Cross Road
Baptist Church
© 2017
Sermon Text
Heart Conditions
21. You have heard that it was said by them of old time, You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be in danger of the judgment:
22. But I say to you, That whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whoever shall say to his brother “Raca,” shall be in danger of the council: but whoever shall say, “You fool,” shall be in danger of hell fire.
27. You have heard that it was said by them of old time, You shall not commit adultery:
28. But I say to you, that whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.
31. It has been said, Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
32. But I say to you, that whoever shall put away his wife, except for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery: and whoever marries her that is divorced commits adultery.
33. Again, you have heard that it has been said by them of old time, You shall not forswear yourself, but shall perform unto the Lord your oaths:
34. But I say to you, Swear not at all; neither by Heaven – for it is God’s Throne:
35. Nor by the earth; for it is His footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the City of the Great King.
36. Neither shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.
37. But let your communication be “Yes, Yes; No, No:” for whatever is more than these comes of evil.
38. You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39. But I say to you, that you resist not evil: but whoever shall smite you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28, 31-32, 33-39
What’s In Your Heart?
It should come as no surprise that heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States. According to the Heart Foundation, 25% of all deaths in the U.S. are due to cardiovascular disease. They give several recommendations that will greatly reduce the risk of heart disease including: exercise, eating the right foods, quit smoking, reduce alcohol consumption, and taking fish oil supplements. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta published a 2015 study that cited heart disease as the number 1 cause of death in the U.S. and also stated that high blood pressure is the primary cause of heart disease. It affects over 75 million Americans or about 32 percent of the population. One in every three adults is suffering from hypertension. Again, they offer the same simple remedies to reduce the high blood pressure. Eat the right foods, exercise, quit smoking, and reduce the amount of alcohol consumption. It doesn’t take long to see the correlation between heart disease and skyrocketing health care costs. Heart disease is extremely costly. The American Heart Association reported the 2015 cost of caring for cardio-vascular disease was $656 Billion. By 2030, it is projected to cost $1.2 Trillion. Something must be done to curb the rise in heart disease.
If you think cardio-vascular disease is out of control, think about the condition of your spiritual heart. Have you considered the fact that every human alive is suffering from a spiritual heart condition. The symptoms are far more severe. The cost is more than anyone can pay and the treatment can only come from one Doctor. The cure can only start when we acknowledge that we have a spiritual heart problem.
The Diagnosis
We must know the condition of our spiritual heart in before we can even begin to see our need for God to change our heart. If we don’t know our condition and then acknowledge that we need help, we cannot claim God’s healing power. Jesus said, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners … they that are whole do not need a physician.” If untreated, the spiritual heart is desperately wicked, according to Jeremiah. In another passage, Jesus said, out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. Mark 7:21-22. If ailments to the physical heart can lead to physical death, then spiritual heart disease will lead to spiritual death. That means I will not have spiritual life. That means my faith will not work. All the Bible reading, singing hymns, and going through religious ceremonies will not heal the heart unless God heals the heart. He is the Doctor.
Jesus described five spiritual heart conditions that lead to destruction. I must first know my condition and acknowledge them to God. Let us conduct an overview of these conditions and then search for God’s remedy. Remember that simply knowing my condition will not change it. Knowing Jesus will change everything.
This first condition is described as the Angry heart. You have heard that it was said by them of old time, You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be in danger of the judgment … But I say to you, That whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whoever shall say to his brother “Raca,” shall be in danger of the council: but whoever shall say, “You fool,” shall be in danger of hell fire. Jesus said that killing someone starts with the tongue and your anger against that person. Each of us can think of people who have died over some trivial matter. The person committing the act felt angry and therefore justified; but according to Jesus, anger does not justify anything. Jesus knew well the power of words. (Forget the jingle about sticks and stones, words can destroy people). Even when speaking the truth, it can destroy people unless truth is spoken in love. God never gave us authority to spout off, cut people down, or tell people off based on how we fee. That is an Angry Heart. First, if you are angry without a cause or you don’t have justification for your anger, or you have no proof of cause, your anger will hurt someone. When people feel angry they say words like “Raca” (meaning empty or worth nothing). That places you in danger of the Council. Or if you say, “You Fool,” (moron, block head, stupid versus rash or unbelieving) that places you in danger of hell fire. It should be noted that Paul used the word “fool” in reference to those who argue with God regarding the Resurrection (1 Cor. 15:36). The key is not the word but the state of the heart. Anger leads to action. That is why the Bible warns that we must not allow the sun to go down while we are still angry or heated against someone. What goes on in the heart will eventually produce an action. It is clear that the Angry Heart has no place in God’s Kingdom.
