Stand Alone Sermon: The Healing of Anger

Today's scripture reading is taken from Matthew chapter 5 verses 21 to 26.

Matthew 5:21–26

! Please follow along in your own Bibles or on the screen.

And if you don't have a Bible, please grab one around the hall.

Our passage is on page 760 in this Bible.

Starting from verse 21, we read,

You have heard that it was said to those of old,

You shall not murder.

And whoever murders will be liable to judgment.

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.

Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council.

And whoever says, You fool, will be liable to the hell of fire.

So, if you are offering your gift at the altar,

and there remember that your brother has something against you,

leave your gift there before the altar and go.

First, be reconciled to your brother,

and then come offer your gift.

Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court.

Lest the accuser hand you over to the judge,

and the judge to the guard,

and you be put in prison.

Truly, I say to you,

you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

This is the word of God.

Good morning, Watermark.

It's wonderful to be here.

Wonderful to see you all.

Thank you for having us.

It really is fantastic to be here in your new venue this morning.

And it's a privilege to be sharing with you.

We really have a lot of affection for this church.

We've had members of Watermark move to Singapore.

Ryan and Catherine, some of you may remember them.

They're part of our Mandarin church plant.

Dorcas also recently moved to Singapore and has been with us.

And I know there are many others as well.

This morning we actually have Sean and Rachel from RHC who are visiting as well.

So some RHC is here too.

And that's the nature of Singapore and Hong Kong.

There is a lot of movement backwards and forwards.

But it really is a wonderful privilege to be speaking to you today.

This church,

what I always hear about this church,

from people from Watermark, from Kevin, from others,

two main things that always stand out to me.

Firstly, your warmth and your love as a church,

the sense of tight community that you have,

how you care for one another.

And then secondly,

I always seem to hear stories of people coming to faith,

coming to know Jesus in this church.

And I think God has really given you a grace

that has enabled you to be very evangelistically fruitful.

And those are two very, very beautiful things.

And I trust that as you move into this new space,

which is absolutely wonderful,

that God will continue to see these two things strengthened.

And I'm sure that this space is about those two things happening.

More and more people coming to know Jesus

and be folded into this tight-knit, beautiful community.

So it really is a privilege to be here today.

I'm going to be speaking this morning on the healing of anger.

Some of you may wonder,

why on earth am I speaking about this?

Did Kevin say to me,

hey, if there's one thing you could talk about,

could you please speak about this?

I would like to let you know that that did not happen at all.

But as we'll see a little bit later,

this is actually a wonderful text for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, I think what Jesus says applies to more of us than we think.

Secondly, I think this text does help us think a little bit more

about our relationships with one another.

It also helps us think more deeply about God

and how we view him and his work through Jesus

and how that applies to our hearts.

So I trust it will be encouraging for us this morning.

So let me begin.

I don't know how many of you have heard of Alexander the Great.

He was a great conqueror.

He conquered many, many lands, many nations.

But there was one thing that he was unable to conquer,

and that was his own anger, his own temper.

And in fact, one evening during a banquet,

he had had too much to drink,

and some of his usual filters were taken down.

And he got into an argument with one of his confidants

and someone who was a very close friend,

someone who had actually saved his life previously.

And in his incredible rage, he ended his life

and woke up in the morning and lived with a huge sense of regret,

which we'll hear a little bit about later.

But he was a man who had such power, such control,

had so much influence over others,

and yet there was something inside of him

that he wasn't able to control.

And I want to ask you this morning

if you are or if you think you are an angry person.

The reason I'm asking that this morning

is because most angry people or many angry people

don't think that they are angry.

I never ever thought I had any anger issues.

And the reason I thought I didn't have any anger issues

was because it's not my habit to shout or scream.

I certainly don't or never have, I don't think,

thrown things around the house.

And I thought, okay, well, I'm clearly not an angry person.

But as time went on, I began to realize

anger is far more pervasive than just those things.

It has many, many forms.

Some of us may have mastered the art

of the passive-aggressive form of anger.

Anybody here?

Please do not dig your spouse in their ribs, all right?

What about irritability?

