Matthew chapter 5, beginning at verse 20 through 24. This is the word of the Lord. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council. And whoever says you fool will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift. Amen. Let's pray and ask God for his blessing upon our time. Gracious God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we come to you and we ask now that as we consider this sixth commandment, Father, you would help us to examine our own lives, examine our own thoughts, our hearts. Father, we are here before you. And Father, we would rather be nowhere else but to be here before you. Father, not only to be convicted, but to be encouraged onward in the Christian life. We thank you, Lord, that you are not a dead God with ears that cannot hear, eyes that cannot see, and a mouth that does not speak. But, Father, you are the one true living God who sees us, loves us, and is with us always. So, Father, bless us now, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. The law of God is not satisfied with mere external behavior. The law of God is not satisfied with mere externalities. And that's because God is not satisfied with mere externalities. God is not interested in simply having you have good behavior. or behavior management or behavior adjustments. God is interested rather in your heart. He's interested in your conduct and your external behavior, yes, but he is at heart, at root, interested in your heart. Our heart is exposed to God, not merely our actions. That's the case here, especially in the Sixth Commandment. That'll be the case next week with the Seventh Commandment, if we can get through all the Sixth Commandment today. It's not just, you see, the action of actual murder that God condemns. It's the unlawful attitude of the hearts and the words that come out of our mouths that lead to murder that God condemns. Actions, yes, but attitudes, more importantly. In Matthew 5.21, Jesus tells us, that he tells the people of old, you have heard that it was said of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. And the reason why Jesus says this refrain over and over again, right, in verse 27, you have heard that it was said, verse 31, whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce, quoting Scripture, verse 33, again, you have heard that it was said, Verse 38, you heard that it was said, and so on and so forth. And Jesus here, of course, is quoting, at various places, the old law of Moses. He is quoting God's Word. But he is not putting aside that law of Moses. Rather, he is confronting the Jews of his time who had corrupted the law of God. The Jews of Jesus' time, the Pharisees, the teachers of the law, the scribes had said, yes, of course, murder is wrong, but some people deserve to be insulted. Some people deserve to be hated, and that's okay. Some people deserve to be treated with contempt. The Gentiles, Samaritans, vile sinners like prostitutes and tax collectors. In other words, they had made a dichotomy between actions, actual murder, and the attitudes of the heart. And Jesus says, nourish kait, that's nonsense. He is sweeping away this pharisaical way of life, of understanding the commandments of God. that God is satisfied simply with outward action. And we need to understand something about the Pharisaical way of life, because truth be told, it's in us. We struggle with it. The Pharisaical way of life says that God is no better than a pagan deity. who is only concerned with outward behavior, who can only see what man sees, his outward actions, and nothing more. The pharisaical way of life makes God into a pagan false god who cannot see man's heart, who cannot see his innermost being, who is unconcerned with man's thoughts, desires, motives, attitudes. He's reduced to a God who merely delights in outward behavior. If you didn't actually kill somebody, then you're good. Check the box. Not only does the pharisaical way of life reduce God to a false God, a pagan deity, but it elevates the Pharisees, right? It makes the Pharisees look really good. And the Pharisees are the kings of looking good. They are the masters of heartless, empty religion, of cleaning the outside of the cup, but leaving the inside filthy. They are good at having the appearance of godliness, but denying its substance and power. Pharisaical religion always makes God into a man by robbing God of His majesty and of the glory of His holiness. Pharisaical religion always makes man into God by exalting man's filthy righteousness as something acceptable before God. And what does Jesus do? He sweeps all of this away. This false, pharisaical, man-made religion. And he says in verse 20, I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. If all you have is this pharisaical righteousness, this pharisaical religion, you won't enter the kingdom of God. You must have a more exacting, more comprehensive righteousness. Your righteousness must be qualitatively better. It must go to the heart of the issue, which is the heart of man. And then Jesus goes on in verse 21 and 22 to say, what does this look like? It's not just actual murder that God abhors, but verse 22, I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother, Without cause, the footnote says, some translations have it, causeless, baseless anger will be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council. And whoever says you fool will be liable to the hell of fire. If you are angry, with your brother, if you insult your brother, if your way of life is to simply deride and call others fool and stupid for no reason, all the time belittling them, you are guilty of murder. This is what the height of our catechism picks up in question 105, question and answer 105. It says, we may not murder, we may not belittle, we may not hate, insult, or kill my neighbor. Of course, not