Okay, let's look here now and
read this together. Matthew 5, verse 21. This is
the Lord Jesus Christ speaking. And He says, Ye have heard that
it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill. And whosoever
shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. But I say unto
you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall
be in danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall say to his
brother Rekha shall be in danger of the counsel. But whosoever
shall say thou fool shall be in danger of hell fire. 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. Agree with thine adversary quickly
whilst thou art in the way with him, lest at any time the adversary
deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the
officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee,
Thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the
uttermost farthing." Now, the Lord Jesus Christ says here in
verse 21, you've heard that it was said by them of old
time. Now the first thing I want you
to see is that natural man is ignorant of spiritual things.
When he says them of old time, these are religious leaders who
falsely interpreted the law of God. They perverted the commandments
of God. How did they do this? They used
God's law which states, thou shalt not kill. But they added
this, and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment.
But by judgment, they didn't mean the judgment of God. They
meant judgment in their civil courts. And by this, by interpreting
it this way, and by only going this far with the law, They made
this commandment apply only to the outward, physical act of
murder. This was the only interpretation
of the law which made them be able to appear as though they
had upheld the law. This was the only way they could
make others imagine that obedience is by the law, that righteousness
is by the works of the law. It was the only way they could
give themselves power to enforce the law. By this false interpretation
and teaching, they both broke the law and taught others to
break the law. Now, remember what the Lord said?
Whosoever shall break shall unloose himself from any of this law
and teach others. He's got no place in the kingdom
of heaven. Now, the scribes and the Pharisees
of our Lord's day were the strictest of all. And all they knew though,
all they knew about the law of God was the letter. They just considered when it
said thou shall not kill, that just meant you don't murder somebody. And they tried to live by that.
And they didn't appear outwardly immoral at all because by that
standard, they kept it. And so they presumed that they
had kept God's law. like the rich young ruler who
came to the Lord. He said, I've kept the whole
law from my youth up. And all he knew of the law was
what the letter of it said when he read it. And to him, he thought,
I've kept it. I've kept the whole law. But they were full of pride.
They were full of self-righteousness. And they were content with just
an outward form of godliness. The same holds true of multitudes
in our day. The Lord said, except your righteousness
exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees. You
shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. They were
ultra-religious. They were zealous for the law
of God. And yet they didn't know what
the law of God says. Paul said, What man knoweth the
things of a man, save the spirit of a man which is in him? Do
you know what I'm thinking right now? You don't, do you? Unless I tell
you. That's the same with God. Unless
God gives us His Spirit in the heart and teaches us in the heart
what He is saying, the things that he's freely given to us,
we don't understand them. Paul said, the natural man, the
way we're born and addled, receiveth not the things of God because
they're spiritually discerned. So the natural man is ignorant
of spiritual things. Now, God's holy law is spiritual. This is the second thing. God's
holy law is spiritual. Paul said, the law is spiritual. I'm carnal, sold under sin. In
my flesh, that's all I am. But the law is spiritual. The
law speaks of the heart, of the spirit. Now, it requires inward
spiritual perfection. Perfection in heart, in thought,
in mind, as well as outward perfection. The Lord Jesus said, now you've
heard it said, that's as far as the law went. But now here's
what I say to you. Look at verse 22. But I say unto
you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall
be in danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall say to his
brother, Rekha, shall be in danger of the counsel. But whosoever
shall say, thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. You see,
the law, thou shalt not kill, requires more than not committing
murder. It forbids all unjustified anger. Whosoever is angry with his brother
without a cause. It forbids all malice and mean
speech. Whosoever shall say God looks
beyond actions. He looks to words, even to thoughts
and intents of the heart. The Lord seeth not as man seeth,
for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh
on the heart. Behold, thou desirest truth in
the inward parts. In the hidden part thou shalt
make me to know wisdom. Words come from the heart. A
good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good
things, but an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth
evil things. Now, the law is spiritual. Natural man is carnal. He doesn't
understand spiritual things. But God's law is spiritual. So
here's the third thing. Those that are born of the Spirit
of God, are brought to confess with the mouth, from the heart,
that we absolutely must be made the righteousness of God in Christ
Jesus alone. That's why the law was given.
