RUSHWAVE: Establishing Believers in the Christian Faith

from The Judgment God Desires to Withhold

Chapter 15: Man Violates God’s Law in his Heart

Many are murderers, adulterers and thieves even though they may have never committed such acts.

God characterizes man as those whose “feet are swift to shed blood” (Romans 3:15). And without question, such a statement is charging all mankind with being murderers. From a strictly physical standpoint, this statement is certainly untrue. The vast majority of convicted murderers are men, not women. Shall we therefore conclude that women’s hearts are not swift to shed blood? Certainly not, for God’s verdict applies to mankind as a whole, not just one sex.

When God states man’s “feet are swift to shed blood,” He is not stating every person on earth has committed the physical act of murder. He is not even saying everyone has plotted to murder someone, but just not carried it out. Have you plotted to murder someone this week, this year, or ever in your whole life? Many will say no. So what does the statement mean? In what way is God’s verdict that all are “swift to shed blood” truthful?

God’s righteous verdict that “There is none righteous” goes far beyond the outward, visible breaking of the Ten Commandments. And the specific commandment “Do not murder” extends far beyond the physical act of unlawfully taking another man’s life. There is an entire unseen realm outside man’s visible acts that God sees with absolute clarity. In that realm, violating His Law is related to the core of man’s being: the seat of his thoughts, intents, desires, and emotions. And it is on that basis that He forms His verdicts.

Man is liable for violating the Ten Commandments through a wrong heart attitude. God’s Law must not only be considered from its outward standards, but also from the thoughts, motives and desires from which the outward violations spring.

The false religious leaders of Jesus’ day put great emphasis on obeying the external aspects of the Law. But Jesus had an entirely different perspective that would have seemed revolutionary. In the Sermon on the Mount He quotes the Law and expands upon it.

You have heard that the ancients were told, “You shall not commit murder” and “Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.” But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, “You good-for-nothing,” shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, “You fool,” shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. Matthew 5:21-22
You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery”; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matthew 5:27–28

Jesus addresses the heart attitude behind the outward violations of the Law. He is teaching true righteousness is not merely external; it is internal and related to the heart.

There are many men who over their entire life have never committed physical acts of murder or adultery. But they have time and again cursed their fellow man, been hateful, sneaked a leering glance or viewed pornography in private. As such, they are guilty before God of committing murder and adultery thousands of times. Yes, committing the physical act of murder or adultery is worse than being hateful or lusting. But hate and lust, though not followed though to their natural end, are still evil and warrant God’s judgment.

God judges man for the wicked words that reflect his evil heart. Jesus taught that while the core of man’s being — his heart — is unseen, the words he speaks flow out of his heart and reveal its nature. He expressed this in His rebuke of the Pharisees who constantly spoke evil of Him. Jesus said:

You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. Matthew 12:34

The Pharisees abiding, unrighteous hatred manifested itself in their vicious, falsely accusatory words against Jesus. It was the natural outworking of who they were. In contrast when Jesus referred to them as snakes, He was not speaking out of hostility or being falsely accusatory. He was speaking the truth.

James addresses the inability of man to control his tongue, and how it defiles mankind.

So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell … no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. James 3:5–10

Consider the types of vicious words that come out of our mouths. We say things like “I wish you were dead;” “I hate you;” or “I will never forgive you.” We also call others derogatory names that are far worse than “good-for-nothing” or “fool.” When we make these statements, afterwards we may be filled with remorse and say “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean that.” But our corrective statement is in one sense true, and in another sense false. In the moment we made the vicious statement, we actually did mean it; that is why we said it. We spoke from out heart, for out of the heart the mouth speaks. And yes, when we apologized we meant that too; our initial hateful statement may not be an abiding attitude toward the one who offended us. But the fact remains the initial words that came out of our heart were murderous in spirit.

Man has perfected hurling out insults in the entertainment industry. Comedy shows are typically filled with people who do nothing but tear each other down in one way or another. There is nothing wrong with comedy per se. But when it consists of activities that violate the command of God, it ought not be considered humorous.

Jesus said:

Every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. Matthew 12:36

Man is accountable before God for everything he has ever spoken, from his youth into his old age. He will answer for every single time he cursed, insulted, mocked, demeaned, belittled, threatened, slandered, or maligned. When God judges man for his words, He is ultimately judging his heart.

