First Baptist Church Litchfield
chapel 10/22

      • Psalm 119:73–80ESV

  • Be Thou My Vision
  • His Mercy Is More
  • The Gospel Song

      • Matthew 7:24–29ESV

  • Word of God
  • Peace

  • The Salty Life and the Angry Heart

    LCS family, open your Bible to Matthew 5:21–26. We’re still in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, where He moves from “Blessed are…” to “You are…” and then to “But I say to you….” That shift matters. The Beatitudes describe the character of the kingdom; the “you are” statements call us to salty, bright presence in the world; and now Jesus places His finger on the pulse of our hearts. If the good life in God’s kingdom preserves God-honoring morality through salty living, then one of the chief threats to that salty witness is what simmers in the heart—anger. The fallen condition today is our angry hearts; the gospel solution is the peacemaking grace of Jesus that reconciles us to God and sends us to reconcile with our neighbor.
    “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder…’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment” (vv. 21–22).
    Jesus isn’t lowering the bar to make us feel better; He’s raising it to the level of the heart so we’ll run to Him. Murder is the rotten fruit; anger is the root. Before hands strike, a heart has stewed.

    The Source of Anger: It Flows from Your Heart

    Let’s begin where Jesus begins—with the source. Mark 7 says, “From within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts… wickedness… slander… pride” (vv. 20–23). Luke 6 adds, “Out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (v. 45). You don’t just “have a temper.” You have a heart. And whatever fills the heart eventually spills out. Imagine carrying a travel mug that says “Hot Cocoa,” but it’s actually filled with coffee. If someone bumps you in the hallway, what comes out? Not hot cocoa. Coffee. The bump didn’t create the contents; it revealed them. So when a classmate teases you, or a teacher corrects you, or a parent sets a boundary, the bump reveals the brew within. Jesus is clear: anger flows from the sinful heart.

    Righteous Anger: When Anger Reflects God’s Heart

    Now, Scripture also shows there is such a thing as righteous anger. Moses shattered the tablets when Israel worshiped the golden calf because God’s glory had been traded for an idol. The Spirit rushed upon Saul and he burned with anger when God’s people were threatened. Jesus was grieved and angry at hardened hearts in the synagogue and He drove out profiteers who had turned His Father’s house into a den of thieves. Righteous anger reacts to real sin, focuses on God’s concerns, and is expressed with self-control. It is slow to anger, mingled with grief, and aimed at restoration, not revenge. That’s what you see in Jesus. And yet, if we’re honest, most of our anger is not like His. It is not about God’s honor; it’s about ours. We don’t flare up because God’s name has been mocked; we flare up because our ego got nicked.

    Unrighteous Anger: When Anger Reflects Our Sinful Hearts

    Jesus exposes what unrighteous anger looks like. He names it, not to shame you away from Him, but to shepherd you back to Him. Unrighteous anger is grossly intense. You know the feeling: cheeks flush, chest tightens, words load like arrows. You say, “I just need a minute,” because you can feel a firestorm gathering.

    Unrighteous anger is also exhaustively lingering.

    It doesn’t stop at sunset; it simmers. A seventh-grade comment about your shoes turns into a seventh-month grudge about his character. You rehearse the offense like a playlist on repeat, and bitterness becomes your favorite genre.

    Unrighteous anger is foolishly unreasonable.

    Jesus mentions insults—“Raca,” empty-head; “moros,” fool. One attacks intellect, the other character. Put together, you’re declaring a person worthless. History is full of horrors that began with the word “worthless.” When you strip away the image of God from another human, you can justify almost anything.

    Unrighteous anger is dangerously escalating.

    John Calvin said, “Intemperate anger deprives men of their senses.” You know the chain reaction: emotion to words, words to shouting, shouting to shoving, shoving to police lights. Sin always promises control and delivers chaos.

    Finally, unrighteous anger is misdirected.

