Anger and Me

"Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin."

Hebrews 4:14-15

Every person alive knows what it feels like to be angry.  Frustration at failure, feeling picked on or making mistakes can result in a white-hot rage that makes the blood boil.  Releasing this anger through words or throwing things does nothing to calm us within and leads to more regrettable behaviour than our excuse for it.  We would like to claim all our anger is a result of justifiable righteous indignation, yet no one but God can rightly make this claim.  It is not a sin to be angry, yet when we justify remaining angry it always results in sin.

Ephesians 4:26-27 says, "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, ²⁷ nor give place to the devil."  When we justify sinful anger we open ourselves up to follow in the proud footsteps of Satan rather than our great High Priest Jesus Christ who sympathises with our weaknesses, was in all points tempted, and He remained without sin.  In the moment of anger we imagine no one could possibly feel as angry as we do and thus justify us taking action accordingly.  The writer of Hebrews said we ought to hold fast our confession of faith in Jesus Christ, having put off the corrupt ways of living and thinking which mark the unregenerate and then, as Ephesians 4:23-24 says, "...be renewed in the spirit of your mind, ²⁴ and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness."

Walking in holiness is not living with a serene smile plastered on your face without experiencing feelings like anger or grief.  To the contrary:  before we were born again we were without feeling--without godly conviction of sinful boasting, anger, greediness and uncleanness.  After being born again by faith in Jesus we now have a heart of flesh that enables us to learn to feel, think and order our lives after true righteousness and holiness, not self-confidence and pride.  People who once were marked with the character trait of being easily angered can by God's grace and wisdom be slow to anger and be longsuffering by personal transformation through the Gospel.  No self-help book or seminar can change you from what you are.  It is by acknowledging our sin in light of God's righteousness and repentance God changes us and gives us wisdom not to give place to the devil through anger.

Like greed, anger cannot be satisfied.  All the rage man unleashes upon others and himself will provide rest for his troubled soul nor free him of bondage to pride and folly.  Praise the LORD Jesus understands how we feel even when we are at our angriest, and He remains without sin.  This proves He is able to help us walk wisely and uprightly, to experience feelings of anger without sin because He has provided atonement for us.  God asked Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry?"  May our hearts be humbled at this question and repent because most times the honest answer is, "No.  I'm angry because I am all about me."

God Writes on Hearts

Last night some people from Calvary Chapel Sydney and myself enjoyed a Bible study of the passage in John 8 when a woman was brought to Jesus as He was teaching in the temple.  The woman, caught in the act of adultery, was hauled before Jesus and those He taught by the scribes and Pharisees in an attempt to undermine His popularity and expose Him as the fraud they believed Him to be.  Ignoring the protocols and due process of the Law of Moses, they demanded Jesus weigh in:  "Moses said she ought to be stoned:  what do you say?"  Jesus stooped and wrote on the ground as if He did not hear them.

Jesus remained calm and poised despite their hypocritical demands.  John 8:7-9 reads, "So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." ⁸ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst."  The Law already condemned adultery as sin so Jesus did not need to make a judgment in the matter.  He turned the tables on the accusers of the woman because their sins were as great as hers and they added to their hypocrisy in their unjust treatment of her.  One by one the accusers, having heard the words of Jesus and being convicted by their conscience, went out from the assembly.

As we discussed last night, there has been much speculation about what Jesus wrote.  If it had been critical to our understanding of the passage, I believe it would have been included for us.  What came to mind is the God who wrote with His finger on tablets of stone stooped before them and wrote in the dust, and in doing so alluded to His divinity.  Man was created by God from the dust of the ground and breathed into Him a living soul, and this same God has given each person a conscience.  He is the One who writes His laws on our hearts and brings about conviction of sin, righteousness and judgment by the Holy Spirit.  Each man was convicted by his own conscience, and by walking away acknowledged their own sin before God.

God had already written what was sinful according to the Law and the woman and her accusers walked contrary to it:  was it necessary for Him to write again what He had already written twice?  After Moses received the 10 Commandments on tablets of stone he threw them down because the people immediately broke them, and he later ascended the mount to receive new ones written by the finger of God.  Jesus came to fulfill the Law and went beyond it, revealing sin the letter of the Law could not address within the hearts and minds of people:  the Law dealt with behaviour and God looks at the heart.  Jesus promised to give the Living Water of the Holy Spirit to those who believe on Him as God made flesh, and Hebrews 10:15-17 reveals, "But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, ¹⁶ "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them," ¹⁷ then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."

Praise God for His mercy and grace towards us, who has given us a conscience that helps us to acknowledge our sin so we can be delivered from the accusations of the devil and the condemnation of Law.  Those who are born again by faith in Jesus Christ have a sure foundation for our feet and are guided to walk in truth and righteousness.  All glory to God who gives us new hearts!

