Q and A
Question and Answer • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 3 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
At what point does anger or acting on your anger become a sin? Why was it not a sin when Jesus flipped the tables at the Temple?
At what point does anger or acting on your anger become a sin? Why was it not a sin when Jesus flipped the tables at the Temple?
Anger is a natural feeling. It is okay to feel angry. Anger is an emotion of instant displeasure in response to something that is perceived to be wrong or unjust.
Feeling angry isn’t in and of itself wrong, but how we respond to our anger can get us into a lot of trouble.
Dangers of Anger
An angry man stirs up strife, And a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression.
“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
Warnings against anger
Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.
This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
God’s demonstration of His anger
Context: The Temple is the holy place of worship in Israel. The people had turned this holy and sacred place into a market of deception. Selling forgiveness and atonement at a high price. They limited the people’s opportunity to worship and turned a relationship with God into a franchise. More than that they were setting their tables up in the court of the Gentiles. Imagine you’re outside the family of God but you want to have a relationship with God. You come to the only place you can go to participate and there are people selling things where you are supposed to worship. It’s distracting. It’s unwelcoming. Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple doesn’t just show His view of the importance of worship but also His care for those outside the house of Israel.
The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.
And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;
and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.”
His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house will consume me.”
The Lord is gracious and merciful;
Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
Know your role
God is judge and avenger
Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
We are ambassadors of reconciliation
Our mission as Christians is to point people to the forgiveness found in Christ
Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
When is the right time to act in anger?
When it honors and glorifies God
Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
How should you respond in your anger?
With justice
Peter’s actions hindered the Gospel. Paul held him accountable for what he did. In our anger we must stand up for what is right.
But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?
With mercy
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
With humility
“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
Am I governed by the Spirit or by my feelings?
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
We are dead to our passions but alive in the Spirit to choose to act with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Is it possible to act in anger and still be peaceful, patient, kind, gentle, and show self control?
Too much anger vs. not enough anger
According to Aristotle πραις = the mean between the extremes of excessive anger and no anger. So the meek person is “angry on the right occasion and with the right people and at the right moment and for the right length of time.… Blessed is the man who is always angry at the right time and never angry at the wrong time.”
Questions to ponder
Are the things that make me angry the same as the things that make God angry?
How do I act in my anger? Am I just? Am I forgiving? Do I honor God?
Am I following God’s direction or leaving room for Him to judge or am I taking matters into my own hands?
Are there people in my life that I need to ask forgiveness from or offer forgiveness to?
What is the age of accountability and how do we know we have reached that age if its different for everyone?
What is the age of accountability and how do we know we have reached that age if its different for everyone?
ACCOUNTABILITY, AGE OF Age at which God holds children accountable for their sins. When persons come to this point, they face the inevitability of divine judgment if they fail to repent and believe the gospel.
Scripture speaks plainly of the need for sinful humans to be converted in order to have eternal life, but it does not directly address the matter of the destiny of children who die in infancy or young childhood. Some things are clear, though. Scripture is specific that all persons are sinners, even little ones. “The wicked go astray from the womb; liars err from birth” (Ps. 58:3 HCSB). “Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me” (Ps. 51:5 HCSB). The psalmist is not saying that only certain persons are sinners from birth, nor is he saying that his mother sinned in conceiving him, but rather that all persons are sinners from their earliest days. Jesus also makes it clear that all who are born are in need of regeneration when He informed Nicodemus, “Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6 HCSB).
People are converted when, under the convicting power of the Spirit, they repent of sin and place faith in God who saves through the atoning work of Jesus on the cross (Acts 2:38; Rom. 3:21–26). In order to be saved, one needs to have a basic understanding of the faith and of the relationship between one’s sin and Christ’s sacrifice (Rom. 10:9–15). This requires, of course, a certain amount of cognitive knowledge and reasoning ability, along with the convicting work of the Spirit. Though there is no specific “age” of accountability technically speaking (for instance, age 12 or 13), there is a “time” in one’s life when he or she is accountable for sin.
What hope is there then for little ones who are too young to work out all of these issues mentally and spiritually? Much hope, actually. First, it is clear in the account of judgment against Israel for its failure to trust God at Kadesh-barnea that God held accountable only those who were decision makers—the children were not held responsible (Num. 14:29–31). Though judgment in this case was only temporal and not eternal, it does illustrate a principle of mercy toward those not in a position to make such determinations. It is not that children are innocent, but only that God is merciful, a mercy seemingly applied somewhat differently to infants than to those who are older—that is, universally. Second, when David’s child died seven days after being born, the king informed his servants, “I shall go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Sam. 12:23 NRSV). He clearly was convinced that he would see his child after his own death. This same king wrote in another place that he would spend eternity in the “house of Yahweh” (Ps. 23:6 NJB). It is to that house that he believed his son would go.
If that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and one must be reborn in order to see God, how is it possible for little ones to be saved? Again, Scripture gives no mechanism for this procedure, though it does drop hints. John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb (Luke 1:15). This makes it clear that the Spirit can have a relationship with someone who has no intellectual understanding of that bond. This ought not to surprise Bible students since Jesus noted that the Spirit moves where He wills (John 3:8).
God’s Word does not present an explicit and unequivocal case for infant salvation; it is somewhat silent on the question. Insofar as it does address the relevant issues, however, it seems clearly to imply that those who die before reaching an age of responsibility will not be condemned by God, even though they are sinners by nature and choice, but will instead be received into eternal salvation.
Dear Phillip,
If you had to choose one student, male and female, to be your favorites who would it be?