“But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps…”
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.” (1 Peter 1:20-23).
The Incident In the Synagogue on Sabbath: Anger Incites the Congregation to Become a Mob
Luke 4:14-30 records Jesus’ Rejection in Nazareth: “He went to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day He went into the synagogue, as was His custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him.” (Luke 4:16-17, NIV).
“…And they said, ‘Is this not Joseph’s son?’ ” (Luke 4:22, NIV).
The Outcome of Unleashed Anger
“All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove Him out of the town, and took Him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw Him off the cliff.” (Luke 4:28-29, NIV).
It’s hard to believe that religious men who proclaim to serve God would transition from worshiping God to an angry mob [in the Synagogue] from hearing the spoken words of God’s Truth.
Truthfully, Jesus endured much suffering including the constant barrage of angry, hostile words from those who refused to accept Him as anything other than Joseph’s, the poor carpenter’s, son.
Understanding Spiritual Warfare [Ephesians 6]
Satan’s most effective tool is to use people, especially familiar people to antagonize us with the goal of enticing us to commit grievous sins against God by speaking, or messaging sinful words of retaliation.
” ‘In your anger do not sin:’ Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold [a stronghold].” (Luke 4:26-27, NIV).
Yes, anger is a God-given emotion that prevents us from accepting injustices, corruption, and heinous crimes that plague our world. However, the problem is that many believers cannot control their anger, easily responding with harsh words against the offender.
Righteous Anger only applies to God who tells us, “…There is none righteous, no, not one…”(Romans 3:10). We are sinners saved by Grace who must guard our words [and thoughts] to remain covered by the Righteousness of Christ.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline [self control].” (2 Timothy 1:7, NLT).
From embracing the Spirit of Offense, we place ourselves in extreme danger spiritually; uncontrolled anger crosses all righteous boundaries, separating us from God, and prevents the Holy Spirit from dwelling within us.
We desperately need spiritual reinforcement everyday. To rise above offensive words is only possible when we surrender daily to live a Faith-based, Christ-centered life reflected by the daily personal worship of prayer and Bible Study.
Jesus did not attempt to use His personal strength to overcome aggression, but prayed continuously for God’s strength and wisdom, receiving the Divine Power to overcome, and remain victorious when facing adversity.
From studying the life of Christ, we learn how He responded to hostility with the Holy Scriptures: “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:52, NIV).
Jesus possessed godly wisdom and discernment, answering direct questions with Holy Writ. Still, He also used silence when facing His accusers. If our goal is to be like Christ then we will pray and control our emotional responses when facing the War of Words.
Reflection: Are you willing to suffer the necessary hardships and challenges required of every believer?
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18).
The Apostle Paul also teaches us that the believer’s life is one of continuous suffering for Christ, yet, if we remain faithful, and cooperate with the Holy Spirit through daily surrender, we will receive the reward of Eternal Life.
The Struggle to Control Our Anger Is Real: The Reasons We Are Easily Offended
- “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). We do not understand the true condition of our inherited sinful hearts; it is easier to become angry than to remain calm and unbothered.
- “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…” (1 Peter 2:9). We become angry when we do not understand our true identity and value found in Christ Jesus.
None of us are perfect. Every human being possesses character weaknesses, still, God knows the true condition of our hearts.
If we hear, or read words defaming our character, and the accusations are not true in the sight of God then we have the assurance that we are facing spiritual warfare, pray, and God will intervene.
“Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Through daily personal worship, we commit ourselves to a life of humility, surrender, and faithful obedience, which invites the power of the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, giving us the strength to remain silent when interacting with angry individuals.
“Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions.” (Proverbs 18:2, NIV).
The person who delivers angry words is not interested in maintaining peace, or participating in conflict resolution, but waiting for a response that will always result in escalation.
When facing conflict, if we control our anger, the Holy Spirit will speak to us, “Remain silent.” If we obey then He empowers us to use our gift of self-control. We must decide if we will obey the commands of the Holy Spirit, or to rant, and sin against God.
