[Pastor Ralph]

Q2. Why is anger an appropriate response to sin? What is the difference between capricious or uncontrolled anger and anger that brings about justice?

[Darleen Nelson]

Sin is a deliberate act of disobedience and must therefore cause anger in a righteous, loving God. When a law or even a person's wishes are deliberately ignored over and over anger is a natural reaction. God had a solution for those who disobeyed and was willing to provide foregiveness to them. God's love and mercy are wonderful and we benefit fromt hemw hen we respond and give glory to Him. Righteous anger is not uncontroleld or capricious but is meted out as due to the person who has broken the law and is not done with sudden anger but with a controlled anger that is explained and should be expected. If you break a natural law you know there are consequences and this is also true of God's law.

[Peggie]

Anger is a response to sin because sin offends God....sin offends most PEOPLE as well, therefore making them angry. If we harm someone in a relationship whether it be family or friendship, they feel betrayed which in turn causes sorrow and anger.
Controlled anger can be compared to a legal judge sitting on a bench. The one standing before him/her may have consequences to pay, but that does not mean the judge loses his/her temper at them, they just sadly enforce the consequences.

[nelda huffman]

Sin angers God, he is not angry with the person themselves.
Anger leads to doing things wrong or sin
Our Lord is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfullness and loves all no matter what, he forgives our sins when we turn to him, he doesn't let the quilty go unpunished. When we ask him for forgiveness and help to change the way we are he answers, because he loves us and wants us to be the best we can be.

[Julie]

Why is anger an appropriate response to sin?
For this is a Christian responsibility. Anger stirred up by pride is wrong, but to be stirred up over sin is not.
what is the difference?
Anger is often but not always a sin, it is not wrong to be stirred up by unrighteousness, Christ also acted out of righteous anger, but He did not loose His temper.

[Sgt_Z_Squad]

Hi Everyone-

Jesus, showed us that righteous anger was appropriate to disobedience. You can look to the times He ejected the money changers from the temple. Anger when directed to correct is love.

Capricious or uncontrolled anger, is usually vindictive. The anger is not to correct in love but to hurt, demean, or both. It is for your own pride or ego.

-/
Bob

[Pat Beckner]

As a mother, I know the dissappointment of a rebellious child. I also know how hard it is to punish that child but know it must be done for the child's own good. It is not done out of anger but rather love when instruction has failed. God chastens those He loves to help us overcome the things we do wrong. I am thankful for that chastening. As believers though, I believe that anger does not have a part in the Christian walk. [Galatians 5: 16-22.] We are called to peace, not to judge and be angry. Eph. 4:26&31, Col. 3: 8, 1Tim.2:8, James 1: 19-20 I must live in patience and sorrow for sin and have that humble spirit so that I am not overcome with anger.

[jwealing]

God's very nature indicates that He could not possibly accept or overlook sin. Since His very nature is pure, He must hate sin and respond with righteous anger. This is the anger that is pure. It does not hold malice, spite, or revenge. It is to give us, His followers, knowledge that we have sinned, then gives us the opportunity to repent, and covers that sin with the very blood of Jesus Christ.

I think it is very different than most of the anger that we, as people experience. Our anger is usually unjust and contains some degree of malice. This is evidenced when we get angry with another driver on the road, our children for being annoying, or our spouse for just ??????

[wayfarer58]

Here are my answers to today's questions:

a. According to Webster anger is "A violent passion of the mind excited by a real or supposed injury...". (BTW, the Hebrew and Greek words translated as anger run along the same lines). While we are very ready to be angry at some harm done to us or someone close to us, we must have that same, or even an increased anger towards sin because, if for no other reason, sin is an offense to the God who created us.

b. Our anger often results in uncontrolled, unreasonable response; i'e', the 'crimes of passion' that we read about all too often. And while we may often control ourselves enough to reason out an appropriate response in proportion to our perception of the nature of the offense, God ALWAYS responds appropriately in accordance with His already revealed nature. We have no excuse! We know the nature of God, we know the expectations he has of us. We know what the results of failure to meet those expectations must be. Thankfully, we can also know the One to deliver us from God's righteous response to our sin. Thank you Jesus!

