Luis Castellanos did a wonderful job teaching us on Sunday from Matthew 5:21-30. I said after the sermon that it was the best sermon on Law and Grace and exposing the heart that I had heard. That wasn’t hyperbole. It was that good.
That sermon had the unique effect of being convicting and encouraging. That’s what sermons are supposed to do, and this one nailed it.
Here are several things that struck me during that sermon:
- Jesus shows us the mirror of God’s word, then gives Himself to us as our Savior. The Law of God was never intended to save us from our sin. It was intended to show us our need for a Savior to forgive us and empower us to obey God. When I see my sin, I tend to get discouraged. But the battle with sin reveals that the Savior is at work in me. Do you see your Savior when the Law points at your sin?
- The Law shows us our hearts. During the sermon, I started asking myself, “Why did I respond this way, when ________ happened?” That’s what the Law does to us. Take the commandment to not murder. Jesus took it to the heart of anger. As Luis went through various examples of this, I was struck by how often anger is in my heart. Robert Sidlo recently gave me “Manifestations of Pride and Humility,” which was taken from pages 180-190 of The Exemplary Husband by Stuart Scott (attached). As I read through those yesterday, I once again saw manifestations of the heart of pride. Are you looking deep enough at the ‘why’ of your sin?
- Sin is not a bad habit; it’s a deceiver. It whispers that things are not serious or that there’s no need to be concerned. Sin negotiates with us and causes us to make excuses. Our love of comfort makes us upset when it’s disrupted, because we believe we deserve it. And if someone disrupts our comfort, there’s going to be a cost to them for that! Our love for peace and tranquility makes us bitter when others don’t oblige. Our love of honor and fame makes us accusatory when we don’t get it. Sin tells us, “They deserve it.” And we don’t evaluate sin’s lies or close our ears to its negotiations.
- In these two commandments, murder and adultery, Jesus chose the ones that most of us would believe we’re innocent of committing. Those are the extreme sins, right?? And yet, He took those to expose our guilt. All of us are guilty. This has stuck with me to my core. How many times have I thought, “I’d never do that,” or “Why are they doing this, it’s SO wrong!” and not taken a long look at my many sins? Are you excusing your sinful thoughts, intentions, and motives because you’re “not that bad?”
- On righteous anger: Several years ago, I taught Bible classes at Umpqua Valley Christian. One class was particularly challenging for me, and I finally had enough. I loudly confronted them and, in “righteous” anger, let them have it. A teacher down the hallway came down after class and told me that she thought I was out of line, and I told her that I was righteously angry. Confused, I called my pastor from Texas and asked him what he thought. His advice has put a governor on my righteous anger. He told me to go back to the text where Jesus flipped the tables in the Temple and was righteously angry. I did. It was Matthew 21:12-15 and Mark 11:15-18. In that moment, Jesus was rightfully angry because they had turned His Father’s house into a house of thievery. But, directly after that, he had compassion on people, and the chief priests were so angry with him that they sought to put him to death. So, my pastor friend asked, “Directly after your anger episode, were you compassionate to others?” Nope. “And, are you prepared to be put to death because of it?” Nope. “Well then,” he wisely said, “your anger was not righteous.” Now, I saw this because we excuse many things for “righteous” anger that are not righteous at all. They are sinful in nature, and we cannot ignore them. Where are you excusing your anger?
- A “Job-like” covenant: In Job 31:1, he made a covenant with his eyes not to look upon another woman with sinful desire. This is the action item that Luis mentioned in his sermon. It got me wondering: Where should I make a covenant with my ears, to not listen to gossip, mocking, ridicule, or profane talk? Where should I make a covenant with my mouth to not speak disrespectfully, angrily, critically, judgmentally, or sarcastically? Where should I make a covenant with my mind and heart to not dwell on things that are untrue, judgmental, and self-righteously critical?
Looking ahead:
This Sunday, I will speak from Matthew 5:31-37 on divorce and vows or oaths. Jesus is going to the heart of our marriages and our mouths.
Cheap Seats:
- Congrats to the Beavers for their 5th consecutive 40-win season.
- I’ve coached baseball for a long time, but I’ve never seen a player get hit by a pitch five times in a game, or a player get walked five times in a game. And it happened in the same game! Caleb Saylor was hit by a pitch five times, and Justice Bendele was walked five times. Unreal.
- This throw: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/71m7OIbbPnc
Christ is King!
In Christ,
Dave York
