We live in a world which believes “if it feels good, do it.” And in the world we see anger is rampant. Today we exposed to more anger than ever. Domestic violence, spousal abuse, gang wars, road rage and personal assault are growing to disturbing levels.
Anger in itself is not sin. We must remember that Anger is one of the attributes of God. In the Old Testament, there are over 600 verses that state that God is angry. But God’s wrath in never misguided .His anger is always a just reaction to evil.
In Romans 1:18 we read, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;.” and
Romans 2: 5-9 “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;” Such good or righteous anger is very rare among us fallen people. Our anger is often misguided and misdirected.
Christ when personally abused, He said nothing (1Peter 2: 21-23). But when it was against God, He displayed righteous anger (as in the temple). But we most of times remain silent when sin is exalted and God is dishonored, then get angry when someone offends us personally.
In 2Peter 1:3 we read “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue”. Therefore it is important for us to learn His principles on the subject of Anger.
For our brief meditation please turn to Matthew 5:21-26 “ .”, Before we dwell on this passage let us briefly see the setting the prompted Lord Jesus to teach on the subject of anger.
Matthew 5:20 “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Imagine for a moment how disturbing this statement must have been for the people of that day. Pharisees and the teachers were the most spiritually minded people of their day. Everyone looked up to them for guidance in the laws of God. However Lord Jesus said to the People, “that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. The people who heard Lord Jesus must have been wondering, “How can we possibly become more righteous than the scribes and the Pharisees?”.
Lord Jesus answers that question in Matthew 5:21 to 5:48. Six times Lord Jesus says, “You have heard it said…but I say to you”. With these words Lord Jesus shows the true intent of God’s Law. The Scribes and Pharisees obeyed the laws outwardly however Lord Jesus wants his disciples to obey them inwardly as well.
God demands that we bring into captivity every thought to the obedience to Christ. (2Cor.10:5). Not only does God measure our activities by His word but also our attitudes. Therefore if we want our righteousness to surpass that of the Scribes and Pharisees, and if we want to enter into the kingdom of heaven, then we must learn to handle our anger.
We will look at two points, (1). As believers, we must be aware of the seriousness of unrighteous anger. (2) We must learn how to handle anger constructively.
1) Seriousness of unrighteous anger
In Matt.5:21 “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and
whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:”. Lord Jesus quoted Exodus
20:13 “Thou shalt not kill.” to show us that murder is a serious offence. It is ungodly act of
violence that is to totally against the will of God. But Lord Jesus did not stop there he
went on to suggest in v.22, that being angry with your brother is just as serious as murder.
Killing is a terrible sin, but unrighteous or unjustified anger is a great sin as well because it also violates God’s command to love.
Before we move on we must understand that righteous or justified anger is not forbidden in the Bible.
- Lord Jesus in John Chapter 2 became angry with the dishonest merchants who were polluting God’s temple. However in His anger, He did not sin.
- When Moses came down from Mount Sinai and saw the people worshipping a golden calf, he had every right to be angry.
- When Jonathan became angry with his father Saul for treating David shamefully (1Sam.20:34) he had every right to be angry.
But anger that is unjustified is wrong,
In Eph.4:26, we read ” In your anger do not sin…”
-When Abel offered a better sacrifice to God, his brother Cain became angry; His anger was prompted by his jealousy. That is unjustifiable anger.
Further Lord Jesus in Matt 5:22 warns us of the awesomely destructive potential of words.
“But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says . ‘You fool’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. (Matt. 5:22)
When we are angry and say hurtful things to others, we are sinning. We need to be very careful with the words we offer to others. We need to remind ourselves daily that angry outburst is not the fruit of spirit but is a work of flesh (Gal 5:20).
Illustration
“There was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all, he told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.
The days passed and the young boy finally was able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one (You can put a knife in a man and draw it out). It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there”. A verbal wound is a bad as a physical one.”
One great enemy of a godly man and godly woman is anger. It is not evil to be angry. It is evil to allow your anger to control your motivations, decisions and actions.
We need to take advice of James, “if anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless”(James 1:26)
Anger that is not resolved and still lingers in our Heart is wrong and sinful.
In Mark 11:25. Lord Jesus teaches about not holding anything against anyone.
In Ephesians 4:26-27 we read “Be angry and do not sin.” Do not let the sun go down on your wrath. Nor give place to the devil”.
Here Paul is telling us that if anger comes to the heart, 1) It must be controlled and 2) It must be dispelled before nightfall, i.e If we have anger even though it is justified anger lingering in our lives then we have sin reigning in our hearts. As believers we cannot hoard anger in our hearts because,
First - it grieves the Holy Spirit Eph.4:30-32,
Second- spiritual oppression As Christians we know that we cannot be demon possessed. Demons cannot come in and take our over our body as we have the Holy Spirit in us. But we can be demon oppressed. Ephesians 4:26,27 says that if we hoard anger we give the devil an opportunity to enter, to hold and create havoc in our lives.
2) As believers we must learn how to handle anger constructively.
As believers, transformation in our life is only possible by renewing our mind. Paul writes in Rom.12: 1-2 ‘I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God’.
For this renewing first we need to ask God to reveal the angers you and me been harboring in our spirit.
David asked God in Psalm 139: 23-24. “Search me O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxieties. And see if there is any wicked way in me. And lead me in the way everlasting.”
Second – As God reveals us, let us deal with them one by one by resolving them in the biblical pattern.
Matthew 5: 23 “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;”,
Lord Jesus is telling us if we actually want to work out our anger then we must go to the person we are having trouble with first and get it all worked out, and then come to God.
Mark 11:25 “And when you stand praying if you hold anything against anyone forgive him, so that your father in heaven may forgive your sins”.
Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive men when they sin against you your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins your Father will not forgive your sins”, i.e. we have to forgive or finish the matter. It is a command not an option.
With a mind being renewed in this way it will become possible for us to,
First – Put off things like anger, wrath (Col 3:8-11),
Second – To put on things like kindness, love, the peace of God. (Col 3:12-15)
As believers if we do not present ourselves daily to God, renewing our mind, we will react according to the works of the flesh. (With anger and wrath) Gal 5: 19-21. But the more we allow ourselves to be transformed in the image of Christ, the more will we react according to the fruit of the Spirit. (Kindness, Gentleness, Self Control) Gal 5:22-23.
Conclusion
Following the example of Christ, there may be a place for anger, but only in things pertaining to the honour and will of God, in all other things, we do well to remember.
1) The example of Lord Jesus, 1 Peter 2:23 “who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return: when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.
2) The Words of David Psalm 37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: Do not fret – it only causes harm.
Let us Cease from anger, and forsake wrath by presenting ourselves to God, allowing our minds to be renewed as we behold His glory revealed in the Bible.
2 Cor 5:17,”Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away, behold all things have become new.”
Published in Harvest Times For Our Family/GLS/April2010 Issue/Mumbai
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