Everyday Ethics For The Exilic Minority: Revisiting Christian Identity Within A Confused World
Handling Anger
Matthew 5:21-26
What a “surpassing righteousness”, a righteousness from Christ, lives like, practicing and teaching the
commands...
God is intolerant of hurting other people! Healing deeply broken places...
The command concerning murder is rooted in the deeper reality of God’s extreme displeasure with contempt of human life.
1. When someone angers you...
“Carried anger” creates a murderous heart (21,22).
A decision to stay angry, to harbour ill-feelings.
Jesus does not justify the continuation of anger; in fact, He judges it.
The harmful sounds of carried anger are tongue murder
Rhaka—Contemptible airhead
Fool—Immoral moron
“God’s wrath is God’s war of love against everything gratuitously hurtful.” (F. Bruner)
2. When you have angered someone...
Jesus’ “altar call” requires a right relationship with people before a right relationship with God is possible (23-24)
When it comes to being right with either God or brother/(sister), there is no either/or; it is both/and or
neither. (cf. Rom. 12:18)
Jesus’ “court call” expresses best the seriousness of provoking people to anger (25-26).
Procrastination in fixing wrongs exacts an unthinkable toll—potentially an unpayable debt.
“Anger carried and vented...is a Last-Judgment-and-Hell-deserving-crime!”
Those whose righteousness surpasses the Pharisees, are empowered to practice and teach the removal of carried anger from their lives.
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