A Walk through Ephesians - Pt 18

 

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:25–32 ESV).

 

Today we will examine one of the most important passages in Scripture on Christians and anger. I must confess this passage is one of the most challenging for me to apply practically and consistently. I have often told people that I do have a “long fuse” but the explosion at the end of it is like that which took place in Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of WW2! It is not pretty, nor is it Biblical. Even after five decades of personal work, it still presents itself from time to time.

 

We do have an incredible model in the life of Jesus. He has shown us that being angry, in itself, is not evil. The Apostle Paul takes this idea a step further. Paul tells us not only that we are permitted to be angry, he also says there are times when we must be angry. That the Lord would command us to be angry at times is understandable when we consider biblical ethics. In the same letter Paul summarizes what we need to know about Christian virtues by telling us to be “imitators of God” (cf. Ephesians 5:1). Our Father in heaven can only be perfectly holy if He gets angry when His righteous standards are violated (cf. Deuteronomy 32:4; Isa. 6:3). If we are to imitate Him, we too must get mad at those things that make God angry. We must grow incensed when we see the weak and helpless exploited, because the Lord’s wrath is kindled against the oppressor (cf. Exodus 22:21–24). Hypocrisy in our lives and in the church must disturb us because of Jesus’ anger at those who honor Him with their lips only (cf. Matthew 15:8; 23).

 

Yet we are imperfect, and while we must sometimes get angry, we must also take care that we do not sin in our anger (v. 26). Every time we are mad, we should check ourselves to see if we are upset at the things God hates. Otherwise, we may be angry without just cause and give opportunity to the Devil (v. 27). Anger is the emotion most prone to sinful abuse, and this is why Paul also tells us to put anger away in this same passage (v. 31). This is not a contradiction of earlier verses. Paul is only recognizing that our anger, even if it is godly at first, is too often perverted into feelings of malice instead of a longing to see offenders repent. When this happens, we are in danger of giving root to the bitterness that destroys (cf. Hebrews 12:15).

 

Finally, though evil should anger us, we should not pour wrath on others. Jesus castigated the Pharisees because of their hard hearts (cf. Matthew 23), but He was kind and gentle to the adulterous woman because she was humble and contrite (cf. John 7:53–8:11). We cannot condone sin, but we must also imitate our Savior and seek to restore the repentant in lieu of showing wrath.

 

We can too easily fall back under the sway of sin, which makes our hearts “deceitful beyond all things” (cf. Jeremiah 17:9). We can trick ourselves into thinking our anger is godly when it is not pleasing to the Lord. Being honest with other Christians is essential in differentiating between godly and ungodly anger. If you are mad today, confess this anger to the Lord and seek the wisdom to know whether it is justified. Then, seek the good of the person with whom you are angry.