Dave

[Heather Lindwall]

[QUOTE]Hello Everyone
I believe anger to be an appropriate response to behavior that threatens the order of peace and love that God intended from the very beginning. God has always been angry with sin and disobedience, because He is totally without sin, therefore unable to tolerate anything less than perfection. God's anger has always led to reform and restoration of peace and order. The Old Testament is the story of God's continued efforts to guide His people back into a loving relationship to Himself. God's righteous anger led to His many efforts to accomplish this, ultimately to the giving of His Son as a supreme sacrifice that would result in the restoration of mankind.

Capricious and uncontrolled anger is a passion without any control whatsoever.......a violence that is cautioned against in Galatians 5:19, 20. This kind of anger solves no problems, only creates more problems in it's wake.

Righteous anger stays within the boundaries of love, creates an atmosphere in which positive change can take place.

[photobug]

Anger is a respones to sin Because sin offends God and his people.Jesus got angery at the money changers in the temple .And had a good cause to .

[CatherineB]

Anger would be a natural response to someone sinning. A sin will ultimately cause injustice to another person or to yourself. I know that I get "angry with myself" when I sin. Jesus takes that sin away when I confess, and I can let go of the anger.
Anger when injustices are made, is a healthy anger that can propel us into action to eleviate the injustice.
Being angry without being able to change the behavior, is to me a waste of energy. Uncontrolled anger, is generally not constructive, and would cause more sin to happen.
Blessings upon our understanding.

[David Maher]

Why is anger an appropriate response to sin? What is the difference between capricious or uncontrolled anger and anger that brings about justice?

As I was looking for an answer to the above question, I came accross the following information that I thought answered the question very well. It compares wrath (God's anger directed against sin) to anger.

Quote

The personal manifestation of God's holy, moral character in judgment against sin. Wrath is neither an impersonal process nor is it irrational and fitful like anger. It is in no way vindictive or malicious. It is holy indignation-God's anger directed against sin.

God's wrath is an expression of His holy love. If God is not a God of wrath, His love is no more than frail, worthless sentimentality; the concept of mercy is meaningless; and the Cross was a cruel and unnecessary experience for His Son.

The Bible declares that all people are "by nature children of wrath" (Eph 2:3) and that "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness" (Rom 1:18). Since Christians have been "justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him" (Rom 5:9). The magnitude of God's love is manifested in the Cross, where God's only Son experienced wrath on our behalf.

"The day of the Lord's wrath" (Zeph 1:18) is identical with "the great day of the Lord" (Zeph 1:14). These terms refer to "the wrath of the Lamb" (Rev 6:16), Jesus Christ, that will fall on the ungodly at His Second Coming (1 Thess 1:10; 5:9; 2 Thess 1:7-10).

(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright ©1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

[jaunita]

Hello! Again, after reading the response's, already posted, I agree with most. "Why is anger an appropriate response to sin?" This is actually a subject, I believe is very important today......God's word say's "Judge not, that ye be not judged"....But it also say's "To judge righteous judgement!" I believe, for too long, Christians have forgotten that our God, is not only a God of love, but also a God, whom hate's sin! There is such a thing as "Holy anger" just as there is "Holy hatred" We, as God's people, are to be angry at the thing's God is angry at, & in the same sinse, hate the thing's that God hates! Just as Jesus went into the temple, & over-turned the table's of the money changers, exclaimimg "My Father's house, is a house of prayer...." When we see unrighteous behaviour, esp. in God's house, we should feel the same. But, in doing so, we need to be careful, that it is the sin, & not the sinner, we are angry at! My thoughts, on this!.........love, jaunita

[bjcollin]

Pastor Ralph, on Feb 9 2003, 01:22 PM, said:

Q2. Why is anger an appropriate response to sin? What is the difference between capricious or uncontrolled anger and anger that brings about justice? Exposition

Every type of sin seems to be responded to by the Lord in anger. Type in "Lord" "Anger" in the Bible search engine and it will turn up 134+ responses which are all Old Testament references. The laws we are breaking are the Lord's laws, so he has a right to be angry with us for breaking His laws. It is just the same when we have household rules and our kids break the household rules any which way they can. We end up getting angry at our kids for disobeying us.

