In the moment of anger, consider the great mercy God extended to you.  Isaiah wrote that God pardons abundantly (Isaiah 55:7).

Considering what God did for you in Christ in the moment of anger will help your response to others.  Because God has been merciful to you, you can be a merciful person.  Even if you’ve been sinned against badly, it is nothing compared to the sin which you have been forgiven through Christ.

One of the little-known facts about God’s forgiveness is that He forgives for the sake of Jesus’ name (Psalm 25:11, 1 John 2:12).  This vindicates God’s honor and reputation that He is a forgiving God.  He wants to be known as a forgiving God.  Forgiveness is part of His nature.

As a result, God forgave you in Christ (Ephesians 4:32) through Christ’s sacrifice.  No strings were attached.  God’s forgiveness was not on the basis of our will, effort or merit, but on the merit of Christ Himself.  Forgive others in the same way that God in Christ forgave you.

Your forgiveness of others, then, must flow from a Godly kind of love (Ephesians 4:32)…love that does not forgive grudgingly.  Jesus warned against grudging forgiveness in Matthew 18:35:  “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Μόνο ο Χριστός:  In Christ Alone

Your anger cannot achieve the righteousness of God (James 1:20).  Vengeance belongs to God, not us (Romans 12:17).  Joseph asked the right question when approached by his brothers who were fearful that he would turn on them after Jacob died:  “Am I in the place of God?”  He knew that vengeance belongs to the Lord.

As God’s children, we ought to be slow to speak, slow to anger.  When you feel yourself getting angry, train yourself to remember the reality that God forgave you in Christ.  This good news is saving grace as you face the temptation to be unforgiving.

 

 

 

Posted in Anger, Forgiveness, God the Father, Gospel (The Gospel), Jesus, Salvation, The Love of God