- Relationship without Rules leads to Rejection.

- Backstory - Jesus comes in and redefines the law for the Jews.

- Many Jews focused solely on behavior, but Jesus focused on motivation.

- He then addresses six topics:

- Murder

- Adultery

- Divorce

- Vows

- Retaliation

- Love of Enemies

- He talked about murder first - the unlawful premeditated killing of another person.

- Murder is a person to person interaction born out of anger.

- It is the result of a relationship gone wrong (Cain and Abel).

- Jesus isn’t talking about killing - He’s talking about how to get along with people.

- Read from EO book intro about relationships.

- Then Jesus gives two types of relationships - with brothers & adversaries.

- A brother is someone who has your best interest at heart.

- An adversary does not.

- In order to be at peace with a brother you need EMOTION.

- In order to be at peace with an adversary you need a TRANSACTION.

- Romans 12:18 - “so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”

- Vs 21-22 - growing anger (NASB)

- angry “without cause.”

- Raca - pride, putting yourself in a superior position.

- Fool - they’re not worthy of God’s grace or mercy.

- Vs 23-24 - God limits His relationship with you in proportion to your relationship with others.

- Your vertical relationship to God is only as strong as your horizontal relationships with people.

- We seek reconciliation w/ brothers - to be on the same page!

- “No regrets” (Romans 12:18).

- 4 Words - The more mature person will MAKE THE FIRST MOVE.

- Humility is the key to accessing the heart (own your part).

- Vs 25-26 - an adversary is a non-brother but you have a dispute.

- It’s not a person who simply doesn’t like you - there’s context to your relationship (work, etc).

- In this scenario you owe someone money (or a job, whatever).

- Christ tells us to “settle the matter” - “deal with the issue.”

- Turn the relationship into a transaction and get it resolved.