Anger

"But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever shall say to his brother, 'Raca,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever shall say, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell." (Matt. 5:22 NAS)

When Jesus spoke these words he was speaking to a Jewish audience that was then living under the Law of Moses.  Living today 2,000 years after the fact we read this passage and it brings questions to our minds wondering exactly what he meant in some of the things said here and what if any application the passage might have to us today.  I suspect most of us have at one point in time or another just read over the passage and gone on.  That is what we often do with passages we really do not understand.  Yet, if there is a lesson for us in the passage as there was for those who first heard it we need to learn it.  I begin with the subject of anger, the first clause of this paragraph.

Does Jesus completely forbid anger?  Are we never to be angry?  Some translations add, after the word angry, the words "without a cause."  Most scholars and most translations omit the phrase believing the evidence is against its inclusion.  Be that as it may, the question remains—does God forbid all anger?  Is that what the first clause of this passage teaches?

Jesus was angry in Mark 3:5 with the Pharisees in the synagogue, "And after looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored." (NAS)  We are all familiar with the passage in Ephesians 4:26, "Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger." (NAS)  The first part of that verse is a quotation taken from Psalm 4:4.  We all experience anger at one point in time or another.  Of course, some grow angry much easier than others and certainly there are degrees of anger.

Does God want us to be angry?  Of course not, but he made a provision for anger so that it would not become sin to us—Eph. 4:26 just quoted.  Do not let anger linger.  Rid yourself of it quickly.  While it is impossible to keep from becoming angry at times one does have the ability to cast it aside and not dwell on it, one has the ability to let go of the anger.  

Does God mean we must literally cease being angry by sunset?  What if you become angry at the midnight hour?  What if someone has just beaten or murdered your son or daughter?  What if your spouse just walked out on you and took the children to go off with another?  Not all anger can be rid of so easily or quickly so I don't think God is telling us there is a time limit on anger like if it is two minutes before sunset when something happens to anger you that you only have two minutes to get over it but I think he is saying rid yourself of it and do so quickly, don't nurture it.  That is my take on the verse as an uninspired man, one man’s thoughts.

The very next verse, Eph. 4:27, reads, "and do not give the devil an opportunity." (NAS)  Eph. 4:26 and 27 are all one sentence and the idea is if you stay angry it is likely going to lead to other things because staying angry is giving the devil an opportunity.  After anger comes hatred, malice, vengeance, and many other evils.  We know this is true and thus we know we cannot remain angry long without worse things to come.  Anger ends up destroying the one who has it for it becomes a cancer within growing into things that destroy the soul and that make life miserable in the here and now.  

Paul closes the 4th chapter of Ephesians from which I have been quoting by saying, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." (Eph. 4:31-32 NAS)  In Col. 3:8 he says to put aside anger.  James says to be "slow to anger" (James 1:19 NAS) and that "the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God." (James 1:20 NAS)  So we come back to our question—is it a sin to be or become angry?  The scriptural answer seems to be it depends on how you handle it.  You cannot retain anger and please God even if you had just cause for indignation.  

Anger held onto becomes sin.  Paul says to put it away and thus if we disobey that Holy Spirit inspired command it becomes sin to us.  And then there is the question of why we are angry and over what?  Often there is no real cause for anger and the problem is not that which comes from without a person to arouse just indignation but a problem from within the person, a problem of personal character flaws and of the heart.  God certainly does not condone unjustified anger even for a short while.  If we have a short fuse and are ready to fight at a moment's notice over the littlest thing, if we are ready to perceive a slight when most men see nothing, then the problem is within us and the anger is totally unjustified.  

The KKK in this country in the days of segregation would lynch a black man occasionally because he was black.  A white man who had done what the black man was alleged to have done would never have been lynched.  Are you angry at a man over the color of his skin?  Surely this is not the type of anger that God would allow a man to hold even till sunset and declare it sinless, so the cause of the anger must also enter into the equation.  Of course, one could argue that this type of thing is not anger but hatred.  I would not debate that for I think you would be right but anger can turn into hatred and thus is be gotten rid of immediately before it is allowed to grow and develop.  Anger can lead to hatred but the hatred may also come before the specific anger (racism being a prime example). 

"Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." (1 John 3:15 NAS)  We ought to run from anger lest it turn into something far worse.  Remember one can become and be angry up to a point without sinning (Eph. 4:26) but there is a fine line we dare not cross. 

