We have been looking at the subject of anger. We have already asked what is it, how is it manifested, and what is its cause? Now we’re asking when is it right? With that question, we come to our passage in Ephesians 4:26-27. Paul is writing to the Ephesians and he says, “‘Be angry, and do not sin’: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.”
In this passage, Paul gives three answers to our current question. The first is when it is against evil. He says, “Be angry” (parorgismos, pres.mid.imp.) which is a “deep-seated, determined and settled conviction” (MacArthur). It is not momentary outward, boiling over rage or inward, seething resentment. This is anger that “abhors injustice, immorality, and ungodliness of every sort” (MacArthur). This is anger that is expressed when God is maligned or when others are mistreated. It is never expressed when hurt is against oneself.
In Exodus 32:19-20 we see an example of this type of anger in Moses as he responds to Israel worshiping a golden calf. It says, “So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it.” Moses’ anger was justified because their behavior was sin against God. They had violated the very command that God had given them in the ten commandments regarding the worship of idols, so this made Moses furious. Another example of this type of anger is seen in Jesus as He is in the temple in John 2:13-17. The apostle John records, “Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!" 17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up." Jesus was jealous for the holiness of God and when it was violated He drove those who violated it out of the temple. As seen in these two examples, there is a righteous anger that responds when God’s holiness has been violated.
Paul gives a second reason in our passage for when anger is right and that is when it does not cause us to sin (v.26). He says, “Be angry, and do not sin.” Anger that is sin is anger that is self-defensive, self-serving, and resentful. This anger leads to murder and God’s judgment. In Genesis 4:6-8 we see sinful anger as Cain murders his brother: “So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.” Jesus said in Matthew 5:21-22 when we are expressing sinful anger, we are murdering our brother in our heart. He says, “‘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.”
The third way that anger can be right is when it is resolved and not prolonged (vv.26-27). Paul continues by saying, “Do not let the sun go down on your wrath nor give place to the devil.” Anger is to be resolved before you go to sleep. Anger that is not resolved, even the best motivated, can “give place to the devil” to use for his purposes. “There should be no nursing of grudges, no harboring of resentments, no carrying over of irritations...Anything that mars fellowship with God or with our brethren should immediately be made right” (Believer’s Bible Commentary). “While believers may at times be legitimately angry (with righteous anger against sin; cf. John 2:13-16), they are not to sin. The way to prevent such sin is to "keep short accounts," dealing with the anger before the sun goes down. The reason is that the devil would like to intensify a Christian's righteous anger against sin, causing it to become sin itself. This then gives the devil a foothold (lit., "a place"), an opportunity for leading that Christian into further sin. Then anger begins to control the believer rather than the believer controlling his anger” (The Bible Knowledge Commentary). “While believers may at times be legitimately angry (with righteous anger against sin; cf. John 2:13-16), they are not to sin. The way to prevent such sin is to "keep short accounts," dealing with the anger before the sun goes down. The reason is that the devil would like to intensify a Christian's righteous anger against sin, causing it to become sin itself. This then gives the devil a foothold (lit., "a place"), an opportunity for leading that Christian into further sin. Then anger begins to control the believer rather than the believer controlling his anger” (The Bible Knowledge Commentary).
Is this the kind of anger that you are manifesting—the kind that is jealous for God’s glory? Or is it motivated by your selfishness? In our next blog, we will ask, “How can I control my anger?”
Older
Top
