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In Your Anger Do Not Sin
By David W. T. Brattston
Anger poses a puzzle for students of the ageless gospel. In some places the New Testament and other early Christian writings oppose it while in others it is allowed, perhaps even godly. This article will examine the writings of the first believers on the subject to see if they can be harmonized or whether Jesus’ first followers contradicted themselves and each other.
Jesus was against “anyone who is angry with his brother” (Matthew 5:22). Paul’s letters especially discountenance anger. In 2 Corinthians 12:20, Ephesians 4:31, and Colossians 3:8 he classifies it with slander. The latter two also lump it with malice, slander, and brawling. Galatians 5:19-21 includes it in the same class, not only with jealousy, but also with sexual immorality, idolatry, drunkenness, orgies, and hatred. James 1:20 states “man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” The First Letter of Clement and The Pastor of Hermas, very early Christian books that for centuries the church fathers recommended as edifying spiritual reading, contain ten separate negative comments against anger. Including “wrath” and “rage,” the New Testament and other Christian literature before A.D. 250 contain about one hundred disapprovals of anger.
Yet anger is a naturally occurring emotion that comes upon a person whether s/he wants it or not, and is usually sudden and unplanned. It is often unavoidable and was experienced by the best and most exemplary of Bible personages. In the Acts of the Apostles, Paul appears to have been angered by some Jews and pagans on his missionary journeys (e.g. 16:18) while his epistles indicate a similar feeling towards some of his congregations. Hebrews 3:10, 11, and 17 depict God Himself as angry, as does much of the Old Testament. Mark 3:5 states point-blank that Christ was angry, while some people today believe He was angry when casting the money changers out of the Temple (Mark 11:15-18 and parallels). The prominent Bible scholar Origen, the leading preacher of the first half of the third century, conceded that even “the perfect” among us experience anger without forethought on their part. He even saw it as beneficial and necessary when it leads to restraining sin, restoring righteousness, and reproaching, correcting, and disciplining sinners. Near the middle period of Origen’s labors Tertullian, a prominent North African minister, wrote that being unjustly angry and allowing the sun to set on one’s anger were daily and usually unavoidable occurrences.
The New Testament must be interpreted in context, both within its own pages and within the Christian culture that grew up alongside it. I include the earliest non-biblical Christian writings as part of the latter. When taking all these sources as a whole, it is clear that the early church taught that anger should be controlled and dampened down, and that Christians should not allow the involuntary emotion to control their actions or attitudes.
The earliest Christians recognized not so much an outright ban on anger but restrictions and limits so that it would not harm anyone. James 1:19 counsels Christians to be “slow to become angry”; it does not forbid it entirely. First Corinthians 13:5 states that love “is not easily angered,” not that love is never angered. Ephesians 4:26 is particularly informative: (1) “In your anger do not sin” indicates that anger itself is not a sin but merely may bring a person closer towards sin, and (2) “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” shows the importance of controlling anger so that it does not result in sin. Origen instructed Christians to abandon anger before it causes the sunshine of faith to set upon us and bring spiritual darkness to our souls. A few years earlier his teacher, Clement of Alexandria, praised this verse as a prime example of the apostles’ wholesome teaching. Tertullian’s comment is stated above.
The ancient use of adjectives also suggests that what was condemned was not the involuntary emotion itself but anger that has become unjust, furious (both Tertullian), boiling, unmanageable (both Clement of Alexandria), uncontrolled, flaming, irrational, or brutal (all Origen). Origen also opposed being drunk with anger or enslaved by it. The Didache, a church manual dating from the first century, discountenanced “hot” anger. Titus 1:7 says that a bishop in particular is not to be “quick-tempered.”
The fact that some early authors imposed parameters and limits indicate that while they did not approve of anger, they nevertheless did not regard it as an automatic sin. It is like alcohol and tobacco today: the existence of secular government regulations implies that the government tolerates them, although disapproving of them.
We are to avoid acting under the influence of anger because it may impair our judgment and self-control. Origen counseled Christians to conquer anger in ourselves, chasten ourselves to remove incentives to it, and soften it—say by moderation and meditation. About the same era, a book of testimonies proving that Christianity is better than Judaism instructs people to overcome anger.
The consensus among our earliest Christian foreparents appears to be that, while we might be unable to avoid becoming angry, we should make efforts to dampen it down and control it. If this does not work, we should avoid acting under its influence. We must not be prone to anger or quick-tempered (Titus 1:7, Didache, and Origen). Still less should we provoke it in other people (Ephesians 6:4 in the New Revised Standard Version, Clement of Alexandria, Origen), pray under its influence (1 Timothy 2:8, Origen), or reprove someone in anger (Didache).
As in so many other ways, Jesus’ actions in cleansing the Temple are a model of behavior when angry. His calmness and deliberation show He was not controlled or enslaved by anger. Nor did He prolong the emotion or allow it to interfere with His relationships with other people. In Matthew’s account (21:12-14) He immediately returned to His usual healing ministry, while in John 2:13-22 He at once engaged in teaching and a peaceful conversation. i
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