MANAGE YOUR ANGER– EXODUS 20:13
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“You shall not murder.” (Ex.20:13)..”
Some Stats –
-in the UK in 2013/2014 there were 526 killings.
-your chance of being murdered in your lifetime is 1 in 1,000 .
-women are most likely to be murdered by their partners.
-men are most likely to be murdered by their friends.
-over half of all murders happen in the home (59%).
-and a half of all homicides result from a quarrel, a revenge attack or a loss of temper.
Context to commandment
-Prohibition against murder nothing new.
“And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being. “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.” Genesis 9:5-6.
“to take the life of another person is to rob God of a representative and deputy, which is the highest form of treason.” Daniel Block.
-Narrower than kill but broader than murder.
GOD TAKES THE LOSS OF LIFE SERIOUSLY
So, the commandment is forbidding, outlawing all unauthorized taking of human life by individuals or groups, deliberately or by negligence.
But I’m not going to murder anyone……
2 Challenges
1) The flip side – we should cherish life
Some big ethical issues:
–Abortion
“If the unborn is not a human person, no justification for abortion is necessary. However, if the unborn is a human person, then no justification for abortion is adequate.” Gregory Koukl
-Since life begins at conception we should protect the foetus.
-Abortion breaches the 6th commandment.
-Abortion is painful, but the gospel has the answer.
–Assisted suicide
–God’s right to take life, and He’s alone.
-Assisted suicide breaches the 6th commandment.
2) Jesus
-Matthew 5:21-26 – Jesus widens the scope.
–Murder is seen when we get angry.
-Need to be quick to make up with people
-need to go fix a relationship?
“A still broader conclusion emerges (of the 6th commandment), when hate and anger
are thoroughly purged away, only love remains. So the 6th commandment is the
equivalent of the law of love.” John Frame.
A question remains – How do we deal with anger?
-Smash stuff, breath or just count to ten??!!
NO
-The problem is with our heart – Matthew 15:18-20
“But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
Our heart is the production factory of all kinds of evil.
SO
–We need a new heart – done for us by Jesus’ death, resurrection and giving us His Spirit. We just need to ask Jesus into our lives.
Moving forward
-Love your enemy.
-Pray for those who persecute you.
-Ask yourself, what’s going in my heart? What am I desiring when I get angry?
-Imagine –next time you get angry, what would it look like to do thing Jesus’ way.