Is Anger Always Sin?
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Acts 21:26-36
Last week we started a series on the Truth about Our Mindset.
When we talk about our mindset, we are talking about how we literally set our minds…or what we set our minds upon.
Last week we saw that we need to take every thought captive, and to bring it under obedience to the Word of God.
We need to choose joy, we need to reject anxiety, we need to purpose to think right, and we need to choose contentment.
Today we are moving into the realm of anger.
Is anger always sinful?
No anger is designed as a gift from God, as all of our emotions are.
There are times, places and circumstances that bring out the emotion of anger…and they are not always wrong.
We know this because God get’s angry.
And God cannot sin.
The Bible tells us in Ephesians 4:26-27
26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
27 Neither give place to the devil.
But someone who is always angry, especially at a drop of a hat, has something else going on that has crossed over into sinful anger.
Proverbs 29.22 warns us...
22 An angry man stirreth up strife, And a furious man aboundeth in transgression.
Christians are called to put off sinful behaviors like sinful anger and rage.
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
This word for anger in Ephesians 4:31 is the Greek word orgḗ, which means anger as a state of mind.
A lady once came to Billy Sunday and tried to rationalize her angry outbursts. "There's nothing wrong with losing my temper," she said. "I blow up, and then it's all over."
"So does a shotgun," Sunday replied, "and look at the damage it leaves behind!"
We as Christians are called to put these emotions away from us.
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
However, righteous indignation toward injustice and sin has a purpose and place within the body of Christ.
There are times when it is right to be angry.
If someone is defiling our church by bringing sin into the church, we would be right to be angry.
If someone is hurting our family, we would be right to be angry.
But righteous anger should always leads to resolution.
Something is done about it - a revelation of the truth, the person is brought to justice, there is a move to repentance, a forgiveness and reconciliation.
In Acts 21 we see Paul face some angry people, we even see at one point Paul himself gets angry.
In Acts 21:17, Paul comes back to Jerusalem from his travels and missionary endeavors with the Gentiles.
When he comes back he is brought before James, the Pastor of the church in Jerusalem, and the elders that were present there.
Many of the leaders rejoiced in what the Lord was doing among the Gentiles, but there were many who were zealous of the Law.
21 And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.
They were upset that Paul was teaching the Jews that were among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, and not circumcise their children.
Which by the way was not true, he only told them that the Gentiles were not required to circumcise or follow the law in order to be saved.
They had witnesses that would testify for their cause.
These Jews came up with a solution to let Paul prove that he was not forsaking the Mosaic Law and their traditions, he would go through a purification process, and take four men who had taken a Nazirite vow and help them fulfill their vow, which would include Paul paying for the expenses of the sacrifices concluding their vows.
This would be quite an expense, but Paul willingly goes through this process to keep the peace.
But while he is at the temple some Jews began to stir the people.
27 And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,
28 Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.
29 (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)
A great crowd of people ran together and took Paul and cast him out of the temple, and began to beat him.
They would have succeeded in killing him had the chief captain not taken soldiers and centurions to pull Paul from the fray.
The Captain took him out and away from the people and brought him to the castle for protection.
But he didn’t know what to do with him.
While on the steps of the castle, Paul tried to reason with the men starting in Chapter 22, verse 1.
He began to go through his whole testimony how he had been saved on the Road to Damascus having previously been working with the High Priest to persecute the Christians.
And how that God had sent him to the Gentiles to spread the gospel.
This made the crowd go angry again...
22 And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.
The chief captain brought him into the castle, some more drama unfolds there, but the next day he is set before the Jewish council including the High Priest.
1 And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
2 And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.
3 Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?
4 And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God’s high priest?
5 Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.
Paul spoke up in anger, this was not sinful anger, but because of sinful behavior of the High Priest, but as soon as he realized he was the High Priest he gave him some level of respect.
Paul eventually found himself out of this tight spot, but what a picture of anger gone awry!
God would use this situation to get him to Rome where he could preach there, even while under house arrest.
These two examples of anger give us a very different view of what anger looks like.
Anger is an emotional response that wells us inside of us when we come against a blocked goal or else confronted with a truth that disturbs our comfort or way of life.
The Jews did not like the idea of the Gentiles and Jews being equal.
They didn’t like that Paul was encouraging the Gentiles to not keep the Laws of Moses.
Why should they get by so easily?
If they wanted access to their God would they not have to keep the Law like they do?
But they did not realize that they did not have access to God through the Law, they could not keep the Law sufficient enough to allow them access.
Within this story we see two extremes, and some principles that can guide us in our anger.
So we see first:
I. Ungodly Anger
I. Ungodly Anger
The Jewish people in their zeal were ungodly in their anger.
They sought to kill Paul based upon what they assumed to be true.
Ananias, the High Priest, judged Paul before even hearing him out.
Benjamin Franklin is known for the quote, “Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame.”
We see some common principles regarding this kind of anger…Ungodly anger often...