In fact, what convinced me that I was an angry person

was when I read a Desiring God article

about 12 years ago on the roots of irritability

and how irritability is a form of anger

that is just under a certain kind of control.

And I realized I actually have a lot of,

I can be very irritable.

I can be very, very, very, very, very, very,

maybe a certain tone of voice

or body language to control.

Maybe for some people here,

it manifests as a kind of bitterness

or a deep desire that you never act out on,

but you play over and over in your mind

this desire for revenge.

What about in our culture,

how cancel culture is such a huge thing?

Isn't that a form of anger?

Maybe this morning you recognize

you are very easily triggered,

like a tightly coiled spring,

just waiting to be let loose.

Some people, many people that I have had to counsel

over the years struggle,

it seems like legitimately,

with a sense of anger at deep injustice

that they have faced.

People often, I find in Asia,

have experienced deep, deep injustice

that has affected them very, very deeply,

but they found there's no way for them

to resolve it, to engage,

to confront,

to have proper resolution of those things.

And because there's no outlet,

it's just grown and grown inside of them.

Now, when you and I are prone to,

when we are inclined to think about anger,

and we think about Jesus speaking about anger,

we are probably likely to think about

the harm that our anger can do

to those around us, loved ones, etc.

And Jesus certainly is not unaware of those things.

He speaks here about murder and anger.

He equates those kinds of things.

And so whether it's physical violence,

whether it's verbal anger,

whether it's emotional abuse,

all of these things

certainly have a very destructive force

upon other people.

And this is probably a good time to say

that if you are or have been

in any kind of an abusive relationship,

it really is important

for you to get safe and to get help.

And nothing I say this morning

should be taken as a way

to justify you remaining in a situation

that you are physically unsafe in.

But when we're inclined to think about anger,

we probably think about the harm

that our anger may do to others.

But I want us to notice here

in our text today,

the way Jesus is motivating us

is not by getting us to think about

the harm it will do to others,

though that's absolutely true.

He actually wants us to think

about the harm that our anger does

not to other people,

but does to us.

So look at verse 22,

verse 25, verse 26.

I say to you,

everyone who's angry with his brother

will be liable to judgment.

Whoever insults his brother

will be liable to the council.

Whoever says you fool

will be liable to the hell of fire.

Come quickly to terms with your accuser

while you're going with him to the court,

lest your accuser hand you over to the judge

and the judge to the God

and you be put in prison.

Truly I say,

you will never get out

until you've paid the last penny.

Interestingly here,

Jesus is trying to motivate us

by getting us to think about

anger's effect upon our own hearts,

spiritually and relationally.

And this means,

I think every one of us recognize

we probably do need some help

in this regard.

And years of pastoral ministry

have shown me

people typically need help

in this area

in two ways.

Number one,

dealing with a feeling of anger

in our own hearts.

How do we let this go?

Can we?

And secondly,

knowing how to constructively engage

with those

that we have conflicts with.

And fortunately,

in this passage today,

Jesus does mention both of these.

So we'll see two things

briefly this morning.

Firstly,

the problem with anger

and secondly,

a path out of anger.

So let's start with

the path,

the problem of anger.

When we think about this text,

what Jesus is doing,

we don't have time

to look at it in detail.

Jesus is picking up aspects

of the Old Testament law,

the Torah,

and he is fleshing them out

by showing the true heart

of the law.

And one good way

to think about

the Old Testament law

is that what the law

in the Old Testament

negatively prohibits,

it does so in order

to positively encourage

the opposite behavior.

It's like if

Kev or one of the leaders

here says,

we'd really like to ask you

not to be late on Sunday.

They're not just asking you

not to be late,

they're asking you

to positively be

on time and early, right?

And so,

when the law speaks about

not doing various things,

it is urging us

to love,

to care for God's,

to care for those

around us.

So,

let's ask ourselves,

what exactly is this anger?

In verse 21 and 22,

let's read in our text,

Jesus says,

you've heard it was said

to those of old,

you shall not murder

and whoever murders

will be liable to judgment.

But I say to you,

everyone who's angry

with his brother

will be liable to judgment.

Whoever insults his brother

will be liable

to the council.

