Be Angry, But Do Not Sin!

MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK

BE ANGRY, BUT DO NOT SIN!

TEXT: Proverbs 14:17, 15:18, 18:13,19:11 &19; Mark 3:1-5; Eph. 26-32; Matt. 5;21

ILL. The story is told that in the latter 1800's, Alfred Lord Tennyson invited a Russian nobleman to his estate. Early one morning this nobleman took off with dogs & guns & servants to go hunting.

At mid day he returned & Lord Tennyson asked him how he did. He answered, "Not very well. I shot two peasants." Lord Tennyson thought for a moment & then said, “No, we pronounce it with a ‘ph' here. It is ‘pheasants.' You shot two pheasants."

"No," the nobleman replied, "I shot two peasants. They were insolent towards me, so I shot them."

ILL. We smile in disbelief at a story like that. But more & more we’re hearing news reports like this: “There was a construction blockage on the road, narrowing traffic to only one lane, creating long backups as cars from each direction took turns getting past the blockage.

“Well, this driver patiently waited his turn. But just as he was about to get past the blockage, a car came up fast on the shoulder, passing all the waiting cars, & crowded just in front of him. Then after doing that, the driver turned around with a smirk on his face & made an obscene gesture.

“Well, that infuriated the first driver. So when traffic was stopped at the next bottleneck, he got out of his car, took his gun & shot the man who had crowded in front of him.”

A. I don’t think you would do anything like that. But have you ever lost your temper? Do you ever do things you wish you hadn't done, or say things you wish you had never said?

Well, the Bible has something to say about overcoming anger. Proverbs 19:11 says, "A man's wisdom gives him patience. It is to his glory to overlook an offense."

Now here is what it is saying - If someone offends you, & if you are a man of wisdom then you can overlook it, & not allow the situation to become a major event that overwhelms you.

B. As I studied the Bible about the subject of anger, I discovered 4 types of anger – sinful anger, sudden anger, stubborn anger, & justifiable anger.

So let’s look at those 4 types of anger.

I. SINFUL ANGER IS TO BE CONDEMNED

The first type of anger is sinful anger. Not all anger is sinful, & we'll talk about that in just a minute. But some anger is. So let me give you some tests to help you determine whether your anger is sinful or not.

A. In Matthew 5:21, Jesus says, "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, & anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment."

That passage tells us some things about anger that should help us realize when our anger is sinful.

Notice that it says, "Anyone who is angry with his brother." Now if you're a brother or sister to someone it indicates that you are a member of the same family, whether a human family or the family of God. If we're brothers & sisters, we ought to be lifting each other up, supporting & helping each other. We should not spend our time being angry at one another.

The King James Ver. speaks about being angry at your brother "without a cause." If we’re angry & don't have a justifiable reason for being angry, then this tells us that our anger is sinful.

And if you're angry at your brother, that indicates that you are focusing your anger on a person. We should never focus our anger on people, but rather on the sins they commit.

Jesus was never angry at people, but He was angry at their sins. So look beyond the person. We must love the person, but hate their sin.

B. In Romans 12:19 Paul says, "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord."

So another test of our anger is this: Is it an anger that seeks revenge? Are we always trying to get even? The Bible teaches that God is the one who has the right of vengeance. Not us. "Vengeance is mine," says the Lord. We don't have the right to repay anyone. But rather, turn that over to God.

SUM. So here are 4 tests to tell whether or not our anger is sinful.

1. Is it anger directed towards a person?

2. Is it anger without a justifiable cause?