987. Righteous Anger

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Dr. Steve Pettit, president of Bob Jones University is continuing a study series from Ephesians entitled new life in Christ. Steve has written a study booklet for the series. If you would like to follow along. You can order a printed copy from the website.

The Daily Platform.com today. Steve will walk us through the concept of righteous anger in Ephesians 426 through 27. Would you please take your Bibles this morning and turn with me to the book of Ephesians Ephesians chapter 4 this morning were going to look at verses 26 and 27 in this passage of Scripture where the apostle Paul deals with, and it with an anger that is actually permitted in the life of a believer.

So let's look at these verses this morning.

Paul says be angry and sin not let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the devil, he says, be ye angry does that sound a little different to you. I mean, for most of us. We've heard sermons about anger. Anger is always been viewed as something negative, something that we should not have. We should not be a and yet the apostle Paul here gives us a certain kind of anger that is actually permitted. It's an anger that is actually acceptable and appropriate for Christians to have and it is an anger that is actually different from another anger that we read about at the end of this chapter. Look at verse 31.

He says let all bitterness and wrath and anger about always the same word in verse 26. When all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. Now verse 31. Here he's dealing with a form of anger that is hurtful. It is malicious it is intended to get somebody back. This is a kind of an anger that attacks people in the Bible makes it very clear that that is a sinful anger that is to be put off from God's people.

But when we look at verse 26 is different.

He actually is telling us to be angry. You could say this is a holy or a righteous anger.

It's one that doesn't attack people, but it does attack problems. This is an anger that God is commanded us to put oh so as we look today at this kind of righteous or holy anger.

One of the first things that we notice in these two simple verses is that Paul gives for direct commands telling us to do something and he gives it in the present tense that something were to be doing today because he talks about today and all four commands are necessary to appropriately handle this kind of an anger. In other words, you just can't say be angry. You gotta have the other commands and it balances it all out. So what are the four commands number one. He said be angry.

Number two. He said don't sin number three. He said let not the sun go down upon your wrath is all commands and, therefore, he said Nick neither give place to the devil so you can almost look at it as easy as these telling us how to address anger and how would you deal with it today and as we remember the context of these two verses we have to go back to Paul's general command which is put off the old man and put on the new man and so that's what Paul is doing but he reverses the order and that is, he says the first command be angry.

Angry at something were to put on and then he says the last three commands are the charge to put all things. So put on own and then the other three are to put off some to take them as they appear in commands is for them. So let's look at each one of them carefully. Notice the first command, he says, be ye angry now that confusing. Well, there are differing views as to whether God here is making a concession to permit anger or he's actually commanding us to be angry is God putting up with the natural anger that we would have because of the circumstances of life or is he actually telling us that we are to be angry. What like to take it as a written command because it's an imperative is something that is commanding us to do, and I'd like to view this anger as an appropriate response to sin. That is, there are things that should irritate us. There are things that should upset us.

That is, if something is unrighteousness or unjust or wicked or evil than simply put, we should hate sin because God hates sin.

Now let me give you an illustration of this. I think I find this very interesting. Take your Bibles and turn to Mark chapter 3 Mark chapter 3 I want us to see an illustration here of the life of Jesus Christ, where Jesus actually got angry.

Beginning in verse one Jesus is entering into the synagogue in Capernaum on the Sabbath day there was a man there in the synagogue who had a weathered or a shriveled hand. It literally means to be dried up. There was probably some kind of deformity that he had from birth or something that maybe happened to them throughout the course of his life. And Jesus calls this man with this with her hand to come and stand in the midst of the crowd in the synagogue and Jesus knew exactly what the Pharisees were doing. He knew what they were thinking. He knew that they were looking to see if Jesus would violate their law by healing this man on the Sabbath. And so Jesus asks two questions. They are found in verse four. Notice what he says and he said he offended them.

Question number one is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days or to do evil.

Question number two, to save life or to kill life and the notice that response but they held their peace. They didn't say anything.

Jesus asked two questions.

