Previous Lesson | Return to Home Page | Next Lesson
The continuation of lesson 6 of the Discipleship Making process, where I left you last time with these two questions, “What does judging others lead to?” . . . and . . . “How long do you normally stay angry?”
You will remember from the last lesson that we were reviewing Jesus’ important teaching to His disciples, in His Sermon on the Mount, on subduing anger, the root of murder, the spirit of the Sixth Commandment, “Thou shall not murder.”
In summary of the last lesson, we learned murder is always premeditated. We started to look at the steps in the process that leads to murder, which Jesus presented each of them in Matthew 5:22. There were three warning signs which accompanied each step in the process and are a result of the failure to overcome sin.
The first two that we had already reviewed were:
1. Lust produces Anger . . . and . . .
2. Pride produces Despising . . .
Leaving the third and final warning that precedes murder is when the angry, despising person accuses the other of being a fool. According to Scripture a fool is not just a silly person, but also one who says in his heart there is no God. The temptation to accuse or judge comes through the spirit and is called the pride of life. It is the sin of Satan, the accuser of the brethren. The angry, despising person takes on the role of God, being able to judge the hearts of men. James 4:11-12 says, “Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother, or judges his brother, speaks against the law, and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?”
Jesus finishes by challenging His disciples. They are to take aggressive action in subduing anger in others when the cause for the anger is the disciple’s fault. Jesus wants them to be peacemakers. And He wants them to make peace quickly and also to make the wrong right.
It is here in Matthew 5:23-26, that we find Jesus’ next two commands:
“Leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.” The thought is, “Make peace with the person who is angry with you before coming into the presence of God.”
The second, is to “Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way.” Thus, by removing the cause for anger the person will not go on to despise and judge you thus you have kept him from sinning.
The point of the lesson is that the pattern to murder is clear. Lust produces anger, pride produces despising, and judging produces accusation, which leads to execution. Murder starts with being angry. The Scriptures offer simple practical advice in dealing with it:
“Do not associate with a man given to anger; or go with a hot-tempered man, lest you learn his ways, and find a snare for yourself.” Proverbs 22:24-25
“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 15:1
“A man's discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression.” Proverbs 19:11
“BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.” Ephesians 4:26-27
With that, allow me to leave you with this question to consider, along with a little homework assignment until my next posting:
“How does Jesus’ teaching on adultery contrast with our society’s views?”
. . . and the homework assignment . . .
Take responsibility for your Anger, be a Peacemaker.
Until next time . . . Godspeed!
Previous Lesson | Return to Home Page | Next Lesson
No comments:
Post a Comment