How Can You Be Angry in a Righteous Way? – Part 2

posted April 8, 2014

Submitted Question: “Today God would be angry about abortion, slavery, child abuse, immorality, etc. So getting angry about these things would be normal and good.” So how can you be angry in a righteous way and still express this appropriately?”

Read Part 1 of my answer.   

God doesn’t call us to be doormats who simply let evil flourish. However, if we aren’t careful to follow godly principles, we can cause more harm than good in the fight against evil. As we labor to build the kingdom of God on earth, we can tear it down instead.

Rather than run out and wage war on evil, if we want to be effective, we need to join what God is doing.

As we saw in Part 1, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego all quietly served an evil king, but faithfully honored God with their lives. After failing miserably by taking matters into his own hands Moses was used as an instrument of salvation for God’s children. In 1 Samuel 11, Saul became very angry when the Spirit of God came on him. It led him to do unorthodox things, but Israel was saved and it led to him being accepted as king. In Numbers 25, Phinehas took a spear and killed an Israelite and a Midianite, but his grisly actions, in response to God, ended a brutal plague of death that had taken 24,000 Israel lives.

These examples are so varied, what can we learn from them?

They all have several things in common:

• These men all lived in the midst of evil.
• The Lord used each one to carry out His purposes.
• It seems that each of them joined in what God was doing—in spite of their different responses to evil.

Those are all Old Testament testimonies. In the Ten Commandments, we are also told not to kill (Ex. 20:13), but what does the New Testament add?

• We are to put away all bitterness, wrath, and anger (Eph. 4:31)(Col. 3:8)
• He who is angry at his brother is guilty before the court (Matt. 5:22)
• Anger does not achieve the righteousness of God (James 1:20)
• It seems Saul and Phinehas were angry when they acted and killed, but they were blessed by God. (OT, but they present tension with the others)
• We are not to resist evil, but when slapped, we are told to turn the other cheek rather than resist (Matt. 5:39).
• We are to take up the full armor of God so we can resist in the evil day (Eph. 6:13-17).
• If we resist the devil, he will flee (Jam. 4:7)

How do we take up the armor of God and resist the devil and not get angry or fight evil? They seem to conflict. We need to proceed with caution if we want God’s blessing on our efforts..

We obviously need to heed and obey clear commands, such as James 1:19, Ephesians 4:26, Ephesians 4:29-32, and Colossians 3:8. We need to be slow to anger. When we are angered, we need to get rid of it quickly. The directives are clear that we put away all anger. Consequently, I don’t believe God wants us to fight evil with the energy and power that we get from anger. However, if we fight in God, we will do valiantly, because He will tread down our enemies (Ps. 60 12; 108:13).

I’m not a Bible scholar, but does Moses’ life illustrate the passages above? When he killed the task master for killing a slave (being “slapped”) he reacted in anger, killing the taskmaster. Could he have avoided 40 years in the wilderness if he had resisted reacting and had turned the other cheek instead? It apparently took 40 years for God to prepare Moses to break Pharoah’s evil hold on Israel.

Slapping someone back is a self-driven, self-protective response. If we want to be effective in overcoming evil, we need to do it in the strength of the Lord and under His command, not in our own strength. In our own strength we fail, like Moses did as a 40-year-old.

 Guidelines for a righteous response to evil:

• Submit to God. Wait. Follow and obey God. Don’t move out on your own (Prov. 3:5-7). “Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee” (Jam. 4:3) We’re told to submit before we resist.

• Pray. The struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places (Eph. 6:12). We are dependent on God to bring change.
• Stand. It is easy to be drawn into cultural changes. Let the Word of God be your standard. Stand on the Word. Stand in your faith, in the Lord, and in his grace (Eph. 6:10, 11, 13, 14; Phil. 4:1; 1 Peter 5:12; 1 Cor. 16:13).
• Do everything in love. (1 Cor. 16:14; Matt. 5:44-48; Matt. 24:12-13; Lu. 6:35; John 13:35; Rom. 13:10). God is love. We are His letter, written to the world. Do they experience the heart of God when you fight evil? (2 Cor. 3:2-3).
• Take up the full armor of God as listed in Ephesians 5:14-18, but note that the armor is all spiritual: truth, righteousness, the good news of peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer—prayer is emphasized through repetition. (See 2 Cor. 10:3-4.) You put on the armor of God through an intimate relationship with Him.
• Be alert at all times “with perseverance” (Eph. 6:18). Be alert to what God is asking of you. How can we obey if we don’t hear what He says to do?
• Learn to recognize your Shepherd’s voice. (John 10:3-4, 27-28) Wait for Him to call your name and to lead out. He is commander of the fight against evil. He often calls on common men, like Moses, Saul, and Phinehas to accomplish His purposes. And He may call for radical action. You must know His voice to know when to follow—and when not to follow voices in the marketplace that mean well but are fighting in their own strength.
• Be salt and light (Matt. 5:13-16). Live your life so it draws others to Christ, ready at all times to share the hope that is in you (1 Pet. 3:15-18). Live your life to glorify God and represent Him to those around us. If each of us shared the gospel and led just one person to know and follow Jesus Christ, the culture of evil around us would be impacted for good. (Jesus ministered as Light. He didn’t attack the evil of the culture.)
• Take action. As a Christian support Christ’s body—in church attendance, prayer, time, and offerings. Do what you can to encourage and strengthen those around you to faith, to stand, and to make a difference. As a citizen, vote for people who stand for righteousness. Support ministries that reach out —in prayer, time, and finances—in love to stand for Christ-honoring causes. Seek God for where He wants you to make a difference.

These points seem more about how to live than how to fight, but we cannot respond to evil righteously without being firmly planted on the rock of Jesus Christ and having a life which is in right relationship with Him.

The King of kings and Lord of lords leads in the battle against evil. If we want to resist evil in righteousness, we must be in right relationship with God. It isn’t just a question of whether or not the object of our anger is evil, it’s a matter of knowing God and obeying what He calls me to do.

The Lord uses people to accomplish His purposes on earth. He might call you to intercessory prayer, to evangelism, to volunteer at abortion clinics or in rescuing sex slaves. Maybe you are to be a Moses and lead the way, or maybe a Phinehas, and do the unthinkable that seems to go against the commandments of God. Will you seek His leading? Will you follow Him—even if it’s hidden service in a closet of prayer, or if it something totally outside your comfort zone?

Fighting evil righteously calls for full surrender to the Captain Who leads the charge.

He is the Almighty God. He sees all and knows all—past, present, and future. And He’s in command. If we follow Him into battle, and fight according to His principles and directions, we will prevail! “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” 1 John 5:4.

How do you fight evil in a righteous way? The same way you live righteously any day, in communion with God and obedience to Him.

Next week, I’ll share more on our response of anger to the evil that permeates our culture.

Please share your thoughts and ask questions if something didn’t make sense.