We all know we are not happy when angry, when we are mad.  There is no joy in anger.  The wise person will forgive and forget even if the original anger was somewhat justified in that he/she was truly wronged.  By forgiving and letting go of the anger one is allowing themselves to be happy again and is thus doing self a favor as well as doing God's will.

It is good to also remind ourselves of what we already know.  No one likes to be around an angry person.  If we say we can hide our anger I would say I know we may try but it is easier said than done.  When you are mad inwardly, even though you are hiding it, you are generally not much fun to be around, a person of a sour disposition.

We must learn to control our tempers so we do not become angry easily.  As James said, quoted earlier, be "slow to anger." (James 1:19 NAS)  The NKJV uses the word "wrath" whereas the NAS uses the word "anger."  The Old Testament has several passages that teach and warn us about anger:

"Do not be eager in your heart to be angry, For anger resides in the bosom of fools." (Eccl. 7:9 NAS)

"Do not associate with a man given to anger; Or go with a hot-tempered man." (Prov. 22:24 NAS)

"A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, But the slow to anger pacifies contention." (Prov. 15:18 NAS)

"A man of great anger shall bear the penalty, For if you rescue him, you will only have to do it again." (Prov. 19:19 NAS)

"Like a city that is broken into and without walls Is a man who has no control over his spirit." (Prov. 25:28 NAS)

Man can and must learn to control his temper and thus his anger if he is to be happy, if he is to please God, and if he is not going to bring himself to ruin.  Anger destroys love, family, and relationships, and endangers salvation so it must be mastered.

In closing, we ought to deal with this question of how the angry man in our text, Matt. 5:22, shall be guilty before the court.  I used the New American Standard Bible in preparing this article.  Most translations use the word “judgment” whereas the NASB uses the word “court” in Matt. 5:22.  I will just quote it here beginning with Matt. 5:21 going through Matt. 5:22, the verse in question, and do so from the Christian Standard Bible so you can see what I am talking about.

“You have heard it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment.  But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment … .”  I think that clarifies the matter quite a bit.  Anger is no little thing.  It is a very serious issue in a person’s life if it resides within them.

John Gill (1697-1771) says on this passage, and I quote, "in danger of judgment; not of any of the courts of judicature among the Jews, as the Sanhedrim of three, or of twenty three, or of seventy one, which took no notice of anger, as a passion in the mind, only of facts committed; but of the judgment of God."

Do not allow anger to abide in you for if you do surely it will become sin to you and you will be judged for it.  Anger against another will, if held onto, eventually turn on you and destroy you.  So the Bible teaches.  So it is.

This article was written in view of a person's anger against another individual or individuals.  We ought to be angry against sin and evil every day but love the sinner.  God wants us to hate sin.  You will find no verses in the Bible teaching you to love sin, not one.  We ought always to hate the evil we see being done in the world but have sympathy for the souls of lost sinners and desire their repentance and salvation.  We have all been guilty of sin and it is by God’s grace that anyone can be saved.

I will deal with the rest of this Matt. 5:22 passage in later articles.

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Abuse Of The Old Testament

There are many things practiced in the name of Christianity today that have no scriptural basis in the law of Christ, the new covenant. The Old Testament, at times, is appealed to as the source of authority for things practiced in the churches. Does the Old Testament have the same authority for Christians today as the New Testament? How should Christians today relate to and handle the Old Testament scriptures? These are questions we all ought to be interested in for we are saved by truth, not error.

God has commanded us to rightly divide the truth (2 Tim. 2:15) and Peter says that the scriptures can be twisted to our own destruction (2 Peter 3:16) thus we must be careful and not make assumptions or just give our opinion. We can only rightly divide the word of truth by following what God has said about how to do that. Only then are we on safe ground.

That the Old Testament scriptures have value for us today there can be no doubt for Paul says, "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." (Rom.15:4 NAS) We thus learn that we can receive instruction from the Old Testament scriptures and encouragement that combined with perseverance gives us hope.

No better example can be given than what James said in illustrating this point. He says, "Behold, we count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful." (James 5:11 NAS)

Hebrews chapter 11 is another good illustration. We are taught by the examples of Old Testament characters what faith is and what it means to have faith. We are encouraged to persevere as we see what some of those men and women were willing to do and endure to be faithful to God. We compare our trials with theirs and ours seem but little things and we are given the strength to go on and not give up. The Bible speaks of these as being those "of whom the world was not worthy." (Heb. 11:38 NKJV)

We are told to remember Lot's wife (Luke 17:32). We are told, in so many words, that we ought to learn from the fact that "anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses" (Heb. 10:28 NKJV) and consider that in relation to our treatment of the Son of God (Heb. 10:29) where the punishment will be worse. This list could be extended but the point has been adequately made that there is much to learn from the Old Testament as the New Testament reveals lesson after lesson we ought to learn from the more distant past.