The first question is, is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days or to do evil, Jesus here is addressing the moral imperative of a human need. If give good needs to be done.

That is the man these to be healed, then there can be no neutrality in your response to that James chapter 4 verse 17 therefore for him to know what to do good and do it that not to hear it, is what say it say it is why said so.

Here Jesus comes in. Here's this man with the weather hand.

Obviously the man has a need and for Jesus not to respond to that human need would in reality calls him to sin. If it is within the power of somebody to do God, then we should do it. It was not Jesus to kill this man was not simply permissible but it was right to heal on the Sabbath, whether or not it was lawful for the Jews, so Jesus responds and heals a man, but the notice. The second question, the second questions is to save life or to kill here Jesus was looking ahead to what he knew would be the Pharisees response to Jesus is healing. What did they want to do to Jesus after he healed the man. Look at verse six the Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodian's against him, how to destroy him. The second question was his ability to read their mind know where their faults were going to go and when he healed, they reacted and they wanted to kill Jesus he said is it really right for you to kill me. And these two questions show the two sends the Pharisees committed number one they did not want to elect for good to be done for this man and secondly they plotted how to destroy Jesus and what was his response to all of this. Look at verse five and when he looked around about on them with anger, being grieved the hardness of their hearts. Jesus was angry because of their thinking and their attitude. By the way, right here we see a huge difference between Jesus and the Pharisees to the Pharisees religion was wrapped up in observing and fulfilling stipulations to Jesus. It was facing human suffering and meeting human needs. So let me say this way. If theological orthodoxy and moral behavior does not issue into a life that urgently serves others and loves others and seeks to meet their needs, then it is not genuine, and the truth is we should be upset when there's so many needs to be met and we don't seek to meet them.

Let me just say this to you as a student.

Bob Jones University studying in an Orthodox school. We believe in the inspiration Scripture we we motivate and we we try to help towards moral behavior and by the way, all of those things are good. None of that is to be thrown out, but if that is your whole life and it's not being invested in the service to others. You haven't even gotten to first base in Christian living. Jesus Christ gave himself to serve, so as believers we should be angry with sin. This would include corruption and injustice in the fallen world this would be angry enough to take a stand against evil and faults to teaching. This would include legitimate issues that arise because of inconsistencies or negligence or failure or inattention that it would be normal for us to be upset, you realize how many ministries in the world of been started by the people of God because they responded to the evil that is in the world.

They were irritated they were angry, crisis pregnancy centers, orphanages, addiction programs, Christian schools, universities, relief organizations mission societies they are started in response to an anger that they felt when things were wrong, and things were not being done right back in 2006 when organization was started called St. Bernard's project. It was started in response to Hurricane Katrina and it affected an area him in the New Orleans called St. Bernard's parish and what happened was that that there was a such a slow response in helping people get back into their homes that people suffered for a long time. So basically, a couple started what they call the St. Bernard project and their mission is to shrink the time between disaster and full recovery by ensuring that disaster impacted citizens and communities recover in a prompt, efficient and predictable manner. In other words, you're basically helping people get back to their homes. In the end there, and their statement is this. We can't prevent natural disasters. We can't prevent some of the suffering they call and so they started in they have 88 basically locations. So New York, New Jersey, South Carolina, Louisiana and three in Texas and of course you recognize all of those are areas that been hit hard because of hurricanes and storms and so forth and so they come back in and they help people build houses and so it's actually just a service oriented organization is helping people.

They were motivated out of anger that the reason I have the picture up there is that girls my daughter Rachel. She's the executive director for the state of South Carolina and the whole thing was started because somebody got mad. We gotta do something about this by the way, if you don't ever get mad enough to do something. What kind of person are you. Should we not be stirred up. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his life for the cause of civil rights Bob Jones Senior was concerned about the negative influence of the secular liberal education of the 1920s, and he saw the spiritual shipwrecks of Christian young people going off to secular institutions and throwing away their faith. And so in 1927 he started Bob Jones University. Somebody got angry enough at Santa Ana to do something about it.

