Ephesians 4: 25-27 (Righteous Anger)

            Summary:  This passage is the natural follow up of what Paul has just tried to get across in the previous passage.  That message being a passionate out crying and commission of living holy lifestyles.  Paul now dives into what that looks like in the life of the believer, an instant application.  Paul warns against the threat of how the devil can use unrighteous anger to his advantage. 

            Note:  Paul is commanding “be angry”

                        Timeless Principle:  Paul raises a very interesting fact that often evades our normal perceptions when he commands the church to “be angry.”  It implies something that we have always been taught against.  The restriction on this command, “but do not sin,” adds extra confusion to the matter.  One can conclude from this restriction that there is a right and wrong kind of anger.  Bob Deffinbaugh puts it this way:

“The command, “Be angry!” just doesn’t sound right, does it? We are uncomfortable with a command like this. We find ourselves trying to avoid or explain this command away, because anger does not sound godly. But we must remember that there are two kinds of anger. There is the “anger of man” which “does not achieve the righteousness of God” (James 1:20), and the anger which is an expression of God’s righteousness. We are commanded in our text to be angry in a way that is righteous, that is a reflection of God.”

God in his nature cannot sin and if he is repeatedly driven to anger then it must follow that there is Godly anger.  So what exactly is a good definition of anger that is godly?  Godly anger is God-like anger.  God gets angry, believe it.  Sin infuriates him.  In one recorded instance of this anger, Jesus gets heated towards the Pharisees due to the hardness of their hearts (Mark 3).  Another case of this anger is clearly demonstrated by the Father in Deuteronomy upon the Isrealites molding of a golden calf to become a false God.  Any common man upon picking up the Bible for the first time would agree in minutes that God is often driven to anger.  It only takes three chapters into the Bible to find God’s first display of anger towards man because of man’s innate hatred of Him.  So God, in his nature cannot sin, this must mean that these instances of anger are not sin.  What makes them not sin then?  These displays of righteous anger are not unprovoked but are results of actions that show a disregard for God.  We have been called to mimic God and God gets infuriated by sin because he hates it therefore we should hate sin and get angry with Him at it.  (For more on Godly anger go to http://bible.org/seriespage/righteous-anger-ephesians-426-27)

            There is yet one more restriction on this anger.  That is “do not let the sun go down” on it.  Unresolved conflict leads only to separation of the body that Christ died to bring together for his glory.   Therefore we must never allow any chance for Satan to tear apart our unity.  God’s anger was satisfied by the death of His Son which he used as the vessel to forgive the sinner so we must never hesitate to offer forgiveness to one another.