Bible Study Is a Christian's anger ever justified?

[Hidden In Him]

Blessings in Christ in advance to any who respond. This might get some interesting responses.

There are a number of scriptures which state that we are to put aside all anger. A few of them are as follows:

8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth... as the elect of God, holy and beloved, [instead] put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. (Colossians 3:8, 12-13)

19 my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. (James 1:19)

There are others I could include here as well, but my question is this: Is there any scriptural support for believing that there might nevertheless be instances when a Christian's anger is justified before God?

I will give my response after others have had a chance first.

God bless,
Hidden In Him

 

[for_his_glory]

There is righteous anger against all the things that oppose God as in unrighteous evil, idolatry, impurity and sin in the world without us being motivated by sin within our anger. As a child of God we are to practice the things of God and follow Christ's example, including being angry at the things God hates. Jesus got angry many times in the Bible, but yet never sinned within His anger.

Righteous anger is getting angry at the things that are not of God. It is an anger grieved by sin, death and any form of evil. Righteous anger is a characteristic of Jesus that we as Christians receive when we accept Him as Lord and Savior and choose to follow Him. We are to be angry at the things that oppose Christ and His image, but yet not sin in our anger. We need to look at the heart of God and see what grieves Him that angers Him, but without sin.

Here are a few scriptures that speak about righteous anger: Numbers 32:13; Proverbs 6:16-19; Matthew 21:12-14; Mark 3:1-6; James 1:19-20.

 

[for_his_glory]

Much needed topic, thank you Hidden In Him

 

[Truthfrees]

anger is not so much the issue - sinning while angry is the issue - and also dragging it out - Ephesians 4:26

 

[Hidden In Him]

Righteous anger is getting angry at the things that are not of God. It is an anger grieved by sin, death and any form of evil... Matthew 21:12-14; Mark 3:1-6..

And here I thought we were going to disagree.

Let me preface your argument here by saying that Jesus' by angry is not expressly stated in these two passages, though it seems to be implied. But there is at least one place of I know in the Gospels where it explicitly states that the Lord became angry with others, and it is right here:

He entered again into a synagogue, and a man was there whose hand was withered. They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. He *said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up, and come forward!” And He *said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him. (Mark 3:1-6).

This appears to describe the righteous indignation I think you were referred to, where He was clearly angry but yet did not sin in the midst of it.

Scripture does indeed teach that we are to put away all anger, wrath, malice, etc. (Ephesians 4:31), but here is my own argument for those who would say there is no such thing as justified human anger: If the central tenet of New Testament theology is that we are to "abide in Christ," and that it should be "no longer we who live but Christ who lives in us," it is apparent from this passage (if from no other) that Christ sometimes became angry with sinners, particularly those whose hearts had been hardened against the unfortunate. And if we abide in Him and He occasionally becomes angry, then it follows that we may occasionally become angry as well.

The real question is this, however: How to tell when what we are feeling is the righteous indignation of Christ or if it might instead be the enemy inciting us, for scripture teaches that he too can incite us to anger as well.

I know of some passages that deal with this which I can go into in my next post, but let me ask you, and this btw is just as much a request for your opinion and potentially advice as a quiz on what scripture teaches: How do you know when it is God's righteous indignation you are feeling, or when it might be demons inciting and goading you with their hostility instead?

 

[Hidden In Him]

anger is not so much the issue - sinning while angry is the issue - and also dragging it out - Ephesians 4:26

All depends on who is the source of that anger, my brother.

Let me ask you the same question: How can you tell when it is God's anger, and when it might be demons inciting you with theirs?

 

[Truthfrees]

All depends on who is the source of that anger, my brother.

Let me ask you the same question: How can you tell when it is God's anger, and when it might be demons inciting you with theirs?

when you sin while angry - sinning proves the anger is from the devil -

 

[Truthfrees]

when you sin while angry - sinning proves the anger is from the devil -

james and john wanted to call fire from heaven to kill a bunch of people who did wrong - Jesus rebuked them and said they didn't know what spirit they were of

did the people do wrong? - yes - was there cause to be angry? - maybe maybe not - but their desire to have the people all be killed by fire from heaven proved their anger did not come from God

 

[for_his_glory]

And here I thought we were going to disagree.

Let me preface your argument here by saying that Jesus' by angry is not expressly stated in these two passages, though it seems to be implied. But there is at least one place of I know in the Gospels where it explicitly states that the Lord became angry with others, and it is right here:

He entered again into a synagogue, and a man was there whose hand was withered. They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. He *said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up, and come forward!” And He *said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him. (Mark 3:1-6).

This appears to describe the righteous indignation I think you were referred to, where He was clearly angry but yet did not sin in the midst of it.

Scripture does indeed teach that we are to put away all anger, wrath, malice, etc. (Ephesians 4:31), but here is my own argument for those who would say there is no such thing as justified human anger: If the central tenet of New Testament theology is that we are to "abide in Christ," and that it should be "no longer we who live but Christ who lives in us," it is apparent from this passage (if from no other) that Christ sometimes became angry with sinners, particularly those whose hearts had been hardened against the unfortunate. And if we abide in Him and He occasionally becomes angry, then it follows that we may occasionally become angry as well.

The real question is this, however: How to tell when what we are feeling is the righteous indignation of Christ or if it might instead be the enemy inciting us, for scripture teaches that he too can incite us to anger as well.