Whoever says,

you fool,

will be liable

to the hell of fire.

Jesus here is really

getting to the spirit

of the law.

He's trying to show us

the heart of it.

We think even of

the Old Testament,

how the Old Testament

even had laws

about like building parapets

or balustrades

on top of the roof

of your house

lest somebody fall off

by accident.

The heart of that

is this care

and concern

for other people

that is so deeply

concerned for their well-being

that when you're building

a house,

you're thinking

about safety precautions

lest somebody

accidentally harm themselves.

And in that spirit

of the law,

Jesus is saying

the way that we view

and treat

and feel in our hearts

toward other people

really, really matters.

And I think the three

clauses or phrases

Jesus uses here

help us think

a little bit about anger.

He speaks about being angry,

he speaks about insulting,

and he speaks about

calling someone a fool.

I think we can think

of these as like

three kind of facets

of the diamond of anger

that help us see

what he's talking about.

The word anger

is something which would

exist in our heart.

the word is kind of

like a burning rage

that you nurse,

like a fire

that is continuing

to burn inside of you.

The word insult,

this is when you

demean someone.

You make a judgment

of them.

You judge them

by defining them

in your own heart

and your own mind.

You say to them,

I,

I mean,

internally in your heart,

I declare you

to be an idiot.

All right?

There's this sense

that you're summing them up

and concluding

who they are.

And then the last word,

fool,

interestingly,

the Greek word

is the root of which

is the word

that in English

we sometimes,

the word moron,

when you call someone

a moron,

it's like when you call

someone an airhead

or a moron.

I don't know how you

typically use that language.

You don't have to tell me

about it right now.

But typically,

if you call someone

a moron

or an idiot like that,

the way that it's often used

is in a very dismissive

kind of a way.

That guy's just a moron.

I do not have time for you.

Can you just get out of my way

and out of my life?

And what is being spoken of here

is a kind of indifference,

a dismissing,

not treating someone

as they really should be treated.

And if we put all these

three things together,

I think a good definition

that we can get

of anger

that the kind of anger

Jesus is referring to here

is an attitude of heart

that demeans

the other person,

setting yourself up

as a God

over them

to define,

judge,

and then ultimately

dismiss them.

And

I think this

captures what Jesus

is speaking of here.

Sometimes we want to

nurse a kind of bitterness

because

we may legitimately

see things

that have happened to us

that we think are wrong

and may legitimately

have been wrong.

We legitimately

have suffered.

We do not believe

that there is a God

of justice

who will ultimately

hold all people

to account.

And we think

if I don't exact

my revenge on them,

even if that revenge

is just my own anger

toward them

in my own heart,

there will be no justice.

And therefore,

because we don't fear God

or we don't believe

that he is there

to execute justice,

we take it upon

ourselves to do.

We judge,

we dismiss,

we write off,

we nurse grudges

in this way.

Now,

there are some

who at a point

like this

would probably

and legitimately

be asking,

hold on,

hold on.

What about

those people

in the world

who really,

really do commit

great acts of evil?

How do we think

about such people?

Friends,

the Bible,

the Christian Bible

certainly gives us

very clear categories

in which to understand

evil.

If we don't have God,

if we don't have

his righteousness,

we don't have

proper categories

in which to really

understand that

which is right and wrong.

And the scriptures

really do affirm

and show us

there are actions

and ways of treating

people that are wicked

and certainly

are worthy

of judgment.

And the Bible

is not saying

that we are to act

as though everybody's

behavior is acceptable

and fine.

The scriptures

themselves give us

those categories

in which to make

right judgments.

So when we see

people who legitimately

do do evil

and wicked things

as Christians,

I want to tell us

this morning,

it's entirely possible,

it's right actually,

for us to hate evil,

for us to hate

injustice,

to legitimately see

where we may have

been wronged,

but we refrain

from taking the place

of God ourselves.

It may be possible

in certain situations

that we do need

to react to

somebody else's evil

or their sin.

It could be possible

for Christians

and right in some

circumstances,

if you see someone

else being harmed,

for you even to step in

and forcibly maybe

stop somebody from

sinning or harming

another person,

that's absolutely

legitimate and that's

what the Bible

would describe as

love.

