The Vision (4.16.21): The Sin of Unjust Anger

 

Image: Redbud, North Garden, Virginia, April 2021

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Matthew 5:21-26.

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill…. But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment…. (Matthew 5:21-22).

I think all of Christ’s hearers would have had their ears prick up at this statement. As God gave the law on Sinai, Christ now speaks the law. What is the subtle meaning? Christ speaks with divine authority.

What does Christ announce? Not only that taking life is a sin against God, but so also is unjust anger.

Notice several important things about this teaching:

First, Christ draws a moral parallel between murder and unjust anger and says that God forbids both.

Second, Christ addresses unjust anger, in particular, against a “brother.” Some take this in a universal sense—referring to all our fellow human beings. So, it is like “neighbor” in “Love thy neighbor.” But most often this term is used in reference to Christian “brothers,” fellow disciples who share a like precious faith in the Lord (cf. Matt 7:3; 18:15-17; 25:40).

Third, Christ addresses anger that arises unjustly or “without a cause.” In Greek, the phrase “without a cause” is a single adverb. Some modern translations (based on modern texts) omit that phrase, making Christ appear to say, even more rigorously, that anger in itself, whether with or without cause, is always sinful.

I think such texts and translations are incorrect. They do not take into account righteous indignation or godly anger. Christ himself demonstrated this kind of righteous indignation during his ministry, as when he drove out the money changers from the temple. Yet he never sinned in so doing. The apostle Paul, likewise, taught, “Be angry, and sin not” (Eph 4:26).

Fourth, Christ says that the person who becomes unjustly anger is guilty of the judgement, just as is the man who commits murder. This means not only the judgement of man but also, most importantly, of God himself.

Christ teaches that a man who claims to be a brother but who is constantly fussing and fuming, red in the face, looking to criticize or pick a fight, acting like a boiler ready to explode, is guilty of violating the sixth commandment. Malicious anger is the moral equivalent of murder.

From this, the Christian must flee.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

WM 201: Review: Bob Faulkner, Speak My Language!

 

JTR

The Vision (4.9.21): But God raised him from the dead

 

Image: Golden Euonymous, North Garden, Virginia, April 2021.

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Acts 13.

But God raised him from the dead (Acts 13:30).

In Acts 13 Luke records the sermon preached by Paul in the synagogue of Pisidian Antioch.

The center of Paul’s message is the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In v. 28 Paul stresses the innocence of Christ. No legitimate “cause” was found for putting him to death: “And though no cause of death was found in him...” Pilate washed his hands and said, “I am innocent of the blood of the just person” (Matt 27:24). Even one of the thieves crucified alongside Christ recognized Christ’s innocence and was converted, telling his fellow malefactor that they were being crucified “justly” for their crimes, “but this man hath done nothing amiss” (Luke 23:41).

In v. 29 Paul emphasizes the fact that even the wicked actions of the men who crucified Christ served to fulfill the Scriptures: “And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him….” By placing Christ on the tree (the cross) where he died and then having his body being placed in the tomb, Christ was not defeated, but Scripture was fulfilled.

Here is something that ought to comfort us in our distress. The more wicked men attempt to oppose God and harm his people, the more they fulfill his word and hasten the Lord’s ultimate victory.

It seemed that evil had triumphed. Christ had died and been placed in the tomb. Then, we come to v. 30: “But God raised him from the dead.” If there had been no crucifixion, there would have been no resurrection. If there had been no death, there would have been no life. Had there been no defeat, there would have been no victory.

Notice that Paul also stresses the resurrection appearances (v. 31: “And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem….”).

The sermon at Pisidian Antioch, follows the outline of the gospel Paul recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8: Christ’s death on the cross, his burial, his glorious resurrection, and his resurrection appearances.

This remains the standard for faithful preaching of the gospel to the present hour.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

WM 200: QR Article: The Coherence-Based Genealogical Method: The Newest 'New' Method

 

Above are audio versions of my article that appears in the Trinitarian Bible Society's Quarterly Record, Issue No. 635 (April-June, 2021): 12-19.

You can find a pdf of the article here on my academia.edu page.

You can also read the entire issue here.

JTR

WM 199: Interview: Crawford Gribben, Survival and Resistance

 

 JTR

The Vision: Christ's Fulfillment of the Law

 

Image: Forsythia, North Garden, Virginia, April 2021.

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Matthew 5:17-20.

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy but to fulfill (Matthew 5:17).

There are at least five key themes in Matthew 5:17-20:

First: Christ and the Old Testament (v. 17):

When Christ says he came not to destroy the law of the prophets, one may take this as a reference to the Old Testament, which ancient Jews often divided into three parts: the law, the prophets, and the writings (cf. Luke 24:44).

Christ here affirms the Old Testament as the first part of the Christian Bible. One of the earliest heresies was that of Marcion who rejected the Old Testament. Many today are “practical Marconites.” We should, however, read the Old Testament devotionally, and it should be preached in our churches.

Second: Christ and the Law (vv. 17-18):

Some Christians wrongly think that all the law is now void and null. Reformed theology teaches the threefold view of the law: the moral law, as epitomized in the Ten Commandments, is still fulling binding; the ceremonial law, is abrogated; and the civil law is expired, though the general equity of its principles might still be applied.

Paul will write that the law is “holy” (Rom 7:12). He will add: “But the law is good, if a man uses it lawfully” (1 Tim 1:8).

Third: Christ and the preservation of Scripture (v. 18):

When Christ says that not one jot or tittle of the law will pass away, he is making reference to the slightest pen stroke in the writing of Scripture.  Christ promises the plenary verbal preservation of his Word.

Fourth: Christ and the doing of the word (v. 19):

Christ here warns against those who break the least of the commandments and teach others to do the same (v. 19a). They will be called least in the kingdom. Positively he commends the one who does and teaches these commandments (v. 19b). He will be called great in the kingdom.

Fifth: Christ and the higher righteousness (v. 20):

The scribes and Pharisees are usually the “bad guys” in the Gospels, but Christ here commends them. His disciples are to have a higher righteousness than the most religious men of their day. This touches the theme of the “impossible ideal.” We cannot attain such righteousness. It must come to us from Christ (2 Cor 5:21).

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

WM 198: Kept Pure Follow Up

 

JTR

Book Review: David Wenham, Did St. Paul Get Jesus Right? The Gospel According to Paul

 

 

Audio versions of my review of David Wenham, Did St. Paul Get Jesus Right? The Gospel According to Paul (Lion Hudson, 2010): 160 pp.

My written review appeared in the Reformed Baptist Trumpet, Vol. 4, No. 1-2 (2013): 11-13. You can read the pdf here.

JTR