God judges man for wicked heart attitudes that go unspoken. Our contempt for others is not always traceable to words. How often have we ourselves either engaged in or been subject to “the silent treatment”? In such situations words are never spoken, but there is a coldness, distance, and air of contempt against the one who offended us. We avoid giving or receiving a physical touch, or making eye contact. Other times we are more deceitful and quietly do something we know irritates the offender. Indeed, there are many vicious, vengeful acts we disguise by making them appear either accidental or even caring.

God’s characterization of a murderer is very, very clear.

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer. 1 John 3:15

Hatred is an attitude of the heart, so a person can be hateful without ever speaking a word. Hate involves a spirit of ill-will against another person, and it is physical, premeditated murder in seed form. As such, man is held accountable for a heart attitude of contempt.

God judges man for his evil desires. The commandment “You shall not covet” clearly has this in view. It prohibits yearning for something one has no right to possess — the person or thing belongs to someone else. Therefore the desire to take it for oneself is evil.

Coveting often occurs when a thin line is crossed regarding sensations or observations. A hungry person will find the aromas of a cooked meal pleasing. And in the garden of Eden, the tree of knowledge of good and evil was pleasant to look at, even though eating from it was forbidden (Genesis 2:8-9). And scripture notes certain people, such as Joseph, were very handsome (Genesis 39:6). These sensations and observations are just human physiology in action. But when these transition to evil yearnings; when the hungry man yearns to steal the food, when the wife of Joseph’s master desired to commit adultery with Joseph, and when Eve longed to eat the fruit of the tree, covetousness entered. “Each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin” (James 1:14-15).

Man’s standards are far different than God’s as respects covetousness. The world often considers desires morally neutral and says “wanting or craving something is not evil; it’s just whether you choose to act on that desire.” But this is man’s standard, not God’s. From God’s perspective, when we yearn for something we ought not, we are sinning.

God judges man for the evil thoughts he conceives. There is a moral dimension to the conception of a thought. All thoughts are not morally neutral, nor is it that man is liable only when he follows through on a thought. Simply conceiving a thought can be evil.

Jesus cataloged the type of evil thoughts that can come out of man’s heart and bring defilement.

For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man. Mark 7:21–23

Consider the implications of Jesus’ words. An offended man may conceive the thought to retaliate against his offender with an insult. A married man may see a woman and ponder adulterous thoughts. A thief may see a costly item and consider stealing it. In all these cases, the man may not follow through and act upon his thoughts. He may bounce the idea back and forth, and inwardly deliberate over the pros and cons before actually deciding not to follow through. But from God’s perspective, the man has still defiled himself because of what he thought.

Evil spirits play a role in evil thoughts. This is not to suggest every evil thought necessarily has as its source an evil spirit. But scripture clearly testifies there is a relationship between the two. Satan put in the heart of men to murder Job’s servants and steal his livestock (Job 1:12-17). The devil put into the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus (John 13:3). Satan was behind Peter’s rebuke of Jesus, and Jesus responded to Peter by rebuking Satan (Matthew 16:23). And the devil put it in the heart of Ananias to lie (Acts 5:3). In all these cases, the parties involved were unaware they were acting on promptings from an evil spirit. But that was in fact the case. They unwittingly were instruments of Satan and fulfilling his will.

Scripture portrays the world as under Satan’s dominion. Jesus said he is “the ruler of this world” (John 14:30). And Paul told the Ephesian Christians “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). The realm of Satan’s reach is primarily in telling lies, and “whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). And in some way that scripture does not fully delineate, the powers of darkness are instrumental in implanting those lies in the hearts and minds of men.

Once again man’s standards are far different than God’s in the realm of thoughts. The world deems the entrance and consideration of a thought as merely part of the deliberative process with no moral or spiritual dimension. But this is not the case. God not only knows our thoughts; He holds us accountable for our thoughts — especially when they are born of the devil.

God not only judges your outward, visible actions. He also judges your inward, unseen heart attitudes. These include evil thoughts you may have conceived, many of which may have been inspired by evil spirits and which you embraced. Your heart attitude also includes sinful yearnings for things God prohibits you to have. Even if you do not follow through with carrying out your evil thoughts and desires, you nonetheless violate the spirit of the Ten Commandments and are liable before God.

from The Judgment God Desires to Withhold

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