Steering Clear of Murder

In this searching message on Matthew 5:21–26, Chuck Swindoll confronts the listener with a shocking question: “Are you a murderer?” While most would immediately deny such a charge, Swindoll uses the words of Jesus to reveal that the weapon of murder is often hidden behind our teeth—the tongue [6–7].

Swindoll explains that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day taught the letter of the Law, focusing solely on the physical act of killing. However, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus moves past the external act to the internal motive, equating unrighteous anger, insults, and holding grudges with murder itself. Swindoll argues that verbal assassination—poisoning others with words, stabbing them with sarcasm, or burning them with rage—makes one guilty before God’s court [13–15, 18].

The message culminates in a call to urgent reconciliation. Swindoll emphasizes that worship is unacceptable to God if we are harboring unresolved conflict. He challenges believers to leave their “gift at the altar” and go first to be reconciled with the brother or sister they have offended. The sermon warns that refusing to forgive traps a person in a “prison” of bitterness, where they are handed over to the “torturers” of their own resentment [25–29].

Message Key Facts:

• The Literary Pattern: Swindoll identifies a specific literary structure Jesus uses six times in Matthew 5 to correct false religious teaching: “You have heard… But I say to you.” This phrase contrasts the limited, external teaching of the scribes (the act) with the deeper, internal command of the Kingdom (the heart) [14–15].
• Verbal Murder: Jesus identifies specific insults as evidence of a murderous heart:
  • “Good for nothing”: (Airhead/Empty-headed). An insult to a person’s intelligence or worth.
  • “Fool”: A moral condemnation, implying the person is godless. Swindoll notes that using the tongue to destroy someone’s character is equivalent to killing them in the eyes of the Kingdom.
• The Tongue as a Weapon: Drawing from James 3, Swindoll describes the tongue as a “restless evil full of deadly poison.” He notes that while we can tame wild beasts, no human being can tame the tongue on their own; it requires the supernatural power of Christ.
• Worship < Reconciliation: Swindoll highlights a startling priority in Matthew 5:23–24: if you are in the middle of worship and remember you have offended someone, you are to stop. The instruction is to “leave your offering,” “go first” to reconcile, and then return to worship. Resolving conflict takes precedence over religious ritual [24–26].
• The Prison of Grudges: Using the Hatfields and McCoys (who feuded for 138 years) as a cautionary tale, Swindoll warns that holding a grudge is a “dreadful way to die.” He explains that the “prison” mentioned in the text refers to being handed over to “torturers”—an internal state of churning bitterness and acid resentment that destroys the one refusing to reconcile [19–21, 28–29].
• Three Principles of Anger:
  1. Kingdom living goes deeper than externals (God looks at the heart).
  2. The potential of anger is far greater than mere words (words wound deeply).
  3. The power of reconciliation is stronger than revenge [30–32].

Message References:

• Matthew 5:21–26: The primary text where Jesus equates anger and insults with murder and commands urgent reconciliation.
• James 3:5–8: A supporting text describing the tongue as a fire, a world of iniquity, and a deadly poison that no man can tame.
• James 4:1–2: Identifies the source of quarrels as the “pleasures” and lusts waging war within our members.
• Romans 3:10–18: A description of human depravity, noting that “their throat is an open grave” and “the poison of asps is under their lips”.
• Matthew 18:34: Referenced to explain the concept of being “handed over to the torturers” as a consequence of unforgiveness.
• Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God,” used in the opening prayer regarding the missionaries to Ecuador.

Message Speaker:

Pastor Chuck Swindoll