God Prepares People

As long as we live on this planet we can have legitimate concerns and criticisms, but it is important followers of Jesus Christ are not distracted from God and His goodness.  Too much focus on what is wrong with the world or our lives can rob us of fellowship with God and drain us of praise and thanksgiving God is worthy to receive in every season of life.

When Hezekiah ascended to the throne in Jerusalem, he faced many great challenges.  The nation was spiritually in a dreadful state, having been ruined by their departure from the LORD in the pursuit of idols.  The people were defeated in battles, suffered enormous casualties and the temple, king's house and princes were plundered by enemies.  The priests and Levites had neglected their duties:  the temple doors were shut, the lamps unlit, the altar without fire and the temple was reduced to being basically a rubbish tip.  In spite of all that seemed against him, Hezekiah brought the priests and Levites together and urged them to sanctify themselves, cleanse the temple and serve the Most High once again.

After they sanctified themselves to serve, the priests and Levites went into the temple and spent eight days carrying out rubbish and disposing of it.  They cleansed the house of the LORD, the altar, the table of showbread and all the vessels.  All had been prepared for offering sacrifices unto the LORD and to make atonement for all the sins of the people. The trumpets sounded, the congregation worshiped, and the singers sang praises to the LORD.  However when it came time to offer sacrifices, freewill and burnt offerings 2 Chronicles 29:34-36 says:  "But the priests were too few, so that they could not skin all the burnt offerings; therefore their brethren the Levites helped them until the work was ended and until the other priests had sanctified themselves, for the Levites were more diligent in sanctifying themselves than the priests. ³⁵ Also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings and with the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the LORD was set in order. ³⁶ Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people, since the events took place so suddenly."

If I had been Hezekiah, it occurred to me that the great day of rejoicing and praising of God could have been marred in my eyes by the lack of preparation of the priests.  Notice that even though the priests were too few, God had prepared diligent Levites to sanctify themselves to serve in the place of negligent priests.  The hiccup of unprepared priests had been already met by the almighty God who prepared people  in advance to serve, and the king and people all rejoiced in what God had done.  In a short time the shroud of darkness was replaced with the burning lamps, the cold altar burned hot with sacrifices, the temple mount was filled with worshipers, servants and the air filled with praise unto God.  Negligent priests or their lack of preparation did not take the shine off God that day, and He remains glorious and good now and forever.

Our lives will provide the answer to this question:  will we worship and praise God for His grace and goodness, or will our joy and gratitude be soured by the faults or negligence of others?  Praise the LORD He prepares and sanctifies sinners to serve Him suddenly as needs arise, and atonement has been provided for our souls by His grace.  In Him we ought to rejoice always.

Running to Finish

Lately I've been watching the Olympic coverage on television, and there are always memorable moments of the ecstasy of victory and the bitterness of defeat.  It is remarkable to consider the dedication, drive and ability to compete at a high level and to execute disciplines when the pressure is on.  I imagine athletes on a global stage face incredible pressure from themselves, the watching eyes and the expectations placed upon them to perform.

A difficult thing to witness is when officials deem a runner in a track event to be guilty of a false start.  Runners are usually aware they are the culprit during a nervous wait while officials convene to confirm the fault, and then one official walks in front of the runner's lane and holds up a card that disqualifies them from further competition in that event at the Olympic games.  Think of it!  A lifetime of training and hard work by a person gifted with athleticism beyond their fellow countrymen can be snuffed out in a moment by eagerness to start well.  For those who false start at the Olympic games, it is another four long years to wait for an opportunity to qualify to represent a nation in an event at the Olympics.

In a race where all competitors are deemed to have had a fair start, there can be only one winner.  To be an Olympian and to even make the final race are enormous accomplishments of themselves worthy of recognition.  But to make it to the Olympics and be disqualified before a race begins and thus be denied a chance to compete is tragic indeed.  A world-class runner is recognised by fair play according to the rules of the games, and Paul sought to avoid disqualification in his spiritual race according to the Gospel of grace in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27:  "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. ²⁵ And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. ²⁶ Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. ²⁷ But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified."

Olympians compete for medals of gold, silver and bronze for successfully completing the race, and Paul looked for an enduring prize of infinite value that could not be stolen, lost or sold on eBay:  an imperishable crown received from Jesus.  The issue was not of a false start but the risk of veering from the course or not finishing at all.  If people are willing to subject their bodies to strict diet, training and competition with the chance to medal in the Olympics, believers should we disciplined in our eating, drinking, speaking and liberties with the aim of subjecting ourselves to the example of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit because God has qualified us for eternal glory.  Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5:5, "Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."

Olympians must be subject to the international rules of their sport and the Olympic officials to qualify for a final or win a medal, and all believers are called to be subject to our Saviour Jesus Christ and one another in love and humility.  Our steps are not governed by lines drawn around a track but faith in God led by the Holy Spirit according to the God's word.  By God's grace believers can one day say with Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing."  Runners who stumbled and fell on the track during a race have sprung to their feet and continued on to victory, and may we show the heart and resilience to follow Jesus in like manner.