Do you remember what it is like to walk into a new class? You know the teacher only by his tough reputation. You look at the syllabus trying to figure out how to pass with a good grade. After looking at the reading and writing requirements, you revise your expectations, looking for a way to guarantee that you pass the course. You think of dropping the class, but you remember it is required for your major. This is not a good feeling. What will you do?

How often are you tempted to think of the Christian life as a test—a list of requirements to complete in order to "run the race well." Of course your theology reminds you that it is by grace you are saved, through faith, but you still have to live the Christian life. You want to do it well, and not just for the Lord. Other people are watching, too.

There are missionaries who forsake home and the comforts of electricity and indoor plumbing. They are saints who will get an A in their Christian walk. Others are faithful, even if they are not as self-sacrificing. It would be OK to be among them. But whatever you do, you want to have a passing grade as a Christian, right?

Enter the teacher of the course, the loving Lord Jesus. He tells us how we are to live in his kingdom. He tells us that we are not to hate our brother or else we will be liable for the judgment, just like murderers are. The footnote in the text qualifies that statement. It says we are not to be angry with our brother without cause. But this is no real loophole. We always have a cause to be angry. We always think it a good cause when we are angry. Have you ever woke up one morning and decided to be angry with someone else for no reason at all? Of course not!

The problem with our anger is its destructive nature. It hurts our own hearts as well as those we vent on. It leads us to do actions that hurt others. St. James says that human anger does not work the righteousness of God. That is why we should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry (James 1:19-20). Our righteous indignation can be the most harmful because we mistakenly harbor it as a good thing, when it is not.

By the way, parents are often fooled by thinking their "righteous wrath is good. Our children need to be corrected. Sometimes they need "a good talking to." Woe unto them and us if we do not speak the words of correction they need. But they do not need our anger vented upon them. Fathers do not provoke your children to wrath (Ephesians 6:4). Our words should be to build them up according to their needs (Ephesians 4:29).

When you realize the full weight of what Jesus is saying, you have to admit that you cannot pass his class—and this is only the first on the requirement list! How often have you been angry and stayed angry with a brother or sister in Christ?

It gets worse. Have you spoken of another with contempt or ridicule? Have you smirked as you or someone else made fun of them behind their back? Jesus says that this behavior is worthy of bringing you to the highest court in the land. Have you considered another as absolutely worthless (calling them an utter fool)? Have you even thought that they were so bad that you would be just as happy if God let them go straight to hell? Jesus says that such an attitude is worthy of the fire of hell itself.

Are you still thinking that you may pass the final exam? If you thought Moses’ law was tough, Jesus’ teaching is even tougher. Jesus explains that the 10 commandments are not just a list of things you had better do or not do. They also involve the heart. Our sins of the heart are just as real and just as wrong as the sins of our mouth or our hands. It is true that some sins are more heinous than others (e.g., murder is more heinous than murder in the heart) but sin is sin and it is all bad.

I hope by this point you realize how wrong and potentially destructive it is to view the Christian life as some sort of test and that you can somehow earn a passing grade. The theology that you are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone is practical for your life. The Law, especially as Jesus explains it points you to your need for a Savior. It also points you to the Savior who fulfilled the Law and the Prophets for you.

The Law shows us to be lawbreakers. In verses 23-26, we are told how we are to respond to this fact. Basically, they describe the attitude and action of repentance. The attitude is one of utter humility. The worshipper is to leave the gift and go make it right with the offended brother. He is to do whatever it takes to make it right. A proud heart wants to even the score or work something out. A humble heart will do anything to make it right.

The law reminds you how much you need (note the present tense!) a Savior. Look to him today for full forgiveness of all your sin and the power to live the life his Kingdom requires.