The Effect on Our Relations with Others (Matt. 5:25-26)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/15/2020 8:07 AM

 

My Worship Time                                               Focus:  The Effect on Our Relations with Others

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                      Reference:  Matt. 5:25-26

 

            Message of the verses:  “25 “Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 “Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.”

 

            We begin our last short section today on what Jesus had to say about murder and then Lord willing we will begin to look at the introduction to “Who is an Adulterer?” in our next SD. 

 

            MacArthur comments that verses 25-26 are essentially a commentary on the previous two verses:  “24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”  MacArthur writes on this subject “Using an illustration from the common practice of imprisoning a person for and unpaid debt, Jesus teaches that if someone holds a debt on any sort against us, he is to make it good as soon as possible and before it is too late and he is imprisoned.”

 

            We can say that the time for reconciliation is very similar to the time for salvation; it is always now, as tomorrow is often too late.  I remember a story about a man I worked with many years ago, as I was telling him and others about the gospel message he stated that while in a church in his home state of Kentucky that he was in a revival meeting and the call for salvation came in that meeting.  He left without committing his life to Christ and stated that it was the hardest thing that he had ever done to leave without becoming a believer.  I am not sure that he ever did become a believer showing that today is the day of salvation, when that call comes from the Spirit of God it may not come again.

 

            Continue commenting on this subject of tomorrow can be too late, “We are not to allow bitterness, anger, hatred, or any other sin to keep us separated from other people, whoever they are.”

 

            We see from verses 23-24 that the command for reconciliation is given to the innocent as well as the guilty, but in verses 25-26 it is given only to the guilty party.  MacArthur writes “Roman law provided that a plaintiff could bring the accused with him to face the judge.  The two themselves could settle the matter ‘on the way,’ but not after the court became involved.  If a man had wronged an ‘opponent at lat’ (indicating that the issue was headed for court) he should ‘make friends quickly,’ that is, settle the account with his ‘opponent’ before he had to face judgment.  The sequence of going from the ‘judge’ to the ‘officer’ to ‘prison’’ shows the typical procedure in dealing with a guilty person.  To avoid judgment and prison he had to pay ‘the last cent’ (a small Roman coin) owed.”

 

            What we see here in this illustration is a picture of sin against another person and such sin must be resolved to avoid having to face a sentence from the divine judge.  I remember the Pastor that I sat under many years ago sometime after I became a believer.  He was talking to a Catholic priest about confessing sins to the Lord and he stated that he did not know what was going to happen going to heaven and not confessing sins.  This is one of the reasons that I ask the Lord to search my heart each morning, or evening whenever I have my prayer time with the Lord.

 

            MacArthur adds to this mystery by writing “The precise penalty to which Jesus alludes is not made clear.  Being ‘thrown into prison’ and not being able to get ‘out of there until’ the debt is paid is and analogy of God’s punishment.  The basic teaching is plain and unmistakable:  we are to make every effort, with no delay, to make our relationship right with our brother before our relationship can be right with God and we can avoid chastening.”  I also remember a story from a guest Pastor many years ago who was talking about forgiveness and not continually thinking about someone doing wrong to us.  He told the story about a man who had been cheated out of some money and he carried a receipt around with him showing how much the man had cheated him.  The paper became yellow with age, but he would not give it up.  I have to believe that his misery was a lot more than the person who owed him the money.

 

            We will conclude with one more concluding quote from MacArthur’s commentary:  “In the fullest sense, of course, because no one every fully had right attitudes twward others, no worship is acceptable.  Thus everything Jesus teaches in this passage, as in the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, is to show the absolutely perfect standard of God’s righteousness and the absolutely impossible task of our meeting that standard in our own power.  He shatters self-righteousness in order to drive us to His righteousness, which alone is acceptable to God.”

 

            Let me conclude with a verse from the book of Romans about the Law:  “The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,” (Rom. 5:20).

 

8/15/2020 8:38 AM