That's why Christ came. We cannot pass over this anytime
we speak of the law of God, because this is the very reason why God
sent forth His Son into the world. We just saw in Matthew 5.17.
He said, Look over at Romans 8. Romans 8 verse 3. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, fulfilled the righteousness of the law for all those He represented. Now listen to Romans 8.3. What the law could not do. Something
wrong with the law? Nothing wrong with the law. What
the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh.
There's the problem. our sin, our depravity, our being
born of corruptible seed, of Adam. There's the problem. God
sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, because the
children were flesh and blood, He likewise took part of the
same. And for sin, that's why He came,
is because We're sinners. His people are sinners. And He
came because that sin had to be dealt with and righteousness
had to be brought in. And He condemned sin in the flesh. He condemned that which was condemning
His people. He put away the sin that was
condemning His people that the righteousness of the law might
be fulfilled in us. who walk not after the flesh,
but after the spirit. The righteousness of the law
requires holiness of nature. It requires righteousness throughout
the life. It requires death for any who
disobey. And the active obedience to the
precepts of the law by Christ Jesus is the righteousness which
he fulfilled for his people. Righteous obedience to the law.
It was just as necessary that Christ live as it was for Christ
to die. It was just as necessary that
he obey the law in precept as it was for him to die under the
penalty of the law in the place of his people. Righteousness
is involved in the total absolute fulfillment of the law of God. Sin entered in when we died in
Adam when he broke one transgression. And everything God gave in His
law was to tell us the monumental offense that Adam committed in
that one transgression. And he sinned against God when
he looked at that fruit. When he thought about it, he
fell. The outward eating of it was
nothing more than the end of what had begun in his heart.
But Christ came and by His active obedience, by Him going to the
cross on behalf of His people, He satisfied God's holy law completely
so that the righteousness of the law is upheld and all those
He represented have His righteousness imputed to them, charged to them. And being born of the Spirit
of Christ, the Spirit of grace, having been made a partaker of
the divine nature, Now, we don't walk after the law. We're dead
to it. We're married to Christ. We follow
after the Spirit. This was done for somebody. Look
there in Romans 8. It says that the righteousness
of the law might be fulfilled in us. Who is this us? It's us who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit. What our Lord Jesus is teaching
here is those men who taught the letter of the law, those
men who enforced the letter of the law, those men who looked
at the outward form of obedience as being obedience to the law,
they were walking after the flesh. It doesn't matter how religious
they were. It doesn't matter how zealous they appeared. It
doesn't matter how good you might have looked at them and thought,
boy, that's a pious, religious fellow there. He was still walking
after the flesh as much as the harlot, as much as the drunkard,
as much as the one who's going out and committing murder, the
physical act of murder, just as much they were walking after
the flesh. And the Lord teaches here that
the law is much more than what those men taught. Now, because
the believer is born of the Spirit of God, now, therefore, the believer
follows after peace, after holiness, after that which God says is
right. He follows after peace with God
and with men. Let me read Matthew 5.23. Therefore, if thou bring thy
gift to the altar, and there rememberest..." You see the thoughts? He's dealing with the spiritual
aspect of the law. He's dealing with the thoughts
and intents of the heart. If you come there and you remember
that your brother hath ought against thee, he's got some problem
with you. leave there thy gift before the
altar." Now he's speaking to them in Old Testament terms here. We worship Christ now. He's the
altar. But he's saying here to these
who know the old law, he said, leave your gift at the altar
and go thy way and first be reconciled to thy brother, then come and
offer thy gift. We don't have the peace that
Christ gives. We don't possess the peace that
Christ gives if our worship is the means whereby we attempt
to justify ourselves for our disobedience towards a brother.