Furthermore, much of what we learn about God, who he is, his character, his attributes, his expectations for man, and his purposes are found in the Old Testament. We find in the Old Testament the history of man. We find the history of God's chosen people. We see his eternal purpose set forth both in historical development and in prophecy.

And then there is the book of Psalms. Who is there among God's people who have not gone to the book of Psalms time and again to find comfort and hope, especially in times of sadness and sorrow?

Want to learn how to pray? Read David in the Psalms to see prayer from the heart, and learn how to praise God in prayer, and how to petition him for his blessings. Learn how to thank God. All of this can be learned by close attention in reading the Psalms.

Need wisdom? Go to the book of Proverbs. Many, many New Testaments that one can buy also include, as an addition, the books of Psalms and Proverbs. They are books that are often consulted by men today and rightly so.

I have said many good and true things in praise of the Old Testament scriptures. I believe everything I have said has been scriptural and so much so that I do not believe anyone who calls himself a Christian would disagree with me to this point.

However, we have now come to the time where we need to divide the word—the old from the new--and make a distinction. The Bible is very clear that the Old Testament is not meant for us today as law. We readily see this when it comes to animal sacrifices but we too often want to bring in from the Old Testament other things that should have been left there as well.

The Hebrew writer says, "For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law." (Heb. 7:12 NKJV) Read in context the argument has been that Jesus is now our high priest and he is not of the tribe of Levi as were all the priests under the old Law of Moses. Jesus was of the tribe of Judah.

But, our point is that the inspired writer tells us as clearly as words can make it that the law has changed. There is now a new law. The Law of Moses is gone, fulfilled, completed, and is now history. There is now a new law, the law of Christ. In Gal. 6:2 Paul says, "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." (NKJV)

Everyone readily admits that Jesus gave man commandments to obey. A commandment is nothing other than a law to be obeyed. Disobey a law of God and you sin. As the old King James translation puts it in 1 John 3:4, "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." In our day the law that is transgressed, bringing sin, is the law of Christ, not the Law of Moses.

Hear God the Father speak from heaven on the Mount of Transfiguration when Peter wanted to make 3 tabernacles, one each for Moses, Elijah, and Christ. "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" (Matt. 17:5 NKJV) Christ was not to be put on an equal plane with Moses and/or Elijah. Neither was to be heard any longer as present-day authorities. Henceforth, Christ was the one to be heard and followed.

In Hebrews 3 the Hebrew writer has been talking about Moses and Christ and how Christ is superior to Moses and then in verses 7 and 8 says, "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: 'Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts." (NKJV) The day of hearing Moses is over as regards law to be followed. Hear the voice of Christ which is the voice of God. Hear it today. Jesus says, "the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me." (John 14:24 NKJV)

Paul says of himself in Gal. 2:19, "For I through the law (a reference to the Law of Moses--DS) died to the law that I might live to God." (NKJV) He goes on to say "if righteousness comes through the law (Law of Moses again--DS), then Christ died in vain." (Gal 2:21 NKJV) And in Rom. 7:4 "Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law (Law of Moses--DS) through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another--to Him who was raised from the dead." (NKJV)

And, then, in Gal. 3:24-25 he makes it clear enough that an older elementary school student ought to be able to easily understand it. He says, "Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor." (NKJV) The law (the Law of Moses) was our tutor; we are no longer under a tutor, thus no longer under the law. (For that matter the Gentiles were never given the law anyway nor were they under it. The law was for God's chosen people, the Jewish nation.)

Part of the problem the Galatians were having was that they wanted at the very least an admixture of the old Law of Moses with Christ. Paul called it a perversion of the gospel of Christ in chapter 1 verse 7. Some were going so far as to want to go back to the Law of Moses for Paul says, "Tell me, you who desire to be under the law." (Gal. 4:21 NKJV) The desire was wrong. Remember, God said this is my beloved son, hear him, not Moses (the Law of Moses).

Paul goes so far as to say that being under the works of the law (reference to the Law of Moses) is a curse. "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them." (Gal. 3:10 NKJV) He says, "Do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." (Gal. 5:1 NKJV)

I could go on and on with proof texts for the book of Galatians and the book of Hebrews both deal extensively about the change of the law telling us clearly that we are not under the Law of Moses today. The book of Romans also gives us much the same. But, my main interest is making an application as to how all of this affects us today as Christians and believers.