just actually, that is prohibited by God. And with that, we agree with the Pharisees, but there's a more exacting righteousness here that God demands. We may not murder directly or indirectly, nor participate with others, either myself or others. How? with my thoughts, with my words, with my looks, with my gestures, with my thoughts. This is what the old Puritans would call heart murder, heart murder, thinking, desiring that some people would be dead, gone from life. I wish I didn't have to do and deal with this person. We can murder with our words, what would be called tongue murder. We can insult others, we can use foul language, we can so easily master the art, the perverse, hellish art of put downs, of demeaning others, of stripping others of their humanity with our words. We can kill others with our looks. There's a phrase, if looks could kill, right, or shooting daggers with our looks, with our skulls. We can murder with our gestures, what's called hand murder. We can make hand motions or colloquially speaking, you know. flip the bird, so to speak, wishing others harm. And it's not just that kind of mannerism that's spoken of here, but it's also the hands motion that, instead of helping others, is raised in a fist to beat others, to brawl with others, to solve problems with violence. God says all of that, all of that is condemned There are a few additional notes in Heidelberg 105. We are to put away all desire for revenge. Romans 12, at the very end of that chapter, is very clear, quoting Proverbs about how we are to bless those who persecute us. Bless and do not curse them. Romans 12, verse 17, repay no one for evil. but give thought to what is honorable in the sight of all. And then, so particular is the commandment of God, Romans 12, 19. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God. For it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. So not only are we not to curse our enemies or repay them, evil for evil, and how easy it is to do that, right? Someone did something to me, I'm gonna think now about how to get back at them, either with an actual action or maybe with gossip, or maybe holding in my heart a grudge against them. But we are to do so much more. Verse 20, to the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink, for by doing so, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. The very bottom of the inside of the bulletin, there's a box that has a quotation from Joachim Douma. And here he says, in the middle paragraph, he says, later Paul wrote that we should give our hungry enemy food and our thirsty enemy drink, thereby heaping coals of fire on his head. We have this expression, killing them with kindness. And there's a sense in which that expression is precisely what Paul is getting at here. Dalma continues, he says, the tone of the entire Sermon on the Mount is not that we spare our neighbor the worst, but that we give him the best. and the best we should, and that best we should bestow even upon our enemies. Right here, the deepest significance of the sixth commandment comes to lights. It's just not the case that the sixth commandment is fulfilled by not cursing our enemy, but it's fulfilled by loving, by loving our neighbor, including our enemy. We are to put away all desire for revenge. The second note that Heidelberg 105 says is, I am not to harm or recklessly endanger myself either. In this, of course, is included suicide. God condemns the taking not only of the life of others, but of your own life. And that, of course, is such a graphic extreme, but everything that tends to self-harm is also condemned by God. I became aware of this a number of years ago, 15, 20 years ago, the practice of cutting, of inflicting self-harm, cutting yourself to make yourself bleed. God condemns that. God condemns reckless behavior. just because you get a thrill going at 100 miles per hour on the turnpike. In New York City today, there's a trends of subway car hopping and so many Young people are killed, usually young men in New York City and also to a lesser extent around the country, but why? What's the point? Biking against traffic just because, doing dangerous things just because it gives you a high, the chasing of a thrill. God condemns all of that. God condemns recklessness with things that are important. with knives, firearms, fire, electrical lines, things that can kill you and others, that can injure you and others. If you are around these things, you are to take precaution. You are to protect your little ones. You are to protect your family. You are to protect yourself, that you do not put yourself in pointless and unnecessary harm, endangering your life for no good reason. And then, of course, in this, you are to engage in self-preservation. God has put this instinct in us, this desire to live. You're to take care of yourself. You're to take care of your body, of your health, of your life. You're not to harm or recklessly endanger yourself. And then, of course, we're told that prevention of murder, thirdly, is also why government is armed with the sword. There is much that we can say here. In previous months and years, we've said much about the role of government. This power, this authority that God has given to government goes all the way back to Genesis 9. After the flood, God commands Noah to protect human life because man is made in the image and likeness of God. It is precisely because man is the likeness and image of God that his life is to be protected and that government is to put to death convicted murderers. Government is given that power, the power of the sword, as Romans 13 repeats that word from Genesis 9. Man is not a beast, man is not a bug. He is made in the image of God. And so for prevention of murder and the punishment of the murderer, God has established capital punishment. Respect for