    Jesus says, “angry with his brother.” He’s talking about those closest to you—siblings at home, teammates, classmates in homeroom, fellow members in the church. The nearer the relationship, the deeper the wound, the greater the fallout.
    Picture a two-liter of diet soda and a sleeve of Mentos. Drop a few Mentos in and the reaction is immediate. It looks impressive, but it’s just sugar and bubbles going everywhere. A heart without Jesus’s self-control is a two-liter waiting for a bump. One text thread. One Snapchat. One unkind word. One rebuke from your mom or dad you think was wrong. Pop. Foam everywhere. People get sticky. Relationships get messy. And afterward you say, “I don’t know what came over me.” The truth is, it wasn’t what came over you; it was what came out of you. And God does not like that kind of anger coming out of you.

    God’s Judgment on Unrighteous Anger

    Jesus is clear in Matthew 5:22 “22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”
    Human courts judge outward acts; God judges inward motives. Jesus says, unrighteous anger is spiritual murder in the eyes of God. He warns you that unrighteous anger toward another is worthy of his eternal condemnation in hell.

    The Cure: Make Peace with Your Anger (Matthew 5:23-26)

    Jesus doesn’t leave us with a diagnosis; He gives a cure. Notice the transition in verses 23–26. He moves from the internal to the practical, from anger to action. “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift… first be reconciled… then come and offer your gift.” Do you feel the urgency? He says, interrupt worship to pursue reconciliation. That’s stunning. God would rather have a reconciled heart than a raised hand. And in verses 25–26 He expands it beyond the church to your neighbor and even your adversary: “Come to terms quickly with your accuser.” Why? Because unresolved anger compounds. It grows legal fees and late fees of the soul. Pay it early with humility.
    Here’s where the gospel shines. The command to reconcile doesn’t float in mid-air. It hangs from the cross. You can move toward a brother because God moved toward you. Romans tells us that while we were still enemies, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
    The Father didn’t wait for you to clean up your record and send flowers; He sent His Son. On the cross, Jesus absorbed the wrath our anger deserves. In His resurrection, He gives the Spirit who writes peace on angry hearts. Bryan Chapell calls this the gospel solution: “what God requires, God provides in Christ.” You are not left to engineer your own gentleness; you receive Christ’s meekness by faith, and then you walk it out by the Spirit.
    What might this look like at LCS this week? Imagine you’re in P.E. playing kickball and the call doesn’t go your way. The old you mutters, rolls eyes, spikes the ball on the ground and screams, “that is not fair” to make a point. The new you takes a breath and remembers: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” You still play hard. You still want to win. But your tone changes. Why? Because the point is not just about wining; it’s God’s glory in your response. Or imagine someone posts about you, exaggerates, maybe outright lies. The old you rants unkind foolish words for the entire internet world to see. The new you prays, “Lord, set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth.” You choose a Matthew 18 path—go to the person privately. Or you choose a Proverbs 19 path—“It is his glory to overlook an offense.” Not every hill is Calvary. Sometimes peacemaking is not posting.
    Another example lands at home. Siblings know how to weaponize words. Some of you live with “Raca” and “moros” in English—“dummy,” “loser,” “no one likes you”—on repeat. Jesus says that’s a hellish vocabulary. Kingdom people replace contempt with blessing. What would it look like if, tonight, at the dinner table, you went first and said to your brother or sister, “I have been harsh. I’m sorry. Will you forgive me?” You say, “But they started it.” Jesus started something too—He started reconciliation with you when you were still resistant. Kingdom kids go first because the King went first.

