This is the manuscript of the second sermon in the "7 Deadly Sins" series.
Proverbs 16:32 NKJV He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
Every sin a person commits can be classified under one of these seven categories.
Pride
Anger (Wrath)
Envy
Impurity (Lust)
Gluttony (Lack of Self-Restraint)
Slothfulness (Laziness)
Avarice (Greed)
These seven sins or categories are inward attitudes that affect character and conduct. Although these sins are never listed together in any single passage, they are continually condemned in Scripture.
The first sin was pride. The second deadly sin, and the one we are going to look at today, is anger which is a highly destructive sin. Like pride, anger is a sin that infects us all. Nobody is immune. From the smallest child to the oldest adult, this sin stalks us like a predatory animal looking for an unsuspecting victim.
Scripture
Psalms 37:1-9 NIV Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
Text:
Proverbs 16:32 NKJV He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
Introduction
I started this series, the “Seven Deadly Sins”, last week but remember there is no list of seven deadly sins in the Bible. The Bible says that all sins are deadly.
Romans 3:23 NIV for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 NIV For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The list of the seven deadly sins were first compiled by Pope Gregory I around the year 600 AD. Pope Gregory divided all sins under seven headings because he believed that every sin a person commits can be classified under one of these seven categories. As a reminder these seven categories are
Pride
Anger (Wrath)
Envy
Impurity (Lust)
Gluttony (Lack of Self-Restraint)
Slothfulness (Laziness)
Avarice (Greed)
These seven sins or categories are inward attitudes that affect character and conduct. Although these sins are never found listed together in any single passage, they are continually condemned in Scripture.
We started the series with the sin of pride because I believe as did Pope Gregory that all other sins originate with pride.
The first sin was pride and we talked about pride last week. The second deadly sin, and the one we are going to look at today, is anger which is a highly destructive sin. Like pride, anger is a sin that infects us all. Nobody is immune. From the smallest child to the oldest adult, this sin stalks us like a predatory animal looking for an unsuspecting victim.
Parents are well aware of the fierce temper of infants. Babies cry out with anger until they are dry, or fed, or given some attention and it doesn’t get any better as they grow older. We have all experienced and probably engaged ourselves in temper tantrums as children, because we didn’t get our way. Outward displays of anger, in childhood, degenerate to sulking and pouting in teenagers. Fits of anger lead to bickering and self-centered fighting among siblings, which when taken to extremes, results in siblings not speaking for years and in some few instances never speaking again after an outburst of anger over something.
Anger causes a wife to develop a headache and a husband to slam doors. Older adults may suffer from ulcers, hypertension, and stress, which may be aggravated by violent outbursts of temper.
I. Uncontrollable anger is actually a sign of weakness.
A. The majority of people are able to subdue their anger into a controlled reaction on most occasions. However, all of us have had circumstances that have sorely tried our patience and we have become angry. During those stressful periods, we sometimes become different people.
I’ll use myself as an example.
When we were looking for a sign for our care package ministry Jeanette for a place that would make us a sign at a reasonable price. That day I learned that my granddaughter Danielle was told that there was nothing else that could be done in treatment for cancer and that she was being put under hospice care.
When the guy at the sign place said we had to pay up front I lost it and actually shouted at him. Janette, who was there, later remarked that she was wondering who this guy was. I was not the Donald that she knew. I was angry with God and took it out on someone who didn’t deserve it. I became someone else.
We often offer excuses to downplay our temper tantrums. We say that we were “just letting off steam” or that we were “temporarily insane.” when the truth is that we lost control. I had lost control. We let our passion go unchecked. When this happens, our personalities often become repulsive, irrational, and border on being animalistic rather than human.
B. Our text Proverbs 16:32 NKJV says He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty. What that’s saying is that the person who is slow to anger is able to maintain self control.
The person who doesn’t let their anger get out of hand, and get out of control is stronger than a person mighty enough to take a city. Picture a warrior, a leader of an army going in and taking a city. The scripture which are inspired by the Holy Spirit say that the person who is slow to anger is stronger than that person because they are under control.
It is interesting that the wisdom of God puts greater value on persistant patience, longsuffering, and goodness than on sheer physical strength.
Galatians 5:22-23 NIV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Anger that is uncontrolled can lead us to say and do things we later regret. I had to call the sign guy back and apologize. Anger is so highly destructive that a longtime friendship can be destroyed in a few minutes of unchecked fury.
Who truly is the strong man? Is he the guy who can flex his muscles and take up a sword and lead an army? Or could it be the one who can control his own passions and prevent a battle from ever needing to take place?
C. Our text also implies that not “all” anger is evil.
Proverbs 16:32 NKJV He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
The text says “He that is slow to anger”; it does not say, “He that never gets angry.”
