apostle John. And in 1st John 3, look what he says. I love his logic. I love his writing. It's simple. In 1st John 3, 14, he says, we know we pass from death unto life because we love the brethren. Not only the easy going, but those that are abrasive also. We love them all. Amen, right brother? Some are harder to love than others. I'm one of those. Aren't you glad God doesn't do that? Amen. He shed his love when we were yet sinners. God commended his love toward us and when we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He didn't say, well, that guy's lovable, that guy's not lovable. We're all wrecked. Yes. I love you because I love you. Here John says, this is love. Verse 16 here, in verse 15 he said, whosoever hated this brother, 1 John 3.15, whosoever hated his brother is what? He's a murderer. There it is. And you know, listen, that's what I said. If anger rests in your bosom, there's a danger you may not enter the kingdom. But here John says, you don't have eternal life in you. There is no eternal life. You're deceiving yourself. You're lying to yourself. Anger is a symptom. But there is no eternal life. No wonder they hated Jesus. I mean, he exposed them for what they were. He's not one of the ones that killed. I mean, here were their long rows and rabbi, master, and, you know, keeping, bringing their sacrifices, blowing their trumpets. And Jesus calls them, well, you're just whited sepulchers. You love the price of men. I mean, you'll go as far as tithing men and knees coming. And you forget the waiter. matters of the law, justice, mercy, faith. I wonder if that's in the Old Testament. Now how is this anger manifested? What Jesus tells us. Let's go back to the Book of Matthew. How do we manifest this anger? Oh, there may be some quiet ones in amongst us that don't show it. You know that? I said, oh man, we just let it boil and boil and boil until finally, wham! But Jesus says, there is a manifestation that there is murder in your heart and in my heart too. How is it, Jesus? Please tell us. Well, he says, verse 22, whosoever shall say, Our tongues. Oh, that tongue is a skillful sword. It's a skillful dagger in the hands of a murderer. The sword has killed its thousands, but the tongue its tens of thousands. Abusive Sinful language is murder. Let me say it again. Abusive, sinful language is murder. I didn't know little, lovey-dovey, I don't want to use a very racist word, Charlie Brown, could tell me, I hate you. You ever had that? Told it to you? I hate you. Come on. So I, you know, they don't really mean it by their charm. They're little bitty ones, you know. Yeah. Come on. What happens when you get into a fight with your wife? I mean, what kind of words do you use or I use? Think about it. It's murder. because it proceeds from your heart. When you tell your wife or your husband, I hate you, and I hate her. Then later on you say, well, you know, I really didn't mean that. Oh, yes, you did. Oh, I guarantee you that's what you meant to do, because that's what I meant to do. You see, that dagger, is meant to go under the fifth rib, right? It's not meant down here. It's meant to cut. It's meant to damage. And well, with physical wounds, you may go to the hospital. Words can cause deep wounds, which no physical remedy may cure. Oh, that's right. I hate her. Why do you hate her? What did you say? Oh, you were here, you know, right here, holding hands, looking at each other, you know, lovey-dovey, oh, until death do us part, yeah, until death do us part, I'll never love you, and you sang the song, you know, teen, teen, teen, I love you, and everything, oh. And what happened? What happened? What happened? See this, this, this, this, this gets down to our daily lives. Yes, sir. What am I saying? If you're not a Christian at home, you're not a Christian at work. You're not a Christian here. It's not something you take off, you know, till next Sunday. God sees your heart. And I've gotten angry with my wife, she's gotten angry with me, I've given her plenty of reasons. But we're all by nature skillful swordsmen. That's right. We're skillful swordsmen and deceitful daggers, piercing arrows, like Joab's dagger under the fifth rib. of our adversary. I want to read that for you. You say, what's he talking about? I want to read you one of the Old Testament. In 2 Samuel. I want to give you an illustration to see how we skillfully use our tongues to hurt, kill, murder one we love. 2 Samuel. I'll give you time to find it. Chapter 20. 2nd Samuel, chapter 20, verse 8. When there was a great stone which is in Gibeon, a master went before him, and Joab's garment that he had put on was girded upon unto him. And he put it on a girder with a sword fastened upon his loin, and the sheath thereof. And as he went forth, it fell out. And Joab said to Amasa, I don't have my brother. And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him. Oh, let me kiss you. But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand. So he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, shed out his vows to the ground, and struck him not again. That's your tongue. That's my tongue. deceitful, hidden, aiming for the fifth rib. Jesus gives us an explanation. We may not use these same words, which are words of contempt and hatred. We may not say rocker, which means shallow brain, worthless fellow. Or the second one, we may not say fool, Which means an apostate from religion. I mean, even the Lord Jesus used