The first thing I want to show you is that anger is sometimes justified.
And so we don't want to fall into the trap that many have fallen into thinking that it's
always wrong to be angry.
We should never have any anger.
Look at Mark chapter 3.
This is Jesus Christ when He's asking them if He can heal on the Sabbath day.
Jesus Christ wants to heal a man in the synagogue whose hand is withered.
And it says in verse 5, "When He had looked round about on them with anger."
So this is Jesus Christ looking on those that are there with anger.
And why is He grieved?
It says, "He's grieved for the hardness of their hearts.
He sayeth unto the man, 'Stretch forth thine hand.'
And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored whole as the other."
Go to Matthew chapter 5.
Go back to Matthew chapter number 5.
So there Jesus Christ was angry at the Pharisees because of the hardness of their heart, because
of their false teaching, because of their lack of compassion.
In Matthew chapter 5 verse 22, the Bible says, "But I say unto you that whosoever is angry
with his brother," watch this, "without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.
And whosoever shall say to his brother, Rekah, shall be in danger of the council, but whosoever
shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hellfire."
And let me just point out the fact that all of the modern versions of the Bible, the NIV,
the RSV, the ASV, all of these modern versions of the Bible, they take out the phrase without
a cause there, thereby making anger always a sin, which would make Jesus Christ Himself
a sinner because He did become angry.
And God in the Old Testament is constantly talking about how angry He is and His wrath,
okay?
Go to Ephesians chapter 4.
So anger is sometimes justified, but when we look at the Bible and we see examples of
anger that is justified, usually that anger has to do with, you know, anger at false doctrine,
anger at sin, anger at those who are hurting other people or oppressing other people or
harming other people.
Look at Ephesians chapter 4 verse number 26, it says, "Be ye angry."
So if anger were always a sin, those three words would not make any sense, would they?
He's telling us.
He says, "Be ye angry and sin not."
So it must be possible to do that.