What do you think it means to have a righteous anger? I think it means to be angry over something or someone’s actions but not sin. Too many times we get angry over things that people do or say but we take it a step further and we become bitter and resentful, which is sin.
I think there are many things that Christians should have a righteous anger over but, for some reason, many don’t seem to. I think so much more could, and would, be accomplished if believers would rise up and let their voice be heard. The church has conformed to the world in so many ways that sometimes instead of coming out from among the world we allow ourselves to be entertained by what the world has to offer. Instead of separating ourselves from the world we compete with the world. I don’t think the Word of God teaches us to compete with anyone, but to separate ourselves from worldly ways and to seek God’s kingdom first.
I think the church is so desensitized to so many things that we just let wickedness slide, so to speak, in many cases. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that nobody is doing anything because there are many that are, praise the Lord. It just seems that there would be so much more accomplished if everyone that’s a believer would get on board and speak up for injustice with a righteous anger that would not be quenched until the Lord takes them home to be with Him.
Last week in church I heard a message about grace and it was great. As the preacher spoke he threw in a lot about the blood of Jesus. To me there is no grace without the blood. The Bible says, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” God’s grace was His free gift of salvation and without the blood of the perfect sacrifice, which was Jesus, there would be no gift of grace. I don’t know how you can teach on grace and leave out the shedding of blood. I was so excited about the message I could hardly keep my seat.
Think about the church you attend, when was that last time you heard a message like that? Pastors seem to be so afraid of offending someone that they eliminate many of the subjects that should be talked about and need to be heard. They preach on what people want to hear instead of what they need to hear. But it seems like very few people rise up with a righteous anger over this problem.
It seems like people would rather laugh their way through a sermon than allow the Holy Spirit to convict them over their sins. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 7:10, “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of, but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” I don’t think anyone can laugh their way to heaven, but if we allow the Holy Spirit to minister conviction to the sinner then true repentance will be the result and heaven will be the prize, praise the Lord.
There should be a righteous anger over many things that go on in the church and Jesus demonstrated this in His day. It says in Mark 11:15-17, “So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. Then He taught, saying to them, ‘Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” (NKJV) In Jesus’ day there were things going on in the temple that shouldn’t have been and in our day there are different things that go on in the church that shouldn’t be but where is the outcry, most people seem to not even notice. In most cases there is no righteous anger just acceptance. People just being lulled to sleep and desensitized. There has been a movement going on since the 1980’s to bring about a one world religion, I wonder how many that will stir up to a righteous anger, or will most of the church be swept into it?
I want to make something clear here, Jesus had a righteous anger but He never sinned. The reason I brought this up is because the other day I heard a man say that because Jesus was mad He sinned. Jesus was mad at what was going on and He did something about it. He made His point then He went on with life without any bitterness or anything else that would have caused Him to sin. So don’t buy the lie that says believers can’t offend anyone, let Jesus and all the other believers that went before you, be your example and have a righteous anger when it is necessary. You cannot live a Christian life without offending somebody, just be sure to watch your attitude and don’t do it intentionally. God bless and have a great day.
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