The second heart condition is the Adulterous Heart. Jesus teaching was unique when He said, You have heard that it was said by them of old time, You shall not commit adultery: But I say to you, that whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. If you allow the lust, then you have committed the act. It is called fantasizing. Jesus said it is deadly to the spiritual heart because you are allowing your heart to go down a path to sin in the heart. When lust has conceived, it brings forth sin. All that is needed is opportunity. Even if the opportunity never comes, your heart has already created the rendezvous in your spirit. In the eyes of God, it is the same as committing the act. Notice the words already in his heart. King David would have never committed the act of adultery if lust had not entered his heart. That is why he prayed to God in Psalm 51:10 create in me a clean heart O God – and renew a right spirit within me. There is also a condition known as ‘spiritual adultery’ when a believer is unfaithful to God and goes after ‘other gods.’ That condition occurs when a believer desires something else to fill their life and secretly cheats on God. You can be in Church and be committing adultery against God. Many worshipped God with their lips but their heart was far from Him.
The third heart condition is the Divorcing Heart. Notice in verses 31-32, Jesus reveals how this heart wants to abandon a spouse with a simple piece of paper called a writing of divorce. It has been said, Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement … But I say to you, That whoever shall put away his wife, except for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery: and whoever marries her that is divorced commits adultery. Jesus said that getting out of a commitment is not that simple. Unless there is fornication, there are no other reasons for divorcing a spouse in this passage. By the way, fornication refers to a condition where the person repeatedly and continuously engages in sexual activity outside of the marriage. One time flings are not the same as fornication. Remember the previous verse on the Adulterous Heart. In that case, all of us have committed fornication against God. Here is the point to the Divorcing Heart; you cause the divorced spouse to commit adultery. In other words, the sacred relationship of marriage is not something you sign away. Jesus would later tell some of the religious leaders, “What God has joined together – let not man put it aside.”
Another heart condition is known as the Swearing Heart. Swearing people are those who try to use a vow to justify truth rather than allowing the truth to stand for itself. Again, you have heard that it has been said by them of old time, You shall not forswear yourself, but shall perform unto the Lord your oaths … But I say to you, Swear not at all; neither by Heaven – for it is God’s Throne … Nor by the earth; for it is His footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the City of the Great King …Neither shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black …But let your communication be “Yes, Yes; No, No:” for whatever is more than these comes of evil. Some of us have gone into a court room and the Bailiff asked us to put our hand on the Bible and swear. That is not necessary and is hypocritical in a lot of cases. People lie. Everyone lies. To use the Bible or a religious vow does not make our words legitimate if we intend to lie. Jesus said, just let your “Yes be Yes” and your “No be No.” Say what you mean and mean what you say; anything beyond that is evil and comes from the evil one.
Then lastly, there is the Revengeful Heart. People bent on revenge feel that they are right and will get even in every case. Jesus said, You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth …But I say to you, That you resist not evil: but whoever shall smite you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. By the way, this smite on the cheek is not a punch but rather an insulting slap. If someone is insulting you – don’t try to retaliate. If someone is hurting you, don’t think that you are fulfilling Scripture if you get knocked out. The point is that you not escalate arguments by retaliation. Retaliations don’t solve problems. This is a wicked heart condition just like the rest. It is an indication that something is wrong with your heart and you need treatment.
The bottom line is that none of us can live the good life with a bad heart. It is just impossible. That’s where Jesus comes in. He reveals the truth about our condition, but thank God He does not leave us in that condition. He is a heart fixer and a mind regulator.
The Healing for a Wounded Heart
Al Green asked the question, “how do you mend a broken heart?” While Al was singing the blues, Jesus helps us deal with this problem of a messed up heart. It is only when we admit our spiritual heart condition that Jesus will change the condition of our heart.
Why do I need treatment for my heart condition? You cannot serve God when you have a bad heart. Your motives, your beliefs, your plans, and everything is wrong when you have a bad heart. Jeremiah said, the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? … I the Lord search the heart. Jeremiah 17:9. It is good to know that God can fix a bad heart.
We need treatment because the spiritual heart cannot be mended by human hands. God is the One who directs our steps. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to trust in the Lord with all your heart; and do not lean to your own understanding … in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
As long as we pretend that nothing is wrong with our heart, we will continue to miss out on mercy. God condemns our old heart so He can give us a new heart that loves Him. Ezekiel 36:26, God will take away the stony heart and give a heart of flesh … and I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My judgments and do them. That is when you will know that your heart is right with God.