Topical - Biblical View of Anger
Introduction:
If you fail to deal biblically with anger, increasing disobedience to Scripture is inevitable. This is based on the following Scriptures:
1. Genesis 4:5-8
2. 1 Samuel 18:7-9
3. Psalm 37:8
4. Proverbs 19:19; 29:22
5. Ephesians 4:26-27
However, God’s abundant resources ad promises enable you to be an overwhelming conqueror as you deal biblically with the problem of anger in your life. The following Scriptures will support that.
1. John 16:13, 23-24
2. Romans 8:31-39, esp. v.37
3. 1 Corinthians 10:13
4. Ephesians 4:31-32
5. Philippians 1:6; 4:13
6. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
7. James 1:5
8. 1 John 3:22
1. The Anger of God.
a) While Scripture describes God as angry:
(1) Exodus 4:14; 22:24
(2) Numbers 11:33; 25:4; 32:10-15
(3) Deuteronomy 29:27-28; 32:16, 19-22
(4) Joshua 23:16
(5) 1 Kings 11:9
(6) 2 Kings 22:13
(7) Psalm 78:49-50; 90:7
(8) Isaiah 30:27
(9) Daniel 9:16
b) He Remains Holy and Without Sin:
(1) Leviticus 11:45
(2) 1 Peter 1:16
(3) Job 34:10
(4) Matthew 5:48
(5) James 1:13
c) God Is Slow To Anger:
(1) However, simultaneously God is merciful, gracious, compassionate, forgiving, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth (Neh.9:17; Psalm 86:15; 103:8; 145:8; Nahum 1:3).
d) God’s Favor Is For A Lifetime:
(1) But His Anger Is For A Moment (Psalm 30:5)
(2) He Often Restrains His Anger (Psalm 78:38)
e) The Direction of God’s Anger.
(1) Toward rebellion or disobedience to His commands, which are always holy and just.
(a) Deut.29:14-21, 24-28
(b) Psalm 78:21-22
(c) Lamentations 3:42-43
(d) Zephaniah 2:2-3
(e) Romans 2:5
(f) Hebrews 3:7-11
2. The Anger of Jesus.
Many people have the mistaken idea that Christians should get along with everyone and never become angry with anyone. But the Scriptures clearly indicate that some forms of anger are not only justified, they are commanded. You don’t have to read very far in the New Testament before you discover that Jesus didn’t get along with everybody, and that on several occasions, He even became angry with people.
Because Jesus loves us so much, He cannot tolerate evil in our lives. We should have this same attitude "Let those who love the Lord hate evil" (Psalm 97:10, NIV). Jesus did not get along with everyone, and at times, He had to express holy anger against sin and sinful people. He has set the example for us to follow in displaying our anger. He shows us the only reason for becoming angry—sin—and He shows us how to express that anger in constructive ways. When we look at the life and ministry of Jesus, we see Him expressing anger again and again at three different sins. Let’s examine several incidents in the life of Christ to discover what sins in particular aroused His holy anger.
a) The Hardness of Heart (Mark 3:1-7; Luke 6:7)
(1) “The hardening of their hearts” (literal translation). The process of hardening was occurring at that very time and it grieved Him!
(a) Jesus never became angry at the publicans and sinners, but He did express anger toward the self-righteous Pharisees (Matt. 23). They would rather protect their traditions than see a man healed! They had no concern for a needy man! They were only using him as bait in attempt to trap Jesus. Jesus of course, saw this handicapped man as a person made in the image of God. He felt compassion for him and healed him. Nothing is more tragic than when we treat people as a means to an end, in other words, we us them for what we want. The man, of course, knew little about this spiritual conflict. He simply obeyed our Lord’s command, stretched out his hand, and was healed.
(2) These Men Used A Woman As A Weapon Against Jesus (John 8:1-11).
(a) They cared nothing for true righteousness, because it’s evident that they set her up. Why? If they cared for righteousness, where is the man?
(b) It’s possible that the man was one of their own number, and was simply setting the woman up as a pawn in their conflict with Jesus.