life. as we move on to Heidelberg 106, is not limited to action, but extends to the attitude of the heart. God prohibits murder and everything that leads to murder. This is what the catechism is getting at by repeating, by paraphrasing the Lord's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. God hates the root of murder, envy, hatred, anger, vengefulness. In God's sight, all such are disguised forms of murder. In 1 John 3, verse 15, God says, everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. If you hate If you hate, you have murdered your brother. You've premeditated his demise and his downfall. You may have been prevented by fear of the consequences or some other restraining mercy of God, but before God's sight, you are as guilty of murder as a serial killer. God gives us not only that incentive, but another one. to put away envy and hatred, not only because it dishonors God and makes us guilty before him, but because anger and envy and hatred will rot out your soul from the inside out. Proverbs 14.30 says, a tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot. If you've ever experienced this in your life, if you've ever seen this in someone else, You know that God's Word is true. Hate, envy, resentment. It darkens your outlook. It skews your perception. It makes you joyless. It drains God's life from you. It makes you cynical. It makes you a burden to be around others. hatred and envy in a person's life is an album with only one song. It's a sad show that loops over and over. It's a channel that you cannot change. A person who is consumed with hatred, anger, resentment, envy, has completely lost touch with the gospel of Christ's forgiveness, if they ever knew it. Brothers and sisters, let us beware today of many who want to give you permission to live with hatred in your heart. This is all the rage, this is all invoked in our day. Hatred, hatred is the way to live, we're told. Hatred of parents, hatred of the government, hatred of corporations, hatred of your political opponent, hatred of blacks, hatred of whites, hatred of citizens, hatred of immigrants, hatred of the Jews. Hatred of New York City, hatred of the church, hatred of Christians. People of God, we can't live like this. We can't live with hatred in our hearts. The Bible calls us to hate sin. The Bible calls us to hate the works of the flesh. The Bible calls us to hate certain things. But we must remember that we are to love as well. We are to love God. We are to love what is virtuous, what is righteous. Galatians 5.20 says, here are the works of the flesh, enmity, strife, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy. Those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Someone consumed with anger, hatred, envy, resentment, bitterness. does not know the gospel of Christ and will not inherit the kingdom of God. Heidelberg 107 thirdly and finally then tells us that it's not enough to not murder our neighbors in any way. It's not enough to not hate. God condemns murder, but in doing so, he commands you to a biblical love to your neighbor and its lawful expressions. What are the expressions, the lawful expressions of Christian love? To be patient. peace-loving, gentle, merciful, and friendly toward them, to protect them from harm as much as we can, and to do good even to our neighbors. Let me read for you two passages from Colossians and Ephesians. Colossians 3, verse 12 and following. Put on then as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another. And if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you. So you also must forgive. And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Ephesians 4 32 and on to verse 1 of chapter 5. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. We are, of course, called to hate sin and hate that which displeases God. But the Christian life cannot stay there in the realm of hating our sin. You must move on to the love that God requires. The love of God, the love of righteousness, the love of God's people, the love of your neighbors, the love even of your enemies. In the Old Testament, It's instructive for us that God, people think, oh, in the Old Testament, God said you can hate your enemies. In the New Testament, God says you gotta love your enemies. No, in Exodus chapter 23, if you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burdens, you shall refrain from leaving him with it. You shall rescue it with him. Proverbs 25, if your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you. God constantly in the Old Testament calls his people to do good even to their enemies who hated them, who perhaps may have even wanted their harm at some point. In the New Testament, how does God Repeat these commands. Look at Matthew 5, verse 43 to 48. You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven. For he makes his son rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. You see what Jesus is getting at here is that if you would love only those who love you, congratulations. Pat yourself on the back. You're no better than an unbeliever. You have the same exact ethic as the Gentile. You are as tribal as the world. And this is the tribalism of the world, is it not? Caring for our own and for no one else, while despising those outside of our circle. In the time of Jesus' ministry, his three and a half years on earth, there were different kinds of divisions, right? The Jew versus the non-Jew. The Jew would love his own, but hate the Samaritan. would hate the Gentile. The Roman would love his own tribal unit, his family, but hate the non-citizen, despise them. The poor versus the rich, the rich versus the poor, the citizen versus the non-citizen. And in our day, we are liable to the same. The Christian versus the non-Christian. Yet, yet, is this how God treats people? Is he not generous in a certain