A. Skews the Truth
A. Skews the Truth
21 And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.
The Jews that were within the church skewed the truth in order to accuse Paul.
Paul did not teach the Jews to forsake the Law of Moses, and especially circumcision.
He just rejected the idea that the Gentiles needed to follow the Law in order to be saved.
But these Jews were more concerned with their standing…being in a place that was higher than these Gentile believers…that they twisted the truth in order to make Paul look worse.
Ungodly anger will twist the other persons words to say something that they did not say.
Godliness is concerned about truth.
When in anger, the words, or retelling of something that happened gets twisted around…it is always ungodly anger.
Secondly, Ungodly anger...
B. Attacks the Person
B. Attacks the Person
27 And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,
The Jews that were in the temple, in their ungodly anger tried to attack Paul, not the situation.
They had no designs to fix the situation, or correct Paul to teach him the truth…they were just angry enough to kill.
Later in verse 31 the Bible says...
31 And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.
The whole situation just blew out of proportion…to the point that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.
No one was really concerned about correcting the situation…they were just interested in killing Paul.
Far too often, ungodly anger, does not try to attack the situation, they attack the people.
The argument becomes nothing more than just an abusive personal attack.
Names are called, extreme statements or accusations are made.
These kinds of arguments are often called ad hominem fallacy, in which a person discredits or rebuts an argument by attacking the speaker rather than the argument itself.
These attacks never help the situation, and only feed an argument, and spirals sinful anger out of control.
It can be helpful to see how Jesus himself handled this kind of argument from his enemies.
In John 8, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for their rejection of him, and in the heat of the discussion, the Pharisees respond by saying,
41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
The Pharisees believed that Mary was impregnated by Joseph before they were married, making Jesus a son born out of wedlock.
This was, of course a false accusation since God was His Father.
But even if the accusation had been true?
Would his being born out of wedlock negate the truth of his words?
Clearly and logically, the answer is no.
Interestingly, Jesus never answers this charge, but over and over directs their attention to the truth...
42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Jesus just focused on the truth, even when his enemies tries to attack him personally.
Ungodly anger skews the truth, and it attacks the person…but it also often...
C. Rushes to Judgement
C. Rushes to Judgement
When Paul is brought before the council of Jews, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, he claims his innocence...
1 And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
But the high priest, Ananias, rushes to judgment...
2 And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.
In the heat of the moment, when tempers are flaring, it is easy to rush to a judgment without knowing the whole story.
Proverbs tells us
29 He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: But he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.
But it is a foolish person who judges a matter before it is all revealed.
I know there have been times when I assumed the motives of someone, and judged harshly, only to find later that I misjudged the situation because I didn’t know the whole story.
My anger was unrighteous, and I caused an offense because I rushed to judgment.
I have to be very careful of this.
My Spiritual gift is Exhortation, and with this comes the ability to see solutions as a problem unfolds, but one of the faults of this is when acting in the flesh and my own wisdom I can jump the gun and try to act and fix a situation before I know the whole matter.
I heard of a similar situation involving some executives from the Standard Oil Company in the early 1930s
One senior executive of the then Standard Oil Company made a wrong decision that cost the company more than $2 million. John D. Rockefeller was then running the firm. On the day the news leaked out most of the executives of the company were finding various ingenious ways of avoiding Mr. Rockefeller, lest his wrath descend on their heads.
There was one exception, however; he was Edward T. Bedford, a partner in the company. Bedford was scheduled to see Rockefeller that day and he kept the appointment, even though he was prepared to listen to a long harangue against the man who made the error in judgment.
When he entered the office the powerful head of the gigantic Standard Oil empire was bent over his desk busily writing with a pencil on a pad of paper. Bedford stood silently, not wishing to interrupt. After a few minutes Rockefeller looked up.
"Oh, it's you, Bedford," he said calmly. "I suppose you've heard about our loss?"
Bedford said that he had.
"I've been thinking it over," Rockefeller said, "and before I ask the man in to discuss the matter, I've been making some notes."
Bedford later told the story this way:
"Across the top of the page was written, 'Points in favor of Mr. _______.' There followed a long list of the man's virtues, including a brief description of how he had helped the company make the right decision on three separate occasions that had earned many times the cost of his recent error.
"I never forgot that lesson. In later years, whenever I was tempted to rip into anyone, I forced myself first to sit down and thoughtfully compile as long a list of good points as I possibly could. Invariably, by the time I finished my inventory, I would see the matter in its true perspective and keep my temper under control. There is no telling how many times this habit has prevented me from committing one of the costliest mistakes any executive can make -- losing his temper.
"I commend it to anyone who must deal with people."
If we just stop and think, and even pray, before we speak in anger, we can prevent a lot of hurtful situations.
In the spring of 1894, the Baltimore Orioles came to Boston to play a routine baseball game. But what happened that day was anything but routine. The Orioles' John McGraw got into a fight with the Boston third baseman. Within minutes all the players from both teams had joined in the brawl. The warfare quickly spread to the grandstands. Among the fans the conflict went from bad to worse. Someone set fire to the stands and the entire ballpark burned to the ground. Not only that, but the fire spread to 107 other Boston buildings as well.