(c) The Pharisees are after bigger game, the One who breaks their Sabbath with healings and claims to come from God. Jesus is the prey, and this poor lost woman is only their means to stir Him up.
(d) The Pharisees are willing to entrap and execute a woman in order to discredit Jesus, by using this woman as bait on a hook in order to trap Jesus.
(3) Dehumanizing People—Meaning: To deprive of human qualities such as individuality, compassion, or civility:
(a) When we treat people as things, we dehumanize them and destroy something precious inside them. The scribes and Pharisees were not looking at this woman as a person but as a thing—an instrument whereby they could formulate a charge against Jesus. To them she had no name, no personality, no heart, no feelings, no soul. When you use people for your own pleasure or to prove your point, even a religious point, you are treating those people as things to be used instead of human beings to be loved. And this greatly dishonors the One in whose image they were made!
(b) Back To Mark 3:1-7. It is always right to do good; and if we do not do good, we do evil (James 4:17). Jesus knew what His critics were thinking and was angry at the hardening (not “hardness”) of their hearts. He saw the evil process-taking place within them, and He knew where it would end. These religious men would actually become murderers of their own Messiah!
(4) The Pharisees Motive For Being In The Synagogue Was Wrong.
(a) They were not there to worship God or to learn His Word. They didn’t believe they needed anymore teaching (John 5:39).
(b) The weren’t there to listen to Jesus, because they had already rejected Him. They were there to CRITICIZE! Many today come to church for the same reasons, and are just as guilty of the same sin as the Pharisees were! They come to criticize and find something to gossip about.
Illustration: After a Sunday service, one of the listeners came up to the Pastor and said, “You know Pastor, on point number 3 in your sermon, you made a grammatical error.” He then proceeded to point out the error to the Pastor. The Pastor looked at the man and said, “and what else did you get out of the message?”
(c) Our reason for going to church is not to be critical of others, but to worship the Lord and allow His Word to speak to us. A critical spirit has no place in the family of God; it only causes division and strife. The prophet Zechariah writes:
"Then this message came to Zechariah from the Lord: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: Judge fairly and honestly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and poor people. And do not make evil plans to harm each other. “Your ancestors would not listen to this message. They turned stubbornly away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing. They made their hearts as hard as stone, so they could not hear the law or the messages that the Lord Almighty had sent them by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. That is why the Lord Almighty was so angry with them." (Zechariah 7:8-12, NLT)
(5) The Lord’s Anger Was A Righteous Indignation.
(a) Mark 3:5 states that Jesus “looked around at them in anger.” His anger was not a the slow, seething kind of anger that grows. It was a righteous indignation that was quickly aroused and was just as quickly quenched. However, the phrase “being grieved” (v.5) is a present participle indicating a continuous action. Thus, while Jesus was only angry at them for a moment, He constantly grieved over the hardening of their hearts. The same should be true of our anger. Our anger should be motivated by a deep and constant sense of grief at what sin is doing to others. While we should be angry at the sin, we should also feel sorrow for the sinner.
(b) The Lord is still grieving over the hardness of people’s hearts. He sees in our church people who listen to the Word of God just to find something to criticize, people who are not concerned about the need of other, people who pretend to be righteous but resent it when others are blessed and helped by the power of God.
(c) Notice how Jesus expressed His anger and grief (v.7). Rather than staying and arguing, He simply left.
(d) We must deal with our anger in the same way. Often the best solution is simply to walk away from the person with whom we are angry. Rather than trying to change people, we should simply forgive them and commit them to the Lord.
b) Pride (Mark 10:13-16).
The Jews of that day looked on children as a blessing and not a burden, a rich treasure from God and not a liability (Pss. 127–128). To be without children brought a couple both sorrow and disgrace.
(1) It was customary for parents to bring their children to the rabbis for a blessing, and so it was reasonable that they would bring the little ones to Jesus. Some were infants in arms (Luke 18:15), while others were young children able to walk; and He welcomed them all.
