This teaching is focused on “Anger,” but “Rage,” and “Hatred,” have been added.
12 Questions & Answers about ANGER is at the end of this teaching
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
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Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other,
just as in Christ God forgave you.
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When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them,
they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
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The American Heritage Dictionary defines anger as
“a strong feeling of displeasure or hostility”.
It gives as synonyms words such as
“rage, fury, resentment and indignation”.
All these are quite negative terms, and the Apostle Paul tell us to rid ourselves of all such things as these:
anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
He also warns that the acts of the sinful nature are obvious:
sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
idolatry and witchcraft;
hatred, discord, jealousy,
fits of rage, selfish ambition,
dissensions, factions and envy;
drunkenness, orgies,
and the like.
I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
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These are strong words, and it is little wonder that early Christian theologians identified
anger as one of the
“seven deadly sins”.
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But God is described in the scriptures as being angry or acting in an angry manner on several occasions (Examples: Exodus 4:14; Numbers 11:1,) as is Jesus, the God-Man who “knew no sin.”
Examples: Mark 3:5; John 2:13-16
How can anger be sin and yet ascribed to a perfect God who cannot sin?
To answer this question, it is essential that we consider the reason for the anger, the object of the anger and the way in which the anger is expressed. Jesus gives us the perfect example here. His anger in Mark 3 was aroused by the “hardness of heart” of the religious leaders who were more interested in trapping and accusing Jesus than in the healing of a handicapped man.
In John 2, the situation involved the prostitution of the House of God by the merchants and moneychangers. In both cases, Jesus became angry not due to selfish motivation, but due to concern for others, or for the Holy name of His Father.
Anger so motivated becomes a virtue rather than a vice.
Christ gave us an example of how righteous anger should be expressed. In Luke 9 the disciples wanted to know if they should call down “fire from heaven” on those who had refused to receive Christ.
His response to them should be a lesson to all Christians,
for He said
“for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them”.
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Righteous anger should therefore lead to attempts at redemption,
restoration and reconciliation rather than destruction.
In most cases, however, our anger is not “righteous indignation” but a self-consuming fire that can destroy our souls (as well as our bodies and minds).
In the Hebrew, two words are generally used for anger. One appears at first rather odd, since it comes from the Hebrew word for “nostril”;! The allusion here is to the flaring nostrils of the camel, a beast known for its surly disposition!
The other is a word derived from “burning”. In the New Testament Greek, the word is orge, describing an intense passion, and from which we get the English word “orgy”.
These are powerful words and indicate a potentially very dangerous emotion.
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We are warned about anger several
times in the Book of Proverbs.
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A patient man has great understanding,
but a quick-tempered man displays folly.
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A gentle answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.
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A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension,
but a patient man calms a quarrel.
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Better a patient man than a warrior,
a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.
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A man’s wisdom gives him patience;
it is to his glory to overlook an offense.
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A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty;
if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.
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Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man,
do not associate with one easily angered,
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It is clear that anger is a strong and potentially deadly emotion, and turned inward can lead to depression and outwardly to alienation from others and lack of success in life. While the Old Testament refers to anger many more times than does the New Testament, both the Apostle Paul and the Apostle James give us some guidelines in dealing with anger. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:26 -27:
In your anger do not sin Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
and do not give the devil a foothold.
We can glean from this that it is possible to be angry and yet not to sin (refer back to our discussion of Jesus and anger) but that unrighteous anger may give the devil a foothold in our lives. Also, the harboring of angry thoughts and feelings may turn even righteous anger into unrighteous.
James tells in us James 1:19-20
Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
Very good advice, for the Bible describes God Himself as “slow to anger” (Exodus 34:6), and we also see the contrast between the “anger of man” and the “righteousness of God”.
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So what should we do?
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We read in the dictionary that anger is a feeling, and feelings are hard to control. For many (if not most!) of us, controlling anger is an impossible task. We must look to Jesus to help us calm our anger. Remember, He calmed a storm on the Sea of Galilee and He can calm the storm in our hearts. May His words from that occasion speak to us now:
“Peace, be still. and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”
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Questions?
- In James 1:19-20 what are the three actions that James advises believers to do?
We are to be: quick to ________slow to _____________slow to become
_________________________,
- Also in these verses, what dose anger NOT bring about in a believers life?_____________________________________
- What is the definition for the word anger in the American Heritage Dictionary? ____________________________________
- What are the four synonyms given in this definition?
____________________________________________
___________________________________________
____________________________________________
- What will we not inherit if we allow anger to be apart of our life.(Galatians 5:19-21) ___________________________________________
- How can anger be sin and yet ascribed to a perfect God who cannot sin? In Mark 3 & john 2 Jesus we are shown two examples of Jesus being angry because it was a
________________
________________
- Anger can be a potentially very dangerous emotion. Fill in the missing word(s) in each Proverb below.
- A patient man has great understanding, but a__________________________
man displays folly. Proverbs 14:29___________________________________
– A hot-tempered man____________________________________________
___________________________________but a patient man calms a quarrel.
Proverbs 15:18 -Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who___________
___________________________________________than one who takes a city.
Proverbs 16:32 _____________________________________-A hot-tempered
man_______________________if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.
Proverbs 19:19_____________________________-Do not make friends with a
______________________________do not associate with one easily angered,
Proverb 22:24 _____________________
- According to Ephesians 4:26-27, if you allow un-dealt with anger in your life what does this give to the devil?
___________________________
_________________________ - In Exodus 34:6 Our God is described as one who is. – A. Easily Angry. B. Slow to Anger C. Quick to become angry.
- In Mark 4:39 Jesus spoke to the troubled waters and said what.
______________
- Speak When You Are Angry And You’ll Will Make The Best Speech_______________
- Anger Is Only One Letter Short Of________________
On the website concerning the Topic of: “Peace and the Cross.”
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Answers!
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- In James 1:19-20 what are the three actions that James advises believers to do?
We are to be: quick to listen slow to speakslow to become angry,
- Also in these verses, what dose anger NOT bring about in a believers life? The righteous life that God desires
- What is the definition for the word anger in the American Heritage Dictionary?
“a strong feeling of displeasure or hostility”.
- What are the four synonyms given in this definition? rage, fury, resentment and indignation”.
- What will we not inherit if we allow anger to be apart of our life.(Galatians 5:19-21)
those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
- How can anger be sin and yet ascribed to a perfect God who cannot sin? In Mark 3 & john 2 Jesus we are shown two examples of Jesus being angry because it was a virtue rather than a vice.
- Anger can be a potentially very dangerous emotion. Fill in the missing word(s) in each Proverb below.
A patient man has great understanding, but a a quick-tempered mandisplays folly. Proverbs 14:29
A hot-tempered man stirs up dissensionbut a patient man calms a quarrel. Proverbs 15:18
Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temperthan one who takes a city.
A hot-tempered manmust pay the penalty;if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.
Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered,
- According to Ephesians 4:26-27, if you allow un-dealt with anger in your life what does this give to the devil?
a foothold in our lives
- In Exodus 34:6Our God is described as one who is. A. Easily Angry. B. Slow to Anger C. Quick to become angry.
- In Mark 4:39 Jesus spoke to the troubled waters and said what. Peace be still.
- Speak When You Are Angry And You’ll Will Make The Best Speech You Will Ever Regret!
- Anger Is Only One Letter Short Of Danger
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On the website concerning the Topic of: “Peace and the Cross.”
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