Starts So Easy

But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.  Matthew 5:22

Hell fire certainly brings to mind an earnest desire for avoidance as even earth fire causes pain and harm to us. This passage of the great sermon begins with murder, and it starts so easy since most of us can easily say with ol' Jethro out in the sticks, "Ah ain't never kilt nobody!" But Jesus doesn't stop there and goes on to even the act of calling your brother out as "You fool!" Ever since I became a brother at a young age, I know that brothers can act and speak quite foolishly at times. This makes obeying this verse today all the more difficult. However, we know from the context that Jesus means everyone - all of our brothers and sisters in Christ and all of those who do not believe in the Lord yet. Difficulty and challenge pile up so quickly in the great sermon until we think that only perfection can make it. Well, funny you should go there! Jesus brings up that very thing at the end of Matthew 5. In the end, perfection must come from the One who can accomplish the perfecting, the Lamb who is found worthy. 

Praise God for His Son!

Bucky