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Be Angry And Sin Not
July 19, 2015
Anger and wrath are best kept in check. They should be put out of our lives entirely, if we can achieve that. Man's anger and wrath result in bad outcomes. However, there is a righteous anger, as the scriptures teach us. God has anger and wrath and I believe that Jesus showed it. Furthermore, rebuke, which is sometimes construed as anger because it is harsh, is one of the methods of correcting sin in the lives of others. Even so, Jesus reserved His harshest words for religious leaders who were leading the people astray, teaching them to violate God's laws by keeping the traditions of men. - Bernie Parsons
Be Angry And Sin Not
by Bernie Parsons
Presented to Globe church of Christ on 07-19-2015
Presented to Load church of Christ on 09-06-2015
Man’s anger is not a good thing and usually does not end well. There is
a godly, or righteous, anger that slowly arises when those who claim to
follow God actually depart from His word.
James 1:19 "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to
hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God."
Ephesians 4:26 "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon
your wrath:
27 Neither give place to the devil."
Colossians 3:8 “But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice,
blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.”
Yet, there is a godly, or righteous, anger that slowly arises in the
righteous as they observe those who claim to follow God but actually
depart from His word.
John 2:13 "And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to
Jerusalem,
14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and
the changers of money sitting:
15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out
of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers'
money, and overthrew the tables;
16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not
my Father's house an house of merchandise."
Here, Jesus drove those out of the temple who had defiled it for
personal gain. Later, the apostle Paul dealt with this same type of
attitude with some rather harsh words.
1 Corinthians 4:17 ‘For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who
is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into
remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in
every church.
18 Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you.
19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not
the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.
20 For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.
21 What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in
the spirit of meekness?"
Apostle Paul also taught Timothy to take drastic measures with those
professing Christ, but who did not walk in the way of righteousness.
2 Timothy 4:1 "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus
Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his
kingdom;
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke,
exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but
after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having
itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be
turned unto fables.
5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an
evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry."
Reprove:
expose, point out, reveal.
Rebuke: to criticize sharply; reprimand; to turn back or keep down;
check (stop). Exhort:
beseech, call for, urge. When men who profess to follow Christ turn from
the way of righteousness, teachers of God’s word have an obligation to
set them straight.
As the apostle Paul pointed out to Timothy, he was to point out error,
reprimand and stop bad behavior of others, and plead with them to do
what is right, depending upon the situation.
The selection of leading elders was not to include those who were “soon
to anger”, that is, “inclined to anger, quick-tempered”. This does not
rule out righteous anger that is slow to build, but rather condemns
those who “fly off the handle”, as in an ax head that abruptly and
without warning comes loose during wood-chopping.
1 Timothy 5:20 "Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may
fear.
21 I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect
angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before
another, doing nothing by partiality."
In the above passage, we see once more that Timothy, sent among the
congregation to teach the ways of God’s righteousness, was to rebuke
when the occasion warranted. At the same time, Paul warned him not to
play favorites, but to be consistent.
Next, I wish to examine the attitude of our Lord toward corrupt “church
leaders”, as it were.
Matthew 23:13 "But woe unto
you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of
heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye
them that are entering to go in.
14 Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence
make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
15 Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one
proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of
hell than yourselves.
16 Woe unto you, ye blind
guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing;
but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple
that sanctifieth the gold?
18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever
sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar
that sanctifieth the gift?
20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all
things thereon.
21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that
dwelleth therein.
22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and
by him that sitteth thereon.
23 Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin,
and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and
faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
25 Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of
the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and
platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
27 Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which
indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's
bones, and of all uncleanness.
28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye
are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
29 Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and
garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have
been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children
of them which killed the prophets.
32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation
of hell?"
Woe:
a condition of deep suffering from misfortune, affliction, or grief;
ruinous trouble; calamity, affliction.
Jesus did not scold and berate the ordinary people struggling to serve
God. He reserved His scorn and harsh rebuke for the religious leaders
who led their audiences astray.
Jesus announced that calamity or ruinous trouble would befall the Jewish
leaders who were teaching the masses to follow traditions of men rather
than the word of God Almighty.
We see that while we must not be quick to anger, nor to let that anger
fester, nor to lash out at others in sudden anger, there is a point at
which we have an obligation to speak out against ungodly behavior,
particularly that of our church leadership. This sometimes includes
rebuke.
I cannot stand idly by when I see my brethren teach the congregations
things that are not contained in the word of God. I feel obligated to
point out the error, urge them to repent, and call unto all to obey God
and His word, rather than the teachings of men.
