Ephesians 4:26-27 Outline

Ephesians 4:26-27
26 BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.

For the sake of God’s glory in the church, for the sake of the unity of the body, for our own holiness and good, Paul here commands that we watch our anger.

I. In your anger do not sin (26a) [A prohibition against sinful anger]
26 BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN;
A. This is not a command to be angry (don’t separate first and second part of the sentence).
B. This is not a blanket condemnation of and prohibition against all anger.
1. There are times when anger is right and appropriate
2. Jesus displayed anger: Mark 3:5; John 2:15-17; Revelation 6:16
3. God displays anger. 1 Kings 11:9; 2 Kings 17:18; Psalm 2:5; 7:11; Hebrews 12:29
C. It is, however, a strong command against sinful anger, which undermines the unity of the body and robs God of glory.

Application: (Don’t allow your anger to be an occasion of sin, and thus divide the body)

II. Put a terminus on your anger (26b) [A command to contain and limit anger]
26 . . . do not let the sun go down on your anger,
A. Don’t nurse anger, don’t allow it to go on, – righteous or not. Don’t let the embers smoulder.
B. "Never go to bed angry"–"is a good rule, and is seldom more applicable than to a married couple." (Phillips and Stott)

Application: (Don’t cherish anger, and thus divide the body, or your family or your marriage)

III. Don’t give the Devil, the accuser, an occasion to entrap you in sinful anger (27) [A command and warning about anger and spiritual warfare]
27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.
A. Anger is hard to handle responsibly, so the Evil One lurks, ready to exploit us and provoke us.
B. The Devil wants to use our sinful, prideful, selfish anger to breach the fellowship of the body.
C. He also wants to use it to destroy our own souls and rob God of glory in the church.
Quotation: "Of the 7 deadly sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back--in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you" (Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking Transformed by Thorns, p. 117).

Application: (Don’t give the Devil an advantage or opportunity by your anger)
Application: (The need of God’s saving and sanctifying grace)

Quotation: "We feel every day how incurable is the disease of long-continued hatred, or at least, how difficult it is to cure it." (John Calvin)

The battle against anger shows us how much we need grace!
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Anger and the Glory of God

Tomorrow, we are continuing our Sunday morning series in Ephesians. We come to yet another specific Pauline imperative: "BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity" (Ephesians 4:26-27, NASB-95). In this whole section (4:25-32), Paul is calling us to live like Christians, to live out grace, to enhance the unity of the body and to promote the glory of God, in six specific areas of the Christian life. Last week, in v. 25, he emphasized that we were to promote the unity of the body of Christ and bear witness to the glory of God in the church through our truth-telling. This week, the issue is anger. Talk about stepping on toes!

Well, at any rate, while preparing for the message, I came across this excellent quote and thought from John Stott (who has got to be one of the kindest human beings I've ever met - which makes the content of this quote all the more striking!):

"There is a great need in the contemporary world for more Christian anger. We human beings compromise with sin in a way which God never does. In the face of blatant evil we should be indignant not tolerant, angry not apathetic. If God hates sin, his people should hate it too. If evil arouses his anger, it should arouse ours also. 'Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who foraske the law' (Psalm 119:53). What other reaction can wickedness be expected to provoke in those who love God?" (John Stott, God's New Society, Ephesians, BST, 186)

That's not really where I'm going with the message in morning, but it was too good to pass up passing it along to you.
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Resources for The Da Vinci Code

Westminster Seminary has put up a very helpful website (www.thetruthaboutdavinci.com) addressing the movie. The site contains articles for laypeople and pastors alike.
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Losing someone we love

Today, Mississippi Valley Presbytery lost a dear friend and brother, Rev. Matt Baugh.

The news is sketchy but the gist of it is that he was killed in a motorcycle accident in Haiti. He leaves a wife, Shannon and five children (aged 2-10). Matt had been the minister in Tchulla PCA (where the Hutton family--of "Hutton Chapel") live. He had decided to move to Haiti as a missionary (he was born there) just a few years ago.

I loved him greatly as a friend and colleague. I have been thinking today of times I sat on his porch in Tchulla while he talked of the joys of growing water-mellons! He loved the reformed faith. And he loved his family. He reminded me of Winnie the Pooh for some reason (he was of similar build!).

