Commands of Christ-27

Wednesday, September 8, 2022 Commands of Christ – 27

A Christian's Character: Dealing With Anger

Explore on your own (or with a partner): Anger: Facing the fire within

Anger:

Lord willing, next week we will look at what Jesus had to say about anger.

But THIS week

Ephesians 4:17-32 (esp. Vs. 26)

Ephesians 4:26–27 (NASB95) Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.

UBS: In a formal sense it is a command, “Be angry” (so RSV), but this imperative functions as a concession, that is, “Be angry, if you must” or “You are bound to get angry, but …”* The main point the writer makes is that anger should not be nourished: “do not let the sun go down on your anger” (RSV). Sunset marked the end of one day and the beginning of another day; a Christian should not continue to be angry with his fellow believer from one day to the next but should seek reconciliation at once. The Greek noun for “anger” occurs only here in the New Testament.*

In some languages it is necessary to indicate the reasons for being angry, and therefore the conditional clause If you become angry must sometimes be expanded as “If you become angry with someone” or “It may happen that you get angry, but.…” The second part of this condition, namely, do not let your anger lead you into sin, may be translated as a causative, for example, “do not let that cause you to sin” or “do not permit how you feel to cause you to do wrong”

Rather than the statement do not stay angry all day, it may be important to indicate the need for ceasing to be angry, for example, “be sure to cease being angry by evening” or “… before the sun has gone down” or “before the end of the day”

Bratcher, R. G., & Nida, E. A. (1993). A handbook on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (p. 117). United Bible Societies.

Ephesians 4:26–27 (NLT) And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

Perhaps this aligns with Vs.31 better?

More to come on anger.

Civil War?

In the article: 3 Steps Churches Can Take To Help Prevent a Second American Civil War:

It’s worse than you think. Much worse.

As conservative Christian lawyer David French writes in Divided We Fall: “It’s time for Americans to wake up to a fundamental reality: The continued unity of the United States of America cannot be guaranteed.“ For example, at least half of Americans believe “in the next few years, there will be a civil war in the United States.”

In one comprehensive 2021 survey, 36% of Republicans and 33% of Democrats believe they “feel justified to use violence to advance political goals.” In 2017, that number was 8%.

… Christians should never be at the forefront of any movement calling for violence. Jesus doesn’t call his followers to be warriors on his behalf but peacemakers and servants.

The church is going to have a significant influence on whether the United States trends toward unity or disunity. It’s time to wake up to that fact and stop playing games. Will your church be a healing balm for our fractured nation, a haven of hope and reconciliation? Or will it be an inflammatory accelerant, just another cultural force bringing out the worst in us?

What are your thoughts about the article I asked you to read? Why?

Does this article stir feelings of anger, sadness, other? Why?

What do you think about the 3 Steps pastors can take to prevent the second American civil war?

1. Acknowledge that the church has a discipleship problem.

2. Create space for the middle ground (it’s bigger than you think)

3. Equip your congregation to be Peacemakers, not just Peacekeepers.

What about these approaches to politics from 1 Peter 2:11-17?

[4 Principles for Political Engagement as a Christian by: Jared C. Wilson]

1. Remember Your True Citizenship

First, Peter reminds the brethren that their citizenship is in heaven (“sojourners and exiles”). This world is not our home, so we should not live like our ultimate treasure is anything temporary, whether it be good or bad or neutral.

And yet Peter is not necessarily advocating a withdrawal from the system. He is advocating honorable citizenship, a participation that commends the gospel of the kingdom. The level of political participation will vary from Christian to Christian, culture to culture, as conscience and conviction demands. Certainly there is no biblical legality for voting or not voting, politicking or not politicking. Let us be ruled by the Spirit in the matters on which the Scriptures are silent.

2. Pay Your Taxes

Second, Peter encourages the brethren to be subject to the human governmental and civic institutions “for the Lord’s sake.” (See also Paul’s words in Rom. 13:1–7.) We obey the laws that do not violate God’s laws, and we do so with the commendation of Christ in mind. So when we have to pay our taxes, we pay our taxes with Christ in mind. And if we vote, we vote with Christ in mind.

