Be Angry And Do Not Sin

“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.
Eph 4:26-27

A question was raised in our study last week concerning the text above. This verse seems to suggest that anger is okay at times. Is that true? After all, Jam 1:19-20 says, “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Is there then such a thing as “godly anger”? If God is love, do those two terms even go together?

Well, we can be certain that God does indeed display anger. “God is a just judge,
and God is angry with the wicked every day.” (Psa 7:11) Nah 1:2-3 tells us that though God is slow to anger, He gets angry nonetheless: “God is jealous, and the Lord avenges; The Lord avenges and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies; The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked.” God gets angry at people. In fact, Eph 2:3 tells us that prior to salvation we “were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” I read a bumper sticker the other day that said, “God is not mad at you.” The truth is that if you are outside of Christ, He is! The passages above remind us that there is no peace with God except in Christ. If outside of Him, you are daily under God’s anger and wrath, and only His patience and longsuffering prevent your destruction.

So, if God is angry, then there must be valid reasons for us to be angry at times. We see that Jesus was angry as He entered the temple filled with moneychangers. After making a whip, he chased them out saying, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” (Joh 2:16) His example here gives us a clue as to the valid basis for anger. Why did Jesus behave that way? Joh 2:17 tells us, “Then His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.'” He was consumed with a desire to glorify His Father! He couldn’t stand to see this place reserved for the worship of God turned into a supermarket to fill men’s wallets.

This account gives us the key to testing whether or not we are sinning when we become angry. Often, anger comes from a self-centered desire to not be mistreated. Jesus never responded in anger to personal attacks (which he received often). Rather than defend Himself, He left us this example: “‘Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth’; 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”. (1Pe 2:22-23) His teaching in the sermon on the mount of Olives was to “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you”. (Mat 5:44) When we get angry, we should check to see if we’re focused on ourselves or on the Lord. The primary issue isn’t the anger itself but rather the motive behind the it. According to 1Co 10:31, “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” So be angry only for God’s glory!

Inevitably, we fail on this point. What then? What about the times anger gets the best of us? As our main text today instructs us, “do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.” Don’t open the door to Satan by leaving this sin unconfessed. Even if our anger was in reaction to someone who first mistreated us and probably should apologize, we should admit our wrongdoing in our sinful anger and forgive that person. Don’t let the sun go down without dealing with those things. Don’t hold on to anger and let it fester. It will still be there in the morning and only get worse. Honor the Lord by being the one to apologize first! Remember, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Pro 15:1)

Jamie

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