The idea seems to be prevalent today that the Old Testament gives us authority to worship in ways we please if we can find an example for our practice in the Old Testament. But, does it?

Paul says of certain Galatians, Gal. 5:4 (NKJV), "You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace." They wanted to bring over into Christianity circumcision, a requirement under the old covenant. "Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law." (Gal. 5:2-3 NKJV)

The only way these people could justify themselves, even in their own eyes, was by an appeal to the Old Testament scriptures, justification by Old Testament law. It won't work. Why not? Because it is not a part of the law of Christ, not a part of the new covenant. We do not have a problem with the issue of circumcision today but we often seek to do what that group was doing. We attempt to justify our practice that cannot be found in the law of Christ, the New Testament, by an appeal to the Old Testament.

We are given a choice of whose law and authority we will live by. Will it be Moses' law or Christ's law? We cannot mix them. What Christ wanted from the old law to be observed today he brought with him and had it recorded in the pages of the New Testament. We can go back to Moses or we can move forward to Christ. That is our choice.

There are things that seem so right to a man, how can they be wrong? The writer of Proverbs says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." (Prov. 16:25 NKJV) God speaking in Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV) says, "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,' says the Lord. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.'" We greatly err when we think that because a thing pleases us it is automatically going to please God.

We also need to learn from this that we ought not to just accept without question the things that have been handed down to us from men who lived in the past but whose teachings have come to be accepted as a sort of a standard--it doesn't matter whether the man was Calvin, Luther, or the Pope, or whomever it might be. Isaiah said in Isa. 2:22 (ESV), "Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?" Good question. I think Isaiah answered his own question, did he not?

Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10 "offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them" (verse 1) and the Bible says "so fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD." (Lev. 10:2 NKJV) They had no authority from God to use profane fire or as some versions put it "strange fire." (NAS)

What is the application? To Nadab and Abihu worship was worship as long as it was directed to God and meant for his praise. It seemed right to them. Who could object to worshiping God? Well, we found out. God does not think as man thinks.

What Nadab and Abihu did was no different than what we do today when we add to the worship things we cannot find in the law of Christ, the new covenant, the New Testament. Col. 3:17 reads as follows, "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." (NKJV) How does one do a thing in the name of the Lord Jesus about which the Lord Jesus spoke nothing?

A careful reading of 1 Chron. 21:18-19 will show you that the phrase "in the name of the Lord" means by the Lord's authority. The angel of the Lord had commanded Gad to go speak to David about building an altar and verse 19 says, "So David went up at the word of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the Lord." This clearly shows that "in the name of the Lord" means by the Lord's authority and that authority is expressed in his word, not outside it. We are to do what we do "in the name of the Lord Jesus," by his authority found in his word. Now reread Col. 3:17 and you will see this involves everything we do in religion and most assuredly in our worship.

Nadab and Abihu were doing a thing in the name of God which God had spoken nothing about. Nadab and Abihu were not condemned for doing a thing that was written but for what was not written or not given, and doing it anyway, because it pleased them. Do you think for a single moment that Nadab and Abihu thought it would matter? You know they didn't.

Peter says, "If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God." You will need an oracle of God to do that. When you have to go outside the word of God for your practice it is because there is no oracle.

The New Testament tells us exactly how far we are allowed to go. We can go that far and no farther. How far? In 1 Cor. 4:6 Paul says, "not to exceed what is written" (NAS)--"not to go beyond what is written" (ESV). John says, (2 John 1:9 NKJV), "Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God." When we step outside what Christ has said, his written word, we step outside his doctrine and adopt the doctrine of man. On the Day of Judgment you do not want to find yourself trying to explain to God why you did that.

Today all kinds of things have been brought into the typical worship of churches for which man cannot find a New Testament book, chapter, and verse for and we all know that. I am not telling anyone anything they do not know. Most will readily admit it. They say God will not care. It makes no difference. It is still worship to God they say. It pleases him. But what do you do with John 4:24 that says, in part, that worship must be in truth and then John 17:17 which says God's word is truth? You then search the New Testament and cannot find a word about your practice, what then?