The Bible indicates on more than one occasion that God, Himself became angry with both people and circumstances. The difference between God's anger and man’s is that God’s anger is slow in coming and is usually tempered by a chance for forgiveness.
God gets angry when there is a violation of His character. God is righteous, just, and holy, and none of these attributes can be compromised.
Exodus 20:4-6 NIV “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Isaiah 42:8 NIV “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.
God was angry with the nation of Israel and with Israel’s kings every time they turned away from obeying Him.
1 Kings 11:9-10 NIV The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command.
The wicked practices of the nations in Canaan, such as child sacrifice and sexual perversion, aroused God’s anger to the point that He commanded Israel to completely destroy them—every man, woman, child, and animal—to remove wickedness from the land.
Deuteronomy 7:1-6 NIV When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you— and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.
Just as a parent becomes angry at anything that would hurt their children, God’s anger is directed at that which would harm His people and their relationship with Him.
In the New Testament, Jesus got angry with the religious teachers and leaders of that day for using religion for their own gain and keeping people in bondage.
John 2:13-16 NIV When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”
Mark 3:4-5 NIV Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.
Romans 1:18-20 NIV The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
But even in His anger, God’s motivation is love for people; to restore the relationship that sin destroyed.
2 Peter 3:8-9 NIV But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
While God must bring justice and retribution for sin, those who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior are no longer under God’s wrath for sin. Why? Because Jesus experienced the full measure of the wrath of God on the cross so that we wouldn’t have to.
Romans 6:23 NIV For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So when we do get angry we are still to maintain our self control, aided by the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 4:26-27 AMP 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. And do not give the devil an opportunity [to lead you into sin by holding a grudge, or nurturing anger, or harboring resentment, or cultivating bitterness].
I believe that Paul gave this advice through the leading of the Holy Spirit because
II Uncontrollable anger leads to personal harm.
A. Here are some physical issues that can come from anger:
High blood pressure: Anger can cause high blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease
Heart rate: Anger can cause rapid heart rate
Tingling: Anger can cause tingling sensations
Headaches: Anger can cause headaches, pressure in the head or sinus cavities, and fatigue
Digestion: Anger can cause gastrointestinal issues, abdominal pain, and skin problems like eczema
Mental health: Anger can cause mental health issues like depression and anxiety
Road accidents: Not being able to control anger can lead to road accidents
Other physical issues that can come from anger include: Insomnia, Migraines, Heart palpitations or chest tightness, Cardiovascular diseases, Diabetes.
At times physical symptoms may disappear, only to reappear later when you see the person who caused the anger. This can result in anger becoming hatred, which is even more serious.
Anger is such a strong emotion that when it subsides, it generally leaves a person emotionally drained.
B. Uncontrollable anger or rage can rob a person of their self-esteem.
People get angry with themselves because they allowed themselves to lose control. They chastise themselves,
which causes guilt, confusion, and frustration.
C Uncontrolled anger can impair our thinking and attitudes.
Psalms 37:8 NIV Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
Anger and fretting cause us to think of evil ways of how to get even. Plotting evil makes us more like Satan than like God.
James 1:19-20 NIV My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
III. Uncontrolled anger often leads to evil actions
A. Jesus explained that the sin of murder begins with anger.
Matthew 5:21-22 NIV “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Jesus didn’t take temper tantrums lightly or excuse emotional outburst of anger as “just letting off steam” or just an expression of “a fiery nature” .
Jesus not only warns us against expressing unrighteous anger, which can lead to murder, but clearly commands that disparaging denunciations and name-calling be avoided. Such abusive words reveal the true intentions of the heart and mind for which we will be held in judgment.
Jeremiah 17:10 NIV “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”
Conclusion
Pride and anger are the first and second deadly sins. Anger that is out of control is as dangerous as murder. Anger causes physical harm to ourselves and can lead to physical harm to others. If you have a problem controlling your anger it is impossible to change yourself. You need outside help the kind of help only Jesus can give through the Holy Spirit.
Let me close with this scripture
Mark 5:2-8 NIV When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”
Now look at vers 15
When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
The reason that I read that scripture was to show you that If Jesus was able to change this person. He can change you. Jesus Christ was able to change the Gadarene demoniac from a wild, rampaging beast into a calm, quiet, effective witness
He can do the same for your temper.
Prayer
Almighty and All-Powerful Father, help me feel calm when I become angry. When pressure and conflict make me feel surrounded, remind me that I am surrounded by your presence. When you are with me I have no need to lash out in anger. Please remove my anger towards other people and replace it with trust in your provision and care. May confidence in your love replace any anger about my circumstances. When I feel angry due to unmet expectations, remind me that satisfaction can be found only in you. May the love of the Father, the grace of the Son and the power of the Holy Spirit be with me today. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.
Sermon Audio
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