But when in our

hearts we don't just

want to see what is

wrong being stopped,

but we want to see

the wrongdoer

destroyed,

when we want to

see them pay

for their sins,

we want them to be

destroyed,

we dismiss them,

we're moving from

just enacting

justice and trying

to love other people

rightly and we're

taking the place of

God in our own

hearts.

We are moving into

an unrighteous anger

that can be evil

itself.

And friends,

I want us to notice

that Jesus says

this kind of anger

is really bad.

it's really bad for

us both spiritually,

it's really bad for

us relationally.

How is it bad for

us spiritually?

Well,

let's just notice

what he says.

If you go back and

look at the text,

I mean,

think about the

words that Jesus

speaks about.

He speaks about the

danger of the

council.

He speaks ultimately

about the danger of

hell.

What is Jesus saying

here?

I mean,

hell in Matthew's

gospel is a place

where we are alienated

from the presence of

God.

where we're

separated from him

and ultimately are

destroyed.

Jesus is really

warning us to say,

if we nurse this

kind of thing where

we're taking the

place of God,

dismissing people,

wanting them

destroyed,

setting ourselves as

the ultimate judge

over them,

this is going to

have profound

spiritual effects

upon us.

Now,

I think this is so

bad for at least

three reasons.

Firstly,

unrighteous anger

slanders

the image of God.

Unrighteous anger

slanders the image

of God.

It's one of the

most beautiful and

wonderful teachings

of the scriptures that

every single human

being is made in the

image of God.

God.

And the Bible tells us

that sin has

marred that image.

We do not reflect

God's glory perfectly.

In fact,

many of us reflect it

very,

very poorly.

And yet the

scriptures say,

even after the

fall,

we still retain

the dignity

of being God's

image bearers,

though we reflect it

so badly.

and we're to

treat other

Christians,

sorry,

not just other

Christians,

other human

beings,

all human

beings,

as image

bearers of

God.

Now,

I am from

Singapore,

and you would

know in this

part of the

world there are

many temples

that are on

just about every

corner.

Can you imagine

how people would

feel,

worshippers in a

temple around the

corner would feel

if somebody walked

in with a

massive axe

and began to

swing at some

of the idols

and gods that

are set up in

that temple.

It would be

outrageous.

And the

scriptures show us

that this entire

creation,

this world that

we live in,

is a temple to

the glory of God

with every human

being,

what,

seven,

eight billion of

them on the

planet at the

moment,

image bearers of

God.

And the way

that we treat

those image

bearers and view

them is a

reflection of

our view toward

God at some

level.

So unrighteous

anger is

particularly bad

because we are

slandering the

image of God

which speaks

something to

how we're

treating God

himself.

Secondly,

unrighteous anger,

I think even more

seriously,

sets us up in

our own hearts

to take the

place of God.

When we decide

that we will be

the ultimate

judge,

we will make

permanent

decisions about

someone,

dismiss them

in a certain

way,

we are setting

ourselves up

in the place

of God.

And friends,

the scriptures

show us we

cannot do this

without this

having a profound

effect upon our

own hearts.

The Bible shows

us so clearly

over and over

whenever we

displace God,

we end up

idolizing

something or

someone else.

In fact,

I've seen so

often how people

who trust in

people above

God,

then when those

people let

them down and

disappoint them,

there's a deep

anger that begins

to grow.

But more than

that,

our hearts do

become profoundly

disordered when

we take the

place of God.

Romans 1 shows

us that when

we replace God

and we set

ourselves up as

gods,

one of the

effects of that

is a kind of

spiritual blindness

in our lives.

I think the

language that

Romans 1 uses

is we become

futile in our

thinking.

I don't know

how many of

you have ever

seen this play

out in your

own life.

This means that

when other

people sin

against us,

and we become

angry with

them,

we become

blind to our

own sinful

response to

their sin.

I don't know

if this has

ever happened

to you.

Someone sins

against us,

and we feel

we're just

filled with a

huge sense of

rage.