Sometimes they say they did it in the Old Testament; Moses did it or David did it so it has to be okay. Instrumental music in worship is an example. Which law did Moses and David live under? Instrumental music was a command of worship under the Law of Moses (see 2 Chron. 29:25), that is to say during that era or under that dispensation of time. Does one seek justification by an appeal to the Law of Moses? God said to those with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, "This is My Beloved Son. … Hear Him!" (Matt. 17:5 NKJV)

(You are aware that the church we find in the New Testament existed for hundreds of years before man brought the instrument into worship. This in itself tells you where it came from, God or man.)

But, the things brought from the Old Testament over to us today go far beyond just instrumental music. Things like the special robes and/or priestly attire worn by those who are considered to be somewhat in the church, the idea that there are two classes of brethren--one priests and then the rest of us, the ritualism we find often in the churches, and so on all from the days of the Law of Moses and none of which can be justified without an appeal to it. Will we hear Moses or Christ?

So how do we abuse the Old Testament? How is that done? It is by seeking justification from it, especially in the realm of public worship. That is not where you will find justification, not today.

I close with the words of God the Father on the Mount of Transfiguration. "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" (Matt. 17:5)

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No Inheritance--Part Four

This article will conclude a series on the nature of the sins listed by the apostle Paul in 1 Cor. 6:9-10, Gal. 5:19-21, and Eph. 5:5-7, which Paul says will deprive a person of any inheritance in the kingdom of God if practiced and not repented of. In Part 1, the sins of adultery and fornication were covered; Part II covered the sins of homosexuality, sodomy, uncleanness, and lewdness; Part III dealt with the sins of idolatry, covetousness, thievery, extortion, sorcery, hatred, and drunkenness.

In this article, the last article in the series, we will cover every sin listed that remains from the three text passages. The sins to be covered are revilers, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, and revelries. Here are texts we have been working from using the New King James Version:

1 Cor. 6:9-10	Gal. 5:19-21	Eph. 5:5-7
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1Cor. 6:9-10 NKJV)	“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal. 5:19-21 NKJV)	“For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them.” (Eph. 5:5-7 NKJV)

Who is a “reviler”? A reviler is one who is “verbally abusive.” The Christian Standard Bible and the NET Bible translate the Greek term with that very phrase. It is abusive language directed at another. It is one who scolds, who angrily finds fault and reproves another with loud and angry or abusive speech. This is a way of life with the reviler. It is who he or she is. We are commanded to rebuke at times (Luke 17:3, 2 Tim. 4:2, for example), but it is how we do it that makes the difference.

What does “outbursts of wrath” refer to? There are people who become so angry they cannot contain themselves and have what we might call a meltdown. They become so overwhelmed with anger they cannot contain themselves, seemingly lose all control, and explode with a vitriol of abusive language directed at their target. One writer had this to say about it, “There are persons in which these tempests of wrath take a demoniac form. ‘The face grows livid, the limbs move convulsively, the nervous organism is seized by a storm of frenzy, and until it is passed, the individual is completely beside himself.’” (New Testament Restoration Commentary on Gal. 5:20, E-Sword online) It is a frightful thing to observe. Such a one must repent and learn to control himself if he or she is to have any inheritance in the kingdom of God.

“Dissensions” is a reference to a lack of concord or harmony between persons. Dictionary.com defines dissension as, “strong disagreement; a contention or quarrel; discord.” Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words says “an insurrection, uproar” and gives Mark 15:7, Luke 23:19, 25, and Acts 19:40, 24:5 as references. Most of the references listed refer to insurrection, but not always. You can have dissension without outright insurrection. Under this idea, Vine lists Acts 15:2 and Acts 23:7, 10. To summarize, the idea seems to be of a person who sows discord, a person hard to please or satisfy, one who wants to argue and fight.

“Contentions,” another of our sins that keeps one out of an inheritance, is in other versions called strife (CSB, ESV, NAS, NET, NRSV, RV, and YLT). The NLT uses the word quarreling, which, according to Strong’s Dictionary, is correct. It says, “a quarrel, that is, (by implication) wrangling.” It seems to refer to a person who wants to quarrel or fight rather than live with others in peace. Paul says, in speaking to Christians, “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” (1 Cor. 1:10 NKJV) Again, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” (Rom. 12:18 NKJV) This, the contentious person is not doing. A person has a choice about whether or not to start or engage in a quarrel, to be contentious or not.

“Selfish ambitions” is a work of the flesh Paul lists that he says will deny one an inheritance in the kingdom of God. What the NKJV calls “selfish ambitions,” other translations call rivalries (ESV, YLT), selfish rivalries (NET), strife (KJV), disputes (NAS), and factions (RV). The Greek word is “eris,” and Vine says it “is the expression of enmity.” It would seem to be, then, one who is opposed to another to the extent he is determined to get the best of his opponent, lacking any charity for him or her, a person who must have his way.

