Sermons

Summary: A series on Matthew 5

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Title: “Put off Anger and Pursue Reconciliation” Scripture: Mt. 5:21ff

Type: Expos. Series Where: GNBC 2-16-25

Intro: One of my favorite authors is Philip Yancey, and the reason why I like him so much is because he writes so insightfully on the subjects of grace, forgiveness and reconciliation. His passion for dealing with broken relationships comes from a mother who wronged him and his brother, and never made amends for the way she treated them. In his memoir, Where the Light Fell, Philip recalls growing up in the home of a prideful, self-righteous mother who once said she had not sinned in 12 years, and then he says these words, “Sinlessness guarantees she will win every argument with us, her sons, at least in her mind. It also guarantees that- like her own mother- she sees no need to apologize, ever. As we’re lying in our beds one night, Marshall reveals something that makes my blood run cold. ‘I hate her,’ he says. ‘Always have. Even when I was your age, ten years old, I wanted her to die”- Philip Yancey, Where the Light Fell. Sadly, Philip’s brother Marshall would hate his mother, for as long as she was alive. What an awful story…and one I have heard repeated dozens of times in my life.

Prop: In Mt. 5 Jesus teaches on the need for His followers to seek reconciliation in broken relationships.

BG: 1. Again in the SOM. 1st section “Beatitudes”. Now moving into more of the content.

2. Jesus came preaching “The Kingdom” and this is all on how we as “Kingdom People” are to behave.

3.

Prop: Let’s look at Mt. 5:21ff to see Jesus’ Kingdom challenge to seek to restore relationships.

I. How Am I Instructed to Seek Reconciliation w/ an Offended Individual? (Look 3 directions!)

A. 1st Direction: In Order to Seek Reconciliation Look Upward vv. 17-20

1. Look “Upward” to God’s Law so as to Allow it to Work in Your and My heart first.

a. Now, I recognize that these verses are technically associated with a different topic: the disciples and the world”. However, just because we dealt with them in two different sermons, must remember that when Jesus spoke these words it was in fact the same sermon! He was building on concepts.

b. Psalm 40:8: “I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is written within my heart.”

How do you view God’s law? For so long, I thought of God’s law as rules and limitations. Sadly, in my younger years, I felt that God’s law was only restrictive. As a parent, I came to understand God’s law as protection. Just as a good parent puts restrictions on his/her children for own good, so does our Heavenly Father. His law is there to protect and guide us, to keep us on the path of life. When I stop to think of God’s laws with this attitude, I can make the tough choices to obey him. My flesh often wants its own way; and it is so hard to surrender our rights and flesh. However, in those glorious moments when I overcome the flesh and see the fruit of obedience, I can clearly say, “I delight to do your will, God.” When I forget the joy of obedience and I choose the way of my flesh, I wallow in the realm of

2. Why Should Look to the Law When Seeking Reconciliation w/an Alienated individual?

a. What is the purpose of the Law? Illust: How many of us used a mirror this morning when getting ready for church? (Some didn’t?!:)) One of the purposes of the law is to be a mirror. On the one hand, the law of God reflects and mirrors the perfect righteousness of God. The law tells us much about who God is. Perhaps more important, the law illumines human sinfulness. Augustine wrote, “The law orders, that we, after attempting to do what is ordered, and so feeling our weakness under the law, may learn to implore the help of grace” (Institutes 2.7.9). The law highlights our weakness so that we might seek the strength found in Christ. Here the law acts as a severe schoolmaster who drives us to Christ.

b. So, why do we first look to the law when seeking reconciliation? Because my flesh needs to hear just how sinful I am. My heart needs to realize just how unpure it is. The perceived offenses of the other individual, which has taken precedence in my memory needs to be balanced with a truthful accounting of my own guilt and contribution to the alienation. Finally, I need to realize just how needy of God’s grace in Christ that I am so that I may freely offer it to the one with whom I am estranged.

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