real way to all? He is the God who makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good. He sends his rain on the just and on the unjust. And so in the last few minutes that we have here, what does this look like? In the words of Heidelberg 107, what does it mean to love our neighbor? There are seven things here, seven descriptors that the Heidelberg paints for us. We are to love. our neighbor, as ourselves. How does God love even His enemies? He is, to use theological terms, He is benevolent to them and He is beneficent to them. Benevolent simply means benevole. He is goodwill. He is kindly disposed to even unbelievers, to His enemies. And beneficent, He is, He does good, facere. Good works, bene facere. And from the Latin, he does good to his enemies. So not only is God kindly disposed to his enemies, to the good and to the evil, to the just and the unjust, but he does good to them. And we are to learn from our heavenly Father the same. It's not that we completely evaporate and extinguish that division that exists between God and the devil, the church and the world, truth and falsehood. the church and the world, no, we cannot, we can never. But it does mean that we are to be well and kindly disposed to all, right? We don't ask someone, well, first of all, you're a Christian before I can help you, right? In the middle of a hurricane, in the middle of the Los Angeles fire, we don't say, well, I'm only gonna help Christians. No, your house is on fire, I'm gonna help to extinguish that fire, I'm gonna help rescue you. We are well disposed to all and do good to all as we have opportunity. We are secondly, patient, patient. We bear offenses and rudeness and slights and ignorance of others. We are in other words, long tempered, not short tempered. Having a long fuse, not being short fused. We are thirdly, peace loving. We don't instigate quarrels because quarrels, Proverbs tells us, are like floods. So why would we open the faucet? Why would we even turn the faucet open just a little bit? No. No one wins when a flood sweeps through. Peace-loving means we are to forgive, forget, and to move on. In our home, we've been giving some attention to this proverb from Proverbs 20, verse 3. There's a certain sense in which we are to be aloof to Squirrel and strife and fights and ignore them if they don't concern us, right? Don't embroil yourself in a fight, right? Oftentimes we see this online We just weighed right in a lot of Christians just weighed right in to online fights or to other fights Without concerning us We are to remain aloof from strife. We are to work to reconcile others. We are to bring others together in understanding. Fourthly, we are to be gentle. And that means we are not to be harsh or brash, but to learn how to give a soft answer in due time. For as God says, Proverbs 15, a soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. We are to be merciful, ready to forgive when someone has offended you, ready to help when someone is in need. Oftentimes, we can find ourselves in a situation where we can exert our rightness or we can extend mercy. We need to learn James 2, verse 13, mercy triumphs over judgments. In those situations, Remember the words of the Lord, blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. We are to be sixthly, friendly, friendly. We may not be or get to be everyone's close friends, right? That's unreasonable. Facebook and other social media have tricked us into thinking that we can have, you know, 1,030 friends, close friends. It's not the case. Jesus had 12 disciples. He had three close friends and he had one beloved disciple. So there are concentric circles to friendships, but we can be friendly to all. We can be well disposed to all. We can have a kind attitude to everyone. We can extend a smile, eye contact, attention to all whom God brings into our lives. And then finally, seventhly, we are to protect others, guard others from the harm that we see that they are in, that they may not see themselves in necessarily. Children, older, senior, adults, we can help others cross the street. We can check in with our neighbors, especially in times of extreme weather, whether it's heat or cold or snow. In many states, in many municipalities, there are Samaritan laws as a direct result of the Christian worldview that oblige everyone to help those in need when you see them in danger. The old Puritans would say that in this regard, we are also to, and this probably perhaps applies to men, even though it applies to us all to some degree, we are to maintain physical strength. If we are called to protect others, we are to not just let ourselves go physically. In terms of our health, we are to maintain mental sharpness. We are to cultivate courage and moral fortitude to be decisive when we have to act. And some, beloved people of God, in all of this, we are called by God to follow our Father. God, our Father. And Jesus Christ, His Son, our Savior and Lord. Jesus, who loved you while you were still His enemy. Jesus, who served you while you were unlovable and at war with Him. And by Christ's power in us, we follow, by his grace, the pattern he has set for us. And we love God and we love our neighbor. We not only do not murder and all that tends to that, but we respect their life and seek their well-being, body and soul. Amen. Let us pray. Gracious God and Heavenly Father, This is such a tall order for us, for who has not offended you in this regard with thought, word, and deed? So forgive us our sins. Cleanse us of all our unrighteousness. And Father, help us to learn the lessons of love, of your love. And Father, that that love would so permeate our lives that, Lord, we would even be known as a people who not only love their neighbors, but love their enemies. Hear us, Father, in this regard. We pray now in Jesus' name. Amen.