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Matthew 5:21-24—The Tongue is a Fire
Sore, Stupid! and Scoundrel! The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defileth the whole body … and is set on fire by Gehenna.—James 3:6{1} James Parkinson Our Lord likens harsh thoughts and words against one’s brethren to murder. To paraphrase Matthew 5:22, “Everyone who nurses anger against his brother shall be in danger of being prosecuted; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Stupid! shall be in danger of the Supreme Court; and whosoever shall say, You scoundrel!! shall be in danger of the second death.”{2} The associations become clear. When we fallen beings harbor anger{3}, we progressively lose objectivity. “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city” (Proverbs 16:32). If the matter were to come up in court, might we not hear another side of the matter—one that we had forgotten, or not seen, or not even thought of? Which one of us might the court find guilty? If I shall call another, Stupid! am I not saying before the Lord that I am wise? Cases heard on appeal to the Supreme Court are serious; disdain for one’s brethren is considered serious by our Lord. The more conscious I am of my own shortcomings, the more conscious I am of the need of my Redeemer—and the more patient I must be with the frailties of others. “Knowledge puffeth up, but love edifieth. If any man thinketh that he knoweth anything, he knoweth not yet as he ought to know” (1 Corinthians 8:1,2). If I shall judge another brother, saying, You scoundrel! (or words to that effect), I am saying he is a villain—willfully wicked! Do I not thereby judge he is worthy only of second death? “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). I put either him or myself outside the body of Christ. It is thereby to be inferred that either he is deserving of second death or that I am deserving of second death! Am I prepared to take that kind of chance? The literal meaning of the word “devil” is “accuser.” Satan, the Devil, is shown in symbol accusing the true church in Zechariah 3. Joshua stands before the angel of Jehovah, as the true church stands before Jesus Christ, with the Devil accusing the church for wearing filthy garments. The true church does not attempt to justify self, as “all our righteousnesses are as a polluted garment” (Isaiah 64:6). It is Jesus Christ, and he alone, who can furnish us with a robe of righteousness. “If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14,15). Which one of us can afford to say “Don’t forgive me!” to the heavenly Father? What causes a fallen being to harbor anger, to minimize another, or to vilify his fellow? “To the pure all things are pure: but to them that are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure” (Titus 1:15). It is the guilt-ridden who feel driven to minimize guilt by finding greater fault in others. Let each ask himself, Does that describe me? “By pride cometh only contention” (Proverbs 13:10). Pride blinds a person to his own role in generating contention. The symptom is contention; if contention follows a person wherever he goes, the disease is almost certainly his pride. “Is it I?” “Love suffereth long and is kind” (1 Corinthians 13:4). “Love worketh no ill to his neighbor” (Romans 13:10). If this is true regarding his neighbor, how much more so to his brethren?
__________________________ 2. Literally, the Gehenna of fire. Revelation 20:14 says, “This is the second death, even the lake of fire.” 3. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says of the Greek word, orge (the noun form of the word, orgizo, in Matthew 5:22), “orge suggests a more settled or abiding condition of mind, frequently with a view of taking revenge.” |