Admittedly, the sins of dissensions, contentions, and selfish ambitions are closely related and a little difficult, on occasion, to distinguish one from the other. Add to that, there may be overlap in that one can be guilty of more than just one of these sins. There is also the fact that what one translation calls this, another translation may call that, based on the similarity of the words. Regardless, I think we all get the general idea of what these terms in the aggregate are teaching.

This brings us to two more terms closely related, sins that keep one out of heaven – “jealousies” and “envy.” With regards to jealousy, here is a case where nearly every translation uses that singular word other than the very oldest translations like the KJV, which uses the outdated word emulations. A jealous person is not happy with the position, success, influence, or wealth of another. It seems to make him miserable. Perhaps he feels the other person’s success makes him smaller, but whatever the case, he cannot be happy. He is unable to “rejoice with those who rejoice” (Rom. 12:15 NKJV), nor does he find it easy to be content even though “godliness with contentment is great gain.” (1 Tim. 6:6 NKJV)

In talking about envy versus jealousy, Vine makes this distinction, “Envy desires to deprive another of what he has; jealousy desires to have the same or the same sort of thing for itself.” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, page 367, under Envy) The Daily Study Bible says, “The essence of it is that it does not describe the spirit which desires, nobly or ignobly, to have what someone else has: it describes the spirit which grudges the fact that the other person has these things at all. It does not so much want the things for itself; it merely wants to take them from the other. The Stoics defined it as ‘grief at someone else’s good.’ Basil called it ‘grief at your neighbour’s good fortune.’ It is the quality, not so much of the jealous, but rather of the embittered mind.”

This brings us to “heresies.” Here we have a word that can mislead one. The first thought to mind may be that heresy is some kind of unscriptural false doctrine. While that may be involved, that is not really the meaning of the word. Here is how it is translated in other versions: factions (CSB, NAS, NET, NIV, NRSV), the NLT and ESV have division and divisions, respectively, and the Good News Bible simply says, using its dynamic equivalent form of translation, where meaning is preferred over literalness, “they separate into parties and groups.”

Paul condemned this in the church at Corinth when he said, “It has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, ‘I am of Paul,’ or ‘I am of Apollos,’ or ‘I am of Cephas,’ or ‘I am of Christ.’ Is Christ divided?” (1 Cor. 1:11-13a NKJV)

Factions may be over doctrine as is the case in 2 Peter 2:1, but may just as well be over personal preferences. We are not to be forming parties among God’s people, but rather to be united in one mind (1 Cor. 1:10). “Be of one mind, live in peace.” (2 Cor. 13:11 NKJV) All of this is not to say one should not take a stand for the truth. Paul was not creating another factious party in 1 Corinthians 1 and throughout that book when he set about rebuking that church’s sins. One must not, however, be raising a fuss over peripheral matters.

“Murderers” shall not inherit the kingdom of God. This sin is easily enough understood. We know, however, this sin goes beyond the physical act, for John says, “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” (1 John 3:15 NKJV) Jesus taught that “out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders ….” (Matt. 15:19 NKJV) “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (Prov. 4:23 NLT)

“Revelries” is the last sin to be discussed. Many translations use the word “carousing” here instead of the word revelries (see CSB, NAS, NET, and the NRSV). The ESV, the GNB, and the NIV use the word “orgies.” The ALT translation says “drunken orgies,” and the ERV says “having wild parties.” We get the idea. Unfortunately, this is a relatively common sin among many of the younger college-age set. Once one reaches the age of accountability, he can die and go to perdition without living into old age. We are all accountable for how we live, and there is no sowing of your wild oats with God. You do not get a pass because of your age.

Paul adds to his long list of sins in Gal. 5:19-21 by adding this closing, “and such like.” It is left up to you and me to have enough common sense about us to figure out what else there is. The list is not finished. We have in the scriptures enough information about God’s will to take it from there. We are taught how to live and the nature of things to flee from. After our initial conversion (the new birth) and given a little time on the milk of the word, we are to move on to the meat of the word (Heb. 5:12-14). We are to learn and grow and come to “understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Eph. 5:17 NKJV)

There are other lists of sins in the New Testament. Any sin engaged in and never repented of will keep one out of heaven. It was obviously not Paul’s intent to say, here is the all-inclusive list that will do that. May we all continue to read and study and grow in the scriptures and flee from sin.