these words. You go look, go look at your concordance, go do your studies. He used some of these words. But beloved, why did they say those words? What were their motives? What were their reasons? They were always selfish. They were meant to hurt. What a warning. to those who despise the least of his commandments. Now let's look at the application. You permit me. Let's look at the application. Let's go back to Matthew chapter five. Just apply it. How does our Lord Jesus apply this? It's interesting. Because when there's anger between you and your brother, what should I do? Seek to be reconciled. Go and be reconciled. In verses 23 to 26 we have the application. Verse 23 says, therefore, I, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, sacrifices, let me say this, sacrifices brought to the altar will not be accepted. Let me say this again. Listen up please. Sacrifices brought to the altar will not be accepted until there is reconciliation between us and an offended brother. Right. Your prayer won't be heard. Oh, and I already hear brother Joe. I hear the arguments. of someone saying, and it always those that despise the Word of God, their arguments. You don't believe in an effectual atonement. Yes, I do. You don't believe the blood of Jesus forgives and cleanses our sins. Yes, I do. I preach it in my church. Forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. He's the only hope. Jesus is the one who said this. Amen? He said it. He said it. He says, if thou bring thy gift to the altar and there, this may appear to sound contrary to the doctrine of the atonement of our Lord. Some may argue that it is his blood which cleanses us and brings us near. And that's what Hebrew says. We may draw near. What does this say? A true heart in full assurance of faith. Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. And our bodies washed with pure water. Jesus uses an Old Testament imposition to teach us something here. There was a sacrifice needed to approach God. But the worship of God is not an external The only way the gift and the offer shall be accepted. How may I be accepted? How is my gift going to be accepted? What's greater? I ask you this, what's greater? The gift or the altar? And further, he teaches the present need, or the need to present the gift after the reconciliation. He uses an Old Testament. Let me equate. Verse 23, there's a gift. And this gift, I'm inclined to believe, is probably an offering, a burnt offering. It's an innocent victim. An innocent victim was necessary to make reconciliation between God and the seeker. according to Leviticus 8 15 and 2 Chronicles 29. You needed a sacrifice to be reconciled between God and the sinner. And here we have someone bringing supposedly a gift to be reconciled with God. And perhaps they stood bringing their sacrifices. Not just in the case of murder, but in offerings and sacrifices. Perhaps, God, that a sacrifice, that's sufficient. You know, if I just bring the sacrifice, that'll be sufficient. Jesus explains that the outward or literal breaking of the sixth commandment, as well as anger, malice, malicious words, deserve eternal punishment. And now he proceeds to explain that. The thoughts. The intentions of the heart need to be right also before we offer our gifts. This is not different from what David taught. In Psalm 51, don't need to turn to him. Yes, sir. I mean, he sinned against God. I mean, what's he going to offer? He's the king. Sacrifices like Solomon? Rivers of blood? What has God decided? God decided not to sacrifice those I would give him. Right. I mean someone could offer a sacrifice to reconcile himself unto God. But they cannot make us perfect before God. Because sacrifices cannot purge our sins. And sacrifices cannot cleanse our conscience of sin. But the sacrifice right here reminded the offerer the wages of sin is death. But this is a great danger that you and I have a tendency to fall into. Let's rely on the externals. Let's live hypocritical lives which displease God. But I remind you, what Jesus said, what worship is pleasing to God, is not hypocritical worship. And God don't need that. God doesn't need that. Is he pleased with it? But God, this is what you demanded of us. You said, you know, the new moons, the Sabbaths, the solemn assembly, that's what you ordered to Moses. So we're just doing what you said, God. He says, wash you, make you clean. Wash you, make you clean. When you lift up your hands, it says they're full of blood. This is what I want, says the Lord. He says, come now, let us reason together. Right. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they be red like Christmas, they shall be white as snow. I don't desire your... I'm full. I'm full of your goats, your bulls, your toad does, I can't with it. It's offensive to me. Or we could point elsewhere. But we don't want to lose our focus. We don't want to lose the focus right here. Verse 23, therefore. We have the offender before an altar. And that is before God. When you come, you come before God. Don't forget that. You don't come before Brother Joe, before the brethren, before the church, you come before God. Amen. Secondly, what we have here is the offender and the sacrifice. That is the reconciliation. He's seeking reconciliation. But then, there's an examination. There's a remembrance. Oh, I remember. My brother had odd intensity. See, there's a requirement here. I want you to please listen with me. There's a requirement