Verbal abuse, As punishable as murder!

The speaker, Guy Lamiona, discusses the importance of controlling anger and refraining from insulting others. He explains that calling someone a fool or insulting their intelligence is a serious offense, as it is equivalent to rejecting their presence in the kingdom of God. However, he clarifies that not all anger is bad and that righteous anger against sin is acceptable. The main message is to practice self-control and refrain from demeaning others. Welcome to our weekly exhortation. Thank you for joining me. Thank you for your time. Your time is so precious, so let's make good use of it. My name is Guy Lamiona, Servant of God, Servant of Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus says, Whosoever shall say to his brother, Thou fool, shalt be in danger of hell fire. What can we learn from this passage? Every human being experiences a wide array of emotions. The Bible details many different human emotions including happiness, sadness, love, indignation and anger. Anger can cause people to commit murder according to the scripture. Murder is the legal term for the intentional killing of someone. It is an act of deliberately taking a human life. It is in this context that Jesus says, Whosoever shall say to his brother, Thou fool, shalt be in danger of hell fire. What can we learn from this passage? Hallelujah. The Lord Jesus used a verse from the Old Testament to teach that murder is not the only crime that is subjected to judgment but insults as well. This passage is from Exodus chapter 20 verse 13 where it is written, Thou shalt not kill. Being Christian or not, we all have once insulted or treated someone as stupid. Surprisingly, some Christians engage in such behavior out of anger whether in thoughts, in deeds or words. Anger is an emotion characterized by antagonism toward someone or something you feel has deliberately done you wrong. You are silly, he is crazy, insane, foolish. That is ridiculous. That is a foolish act. Nonsense. Those are a few how we treat one another. Otherwise, Jesus would not raise concern in Matthew chapter 5 verse 22. Jesus says, But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of rejudgment. This means you have committed a crime as serious as murder and thus you deserve a punishment as severe as the one who committed murder. The punishment is that you shall be consumed by the fire of hell. In other words, the scorching fire of the hell awaits the person who despises his brother by calling him fool. That is what Jesus is telling us. Let us be clear. Being angry is not the problem but it is the believer's inappropriate behavior when his angry death condemns him. When Jesus says, Whosoever becomes angry with his brother shall be subjected to judgment, we know he is speaking of unjust anger. This means that which incites sin. First, this can be explained by what Jesus says, He who said to his brother, Raka, that one put himself in a situation even more serious. Why? What does the word Raka mean? Well, Raka comes from an Aramaic word which means a good for nothing, a scoundrel, empty headed, a vacant skull. To treat someone as Raka is to insult him by telling him that he is an idiot, a spiritually ignorant person and is making fun of his intelligence. So if you say to your brother, Raka, or idiot, you become punishable by the council, Israel's highest authority in matters of justice. It was in a way the supreme court of the Jews and it took care of the disputes which interested the nation. But that's not all. Jesus goes on to talk about the one who calls his brother a fool. First, Jesus talks about those who call their brother Raka. Then Jesus is talking about those who call their brother a fool. You know, calling someone a fool is an even more demeaning insult than using the word Raka. Because the term fool contains a strong spiritual component. For example, in Psalm chapter 14 verse 1, we read this, the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. You know, a fool is someone who contests the existence of God. And if he does not believe in God, then he is excluded from the kingdom of God. Isn't it? That is why being foolish is good for the fire of hell. So if you say to a person, insane, that's like calling him an unbeliever. Like we all know, unbelievers deserve to go to hell. Right? So by passing such judgment on a brother, you deserve to be punished with the fire of hell. Have you observed the progression in the seriousness of the offenses so far? We notice in this world of Jesus that anger can cause someone to do harm. And the consequences of which can vary in severity. Hallelujah. On the other hand, there is anger that one can feel. This emotion, if left unchecked, can lead us to insult our neighbor by calling them Raka. Here, it is not more than a simple emotion limited to the level of affect. The thing is that we allow that anger to express itself through an act of contempt. Then, there is an even more serious affront. That of calling a brother foolish. This is a very serious insult because it implies that this brother is not part of the family of God. And when you say that word, it is like you are pronouncing a death sentence on that person. It is a condemnation that definitely rejects his presence in the kingdom of God. Hallelujah. Concluding remarks. Are we to understand that anger should always be condemned? And that a sanction should be applied every time a person feels it? In fact, anger is not always bad. Anger is holy and righteous when experienced by one who responds to the misguidance of his fellow man in sin. There is often mention in the Bible of the wrath and fierce anger of God against all that goes against his justice. Right? The word anger used here by Jesus in Matthew chapter 5 verse 22 does not apply specifically to an anger that is of the flesh. Hallelujah. Anger is not automatically considered carnal. Thus, in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 26, the apostle Paul quotes a passage from the Old Testament where it is written, Be ye angry and sin not. Be ye angry and sin not. This verse implies that it is possible to be angry without it necessarily being sin. Praise the Lord. Friend, if we want to please God, our daily motto should be self-control. I am the first to admit it. May God help us. We are here at the end of today's exhortation. God willing, I will have the strength and understanding to bring you next week what God wants. Shalom.