I know of some passages that deal with this which I can go into in my next post, but let me ask you, and this btw is just as much a request for your opinion and potentially advice as a quiz on what scripture teaches: How do you know when it is God's righteous indignation you are feeling, or when it might be demons inciting and goading you with their hostility instead?

I was hoping we were on the same wave length

Now back to your question. I think the difference between us following in God's righteous indignation (anger) or whether we allow our self to get in the flesh in anger, is that our anger can bring about sinful behavior if we allow our self to get in the flesh, while God can not ever sin, even when angered. Demons can not posses the thoughts of a Christian causing them to sin, but it's only when we get into the flesh, where the sin nature dwells, is when we become sinful.

 

[Fastfredy0]

Is a Christian's anger ever justified?​

Yes
Proof: Ephesians 4:26 Be angry [at sin—at immorality, at injustice, at ungodly behavior], yet do not sin; do not let your anger [cause you shame, nor allow it to] last until the sun goes down. AMP
The AMP version adds some occasions when angry is justified in its opinion.

Two Greek words in the New Testament are translated as “anger.” One means “passion, energy” and the other means “agitated, boiling.” Biblically, anger is God-given energy intended to help us solve problems. https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-anger.html

Aside: Now, if one defines anger and then asks when anger is and is not sinful ... then it gets interesting and at times subjective I suppose.
Perhaps "anger" itself is never sinful but is often the precursor to sin. But, I would say that anger is sinful when it is based on an erroneous evaluation of a just act.
I am angry at Johnny helping Billy. This would be anger at a just act and therefore sinful.
I am angry at Johnny hitting Billy. This would be anger at a unjust act and therefore not sinful.
I am angry at Johnny hitting Billy but I didn't realize it was a just punishment. This would be unintentionally sinful????
for_his_glory disagrees with me and I become angry... this would be anger at a ... j/k

 

[Hidden In Him]

james and john wanted to call fire from heaven to kill a bunch of people who did wrong - Jesus rebuked them and said they didn't know what spirit they were of

Ah, now this one is hitting closer to the mark. I believe the telling feature may be, does the spirit speaking through us cause us to get into wrath and want to take vengeance out on someone ourselves. This would be to sin, for God has said, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay." It is not something we are supposed to take into our own hands, so the simple fact that we lean in that direction should be a warning.

I have a full passage in James that applies here. I can go through it tomorrow.

Now back to your question. I think the difference between us following in God's righteous indignation (anger) or whether we allow our self to get in the flesh in anger, is that our anger can bring about sinful behavior if we allow our self to get in the flesh, while God can not ever sin, even when angered.

Yes, same thing.

 

[Hidden In Him]

Proof: Ephesians 4:26 Be angry [at sin—at immorality, at injustice, at ungodly behavior], yet do not sin

How did I miss that verse? Seems blatantly obvious all of a sudden.

 

[Hidden In Him]

One of those verses that is hiding in plain sight?

 

[Norman]

Me...I may get angry and sin. Then I need to calm down, go to the Lord and repent, be willing to forgive all real and perceived wrongs from my heart, which can be a process, and at the appropriate time, ask for forgiveness...but do not pretend that a wrong never happened.
Do my best to deal with the situation and if it cannot be resolved, leave it in the Lord's hands and pray about it.

 

[hawkman]

This would be to sin, for God has said, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay." It is not something we are supposed to take into our own hands, so the simple fact that we lean in that direction should be a warning.

Here is one for you . Do you think God can let the vengeance fall into your hands for you to execute ?

Judges 16:28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. Judges 16:29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. Judges 16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

 

[Hidden In Him]

Here is one for you . Do you think God can let the vengeance fall into your hands for you to execute ?

Judges 16:28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. Judges 16:29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. Judges 16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

Ah, this raises the question again of is it the Lord moving through me, or is it just me operating on my own will. For Samson to execute the power of God in manifestation, it means this was not just his will but the Lord's. Hence it could be said that God was manifesting His vengeance through others, which is an important principle that runs throughout the entire Old Testament.

 

[for_his_glory]

Here is one for you . Do you think God can let the vengeance fall into your hands for you to execute ?

Judges 16:28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. Judges 16:29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. Judges 16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

This reminds me of David and Goliath as God used a mere shepherd boy to take down the enemy of God. Not sure if David was angry, but I would think if he was it would have been justified in killing Goliath as the enemy coming against God's people.

 

[hawkman]

Ah, this raises the question again of is it the Lord moving through me, or is it just me operating on my own will. For Samson to execute the power of God in manifestation, it means this was not just his will but the Lord's. Hence it could be said that God was manifesting His vengeance through others, which is an important principle that runs throughout the entire Old Testament.

Even today God's power is manfesting in our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit . But I think that vengeance is a rare occasion , don't you ?

What an awesome God we serve that he would use us to accomplish things on this earth .

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

 

[Hidden In Him]

Even today God's power is manfesting in our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit . But I think that vengeance is a rare occasion , don't you ?

Interesting question. Not sure it's one I'd wanna know the answer to, LoL. As scripture says, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of Almighty God."

 

[Norman]

Be angry and don't sin. Sounds like 2 commands here.
1. Be angry...tells me there is a godly way to be angry.
2. Don't sin...tells me that if anger is allowed to run amok, as in retaliating, aka seeking vengeance, this is sinful.
If I am angry with someone, I find it best to be direct with them. This way any misunderstandings are cleared up and the 2 parties can come to an understanding. I call this making peace.
The big obstacle to this process being successful is, as always, pride.