At the very end of the Sermon on the Mount we read that the people who heard Jesus “were astonished at his doctrine; for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Matt. 7:28-29). The statement indicates that the unprecedented authority of the Lord Jesus Christ was startling to his contemporaries.
The first of Christ’s examples is based on the sixth commandment, which said, “Thou shalt not kill [meaning murder].” For years, ever since the giving of the law to Israel through Moses on Mount Sinai, this commandment had stood in the Decalogue and had been known to Israel.
We said in yesterday’s study that Jesus’ definition of murder extends beyond the unlawful taking of another person’s life, but extends even to our hateful and angry attitudes toward other people.
The second step for those who wish to overcome their anger is to correct the injustice, for there is always injustice on both sides in any normal dispute. Thus, Jesus said, “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught 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” (Matt. 5:23-24).
The fourth step in the cure of anger must be added to these three obvious steps on the basis of all that Christ is saying. We must ask God to change our heart because only God is able to do it.
Some time ago I heard of a man who claimed that he never got angry, though he had a very bad temper. But when someone confronted him with the fact that he often did get angry even though he claimed he didn’t, the man replied, “I am never angry, as long as I get what I want.” Unfortunately, he failed to recognize that he had a serious personal problem, and therefore failed to look for a solution. Now this might not have been the case if he’d only realized how serious anger is.
Now obviously, such a definition of murder—extending to unjustified anger and to expressions of contempt—searches to the depth of our beings, and to the things that we say when we are angry. There’s a difference between righteous anger and unrighteous anger. Jesus Himself spoke in righteous anger against the hypocritical stand taken by the so-called leaders of His day.
The feud between Roosevelt and Taft, and the Teapot Dome scandal are two examples of human nature in action. The wrongdoer blaming everybody but himself. And we are all like that. That’s the point. We sin, but we cover up the sin. We refuse to acknowledge it, even to ourselves. No wonder, then, that Jesus taught we are to acknowledge our anger first of all.
The second step for those who wish to overcome their anger is to correct the injustice, for there’s always injustice on both sides in any normal disputes. Jesus said, “If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath anything 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” (Matt. 5:23-24).
The third step in Christ’s cure for anger is to do what we must do immediately. This is the point of the next two verses of this chapter, for Jesus spoke of agreeing with your adversary quickly, lest the most terrible consequences follow. These verses do not teach, as some suppose, that God is the adversary and that we can lose our salvation if we continue in a course marked out for us by anger. Jesus did not mean that. Actually He was saying that sin has consequences, and that if you want to avoid the consequences you should confess and make right the sin as soon as you are able.
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