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Matthew 5:21-26 NIV

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘ Raca ,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

MAIN IDEA

We can forgive because we are forgiven

GOING DEEPER
Questions from this weeks message.

1. What insight, principle or observation from this week’s message did you find to be most helpful, eye opening or troubling? Please explain.

2. In what ways are you tempted to see the Law and forget God’s heart behind it? Have you ever tried to find a loophole around a command from scripture?

3. What kind of good desires do you think God had in mind when he told his people not to commit murder?

4. Jesus seems to put name-calling and contempt towards others on the same level as murder. Why do you think he does this? What does this say about how God sees sin?

5. Are you tempted to view public, outward sin as more serious than private, inward sin? How do you generally express anger? Outward or inward?

6. Jesus says that nothing should get in the way of reconciling with others, even spiritual things like church. How would you say dealing with our anger relates to the idea of worship?

7. Do you ever try and justify your anger because you feel wronged or hurt? In what situations does Jesus call us to forgive?

8. Is there anger that you have been holding on to and you don’t know how to let go of it? How would experiencing the forgiveness of God for your own mistakes help with this?

SUMMARY POINTS

Jesus’ “You have heard that it was said…” statements teach us why the righteousness of the Pharisees fell short.

Sin begins in our hearts and minds, not in our actions.

Just because your anger is hidden does not make it any less sinful.

It doesn’t matter if our anger is justified or not, we are always called to forgive.

We can forgive because we are the forgiven.

CALL TO ACTION

Is there anger that you have been holding on to and you don’t know how to let go of it? Or is there reconciliation that God is calling you to pursue?