Is anger always a sin?

[Francis Drake]

If we are angry at another person it is a sin but is all anger a sin? If a terrorist kills someone we are supposed to hate the sin and not the sinner. Anger towards the terrorist is natural but not necessarily a good thing.

Righteous anger has its place.
1Sam11v 4When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and reported these terms to the people, they all wept aloud. 5Just then Saul was returning from the fields, behind his oxen, and he asked, “What is wrong with everyone? Why are they weeping?” Then they repeated to him what the men of Jabesh had said.

6When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he burned with anger.

If you look at the last verse, it was clearly the Spirit of the Lord that brought anger on Saul!

 

[Tolworth John]

Anger towards the terrorist is natural but not necessarily a good thing.

Why do you say that feeling angry that someone has killed people for their political/religous reasons.

There is nothing wrong with being angry at injustice, but what do you do with that anger?
If it causes you to write letters/emails to support those people and to seek to right the injustice, if it drives you to prayer for those affected then there is nothing wrong with your anger.
If you do nothing or plot vengence then it is sinful.

 

[com7fy8]

Is "anger" a sin?

There is anger which is sin, if it brings us into what is wrong. And there is anger which is not sin, which has us doing God's will and His loving.

Did Jesus "sin"?

no

"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 4:15)

When Jesus got angry, He always moved on to doing what is good. And His anger was directed against what really is wrong, so we can learn what is especially angering to God.

 

[brinny]

There is anger which is sin, if it brings us into what is wrong. And there is anger which is not sin, which has us doing God's will and His loving.

no

"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 4:15)

When Jesus got angry, He always moved on to doing what is good. And His anger was directed against what really is wrong, so we can learn what is especially angering to God.

What ties right in to Jesus reaction to the money changers is a Holy Wrath, which links to the "wrath of God" and this verse:

"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." ~Hebrews 10:31

And those verses that begin with "Woe to those...."

It's linked to the holiness of the living God.

Does that perhaps enter into why Jesus reacted to the money changers that way?

Another question would be:

Does a Holy God have a "right" to a "Holy Wrath"?

 

[Galaxy Hunter]

You folks are making my first thread exciting and educational. I appreciate all the responses. I didn't expect so many, especially so quickly. I would tell you which response is my favorite but I don't want to make everyone else angry.(kidding) It sounds like nobody thinks 100% of all anger is a sin 100% of the time.

 

[brinny]

You folks are making my first thread exciting and educational. I appreciate all the responses. I didn't expect so many, especially so quickly. I would tell you which response is my favorite but I don't want to make everyone else angry.(kidding) It sounds like nobody thinks 100% of all anger is a sin 100% of the time.

Thank you for starting it.

It's been edifying.

 

[Par5]

I think righteous anger will have us caring about the person.

When God has been angry, in the Bible, He always does what makes things better.

Yeah, like kill people!

 

[Halbhh]

Sometimes there can be actual righteous anger (and we all know the famous instance of Christ in the Temple).

2 things about it though:

1) Situations to cause righteous anger are rare in-person in life, usually.

2) It does not remain hours later, but instead is used up in the expression of truth or change. It is not held and harbored.

The sinful anger is that held, and nourished. For example, like harboring and reinforcing an anger against some perceived enemy. Or holding a grudge.

 

[dreadnought]

If we are angry at another person it is a sin but is all anger a sin? If a terrorist kills someone we are supposed to hate the sin and not the sinner. Anger towards the terrorist is natural but not necessarily a good thing. What if a dog bites someone? The dog didn't sin so we don't have a sin to hate. Would it be a sin to be angry at the dog?

Be angry, but sin not;
commune with your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. [Selah] Psalm 4:4 RSV

 

[SkyWriting]

Yet there's still the question of Jesus and His reaction to the money-changers.

Would you be so kind as to address that?

Thank you kindly.

What Jesus did was accomplished with full knowledge of the universe
throughout time. Said another way, no interaction with Jesus was
a random unplanned event, including the outcome. So while we
should not whip people we are angry at, Jesus knew the outcome
of everything He did.

 

[brinny]

What Jesus did was accomplished with full knowledge of the universe
throughout time. Said another way, no interaction with Jesus was
a random unplanned event, including the outcome. So while we
should not whip people we are angry at, Jesus knew the outcome
of everything He did.

Yes, Jesus formed a whip and overturned tables, and chased the money changers.

Did He sin?

 

[SkyWriting]

Yes, Jesus formed a whip and overturned tables, and chased the money changers.

Did He sin?

Sin is a personal contract between a person and God.
This illustrates that we cannot see the sins of other people.
I've been adamant about this. Thanks for the excellent proof!

 

[brinny]

Sin is a personal contract between a person and God.
This illustrates that we cannot see the sins of other people.
I've been adamant about this. Thanks for the excellent proof!