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No Inheritance--Part Three

This is now the third article in a series on sins of which the apostle Paul, speaking by means of the Holy Spirit, says will deny one an inheritance in the kingdom of God if practiced. Of course, one can quit the practice of a sin and repent of it, but to continue on in any of these sins without repentance is to be condemned.

In Part I of the series, the sins of adultery and fornication were dealt with. In Part II, the sins of homosexuality, sodomy, uncleanness, and lewdness were covered. In this installment, I will be dealing with idolatry, covetousness, thievery, extortion, sorcery, hatred, and drunkenness.

The text used for this series can be found below, the underlining being my own.-

1 Cor. 6:9-10	Gal. 5:19-21	Eph. 5:5-7
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1Cor.  6:9-10 NKJV)	“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal. 5:19-21 NKJV)	“For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them.” (Eph. 5:5-7 NKJV)

Most people have an understanding of pagan idolatry, so little needs to be said of that. There is still a lot of that kind of idolatry in the world, but not in the modern-day Western world. One finds it, however, not just in some remote tribal regions in, say, Africa or Southeast Asia, but also in more advanced nations like India, China, and Japan. Most people from the West generally recognize pagan idolatry when they see it. Few Westerners are likely to be attracted to that type of idolatry.

Our danger in the West is of the more insidious types of idolatry. For example, Paul says in Col. 3:5 that covetousness is idolatry. An idol does not have to have a physical, material form and sit on a shelf or be placed in a temple. An idol is anything we worship ahead of God or in place of God. It can come in the form of a hobby or sport; it can be money; it can be a job; it is anything you put before God, in place of God, as number one in your life.

Covetousness, which Paul says is idolatry, is also on the list of sins that will keep one from an inheritance in the kingdom of God. What is covetousness? Well, Paul says in Acts 20:33, “I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.” (NKJV) Thus, to lust after another person’s possessions, desiring them for yourself, is to covet. In 1 Tim. 6:10, Paul speaks of some whose love of money led them to stray from the faith in their greediness for it. Greediness is a synonym for covetousness.

We are not to lust after evil things (1 Cor. 10:6). Paul speaks of those who “being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.” (Eph. 4:19 NKJV) Remember, greediness is just another word for covetousness. One can thus covet the immoral.

Covetousness is a desire for more and more. “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” (Luke 12:15 NKJV) I think we get the general idea of things or ways in which a person can covet and become covetous.

Somewhat related to covetousness is the sin of being a thief. This would seem to be a sin so commonly understood that little would need to be said of it. However, one must bear in mind there are things one can steal other than another person’s money or possessions. I could steal your good name; I could steal your spouse if I was able to do so. Yes, these sins would involve other sins as well as theft, but, nevertheless, it would still be theft.

Then one could also steal by cheating on an exam or in a competition. One can be a thief in many different scenarios. If you are a thief, unrepentant, there is no inheritance in God’s kingdom for you. We need to be perfectly honest in all of our dealings, no cheating, and no stealing.

Extortioners are another class of people who will not inherit God’s kingdom. An extortioner is also one who covets, but since one might covet only in his/her heart, without taking action, an extortioner acts on the sin in his heart. David Lipscomb, in his commentary on 1 Corinthians 5:10, gives the easiest-to-understand definition of an extortioner. He says, “An extortioner is one who by power or threats takes what is not his own or more than is right. The man who takes advantage of another’s poverty, or his necessities, to obtain exorbitant gain, is an extortioner.” Thus, one might charge an exorbitant interest rate, to one to whom you loan money, who is in no position to seek the loan elsewhere. The idea seems to be that the extortioner is in a position to exert his power over the other person due to the other’s inferior position and lack of options.

John the Baptist, speaking to the tax collectors who had come to him asking him what they should do, told them “collect no more than what is appointed for you.” (Luke 3:13 NKJV) He was saying do not extort the people from whom you are collecting taxes. They were in a position where they could easily have extorted the people and gotten by with it had they a mind to do so; they had that power. We are to be fair and honest in all of our dealings with others. We are entitled to a profit in our business dealings, but not an excessive one to the hurt of the other person who has no choice but to deal with us.

We move now from sins related to greed to sorcery. The Greek behind this word is translated by the word “witchcraft” in the New International Version and some other lesser well-known translations. It has the idea of the occult behind it. Philip Schaff, in his commentary, says sorcery is “a secret tampering with the powers of evil” usually in association with idolatry. Zerr, in his commentary, says, “It means any attempt to accomplish a result by means of pretended supernatural power or knowledge, such as fortune-telling, palm reading, astrology, etc.” It involved spells, incantations, enchantments, and magic. David Lipscomb said of sorcery, “The use of magical enchantment, divination by supposed assistance of evil spirits, witchcraft.”