    Peace with God Produces Peace with Others

    Now let’s get very practical with Jesus’ two scenes. First, the altar scene. For us that’s Sunday worship, chapel, small group. You’re singing and suddenly you remember a name, a face, a conversation that went wrong. Jesus says, “leave your gift…and go.” That doesn’t mean storm out during verse two! It means make concrete plans to reconcile—today. Send the text: “Can we talk after school?” Ask a teacher or coach to help mediate if needed. The point is urgency. Delayed peacemaking is disobedience masquerading as prudence.
    Second, the courtroom scene. Jesus pictures you and an accuser on the way to court. The wise path is early settlement—humble conversation, clear confession, specific restitution. This might mean repaying a friend for a broken item and adding a little extra to communicate honor. It might mean telling a teacher the truth about a copied assignment and taking the zero as the cost of integrity. Kingdom people prefer the pain of humility to the prison of hypocrisy.
    Some of you are thinking, “Pastor, I’ve tried. They won’t meet me halfway.” The Bible is honest about that. “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all (Romans 12:18).” Sometimes it will not be possible. You cannot soften every heart. But you can put yours on the altar. You can refuse to let anger linger. You can lay down the gavel and leave judgment to God. You can pray for those who hurt you and bless those who curse you. And you can entrust your reputation to the Father who sees in secret.
    Let me offer one more picture to anchor this in your imagination. Years ago, engineers noticed a crack in the Hover Dam. Nothing gushing, nothing dramatic—just a hairline fracture. Left alone, time and pressure would do their work. Freeze-thaw cycles, expanding ice, minute vibrations—each day a little worse. Wise engineers do not say, “It’s small; let’s wait.” They drill, relieve pressure, inject sealant, reinforce. Anger is a crack in the dam of your soul. Ignore it, and one day the pressure will burst into words you can’t pull back or actions you can’t undo. Wisdom says, “Deal with it today.” The gospel says, “You don’t have to fix the dam alone. Christ has taken the flood of God’s wrath for you; now, by His Spirit, go mend what is broken.”

    The Peacemaking Heart of the Good Life

    How do we begin? We begin where Jesus ends—at the altar of reconciliation. First be reconciled to God. Some of you have never actually come to Jesus with your angry heart. You’ve tried techniques: counting to ten, breathing exercises, “I’ll be nicer.” Techniques are seatbelts; they restrain. The gospel is a new engine; it transforms. Bring your anger to the cross. Confess it for what it is—murder in seed form. Believe that Jesus bore its judgment. Ask Him to forgive you and to put His Spirit within you. He will. And then, secondly, go reconcile with your brother. Write the name on your notes right now. Ask God for courage. Plan the conversation. Use clear words: “I sinned against you when I said… I am sorry. Will you forgive me?” If you were sinned against, use courageous grace: “When you did… it hurt. I want to reconcile. Can we talk about how to move forward?” If the person refuses, you’ve honored Christ; keep praying and keep your heart soft.
    Students, teachers, families—imagine LCS if this becomes our reflex. Imagine a campus where referees notice, “Those kids play hard and stay composed.” Imagine a hallway where a spilled backpack elicits helpers, not hecklers. Imagine a social feed where we are known for blessing, not burning, for truth spoken in love, not in rage. That is salty living. That preserves a God-honoring morality in a decaying world. That is light on a hill.
    Let’s tie the bow. Jesus shows us that the real battleground is not out there but in here. Anger flows from the sinful heart, but grace flows from the pierced heart of Jesus. He fulfills the law’s true intent, exposes our murderous impulses, and then makes peacemakers out of former grudge-keepers. The good life—the blessed life—preserves God-honoring morality through salty living when our hearts are ruled by the Prince of Peace. So receive His peace, and then go make peace.

    When the peace of Christ rules your heart, you will preserve God’s truth through salty living—anger is replaced by grace, hostility by humility, and wrath by reconciliation.

    Pray with me. Father, we confess our anger—harsh words at home, contempt in our hearts, the insults we’ve nursed, the grudges we’ve fed. Forgive us for thinking of people as worthless when You made them in Your image. Lord Jesus, thank You for taking the judgment our anger deserves. Holy Spirit, make us slow to anger and quick to reconcile. Bring names to mind even now, and give us courage to go. Make LCS a community of peacemakers, a city on a hill, salty and bright for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.

      • Matthew 5:21–26ESV

  • Empowered by the Spirit, Guided by the Word

      • Philippians 4:7ESV

First Baptist Church Litchfield
pastorjason.fbcl@gmail.com
217-324-4232
http://www.firstbaptistlitchfield.org/
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