That doesn't answer what i asked you.

 

[SkyWriting]

That doesn't answer what i asked you.

I'll repeat it then. We cannot see sin. Though it fair to say we can see the consequence s of it.

 

[~Anastasia~]

Is there ever a time when not getting angry would be a "sin"?

I don't think we can say this. God doesn't require us to have a particular emotional response of a particular degree. So long as we rightly discern between right and wrong, and respond accordingly otherwise, I don't think having calmness in place of anger while doing so would be a sin, for example.

But then as noted, to feel anger is not in itself necessarily a sin.

Generally I don't think emotional responses are required, nor are they usually sinful themselves (there are exceptions) but most of the time it's (1) what we do in response to the emotion and (2) what condition of our heart led to the emotion being sparked in whatever situation.

 

[brinny]

I don't think we can say this. God doesn't require us to have a particular emotional response of a particular degree. So long as we rightly discern between right and wrong, and respond accordingly otherwise, I don't think having calmness in place of anger while doing so would be a sin, for example.

But then as noted, to feel anger is not in itself necessarily a sin.

Generally I don't think emotional responses are required, nor are they usually sinful themselves (there are exceptions) but most of the time it's (1) what we do in response to the emotion and (2) what condition of our heart led to the emotion being sparked in whatever situation.

Interesting subject of this thread, isn't it?

There we have it. The bottom line being coming to terms with "anger" and if it automatically conjures up a knee-jerk reaction of "anger" being "sin".

What i challenge all of us to do, is follow through on this blanket idea of "anger" being a "sin", in examining Jesus, for instance. Jesus got "angry". He also got "violent".

Here's the question:

Did Jesus "sin"?

This leads, of course to the question of if God has a "right" to be angry AKA His "wrath".

Does God ever need our "approval"/"permission" to express/demonstrate His "wrath"?

Is God's "wrath" sinful?

And back to the title question of this thread:

Is anger always a sin?

 

[Ancient of Days]

Where is it written that anger is a sin? Anger is just an emotion, no more no less.

 

[Par5]

Interesting subject of this thread, isn't it?

There we have it. The bottom line being coming to terms with "anger" and if it automatically conjures up a knee-jerk reaction of "anger" being "sin".

What i challenge all of us to do, is follow through on this blanket idea of "anger" being a "sin", in examining Jesus, for instance. Jesus got "angry". He also got "violent".

Here's the question:

Did Jesus "sin"?

This leads, of course to the question of if God has a "right" to be angry AKA His "wrath".

Does God ever need our "approval"/"permission" to express/demonstrate His "wrath"?

Is God's "wrath" sinful?

And back to the title question of this thread:

Is anger always a sin?

You asked "Is God's "wrath" sinful?" If by "sin" you mean wrong, bad, evil, then when in his wrath the biblical god ordered his followers to exterminate a complete race of men women and children, yes, I would say his wrath was "sinful". Perhaps you don't consider genocide as being wrong.

 

[~Anastasia~]

Interesting subject of this thread, isn't it?

There we have it. The bottom line being coming to terms with "anger" and if it automatically conjures up a knee-jerk reaction of "anger" being "sin".

What i challenge all of us to do, is follow through on this blanket idea of "anger" being a "sin", in examining Jesus, for instance. Jesus got "angry". He also got "violent".

Here's the question:

Did Jesus "sin"?

This leads, of course to the question of if God has a "right" to be angry AKA His "wrath".

Does God ever need our "approval"/"permission" to express/demonstrate His "wrath"?

Is God's "wrath" sinful?

And back to the title question of this thread:

Is anger always a sin?

Well, I would offer that the way many modern Christians understand God's "wrath" is not the way the early Christians understood it. The God many people imagine today is more like Zeus, or one of the pagan gods, subject to capricious moods. Our God is not so.


And I haven't read every post in the thread. I think I've repeated a couple of times that anger is not inherently sinful, but it can serve as an indicator of other things we do well to examine in ourselves

 

[brinny]

Well, I would offer that the way many modern Christians understand God's "wrath" is not the way the early Christians understood it. The God many people imagine today is more like Zeus, or one of the pagan gods, subject to capricious moods. Our God is not so.


And I haven't read every post in the thread. I think I've repeated a couple of times that anger is not inherently sinful, but it can serve as an indicator of other things we do well to examine in ourselves

I was referring to what is written in God's Word. I agree that capricious moods are not of God. They are sin, and symptoms of a "fallen" nature.

I was asking about Jesus' anger.

I was asking if His anger was "sinful".

Which of course leads right back to the question in the title of this thread:

Is anger always a sin?

Another question might be:

Is there such a thing as "Holy anger"?