Perhaps the most well-known biblical account of such activity was with King Saul at En Dor when he consulted the medium there (see 1 Sam. 28). Sorcery was common in the world of the Old and New Testaments. Paul encountered this activity more than once in his travels (see Acts 19:19 as an example, also Acts 8:9-11, 13:6). One wants to stay as far away from fortune-telling, consulting the dead, etc., as is possible. “And when they say to you ‘Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,’ should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?” (Isa. 8:19 NKJV)

We get an idea of God’s attitude toward all things occult from Deut. 18:10-12, “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord.” The distinctions made here in the Old Testament among various aspects of the occult I do not find in the New Testament, but I think they would all be covered under the word sorcery.

Hatred will also keep one from an inheritance in the kingdom of God. We generally associate hatred as being an inward trait or feeling one has toward another individual or group. That is certainly condemned. However, seldom, if ever, can one have a loathing in his/her heart for another without some manifestation of it in their behavior toward that individual. There are about always outward signs of one’s animosity.

In worst-case scenarios, hatred can lead to malice where the hater seeks to do harm or injury to his object of hatred. It can lead to violence and death. Even when it does not go that far, the apostle John says, “He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” (I John 3:14-15 NKJV)

Earlier, John says hatred blinds one. “But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness … because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” (1 John 2:11 NKJV) We have all seen people or read about them so blinded by hatred that they cannot reason rationally. Think Hitler if no other, for he is the classic example of one who hated. Think of people involved in road-rage incidents one hears about all of the time. If they get cut off in traffic, they instantly hate the other guy and work to harm him or his.

When you get down to it, the only two things that exist in human affections are love or hate. One might say indifference, but what is indifference? It is not love. Since it is not, it is unwilling to help. So where does that leave indifference? One thinks of the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:30-36. The priest and the Levite walked away from the injured man in need of assistance. One can certainly say they had no love in their hearts for the man. “He who does not love his brother abides in death.” (1 John 3:14 NKJV)

The sin of drunkenness will also keep one out of any inheritance in the kingdom of God. As is the case with all the sins listed by Paul, in the texts we are talking about, drunkenness that is unrepented of and that is ongoing leads to death. Jesus said all sins will be forgiven the sons of men except for blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:28-29 NKJV). Drunkenness is not the unforgivable sin if repented of.

We live in a society that seems to view drinking as a rite of passage from adolescence to adulthood, and what would a party of adults be if we could not serve and drink alcoholic beverages? It is as if our society idolizes alcohol and as if drinking makes a man a man and a woman a woman. No one dare speak of the lost lives and ruined lives from drinking, whether one wants to talk about those maimed or killed in car wrecks, those who commit crime while under the influence who would not have done so had they been sober, or those who become alcoholics and lose control over their lives and wreak havoc in their families.

When one becomes addicted to alcohol, or any drug, it is a tough climb out of addiction, but it can be done. Many have done it. That is not to say it is easy. I have often thought of this much like the difficulty one has who does not marry, say, until in their late twenties or early thirties. We are to live sexually pure lives. In many ways our standard under the law of Christ is even tougher than it was under the Law of Moses, for it reaches even into the heart (Matt. 5:28). Lust is sin. It is tough to live up to that standard as a single person through the many years of one’s young adulthood who does not marry until late, as is the case in this day and age in our society.

My point is, nearly everyone fights strong, prolonged temptation; it is not just the person addicted to alcohol or drugs who fights the battle, for if it is not this thing, it is something else that is always tempting human beings. Temptation is common. “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man.” (1 Cor. 10:13 NKJV) We must fight the battle.

We ought always to fight temptation to win but, and if, we lose on occasion, we should not despair and give up, but get back up and start the fight all over again until finally, with God’s help, we win. God is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9), and so he will help the determined individual who will turn from his or her sin. If God was out to get us, he would zap us the first time we sinned.

To the person not addicted to a drug or alcohol that just enjoys getting high or drunk – are you out of your mind? Having eyes to see, can you not see? Have you learned nothing from observation? Do you not care about others and your example before them and what they might be led into because of you?

I, obviously, have not yet finished this series of articles on sins that will keep us from an inheritance in the kingdom of God, but I think one more article will do it and enough has been written for this time. Think on these things. They matter.

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