Why would the disciples rebuke the people and try to keep the children away from Jesus?
(1) The Disciples Thought That They Knew Best. Instead of asking the Lord’s will in the matter, they tried to handle the situation themselves, and they soon discovered that they had much to learn.
(2) Why Did The Disciple’s Become Proud?
(a) They had the wrong view of the Lord’s ministry. They still thought that Jesus was going to overthrow the Roman Government and set up His kingdom. They could see no reason for wasting time on children who would be of no use in such a kingdom.
(b) They had a wrong view of children. They did not consider the children to be important! The phrase much displeased is too tame. Our Lord actually became indignant as He openly rebuked His disciples for standing in the way. Then He announced that the children were better kingdom examples than were the adults. We tell the children to behave like adults, but Jesus tells the adults to model themselves after the children!
(3) The Lord Is Deeply Grieved at the Way Children Are Treated Today.
(a) Many are destroyed before they have the opportunity to be born.
(b) Many are being abused physically, mentally and emotionally.
(c) Many today are not seen as important in the church.
(d) At the heart of the disciples’ pride was the fact that they had a wrong view of themselves. They believed that they had the right to make decisions for the Lord. They thought they knew what was best for His ministry. So they did things their own way, ignoring the Lord and this angered Jesus! Remember, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
c) Hypocrisy (Mark 11:15-18).
Our Lord hated hypocrisy. When God gave the Law to the people of Israel, he also gave them detailed instructions on how He wanted them to worship Him. The Lord instituted the practice of animal sacrifice in order to prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah, the Lamb of God who would die for the sins of the world. But as they did with many of God’s laws, the Israelites added stipulations and rules concerning sacrifices, and by the time of Christ, the Pharisees had turned the sacrificial system into bit business.
(1) They Made the Temple a Religious Supermarket.
(a) Worshippers needed animals (oxen, sheep, doves), incense, meal, wine, oil, salt, and other items for their sacrifices and offerings.
(b) If your lamb was rejected because of a blemish, you could by one already certified by the priest.
(c) You would pay twice the price for a animal already certified for an offering
(2) Pilgrims From Foreign Nations Needed Money Exchanged.
(a) You could not give an offering to God any coin that had the inscription of a Roman Emperor.
(b) They considered that an image and sacrilege & they would not accept it as a temple offering.
(c) They would exchange your Roman coin for a Temple coin (temple shekel). /
(d) They would change it at a 25% rate of exchange
(3) The Profiting of Religion.
Using the Lords house as a place of business was bad enough, but they were giving a bad witness to the Gentiles as well. Why? Because the religious leaders were conducting their business in the court of the Gentiles, where they should have been seeking to lead the Gentiles to knowledge of the Lord. This court was the only area in the entire temple where the Gentiles could go to worship God.
(a) First, there was the Court of the Priests.
Only the priests were allowed to enter this court. Within the courtyard of the Priests stood the great furnishings of worship: the Altar of Burnt Offering, the Brazen Laver, the Seven Branched lamp-stand, the Altar of Incense, and the Table of Showbread.
(b) Second, there was the Court of the Israelites.
This was a huge courtyard where Jewish worshippers met together for joint services on the great feast days. It was also where worshippers handed over their sacrifices to the priests.
(c) Third, there was the Court of the Women.
Women were usually limited to this area except for joint worship with men. They could, however, enter the Court of the Israelites when they came to make a sacrifice or worship in a joint assembly on a great feast day.
(d) Last was the Court of the Gentiles.
It covered a vast space, surrounding all the other courtyards, and was the place of worship for all Gentile converts to Judaism.
(i) People who desired to worship God were taken advantage by the priest’ for their own personal gain.
(ii) Paul warned Timothy of those “false teachers” who would teach that godliness is a way to riches or gain money.
(iii) They used it for a personal financial gain, he said, “from such withdraw yourself” (1Tim. 6:5)
(iv) The Jews should have been there witnessing to the Gentiles, opening His Word to them, and sharing the truth of salvation. Instead, they were running a market and making money, and losing souls!