here, according to the law, that the sacrifice must be without blemish. There had to be a careful inspection of the victim. You had to look at it and make sure it's perfect because it typified our Lord Jesus Christ. It foreshadowed the true sacrifice. It foreshadowed the true Lamb of God. But here Jesus doesn't stress the examination of the offering. He stresses the examination of the offerer. You examine yourself. I mean so what if the Lamb is perfect at the first moment and there's no blemish and your heart's not right? I thank Thee, O God, I'm not like other men. You know, I fast twice a week. I taunt. I pray. What else do you want? I'm not even like this one back there. You know, I used to be in the back, Brother Joe. Because there's a publican. Do you know she's wrong? And all he could say is, God, be propitious to me, a sinner. Amen. To be merciful to me. Yes, sir. Who went justified? Who went to their home justified? Who will take mercy? You see, the examination is internal. It's a remembrance of an offended brother. No one's aware of it. No one knows. Who did you offend? Well, no one knows. Except the worshipper and the offended, no. But there's a more important one. God knows. Brother, I'm going to say this. I mean, you should give. God loves that you're forgiving. Yes. But don't rely on that. to get you to heaven. Don't rely on that. You should come to church. But don't rely on that. You should read the words. You should pray. You should give all these things. Well, let me rephrase it. Not you should. Just should. You should love to do so. But don't rely on that. Settle things with your brother, your spouse, the closest to you before you bring your gift. Come in here with a true heart. Create in me, oh God, a clean heart. You ever just desire a clean heart? You ever just desire it? So what do you mean by the joke? You ever get tired of bitterness, anger, wrath? You ever get tired of that? I don't like it. I don't like it, brother Joe. I don't like having those feelings, harboring ill thoughts. I don't like that. There'll come a day when I won't have to put up with those things. But Jesus teaches us, and for example, Mark, this is, I'm closing. Mark 11. Here's the examination. And then there's the mandate. Jesus says, you go. Here's the justice, he says, you go. You go. You go make things right. with your brother. Mark 11, verse 25. And when you stop praying, what do I do? I forgive. That's hard to do, isn't it? That's hard to do. But you forgive. If you have aught against any, that your Father also, which is in heaven, may forgive you your trespasses. If you do not forgive. This is Jesus. This is the forgiver. This is the reconciliator. This is the mediator. Oh yeah, it's hard. Oh, it's hard? I'm not saying, oh, here we go, it's so easy, you know, this is, boom, boom, now from now on, I'm gonna, oh, it's gonna get tested. Yeah. Again, we did business. But he says, if you don't forgive, neither will your Father, which is in heaven, forgive your trespasses. Oh, it's hard. But he said, if you don't know forgiveness, You can't forget. I ordered that, I could not pay. And Jesus says, after you examine, I'm going to give you a command. He says, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there you remember your brother had off against thee, here's the mandate, verse 24, leave thy gift before the altar. You leave it right there. Don't take it with you. You leave it right there. Because why? He wants you to come back. He wants you to come back. Right, Brother Joe? The Lord wants you to come back. He wants you to come back. Because then you would say, then I won't go to church. Why is he always picking on me, Brook? Why are you always telling him what I'm going to preach? Huh? You ever find that out? Yes, sir. Who told you? Yes, sir. Who told the pastor? I didn't tell him. Amen. Don't leave without reconciling yourself with God. Don't leave. Settle matters first between you and your brother, and come with a right heart into those doors. Enter into those doors with thanksgiving and praise. Be thankful unto him and praise his name. Say unto God, how terrible are thy and thy works. Leave your gift, verse 24. Say, go thy way. First, you see that? First, you see that right there? I mean, is it in English? Is it in Spanish? He says, first. You want Greek? Protos. First. First what? Be reconciled. And then come. We come to this high place where the high and lofty one dwells. Our hands brings our first fruits. They bring the firstborn of their flock. This is God's meeting place. This burnt offering reminded the worshiper the wages of sin is death. But also this offering reminded the worshiper reconciliation is possible. It's possible. God and sinners can be reconciled by the blood of his son. We should, the best of our ability, seek to be reconciled to our offended brother first. The best of our ability. It may be a severe offense. It may be so severe that he might take you to court. Agreement. Agreement. If you've offended, if you're the wrong, say, I agree. It may cost you to go to court. It may cost you. Whatever. I agree with him. Because these verses that follow illustrate the importance of reconciling this side of eternity. This side of eternity. Let me say it again. If you not reconcile this side of eternity, you won't be reconciled on the other side. That's right. It's this side of eternity. Be reconciled to God. Make peace with God. May the Lord grant his blessings.