Tears have filled my eyes most of the day as I have talked with our dear friends in Tchulla. I have felt anger and fear. I have prayed for Shannon as she informed her children, all alone and without the support of her family who are on their way there as I write. I have asked the Lord to forgive me for my anger when it has suggested that his providence has been unfair and unkind. And I have heard Matt in my head saying, "Derek! I loved the doctrine of the sovereignty of God, so don't let me down at the moment when my family will most need it."

Matt is with the angels and we are still in the war!

"The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21).
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Dr. Bill Harper's Challenge

Dr. Bill Harper offered a bracing challenge today to our men during the lunch hour. He focused on the lives and examples of John Newton and Charles Simeon from a book he just finished reading for the third time: John Piper's, The Roots of Endurance: Invincible Perseverance in the Lives of John Newton, Charles Simeon, and William Wilberforce.

Thanks again to Bill for helping us finish the Spring MOC series on a very high note!
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To Da Vinci or not to Da Vinci?

Gene Veith over at World Magazine is asking for your opinion: "Boycott or Buy Tickets"? What do you think?
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A Life Well Lived

"Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom."

James gets specific: "But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace (James 3:13-18)."

What does it mean to live faithfully for Christ in unsettling times? What does it mean to live joyfully for Christ amidst the daily messiness of family, friends, neighborhood, and congregation? What does genuine Christianity look like?

Beginning next week and continuing throughout the summer, you will find a blog posted at this site every Monday and Wednesday morning under the title, “A Life Well Lived.” Together, we’ll look at Scripture passages, historical and contemporary examples, provocative quotations, poetry, music, and more.

"Who among you is wise and understanding?” Let’s see if we can find out.

Look for it! I look forward to your feedback and interaction.
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MOC Luncheon This Thursday

Men:

This Thursday, May 4th, 11:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., is our last MOC Luncheon until September. Mark your calendar, tap your palm pilot, set the alarm on your phone. Don't miss this one!

Dr. Bill Harper will address the issue of endurance. Dr. Harper offers this introduction to his message:

"John Piper writes, 'And one of the pervasive marks of our times is emotional fragility. It hangs in the air we breathe. We are easily hurt. We pout and mope easily. We blame easily. We break easily. Our marriages break easily. Our faith breaks easily. Our happiness brakes easily. And our commitment to the church breaks easily. We are easily disheartened, and it seems we have little capacity for surviving and thriving in the face of criticism and opposition. A typical emotional response to trouble in the church is to think, If that's the way they feel about me, then I'll just find another church.' We all need help here!"

Join us for lunch Thursday, May 4th as we explore how some of the greatest Christian men in the 18th century church dealt with the need for Endurance--another desirable quality in our discussions of the characteristics of Christian maturity.

This is an excellent opportunity to invite Christian and non-Christian friends. We will finish by 12:50 p.m., so that all can return to their day's schedule. Reservations are not required and the cost of lunch is $5.00. The luncheon will be held in Miller Hall.

If you have any questions, please contact Ashley Hall, Discipleship Ministry Assistant, at 601-973-9118 or ashleyh@fpcjackson.org.
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Luther and the priesthood of all believers

Today in history: Martin Luther was ordained as a priest on April 3, 1507 and celebrated his first Mass on May 2. Thirteen years later, following Luther's conversion, he wrote The Freedom of a Christian (1520), one of the classics of the Reformation. In it he gave voice to the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers:

"Nor are we only kings and the freest of all men, but also priests for ever, a dignity far higher than kingship, because by that priesthood we are worthy to appear before God, to pray for others, and to teach one another mutually the things which are of God. For these are the duties of priests, and they cannot possibly be permitted to any unbeliever. Christ has obtained for us this favour, if we believe in Him: that just as we are His brethren and co-heirs and fellow-kings with Him, so we should be also fellow-priests with Him, and venture with confidence, through the spirit of faith, to come into the presence of God, and cry, “Abba, Father!” and to pray for one another, and to do all things which we see done and figured in the visible and corporeal office of priesthood."
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Lauren Wade on her recent NY Trip

Our own Lauren Wade went to NYC with RUF this past spring break, and blogged on her experience at Common Grounds Online . Check it out.
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