In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes a very strong point
that getting into heaven in not simply a matter of fulfilling a set of rules,
but of having a new holy nature. One of
the demonstrations of that new nature is a new attitude. In our day road rage incidents and school or
workplace shootings often leave people dead.
Constant efforts are made to eliminate the guns so that it will be more
difficult to kill. History shows such an
approach is ineffective, because people can always find a way of killing.
In Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus addressed this very issue. “Ye
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: 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, Raca, shall be in danger
of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell
fire.”
In Genesis 9:5-6 God commanded, “And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of
every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every
man's brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his
blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.” The same standard was demanded by the Old
Testament law in Leviticus 24:17. “And he that killeth any man shall surely be
put to death.” It is important to
understand that the words translated kill that are used in this passage mean to
murder or knowingly act in way that puts a person’s life in danger.
If a person accidentally killed someone, he could go into
one of the cities of refuge for protection to escape the death penalty. At the city of refuge he would be tried and
if he could show the death was not intentional, he would be allowed to remain,
but if he ever left the city he could be executed on the spot. If it was shown that it was in fact murder,
the city of refuge was to execute the guilty party. The death penalty was the required penalty
for murder while manslaughter called for an automatic life sentence. Thus, even an accidental death could place
one’s life in jeopardy, as Jesus said.
Jesus said that the judgment of God runs much deeper than
just physically killing a person. He
said that to be angry without a valid reason deserved the same sentence because
as John 3:15 tells us, “Whosoever hateth
his brother is a murderer…” It is
the very attitude that leads to the road rage and mass shootings we see
today. Denigrating terms such as raca, “you
worthless trash” may result in lawsuits, but referring to a person as being a
fool who is incapable of learning demonstrates an attitude that has no respect
for the person. Such comments reinforce
the attitude of disrespect and inflame hatred toward others.
This is so important that In Matthew 5:23-26, Jesus said, “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. Agree
with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any
time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the
officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means
come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.”
Conflicts with others clearly indicate an unspiritual
attitude as I Corinthians 3:3 tells us. “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is
among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as
men?” No matter how much a person
may claim to serve God, I John 4:20 warns, “If
a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth
not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” We need to address those conflicts so that
they do not hinder our relationship with God.
As Jesus warned, if we don’t resolve them they will eventually cost us
everything.
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