Addressing Anger

Preface

Preaching is about proclaiming what God said, and it expects the hearer to respond. In order to keep God’s words and intentions at the forefront, when I preach I always choose a passage to unpack rather than a topic to survey.

However, on this occasion, when the pastor encouraged me to ask God what I should preach on, instead of a passage, I was drawn to the topic of anger. After extensive biblical research, I concluded that the passage that most directly addressed this subject was found in Matthew 5:17–30. However, I still used quite a few other passages to unpack what Jesus was saying, so it still felt more scattered to me than I normally like.

Matthew 5: Addressing Anger

Here Jesus clarifies the problem of anger and the way to address it. But looking to the rest of Scripture helps us understand why, and especially why we can’t take refuge in the (very biblical) category of righteous anger.

Big idea: even the anger in your heart is liable to God’s judgment, so pursue healing through reconciliation instead.

Outline:

1. In God’s courtroom, it’s not just your actions but your heart that’s on trial.
2. Anger—even righteous anger—spoils overnight.
3. Healing comes when we lay aside our anger, pursue reconciliation, and prioritize the wrongs we have committed.

Special thanks to Pastor Thomas Lutke for the invitation to preach and to the good people of County Line Community Church.