Sermon Tone Analysis

! Introduction 

"Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."

(Ephesians 4:31-32, NKJV)

"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." (James 1:19-20, NKJV)

 

! I.                    Anger and Bitterness

*Introduction: *What do Moses, King David, the prophet Jonah, and Jesus Christ all have in common?

According to the Scriptures, they all experienced anger.

With some, it was righteous anger; with others, their anger was sinful.

In anger, Moses broke the two tablets of the law when he came down from the mountain.

David became angry and passed judgment on an unknown criminal, only to discover that he was the man.

In so doing, he brought heartache upon himself and his family for years to come.

Anger is a fact of life.

Everyone experiences this emotion from time to time.

Many righteous people in the Bible became angry, just as we saw last week that Saul had become angry (1 Samuel 11:6; 1 Samuel 20:30-33).

Scripture even includes our Lord Himself.

For this reason God’s Word has much to say about the subject of anger—what it is and what it can do.

When anger is controlled and is displayed according to biblical principles, it can be a positive force that will bring glory to God.

When anger is selfish, it can destroy a great deal of what is good.

Therefore, it is important to understand this force and learn to use it the way that God had intended for us.

*Definition — *The emotion of instant displeasure on account of something evil that presents itself to our view.

In itself it is an original susceptibility of our nature, just as love is, and is not necessarily sinful.

Ø       It may, however, become sinful when causeless, or excessive, or lingering:

/“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’

But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.

And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council.

But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire."

(Matthew 5:21-22, NKJV) /

/“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath," (Ephesians 4:26, NKJV) /

/"But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth."

(Colossians 3:8, NKJV) /

 

Ø       As ascribed to God, it merely denotes his displeasure with sin and with sinners (Ps.

7:11).

*Anger Itself Is Not Something Evil*.

God has instilled in us certain emotions, including anger.

When these emotions are working together properly, they serve to protect us and build us up.

Anger is something like fire.

When used correctly, fire warms us and helps us cook meals and drive machinery.

However, if left to itself, a small fire will soon become a raging inferno, destroying everything in its path.

Anger can fuel our emotional defense system when it is used ad God had directed, or it can cause a great deal of damage if it’s left uncontrolled.

*The philosopher Aristotle wrote:*

“Anybody can become angry.

That is easy.

But to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose and in the right way—that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy.”

!! A.                  The Purposes of This Lessons Are:

!!!! a)                  To present the biblical view of anger and bitterness:

!!!! b)                  To help you recognize unbiblical responses to anger and bitterness:

!!!! c)                  To develop a plan for overcoming anger and bitterness:

 

 

!!! 1.                  God’s View

!!!! a)                  The Character of the Old Self Apart From Jesus Christ.

!!!!! (1)                 Anger (great displeasure, animosity) that is quickly aroused or quickly expressed is characteristic of your old self apart from Jesus Christ and is contrary to Scripture: 

/"Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies," (Galatians 5:19-20) /

/"But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth."

(Colossians 3:8) /

/"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." (James 1:19-20) /

!!!!! (2)                 Bitterness is related to anger and demonstrates a great dissatisfaction with God’s sovereignty in your life.

Bitterness arises out of living to please self instead of living to please the Lord:

/"And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!

You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God.

Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.

For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”"

(Acts 8:18-23, NKJV) /

/"As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one… “The poison of asps is under their lips”; “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”"

(Romans 3:10-18, NKJV)/

/"Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;" (Hebrews 12:15) /

 

!!! 2.                  Is There More Than On Kind Of Anger?

!!!! a)                  Identifying Different Kinds Of Anger (Colossians 3:8)

!!!!! /(1)                 /*/Anger is a deep, smoldering, resentful bitterness/*/.

/

It is the settled heart attitude of the angry person.

Frustrations do not create his anger, but merely reveal that he is an angry person and give him a target for his fury.

That has no place in a Christian’s life (cf.

Eph.

4:31).

Rather, believers are to be “slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God” (James 1:19–20).

!!!!! /(2)                 /*/Wrath refers to a sudden outburst of anger/*/.

/

The Greeks likened it to a fire in straw, which flares up briefly and is gone.

It is used to speak of those in the synagogue of Nazareth who exploded in anger upon hearing Jesus’ teachings (Luke 4:28).

It is used similarly of the Ephesian craftsmen’s anger over Paul’s preaching (Acts 19:28).

It is one of the deeds of the flesh (Gal.

5:20), and it is not acceptable behavior for Christians (Eph.

4:31).

!!!!! /(3)                 /*/Anger and wrath are closely related/*/.

/

The churning, boiling anger that often lies just below the surface gives rise to eruptions of wrath.

And many unbelievers live with a deep-seated resentment that feeds their anger.

They do not understand why they are alive and enduring the pains of life.

They did not ask for their circumstances, and they do not know how to handle them.

All of that stokes the fires of their anger and makes them even more prone to explosions of wrath when exacerbated.

!!!!! /(4)                 /*/Malice translates kakia, a general term for moral evil/*/.

/

J. B. Lightfoot defines it as “the vicious nature which is bent on doing harm to others” (/St.

Paul’s Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon/ [1879; reprint, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1959], p. 214).

In this context, it probably refers to the harm caused by evil speech.

!!!!! /(5)                 /*/Anger, wrath, and malice often result in slander./*/

/

The Greek word translated “slander” is from which our English word /blasphemy/ derives.

When used in relation to God, it is translated “blasphemy.”

When used in relation to people, as here, it is translated “slander.”

To slander people, however, is to blaspheme God, inasmuch as He created men and women (cf.

James 3:9).

Such foolish talk is not to be indulged in lightly.

Our Lord solemnly warned in Matthew 5:22 that “whoever shall say to his brother, ‘Raca,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever shall say, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”

People are to be treated with dignity because they are made in the image of God.

The believer’s speech must not be marred by insults or disparaging remarks directed at others.