Be ye angry is first notice the second command and he says, and sin not now, obviously there is something about righteous anger that we can't handle. God can God to be angry for years and years and generations, and still not do anything about it because God is able to do that but we can't this command is actually a citation from an Old Testament text to be angry and sin not where to come from Psalm chapter 4 verse four.

Listen to what is says in the King James Stan and all, and sin not communion with your own heart upon your bed and be still. BSB reads be angry and do not sin. The context is that the psalmist is distressed in his experience with the vanity and the lying of his enemies, and the command is to trust God with the issues he faced and to not indulge in anger. Getting angry is not wrong. Indulging in it is one person said this way to be angry and not sin requires that you be angry at nothing but sin, we are to hate the sin but we are not to hate the center the jump from the initial feelings of holy anger to sinful anger by the way, are not very far, things can go down very quickly why because with sinful so you can easily develop the wrong attitude. You can actually sin. Often times this is seen in your body language in your verbal statements that turn into a hardness towards a person and you have an emotional reactionary outbursts, be angry, but don't send it could turn into a self-righteous judgment in a pursuit of vengeance. It can turn into resentment and bitterness over lack of equity and honesty. One writer expresses it this way.

He said of the seven deadly sins.

Anger is possibly the most fun to lick your wounds to smack your lips over grievances long pants to rollover your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontation still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel about the pain you're given and the pain you're getting back in many ways it's a feast fit for King. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself for the skeleton at the feast is you in the end your own anger, if not dealt with appropriately and be destructive. We are to hate the sin but we are not to hate the center especially when the center is a saint be angry. Don't send the notice number three let not the sun go down upon your wrath. God puts a time limitation upon righteous anger.

Only God can perpetuate be perpetually angry against sin and not sin. Don't let the sun go down upon your wrath. In the Hebrew world a day runs from the evening to the next evening, a new day starts when the sun is setting. So for example, the Sabbath starts on Friday evening and it ends on Saturday evening.

So what is Paul saying about her anger.

He's not saying that we should stand outside fuming until we see the sun setting in the evening. Not supposed to go outside if you're so mad you stand ago and then you see the sun go down and it's that you go okay that's good I got is that what you saying it's just a simple way to say deal with something right away deal with it the day of our anger should be the day that we deal with our anger and why this is necessary because it's hard to control anger, it can turn into something that is unrighteous very easily. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Anger is an internal disposition. Wrath is a festering anger that leads to a reaction or provocation. James says the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God.

1984 I was 29 years old I was a youth pastor in Michigan was a Sunday night about 1230 and after midnight and I got a phone call I woke up it was my mother and she was crying. My first thought is my youngest brother Billy died. What I found out was actually my family died because after 30 years of marriage. My father came to my mother and asked for divorce. They were married for 1954 to 1984 in my mother's heart was broken.

She was shocked and that night, forever has changed our family. It never was the same again. Personally I hate divorce. You know why because I've seen the effects of it in my own family, but I remember they read clearly that night crawling in the bed and laying there and quoting the Scripture from Ephesians 4.

Be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Did I like what my dad did know was I going to change my father knew my going to fester. Anger against him for years and years to come. No. And I remember clearly saying God I put this into your hands, Lord your God, you're able to deal with sin. Be angry sin not.

Don't let the sun go down upon your wrath. A good rule for life is to never go to bed mad and then finally the fourth command. He says neither give place to the devil.

The final command is a warning of huge proportions. This phrase shows us the theological reason that Paul is giving behind being angry and not sitting for Paul is taking us into a spiritual realm where spiritual conflicts take place. In other words, he's taking us out of the physical and out of the visible and he's taking us into the spiritual and into the eternal five times in the book of Ephesians, Paul speaks about heavenly places.

Got you showed show you those verses real quick look at Ephesians chapter 1 and knows what he says in verse three Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.

So we have spiritual blessings in the heavenly's notice verse 20 which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, so not only are blessings in the heavenly's but Christ is inevitably whatever six chapter 2 any of raised us up together made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so believers are actually seated in a position with Christ in the heavenly places.

