Enhancing the Law of Moses

The fifth commandment Moses received was a ban on murder. “Thou shall not kill” is fairly easy to obey. One just has to abstain from killing other people. But then Jesus took it further by stating it was also necessary to get rid of hate, which is the most common reason for murder.

In addition, Jesus said you have to be more righteous than the Pharisees, which was astonishing because the Pharisees were the personification of holiness. This virtue is only available by applying the righteousness that comes through salvation. Jesus also addressed the problem of holding grudges and not being willing to forgive other people. Being unwilling or unable to forgive is completely unacceptable in the Kingdom of God and it is useless to try to worship the Lord when a condition of unforgiveness exists.

Jesus warned about the need to settle disputes on this earth and not letting them carry over into eternity. It is difficult to reconcile our sin nature with the Bible and our emotions often betray us. Regardless what caused the dispute, it is up to you make the effort to settle the matter or Jesus will be forced to deal with it at the Judgment Seat of Christ.