But instead

of being

aware of

how wrong

our anger

is,

and how

we're now

treating them

in a very

unfair way,

or judging

them,

or misunderstanding

their motives,

we're just

locked in and

focused on

their own

errors.

And so

often,

I find for

myself,

I'm tempted

into sin

because someone

sinned against

me.

And just

because someone

sinned against

me doesn't

justify me

sinning against

them,

but in my

anger,

I get blind

to my own

sinful response

to them.

And if

you're like

me,

then you

probably start

to feel

justified.

You think

certain things,

you act in

a certain

way,

maybe indulge

in more

gossip about

them,

you say

things about

them,

scripture clearly

says that we

shouldn't do,

but you're

entirely blind

to it because

it feels

entirely justified

because of

how bad

they are.

In other

words,

when we set

ourselves up

in this

way,

we can see

even in

our own

hearts,

there's a

blindness

that creeps

in,

that affects

us.

And finally,

unrighteous

anger shows,

I think most

seriously,

Matthew 6 will

show us in

the next

chapter,

that we have

not properly

received God's

mercy.

There's something

in our own

hearts that

have not

truly understood

the nature

of who God

is.

What about

relationally?

And this,

I don't need to

spend as much

time on this

morning,

the passage

shows relationally

even in terms

of just your

own self.

There's an

accuser,

there's the

threat of

court,

of jail,

not getting

out until

you've paid

the last

penny.

I mean,

this text is

saying there

can be real

social and

relational and

practical

implications to

not managing

our anger

properly.

And I don't

know how many

of you,

maybe it's

true of you

this morning,

maybe you

know others,

who find

themselves trapped

in relational

prisons because

of unforgiveness,

because of

bitterness,

because of

anger.

You refuse to

forgive,

you refuse to

let something

go,

and you find

yourself more

and more

estranged,

withdrawn.

It begins to

affect you more

and more.

Alexander the

Great,

when he woke

up the next

morning and

realized what

he had done,

it affected

his life

profoundly,

plunged into

a deep

depression,

and he

could hardly

recover from

it.

What about

ending his

life on

multiple

times?

It was

deep

self-loathing.

Friends,

I'm sure we

can think of

multiple ways

these kinds

of things

affect us.

In other

words,

the effect

is not

even just

on those

that we

are angry

with,

and that

would take

another

entire

sermon

to unpack

those

things.

But let's

remember here,

Jesus is

actually

motivating us

by asking,

what does this

do to our

own hearts?

spiritually,

our relationship

with God,

our view

of him,

our understanding

of his mercy,

our sense

of self,

and all of

this means,

friends,

that these

anger issues

that Jesus

is talking

about here

are really

not minor.

They are

significant,

and they're

things we need

to pay

close attention

to.

It may be

a good idea,

don't do it

now,

but to ask

a friend

if you feel

like,

I don't

have any

anger issues

at all.

Maybe you

can ask

a friend,

a close

friend,

ask a

spouse,

pick your

moment

carefully,

wait till

there's time

for a

longish

conversation.

I see

some of

you jabbing

one another

here and

there,

but we

really should

take this

seriously.

So what

exactly is

the path

out of

anger?

And I

think as I

mentioned

earlier,

we really

need help

with this

command in

two ways.

I think

we need

help with

both dealing

with the

negative

emotions and

feelings that

we feel

in our

own

hearts,

and then

secondly,

knowing just

some tips

or some

help and

how do we

practically reach

out to

others?

And fortunately,

Jesus does

mention both

of these.

So let's

look firstly

at the

vertical path,

our own

hearts.

Jesus in

the Sermon

on the

Mount has

been speaking

to his

people over

and over

about their

need for a

deeper

righteousness,

a righteousness

that is rooted

in a correct

view of God,

not a dismissing

of God,

not a forgetting

of him,

not a taking

the place

of him,

not fearing

that God

won't do

anything in

the future

and therefore

we step

in and say

no one's

going to

stand up

for me,

I will

have to

take action,

but a

right trust,

reverence,

awe of the

God of the

Bible as

he shows

himself to

be.

We need

a right

view,

a right

fear,

a right

healthy

Christian

fear of

the Lord.