And that's exactly what the Pharisees were doing. The Pharisee would
know that he had offended his brother. know that he had done
something against his brother and that his brother had ought
against him, but he would come to the altar with his sacrifice
and make a sacrifice to God and walk away thinking, I'm justified
because I worship God. How many people, how many people
in this world, in religion, are going about their religious activities
today to try to justify themselves from something they did outwardly
yesterday. How many? A host are. A multitude are. But this is
the spirit of grace in the heart. When you are bringing, you're
coming to worship and you remember, you think, There's a brother
that has something against me. He said, leave your gift. Leave
your gift there and first, first, go to your brother and be reconciled
to your brother. First, and then come offer your
gift. That's more than an outward form
of religion. That's more than self-justifying
will works. That's a person that's born of
the Spirit of God's grace. That's a person who has the law
of God written on his heart. That's a person who delights
in the law of God, who has love to God and love to his brethren. The love which God imparts in
the heart of the believer is in two directions. It's toward
God and it's toward men. The believer desires peace with
men as well as peace with God. We both cast all our care on
Christ and we seek to be void of the offense of men. But John
said, Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. Can you see hate? You can see
the outward manifestations of it, but you can't see it in the
heart. It's an emotion. Can you see
anger? Folks can be angry and covered
up on the outside. It's an inward thing. That love
that professes to worship God and has no regard to an offended
brother, that's not love. That's not the love of God. In
fact, it's not love at all. It's carnal, dead, will worship. It's what prevented the Pharisees
from being merciful when they saw a man fall in sin. It's what
caused the Pharisees, prohibited them from being anything but
just harsh disciplinarians when they saw someone who was in sin. It's not love. The Lord said,
first be reconciled to thy brother, then come and offer thy gift.
This is what Christ the Master teaches in the heart of His people
through the gospel of grace, through the message that we declare.
Now, here's something I want you to see under this as well. The believer doesn't have to
be forced by law to obey God. You know why? will, free will,
will working Pharisees of our day are so straight and so strict
and so enforcers of the law. You know why? They're so fearful
that if they took that yoke off somebody, they would quit worshiping
God and most probably would. Most probably would. Those who
truly worship God, worship God because they have a desire to
walk after Him in the heart. And they don't have to be forced
by law to do that. They have every motivation to
do that through the blood and righteousness of our Savior.
We have every motivation, one that constrains us far more,
far better, that far excels anything the law could ever do to cause
us to walk after Him. It's called grace. It's called
love. It's called the inner working
of the Spirit of God which causes us to behold Christ Jesus who
lived and died and gave Himself for wretches like us. Look at verse 25. Here's what
I'm getting at. He says, Agree with thine adversary
quickly whilst thou art in the way with him, lest at any time
the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver
thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I
say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till
thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. If it takes a courtroom
judge and it takes me being locked up, it takes threats of punishment
or promises of reward to get me to honor God and to walk after
God, I'm not honoring God and walking after God. But the believer
hears this and the believer says, I want to agree with my adversary
quickly because I don't want to go through anything like this
and bring dishonor to my father. I don't want to bring shame to
His name. I don't want to have to be forced into compliance
with any man. That wouldn't be honoring to
my Father. That would be a disgrace. It's not the stiff-necked, rebellious
spirit that glorifies God. It's a peaceful disposition.
It's a heart that desires forgiveness that glorifies our Father. You
know what it takes? You know, the Lord didn't say
if somebody has something against you, If that's the case, you've
got nothing to say. But if somebody else has ought
against you, that means you've done something to offend them. It's not about pointing the finger
that way. It's about looking in here and
saying, in confessing your fault, taking the wrong, being in subjection
to a brother, being the one who is willing for the other one
to be right. This is a spirit only God can
give. It's a spirit only the grace of God can give. It comes
from only a motive that God can give. Listen to this in Ephesians
4.32. Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath
forgiven you. Be ye therefore followers of
God as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also hath
loved us and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice
to God for a sweet-smelling savor. but fornication and all uncleanness
or covetousness, let it not be once named among you as becometh
saints." And you know what we do if we come and go through
a charade of worship when we know in our heart that a brother
has ought against us and we've offended him. You know what we
do? We're committing spiritual fornication, all uncleanness,
because nothing but covetousness is in our heart. We want to be
right. And we're going to be right at
all costs. That's the heart that's in us
if that's our spirit. You know who Christ applied this
to when He talked to the Pharisees about this? He said, I've come
before you. And I've told you the truth,
and you won't hear me. You rejected me, he said, because
you're murderers. You're of your father the devil.