Excerpt from ” In Contact With Others” Devotional, EGW
“We cannot afford to let our spirits chafe over any real or supposed wrong done to ourselves…”
“Self is the enemy we most need to fear. No form of vice has a more [devastating] effect upon the character than has human passion not under the control of the Holy Spirit. No other victory we can gain will be so precious as the victory gained over self…”
“We should not allow our feelings to be easily wounded. We are to live, not to guard our feelings or our reputation, but to save souls. As we become interested in the salvation of souls we cease to mind the little differences that so often arise in our association with one another.”
Jesus’ Disciples Reveal Their Lack of Self-control
Two of Jesus’ disciples, the brothers, James, and John were called “the Sons of Thunder” because of their fiery tempers. When the people of Samaria sent a messenger to Jesus telling Him not to come to their town, the brothers responded with this question to Jesus:
“And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?’ ” (Luke 9:54).
Jesus’ Response: “But He turned and rebuked them, and said, ‘You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.’ ” (Luke 9:55).
Christ’s Righteous Character: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23, KJV).
“It takes the right situation to reveal our real character.” When Christians become offended by harsh, hateful words, the true [unconverted] condition of our hearts is revealed.
“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:24-25, KJV).
Jesus Christ is our Perfect Role Model
Sanctification is the lifelong spiritual journey of growth and transformation of our sinful hearts into the Righteous Character of Christ. The Christian Journey is the toughest one we will ever face!
“But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.” (2 Timothy 2:23).
A Christian believer should never become involved in arguments, or debates. Even when discussing the Bible, if dissension begins, we should pray, and end the conversation with, “God, bless you.”
With humility, we must strive every day to be a faithful and disciplined follower of Christ. From cooperating with the Holy Spirit, we receive the spiritual discernment to recognize the enemy’s spiritual warfare of covert attacks.
When a situation includes emotional escalation, we implement the Best Spiritual Practice, Prayer. If we form the habit of whispering prayers throughout our day when facing opposition, our immediate response is a prayer for Divine help!
Our True Identity Is Found in Christ: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9).
We are chosen by God to be a representative of Christ. Our responsibility is to always represent the humility of Christ, even when offensive, undeserving words are unleashed against us.
” ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay’ is found in Romans 12:19 and is also quoted in Deuteronomy 32:35. “This verse is a command for believers not to seek their own revenge but to leave retribution to God who alone has the authority to judge and repay.”
Our Response to Offensive Words: Whether face to face, or text messaging, we whisper a prayer for Divine strength and remain silent. Do not respond!
Workplace Conflict: We should not tolerate conflict in the workplace. Follow the company’s policies for reporting incidents to your Supervisor and Human Resources.
Abuse in the Home: God does not require us to stay in abusive marriages and relationships, which impair our ability to worship God in Spirit and in Truth.
Living in an environment of aggression and conflict prevents us from enjoying God’s gift of spiritual peace, which is needed for the spiritual growth and transformation required to receive Eternal Life.
“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” (Ephesians 4:31, NIV).
Yes, like Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer, at some point in our lives, most believers will face hostile words cutting like a sword, but we must never forget that our goal is Heavenly.
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32, NIV).
We are sojourners, temporary travelers living on a temporary Earth. Included in our Life Journey are many trials and hardships including Satan’s Spiritual Warfare designed to make us react using our inherited sinful tendencies.
Our lives will not always be like this! Whatever adversities we face, we should memorize and remind ourselves daily of Jesus’ promise in John 14: 1-3.
We are sons and daughters of the Most-High God, preparing every day to receive our reward of the Crown of Life in the New Heaven and New Earth where the atmosphere will be saturated with eternal love, peace, joy, and happiness. Yes and Amen!
“To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on His throne.” (Revelation 3:21, NIV).
Bible Study: Luke 4:14-30
Lord God, we thank you for speaking to our hearts and reminding us of our spiritual status as a royal priesthood who will receive our Crown of Life, if we are faithful and obedient to Your Righteous Precepts and Commands. Lord, we ask for forgiveness for the times that we have failed to represent You by responding with anger and sinful words of retaliation. We ask for the Divine Strength, Wisdom, and the Discernment to recognize and overcome spiritual warfare. We look forward to the day when we will live in a world of love, peace, and harmony, and Jesus, we thank You for the gift of Your life that makes it possible for us to live forever with You. We ask this prayer in the Powerful Name of our Triumphant King, Jesus Christ, Amen.
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