And this

right fear

needs to

change our

hearts,

Jesus needs

to change

our hearts

at a deep

level so we

can worship

and trust

him with a

pure heart,

seeing right

and wrong,

not becoming

those who

dismiss wickedness

and say it

doesn't matter,

you can see

clearly,

but who

respond from

a pure

heart that's

not marked

by taking

the place

of God

or being

bitter.

How exactly

do we do

this?

And I think

the scriptures

show us that

when we are

sinned against,

we are supposed

to come to

our God,

our God of

justice,

and to

entrust our

justice to

him.

Friends,

the scriptures

show us that

our God is

indeed a God

who believes

in justice,

is profoundly

committed to

our justice,

and we

can entrust

the wrongs

that are

done to

us into

his hands,

and we

can trust

him.

We serve

a God,

friends,

who

mercifully

treats you

and I

far better

than,

he treats

us far

better than

those we

treat who

sinned against

us.

The scriptures

show us just

the depth of

our own sins

against God.

God,

if we

just think

this morning

about our

own anger,

we just

think about

the enormity

of that

sin against

God,

and yet,

how does

God respond

and treat

us when

we sin

against him

and legitimately

grieve him?

Friends,

the Bible

tells us that

rather than

destroying

those who've

sinned against

God,

whom he has

every right to

do,

he has every

right to do

so,

rather than

dismissing

us,

saying,

I don't

have time

for you,

the scriptures

show us in

the deep

heart of

our God,

it is a

love and

a compassion

and a

care even

for those

who've

wronged

him,

that sins

Jesus,

he will

leave the

comforts of

heaven to

pursue us,

to love

us,

to take on

the consequences

of our sin

himself in

mercy,

so that

ultimately our

hearts can

be healed.

Though we

had wronged

him,

how does

God deal

with us?

Does he

pout in

heaven?

Do we see

him passive

aggressive in

the scriptures?

Is that how

God responds?

No,

he pursues

us with a

soft and a

tender heart

full of

mercy.

God,

friends,

truly treats

you and I

as his

image bearers,

as profoundly

precious to

him,

not dismissing

us.

And in

fact,

when there

is and

was a

profound

debt to

be paid

because of

the wrong

of our

sins and

what we've

done wrong,

the Bible

says Jesus

comes to

pay that

debt.

And he

paid it

down to

the last

penny.

He was

thrown into

the jail of

death and

hell for us.

he didn't

get out

until he

paid the

last penny

for you

and I,

the debt

of our

injustice.

Friends,

you know what

this shows

us, just

as a quick

aside, when

you and I

try to take

the place

of God and

enact justice

on other

people, we're

playing God

very badly.

We're not

even acting

like the

true God.

We can

praise God

this morning

that he is

far, far

better than

you and I.

And the

question is,

how does

the way God

treats us

then heal

our hearts?

Two ways

for us to

reflect on.

Firstly,

what Jesus

does for us

and how God

loves his

people who

have wronged

him so

deeply.

This firstly

reconnects our

hearts to

God so that

we now have a

relationship with

him and can

trust our

heavenly father

to fulfill

all justice

on our behalf.

What does this

look like and

what does this

mean?

Because Jesus

has reconciled

us to God,

our relationship

with God is

restored.

We now love

God above

everything else.

We don't need

to idolize other

people and get

their approval or

something from

them, which

when we don't

get makes us

angry because

we worship and

trust and love

and find everything

we need from

our father

above.

This also

means that we

are far quicker

to see our

own sins of

anger in

reaction to

other people's

sins.

To trust God

in those

areas.

But maybe even

more significantly,

because of what

Jesus has done at

the cross,

because Christ has

come to suffer

and die for all

of our sins,

this in one

level elevates

God's justice

in our view.

God,

friends,

surely,

the scriptures

say,

will deal with

everything that is

wrong in this

world one day.

the cross is

not a dismissing

of God's

justice and

God saying

justice doesn't

matter.

The cross is

God saying

justice does

matter.

Everything

wrong must be

exposed and

revealed and

dealt with.

And friends,

the cross shows

us that every

wickedness done

to you,

every bit of

evil that you

have faced at

the hands of

other people,

will one day

certainly be

dealt with.

