“Cease From Anger, And Forsake Wrath”

Date: July 1, 2001-A.M.
Speaker: John Phillis
Main Scripture Reference: Ephesians 4:25-32

Our lesson this morning is taken from Ephesians, chapter 4, and we want to begin with verse 25, and read through the end of the chapter. Paul writes, “Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another. ‘Be angry, and do not sin’: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by Whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

This is a section of Scripture where Paul speaks to us about our manner of life as Christians—some things we ought to do, some things we ought not to do; some things we should practice, some things we should refrain from practicing. And among this list of things for the Christian life, I want for us this morning to look specifically at the things Paul has to say on the subject of anger and wrath.

In an article in a newsmagazine some time back, there was a discussion about how best to handle an individual’s anger. One possibility given was that the individual should just let go—just blow off steam! Just blow your top! And the point was that, this was good for the blood pressure. But it’s not so good for others, because it tends to produce hostility among others. The other possibility that was posed in this article was that one could simply hold the anger inside—suppress it, so to speak. Now, that was not so good for the blood pressure. It would, in fact, cause the blood pressure to rise. But it indeed was good for others, because it prevented hostility in others.

Well, anger is a God-given emotion. And it is a subject with which we are all only too well acquainted, I’m sure. We live in an age, in a time, when it seems that, all too often, people’s anger easily goes out of control. Many people are angry, and they do not refrain from their anger one bit. They do not attempt to restrain the hostility and the aggression associated with that anger.

We regularly hear of violent displays of anger, we occasionally witness it in public places, and we are even subject to being objects of someone’s anger and hostility. For example, it has been in the news recently about an angry motorist, who went to another motorist’s car, pulled the woman’s dog out of the car and threw the dog into the traffic, where the dog was run over and killed. Also, recently, in the headline news, and in fact it continues to be in the headline news, is the story about a young man—a middle school-aged boy, who became angry with his teacher, got a gun, and shot and killed his teacher.

Well, you know that we could go on and on, listing innumerable instances where anger and aggression is prevalent in our society. There was, too, a case where a man was caught in traffic and the motorist behind him honked his horn again and again. The motorist in the car in the front, who was being honked at, got out of his car, went back to the second vehicle, from where the honking was being initiated, and he jerked the door open and he began to shout at this man in the car. The irate “victim” of the honking began calling “the honker” names, being very abusive to him. The startled motorist in that car, who was the subject of that abuse, said, “But your bumper sticker said, ‘Honk if you love Jesus’!!” Well, certainly, whoever said that, “When a person’s temper gets the best of him, it reveals the worst in him,” had it right. Also, we might be reminded that “anger” is just one letter short of the word “danger.” And so it is.

Because anger is a God-given emotion, it would behoove us to see what God’s Word has to say on the subject. Certainly, for us as Christians, the Bible provides the final Word for all things in our life, and that includes, of course, human behavior. So what does the Bible have to say on the subject of—on the matter of—anger and wrath?

In the Old Testament, much is written on the subject of anger. For example, in the book of Proverbs, we read, “He who is quick tempered acts foolishly,” Proverbs 14:17. And also, from Ecclesiastes, we read “Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools,” Ecclesiastes 7, verse 9. And then, from the pen of the Psalmist [David], we read this, which really sums up the matter, when he says, “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm,” Psalm 37, verse 8.

Well, in the New Testament writings, it is apparent that unrestrained anger and aggression are not compatible—are not consistent—with the disposition and the actions of a Christian. The apostle Paul would say in his writings, as we read here in this text just a moment ago, that anger and wrath are to be put away, and they are to be replaced with kindness, with forgiveness, Ephesians 4:31 and 32. We are told again by Paul, in Colossians 3, and verse 8, that we must put away anger, wrath, and malice. And James tells us in his epistle to be “slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God,” James 1: 19 and 20. Yet, we can’t help but note that within the pages of the New Testament, there appears to be a place for a certain type—a certain kind—of anger.