Numbers 14:18 says 'The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.'

Nahum 1:3 says "The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished."

Jeremiah 23:20a "The anger of the LORD will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart."

May I put forth that the Lord has already accomplished the purposes of His heart in the sending/death/resurrection/assention of His Son Jesus. The age of God's anger burning directly against us has past, and now we are in the age of Grace. Grace is not getting what we rightfully deserve. For our sins we deserve death, but by Grace and Faith in Jesus Christ as the payment for that sin we become sons of God and inherit a place in heaven.

Capricious means governed by or characterized by impulsive or unpredictable behavior. God's anger was always on target and always exacting on justice. God's anger is always under control by Him and not out of control to bring about His justice.

[Anthony Mixer]

Anger is an appropriate response to sin because sin is a betrayal of trust that God places in man. Moreover, God directs his anger at the sin rather than the sinner for whom Jesus died.

Emotional, uncontrolled anger is destructive and self-centered. Godly anger seeks to right a wrong and bring about reconciliation.

[gail m]

Why is anger an appropriate response to sin? What is the difference between capricious or uncontrolled anger and anger that brings about justice?

I think personally we should get angry at sin in our society, perhaps if more people were angry about it there would be a higher moral bar to reach.

Uncontrolled anger gets us into trouble but a real heartfelt anger and desire for justice is another thing..Focus..It's hard to focus when you are angry but God was slow to anger and his anger is out of Love and Jesus would get angry out of Love for us as well.

[Patricia A. Conti]

Sin is a conscious choice a person makes to do wrong or not to do right. When we sin we choose to turn away from God in a very conscious manner. Anger is an appropriate response to someone from God when that person sins. God gave us everything. He even let His Son come to give us a way to come to him. He gave us rules for our own well-being. A conscious choice to not follow God can only be followed by anger. Although God is quick to forgive and when you ask God to forgive you (and you mean it) God will forgive. He is a loving God with righteous anger.

Uncontrolled anger is when you react to a situation on the spot. Whatever happens happens. Controlled anger is when you choose to react in a specific manner for the purpose of correcting the situation.

God's love for us is expressed at times through his righteous anger as he strives to teach us the way to him.

[Mike Dickinson]

Q2. Why is anger an appropriate response to sin?
As a Fundamentalist Christian I believe we are called to imitate our Savior Jesus. There are numerous examples in the Old Testament of God exercising His awesome power and His anger against His people’s enemies and even against those He loved, His own people, the Israelites. In particular when they were disobedient and fell into the worship of false gods. One example is found in 2 Chronicles 24:18 They abandoned the temple of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God's anger came upon Judah and Jerusalem. When I am convicted of sin, amidst the feelings of guilt there is also an element of anger. However, that anger is directed towards Satan and his cohorts who would put temptation in my path. I feel it is right to get angry when we allow sin to rule in our lives and even more so when we see the influence it has in the lives of those who are lost.

What is the difference between capricious or uncontrolled anger and anger that brings about justice?
Now then, when I said I get angry at sin and its’ consequences, I didn’t mean I throw a wobbly and start smashing everything in sight. What we do with our anger, just as what we do with any of the emotions that God Has given us, is the key. Jesus turned over the tables in the temple and chased the money changers’ out of it with a whip! However, this was a righteous anger at the hypocrisy taking place in God’s temple. If we on the other hand lose our tempers in a worldly way then we lose control of the situation. We may win the argument but lose a soul for God. Consider an opera singer who is trained to bring his voice from deep within and yet controls the sound coming out. Our righteous anger should be measured in the same way. From deep within but in measured tones so that those witnessing it will be left in no doubt that it is not of the world but of God.

[Omie]

Quote

Why is anger an appropriate response to sin? What is the difference between capricious or uncontrolled anger and anger that brings about justice

+ God's anger with sin is justified as He is perfect and can not accept sin in us. He sacrificed the Best so that we can be cleansed of sin and one day be with Him, the Triune God.

+ Justified anger is one where the anger serves a purpose for the better good.