[Music] in our fourth session on ephesians 4 25 to 29 we're going to talk about anger amy verse 26 and next time verse 27 be angry and do not sin do not let the sun go down on your anger and do not give place to the devil we need two sessions at least on this father anger i think probably ruins more relationships more marriages more churches than does money and sex they're so entangled with each other maybe it doesn't matter which we identify but i ask oh god that you would grant us first a right understanding of what paul means and then the spiritual power to get rid of unrighteous anger i pray this in jesus name amen remember in the context what's just gone before paul is unpacking what it means to take off the uniform as it were of the old man and put on the uniform of the new man the new person in christ and the first one was put away all falsehood and speak truth and now we're talking about be angry and do not sin don't let the sun go down on your anger and do not give place to the devil this is a quote from the old testament so we should look at the context there for light first o men how long shall my honor be turn into shame how long will you love vain words and seek after lies but know that the lord has set apart the godly for himself the lord hears when i call to him be angry and do not sin it's an exact quote from ephesians or vice versa ponder in your own hearts on your beds remember he says don't let the sun go down on your anger be done with it before you get in bed this is not exactly that but it's related ponder in your own hearts on your beds and be silent in other words don't lash out with your tongue in anger offer right sacrifices and put your trust in the lord there are many who say who will show us some good lift up the light of your face upon us o lord you have put more joy in my heart than they have when all their grain and wine abound in peace i will both lie down so here i am now getting in my bed i will lie down and sleep i will have peace not bitter wakeful stewing vengeful play the tapes over and over again in your head anger for you alone o lord make me dwell in safety so be angry and do not sin means at least trust in the lord with what you're dealing with behind this anger and get to the point where your trust in him gives you a peace that enables you to lie down and sleep like a baby that's pretty significant here's my question when we come to paul's be angry and do not sin which is a direct quote and then this is a kind of adaptation of the psalm do not let the sun go down on your anger my first question is is that a bona fide imperative a command is he telling all christians be sure to get angry when it's appropriate to get angry is that an encouragement toward anger now before i answer by saying not quite let me acknowledge and you know this probably that god gets angry here's chapter 5 verse 6 let no one deceive you with empty words for because of these things the wrath the anger of god comes upon the sons of disobedience so anger per se can't be sinful because god feels it so did jesus mark 3 5 and jesus never sinned jesus looked around at them with anger anger grieved he felt simultaneous anger simultaneous grief which is one test of whether your anger has any righteousness in it or is only ego driven do you feel grieved at the sins that make you angry the hardness of heart in the pharisees when they didn't care about the sick person in front of them and he said to the man stretch out your hand he stretched out his hand and it was restored so jesus felt anger and james in this famous passage about anger doesn't say never get angry he says be slow to get anger angry know this my beloved brothers let every person be quick to hear slow to speak slow to anger not never but slow pretty hard elders in titus 1 7 are told not to have quick tempers be slow to get angry for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of god so anger of man and then just says flat out it doesn't produce the righteousness of god so he must if if there is an angry an anger that you should after you have been slow pro properly feel if you should properly feel anger after you have been slow to get anger it's not merely the anger of man is it anger of man seems to be if your anger is mainly ego driven i've been offended this makes me angry it casts bad light on me it's not about god it's not about other people it's about me i think that would be the essence of anger of man that doesn't produce the righteousness of god and then in chapter 3 james says this but the wisdom from above is first pure then peaceable gentle open to reason full of mercy good fruits impartial sincere and then this a harvest of righteousness now i'm contrasting that with the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of god the righteousness that pleases god probably but what does produce a harvest of righteousness a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace not anger driven right so god feels angry jesus feels anger james says be slow to get angry because oh my goodness it is not productive like peacemaking is productive so i don't mean when i question whether this is a bona fide imperative here i don't mean it's sinful it's always sinful to get angry that's not true there is a place for righteous and brief anger brief don't let the sun go down on your anger so you might say james says slow to to get to feel anger and paul says quick to stop feeling it that makes sense james says be slow to anger and paul says don't let the sun go down in your anger if you do feel it even if it's right don't go to bed with it don't seethe with it don't play the tapes of a fence over and over again in your head till you are consumed with it now here's my main reason for thinking be angry here is probably not a command but some kind of unusual imperative just a few verses later chapter 4 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 taken away from you all of it be taken away from you along with all malice be kind to one another tender hearted it's very hard to feel anger and tenderness at the same time god can we can't usually that's extraordinary if you can manage that you're a better person than i am i feel like anger is one of the most dangerous emotions there is way more dangerous than lust i think as far as destruction power forgiving one another as god in christ forgave you so this is so strong that when i come back here just a few verses earlier and i see him say be angry and do not sin and i say now paul is this intended to be an encouragement to anger when you're going to say three verses later let all anger be put away and i i think i think what paul is saying here i think he would say it's it's not like i'm commanding everybody to be angry it's more like the kind of imperative jesus used in john 2 19. jesus answered them destroy this temple and in three days i'll raise it up now what kind of imperative is that i mean he wasn't really commanding them to destroy the temple he was saying okay if you must destroy the temple i'll raise it up in three days it's a kind of if it's a kind of concession it's like when um i'm i'm having a discussion over the phone with a friend who is supposed to get here in 10 minutes and he says he's late and i'm frustrated and i say okay be late but don't forget the groceries be late but don't forget the groceries i i don't mean i'm commanding him to be late it's a way of saying if you must be late be late and don't forget the groceries and so that's the kind of thing i see here say to your child touch that vase and you'll get a spanking we don't mean touch the face we mean if if you touch the vase or if we say to our teammate hit a home run and we'll win the game we don't mean it's a command to hit a home run we mean if you hit a home run we will that there is a kind of imperative that in greek usage english usage probably other languages are conditional so i think he's saying uh if there is an occasion for you to be angry properly go ahead be angry and don't sin or like james says be slow to feel it be quick to get rid of it and next time we're going to ponder now why are we to be so slow what's what's dangerous about this anger if god feels it jesus felt it paul felt it when he was in athens and looked at the idols what's dangerous about it why are you supposed to get rid of it before sundown and then we'll ask how do you get rid of it and then we'll ask what's that got to do with giving place to the devil but for now just wanted to make the case that even though anger can be properly felt by christians this is probably a concession if you must get angry do it but do it without sin and the sin he focuses on here is holding a grudge beyond sundown [Music] you