He was a murderer, and you're murderers, he told them. He applied
this to himself. And he said, as much as you do
it under one of these, the least of my brethren, you've done it
under me. So if I come and attempt to worship Him, to offer up the
spiritual sacrifice of praise unto Him, and I have in my heart
the knowledge that I have offended a brother and that a brother
has ought against me, it's the same as Saul. Whenever the Lord
told Saul, He gave Saul a command of something to do. And He said,
in part, it involved killing all of these lambs that were
in this country. And Saul went into that country.
And he did everything else the Lord told him to do, but he brought
back the best lambs. And he brought them to offer
to God. And Samuel goes out there and
he said, Have you done what the Lord said to do? And he said,
Yeah. And he said, Well, why do I hear
these sheep in the background? You were told to go kill them
all. And now you brought some back. And he said, But I brought
these back to worship to God. Now, how's God going to react
to that? You've disobeyed Me and you're
coming to Me in your disobedience and expecting that by your disobedience
you're going to make yourself accepted of Me? That's exactly
what He was doing. And the Lord says here, when
you sin against a brother and he has ought against you, and
you're going to come to Me and attempt to worship Me? It's the
same as if you sinned against Me. It's the same as if you've
broken I have ought against you and you're going to come and
expect to be accepted of me? This is the true fulfillment
of the law, brethren. Do you know this? Do you have
this in your heart? This is what the law is about.
The law is about me laying down my life. Oh, brother, I'll do
anything in the world you want me to. I'll help you anytime.
I'll be there for you. call them up and say, well I
got a troop plan this weekend. I can't do that for you. It don't mean lay down your life
when it's convenient. It means lay down your life.
If somebody has out against you, it takes laying down our life
to go to that person and say, brother forgive me. It takes admitting wrong. It
takes admitting that we're nothing and that we prefer the other
one above ourselves. That's the basement of pride
and only the Spirit of God can do that. And that's the true
fulfillment of the law. Christ has fulfilled it. The
righteousness of God, we stand complete in Him. And through
the Spirit of grace, we behold, there's no goodness in us. We
can't fulfill it. We can't fulfill the law. But
His grace teaches us in the heart, this is how the law is fulfilled.
This is what Christ did. And our Lord's teaching us here
to trust Him alone for righteousness, to walk in love, to follow after
peace with all men, because that's what it is to walk after the
Spirit. That's what it is to delight
in the law of God after the inward man. Let me give you one last
verse. Galatians 5.13. Galatians 5.13. Look there with
me. Galatians 5.13 Brethren, now this is brethren, people
who've been born of the Spirit of God, who truly believe Him,
who've been given faith. Brethren, ye have been called
unto liberty. Only you's not liberty. Let me
back up. You know what liberty is? It
means the law got nothing to say to you. The law's got nothing
to say to you. You're walking with Christ, you're
married to Christ, you belong to Him. Lock, stock and barrel,
you're free indeed at liberty. Now, only use not liberty for
an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled
in one word, even in this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one
another. If you go through this outward
act of worshiping God, and in your heart you know that you've
offended a brother, biting and devouring one another. Take heed
that you be not consumed one of another. Go to the law against
brother. Take another one to court. Try
to force your way to have your way with somebody. Biting and
devouring one another. This I say then, Walk in the
Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. You shall
not fulfill the lust of the flesh. As Brother Henry would say, that's
not Armenian doctrine, that's Bible. That's just the truth. The truth
of God.