Oh the damage that can be done by one choice.
Whether in word or action!
So we see examples and some principles regarding Ungodly Anger, now let’s look at...
II. Godly Anger
II. Godly Anger
Godly anger recognizes and responds to sin with the intent of bringing the sinner to repentance.
If we look at the teaching of Jesus in dealing with a fault of a brother we can see a great example of godly anger dealt with in a proper way.
15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
The focus is reconciliation, not attack.
With this in mind, let’s look at a few principles regarding Godly Anger…Godly Anger...
A. Is Focused on the Truth
A. Is Focused on the Truth
Paul was focused on the truth, when Ananias called for the counsel to strike Paul on the mouth before he even heard the truth...
3 Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?
“Contrary to the Law”
Paul’s concern was that this man was speaking contrary to the Truth of God’s Word.
25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
27 Neither give place to the devil.
If we focus on speaking the truth in love, we can deal with a situation in a godly manner.
Deal with the truth.
When we get angry and deal in lying we give place to the devil to be able to get involved and cause more problems.
Godly anger is usually focused on the fact that this sin will harm the other person, or others around them.
We see this example in Jesus in Mark 3:5
5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
The pharisees were watching to see if Jesus would heal on the Sabbath, and give them an opportunity to accuse Him.
He was angry when He saw the hardness of their heart…they were not concerned about the truth, but Jesus saw the truth…the truth of their hearts.
He saw the truth of the hurting man who needed to be healed.
And he dealt with the truth in love.
Godly anger is focused on truth…Godly anger also
B. Attacks the Sin
B. Attacks the Sin
Paul pointed out that the High Priest, Ananias, was out of alignment with the Holy God he was supposed to represent.
Among Christians, the emphasis is always on restoration..
1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
When faced with righteous anger…focus on the sin, not the sinner.
And then…thirdly, Righteous Anger...
C. Hears the Whole Story
C. Hears the Whole Story
It is very dangerous to answer back before hearing the whole story.
There has been great damage done by answering too quick.
The Bible says in Proverbs...
13 He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, It is folly and shame unto him.
The Bible says it is foolish for us to judge a matter before the whole story is told.
Ananias made a quick judgment without hearing the whole story.
But a wise person will listen before he speaks
James warns us...
19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
Conclusion
Conclusion
Anger can be a very destructive force.
It can damage a lot of relationships if handled incorrectly.
Righteous Anger should be resolved quickly…the issue dealt with, and then forgotten.
It doesn’t dwell on the issue, it doesn’t belabor the issue, it doesn’t bring up the issue at a later date.
Anger deals with the issue, and moves on.
James Packer in his book, Your Father Loves You, speaks about Jesus’ example in regards to His anger:
Jesus went into the synagogue on the Sabbath and saw a man with a crippled hand. He knew that the Pharisees were watching to see what he would do, and he felt angry that they were only out to put him in the wrong. They did not care a scrap for the handicapped man, nor did they want to see the power and love of God brought to bear on him.
There were other instances where Jesus showed anger or sternness. He "sternly charged" the leper whom he had healed not to tell anyone about it (Mark 1:43) because he foresaw the problems of being pursued by a huge crowd of thoughtless people who were interested only in seeing miracles and not in his teaching. But the leper disobeyed and so made things very hard for Jesus.
Jesus showed anger again when the disciples tried to send away the mothers and their children (Mark 10:13-16). He was indignant and distressed at the way the disciples were thwarting his loving purposes and giving the impression that he did not have time for ordinary people.
He showed anger once more when he drove "out those who sold and those who bought in the temple" (Mark 11:15-17). God's house of prayer was being made into a den of thieves and God was not being glorified -- hence Jesus' angry words and deeds. Commenting on this, Warfield wrote: "A man who cannot be angry, cannot be merciful." The person who cannot be angry at things which thwart God's purposes and God's love toward people is living too far away from his fellow men ever to feel anything positive towards them.
Finally, at Lazarus' grave Jesus showed not just sympathy and deep distress for the mourners (John 11:33-35), but also a sense of angry outrage at the monstrosity of death in God's world. This is the meaning of "deeply moved" in John 11:38.
Is your anger Godly or ungodly?
Do you skew the truth to fit your agenda?
Then you have ungodly anger.
Do you attack the person rather than the sin?
Then you ungodly anger.
Do you rush to judgment about the matter, instead of waiting to hear the whole story?
Then you have ungodly anger.
Ungodly anger needs to be confessed and forsaken!
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Put away the bitterness, wrath, anger, clamoring and evil speaking…and be kind one to another!
Your mindset regarding anger will make a huge difference in your life.
We must put our emotions under obedience to God’s Word.
Habitually angry people are miserable people.
They face more health risks, especially heart disease.
It’s not worth it, yield your emotions to God, and allow Him to take control.