Sermon Central
-
Anger - An Open Door To The Enemy
Contributed by Anitha Jabastion on Feb 2, 2026 (message contributor)
Summary: There are many ways in which devil finds his way into the lives of believers. These are generally the open doors that we provide him.
In The Screwtape Letters, a little book written by C. S. Lewis, a demon by the name of Screwtape writes letters to his nephew, Wormwood, on how to be more successful at tempting human beings.
In one letter, Screwtape advises Wormwood that if he wants to keep his assigned human on the road to hell, the best method is not through tempting him to do the big sins like murder and adultery, but with small little sins or even actions which are not sin themselves, but which are of eternal insignificance. Things that are not sin, in and of themselves, but which simply don’t matter for eternity.
"To do its worst, evil needs to look its best,” Plantinga, Jr. says. Satan doesn't come to us with horns and a pitchfork lest we recognize him for who he is. Rather, he "disguises himself as an angel of light" (2 Cor. 11:14).
Our sin disguises itself as good and only asks for small compromises. Just one more glance, one more “harmless” flirt, one white lie, or one more high. Inch by inch, our sin leads us down a path of destruction.
It doesn't require big steps. The small steps are much easier to justify. However, a thousand small steps will lead you into the same dark pit as a few big steps. Don’t let the subtlety of sin deceive you into believing your sin is “no big deal.”
Once we are saved and in Christ, devil cannot walk into our lives directly because we are shielded by the blood of Jesus. However, he seeks to enter somehow.
1 Peter 5:8 - The devil roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom to devour.
If he finds a door open, we walks in.
One such door is – Anger
Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. (Ephesians 4:26-27)
Be Angry – it may surprise us
Does it mean we can be angry?
No. Biblically, there are two kinds of anger.
This is the kind of anger we can have toward sin and evil that is in the world. Righteous anger is the response that is natural and normal when confronted by unrighteous actions and attitudes.
Righteous anger is the kind of anger God has. Many times Scripture speaks of the wrath of God.
What kind of anger is God-like or Christ-like?
So when God gets angry at the damage and destruction caused by sin, this sort of anger is not sinful in itself.
Mark 3:4-5 - And he [i.e., Jesus] said to them [i.e., the Pharisees], “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. [5] And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man [with a withered hand], “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
The kind that's informed by righteousness and justice and a divine love that grieves over the hardness of human hearts.
Eg: Parents getting angry with children. We get angry but deep within that anger, we love them. So we scold them if they do not do the right thing.
But there’s a danger with this type of anger, especially when we humans try to have righteous anger.
What Is Sinful Anger?
In general, all anger of men. - the anger of man is more concerned with man than with God (James 1:20). -
We tend to get angrier over our slighted pride than over the marring of God’s glory. We tend to get angrier over a minor inconvenience than a grievous injustice.
Prodigal son - We are often self-righteously angry like the older brother over his prodigal sibling (Luke 15:28),
If we do not control these kind of anger, it will lead to bitterness and unforgiveness.
So, our anger should not lead us to sin. Some ppl, angry no control over words and actions; show enmity and bitterness, wait to take revenge…
Do not let the sun go down on your anger,
Maximum time duration to control anger – 12 h
Do not let the sun go down on your anger" is a call to manage anger quickly to prevent it from turning into bitterness, sin, or a stronghold for the enemy. It does not necessarily mean resolving all conflicts by sunset, but rather releasing the anger to God and refusing to let it fester overnight.
Do not give the devil an opportunity
Means we can give devil an opportunity
Devil – Once we got saved and are washed in the blood of Jesus, the devil cannot enter our lives without we giving an opportunity.
He can enter only if we open the door for him.