The notice chapter 3 verse 10 to the intent. But now, under the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God. He speaking here about the Angels who are in the heavenly places in the notice. If you will please. Chapter 6 and verse 12 he says for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers is rules of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. So what is the apostle Paul telling us he is telling us that there is a spirit world and this anger we have can actually have an impact in that spirit world. For example, Ephesians chapter 4 in verse 30. He says we can grieve the Holy Spirit the unseen spirit we can bring them by words in verse 26 We Can Give Pl. to the devil the unseen Satan through anger and the point is this of the actions the attitudes of believers in this physical world are directly connected to the responses in the spiritual realm or the heavenly places. What he saying is by our anger, we can actually get of Satan an opportunity in our life and in our church workplace there means a base of operation. A place where you can work. Satan cannot take possession of a believer, but he can oppress a believer he can influence his thoughts and anchor actions just like he did Peter when Peter told Jesus not to go to the cross and Jesus said to Peter, get behind me Satan because you are a stumbling block to me because your thoughts are not God's thoughts, there may install.

So, according to Paul how to Satan do the specifically well the word devil.

There is mean slanderer slanderer is somebody who makes a false statement with the intent to damage the reputation of another.

The point is that slander is the cause people to distrust one another who they should be trusting and of all people, we should be trusting. It's God's people. Satan seeks to gain a foothold into the church through uncontrolled anger.

Anger at things that are all his goal is to create a spirit of distrust among believers with the intention of dividing the fellowship and disrupting the unity that is been created by the spirit.

The devil is an opportunist. Believers must vigilantly deny him the right to work his evil to the unrestrained righteous anger of God's people.

We cannot let righteous anger fester. We cannot hold this anger in because inevitably is gonna come out of our mouth is going to create conflict and will call separation among God's people, and it will grieve God's spirit and will hurt the church so he says to God's people. We all must fight and stand against Satan less. He gets a foothold number of years ago I was preaching up in the state of Michigan and the lady came forward in the service I was preaching in it she would just open hearted and weeping and as I spoke that night on dealing with anger and bitterness. Afterwards she told me why she came in she told me about the disruption in our family. The conflicts that were going own, and most the people in her family. Many of them were Christians, but they had not spoken each other for years. It was a terrible thing so that week, she decided to go back and she went back to every person in the valley where she lived in asked forgiveness and of every family member of harboring anger over long-standing period of time. God began working that meeting on Friday night. That lady brought her brother-in-law. He was over 70 years old. He that he was actually a German, he had fall for Hitler during World War II, spent three years in English POW camp and then he emigrated to the USA and it was an unsafe man. He came to that service that night and I preach the message he was as far back in the building.

As you can sit in the corner in the far back row the corner of the building, but I'm glad that God can get people in the back room. That man came forward at the end of the service.

He said to the pastor. He said I've always thought that God did not love me could not forgive me but I realize God loves me and I want to be saved and that night he got saved 10 days later I was preaching in the state of Wisconsin and I got a message right before stood up to preach the message essentially said this that this German man had just was flying back to Germany to go back and see his family and share the good news of his salvation experience in sitting in the airport in the Newark, New Jersey. He slumped over and died of a massive heart attack. Here was a man 10 days away from hell didn't even know it and got saved, you will never convince me on this side of heaven that that woman's response and humility to deal with anger did not have a direct impact upon God's blessing of the church to work in that man's heart.

I don't understand the mysteries of the spiritual world, but I know this that when we have anger that we do not deal with than it hinders the blessing and the working of God. I will send everyone of you. If you're living with unresolved anger in your heart, even over things that are wrong, then I beg you today do not give the devil an open door in your life.

Father we pray you bless your word and use it to sanctify our hearts in Jesus name, amen. You been listening to a sermon from Ephesians chapter 4 the sermon as part of the study series called new life in Christ by Dr. Steve Pettit, president of Bob Jones University.

Thanks again for listening. Join us again tomorrow as we study God's word together on The Daily Platform