Either those

people who

have committed

sin against

you will

confess their

sins to

Jesus and

have Jesus

carry them

at the cross

where justice

is done and

those sins are

fully dealt

with,

or if they

refuse to do

that,

they will have

to stand

themselves before

God one day

and give an

account for

their own

sins where

justice will

be done.

Friends,

the cross is

the instrument,

the means by

which we see

God's love,

but at the

same time,

it's the

place where

we are

guaranteed,

it underlines

the commitment

God himself

has to

justice.

And so when

we stare at

that, when

we look at

that this

morning, it

strengthens our

sense that

God we serve

is a God of

justice who

will make

things right.

It's possible

those who

have sinned

against us

will be

forgiven just

as we've

been forgiven

of our sins.

But if not,

it will be

done.

Justice will

be seen

one day.

And this

means, secondly,

friends, if you

hear this

morning struggling

with wickedness

done to you,

you can go to

Jesus who

has literally

himself carried

on the cross

the weight,

the guilt of

many wicked

peoples, the

evil that they've

committed.

Jesus understands

that.

You can go to

him today.

This trust that

we can have now

in Jesus, that

he will make

this right,

means you

and I this

morning can

set aside our

role of

demanding justice

on our own

terms right

here and

now.

Now, this

is a short

sermon.

I only have

another seven

or eight

minutes to

go.

We can't

deal with

all the

nuances and

complexities.

Sometimes the

most loving

thing to do

for someone is

to go to

the police

and they

will need

to really

pay the

consequences.

That is

often the

way that you

love your

neighbor.

If someone's

committing crimes,

it's going to

affect other

people.

You lodge a

complaint, you

go to the

police, and

that is one

way that justice

gets done.

I'm speaking

here about our

own sense of

wanting, our

own vindication

and revenge

upon someone

where we are

taking the place

of God in

their life.

And only when

we trust God

as our true

judge can we

release this

bitterness and

this anger and

entrust it into

his hands.

And the

cross shows

us we can

do that

knowing it

will certainly

be dealt

with one

day.

So let me

just pause for

a moment and

just ask this

morning, what

maybe are some

of the seeds

of bitterness

or maybe

indifference or

dismissing others

that you're

watering in your

heart this

morning?

Friends, every

one of us can

lay an axe

to the root of

that bitterness

in our hearts

this morning.

And we do it

by laying the

axe of the

gospel to our

hearts.

God's mercy to

us, the

certainty that

God will deal

with these

things and we

entrust our

lives and even

the grievances

we have into

his hands

knowing that he

will do so.

And we ask

him to make

us to be like

himself.

ask his

spirit to be

at work in

us.

And secondly,

the way the

gospel affects

and heals

our hearts is

it reconnects

our hearts to

God, not

just so that

we know that

justice will

one day be

done, but it

reconnects our

hearts to God

so that deep

in our hearts

we begin to

feel a sense

of mercy

toward others

just as you

and I have

received the

mercy of

Jesus.

Friends, God's

mercy toward

us, his

forgiveness of

our sins

against him

turns our

hearts toward

God in a

deep way

which then

begins to

soften our

hearts toward

others as

well.

We can now

see other

people's sins

without being

self-righteous

and just judging

and dismissing

them because we

recognize, yep,

they may really

have sinned,

I'm a sinner

too in need of

God's grace.

And we realize

we've received

such profound

mercy at the

hands of God

as well.

Friends, Jesus

helps us see

the value of

every person,

even those who

are our enemies

which he's going

to go on later

on in Matthew

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5 and

speak to us

about.

And so when we

see Jesus and

who he is and

what he's done,

it both deals

with our desire

for revenge

ourselves and

taking the place

of God and

executing that

ourselves, we

can entrust

that to him

and it

softens our

hearts toward

our enemies.

Now, as I

mentioned earlier,

there are some

crimes or sins

that have been

committed that

really require

authorities and

others to be

involved.

And I think

the heart of a

Christian is that

even if you need

to do that,

and in our

church we will

definitely counsel

people to do so

in certain

situations,

we recognize

sometimes people's

actions require

real justice

this side of

eternity.