John Piper: Christians should deal with the world. … There is no avoiding it. But as we deal with it, we don’t give it our fullest attention. We don’t ascribe to the world the greatest status. There are unseen things that are vastly more precious than the world. We use the world without offering it our whole soul. We may work with all our might when dealing with the world, but the full passions of our heart will be attached to something higher—Godward purposes. We use the world, but not as an end in itself. It is a means. We deal with the world in order to make much of Christ.

So it is with voting. We deal with the system. We deal with the news. We deal with the candidates. We deal with the issues. But we deal with it all as if not dealing with it. It does not have our fullest attention. It is not the great thing in our lives. Christ is. And Christ will be ruling over his people with perfect supremacy no matter who is elected and no matter what government stands or falls. So we vote as though not voting.

“Live as people who are free,” Peter says. We will not be tied to any particular political or legislative outcomes as if our ultimate hope or devastation is tied to them. We will not let our affections be owned by who is in the statehouse or the White House.

3. Obey God First and Foremost

“Live as servants of God,” Peter says, and here we get another perspective on what it means to live as people who are free in a politicized world. It means participating respectfully and respectably, but it also means living as those whose ultimate allegiance is to God and not men.

In Acts 5:27–29, when the apostles are brought before the authorities to be reminded of the law restricting their freedom to preach the gospel, the answer the apostles provide is not mute submission. They say, “We must obey God rather than men.” We are beholden ultimately to God, not our political party or the American government, so when we are called to violate God’s commands, we cannot obey. Indeed, when we see systemic sins and injustices promoted and protected by the powers that be, as servants of God we are required to be bold prophets.

Augustine wrote City of God to address the issue of the fall of Rome (it has parallels to the U.S.).

A masterpiece of Western culture, The City of God was written in response to pagan claims that the sack of Rome by barbarians in 410 AD was one of the consequences of the abolition of pagan worship by Christian emperors.

[He] wrote The City of God to argue against this accusation. Christians are not at all to blame, he asserts, for the pagan gods are not gods at all and cannot punish or protect anyone. On the contrary, Rome fell due to the corruption and immorality of its citizens.

He addresses the social and political climate of Rome and events of the time (410 BCE). Augustine proposes that Christianity actually helped Rome survive.

He outlined his vision of two societies, that of the elect (“The City of God”) and that of the damned (“The City of Man”). These “cities” are symbolic embodiments of the two spiritual powers—faith and unbelief—that have contended with each other since the fall of the angels. They are inextricably intermingled on this earth and will remain so until time’s end.

Augustine said: What, then, did the Christians suffer in the great devastation of Rome which, if taken in a spirit of faith, would not have served for their greater good? For one thing, if they humbly called to mind the sins for which God in His anger filled the world with calamities, they will not judge themselves to be so little responsible for these sins as not to have deserved some measure of temporal affliction—even though they were far from being criminals and godless men.

Nevertheless, because they wink at their worse sins and fear to frown even on their minor transgressions, the good must in justice suffer temporal afflictions in common with the rest—even though they will escape the eternal.

Martin Luther wrote: The Doctrine of the Two Kingdoms.

On the one hand (the so-called “Right Hand”) there is the Kingdom of Grace: this is the church, the gospel, the free-and-clear gift of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Here there is no social status, no taxation, “no slave or free, Jew or Greek, male and female” (Gal. 3:28), no law or condemnation for those who are in Christ (Rom. 8:1). It is not, never has been, and never will be a democracy by the people. It is a divine Monarchy, and God the Father is our King. We live and die by his grace and providence. Nothing you can do will earn his favor, and no offense is too great to be forgiven. You are his citizen, set free to be free (Gal. 5:1) and to serve others as Christ served you.

The other Kingdom (the so-called “Left Hand”) is the Kingdom of Law: this is the world in which you live. So you have relationships: you are a father, a mother, a son or daughter; you have a job with a title, a salary, and a tax bracket. You have papers in your fire-proof safe that legally declare your citizenship of a particular land at a particular time. You are under the law, and there is no grace here. There are only consequences if you break those laws.