By Martin Morrison
At first sight there seems to be a real contradiction in the teaching of Paul when it comes to anger. On the one hand Paul teaches us, “to bear with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive”, Colossians 3:13. On the other hand, “If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed”, Galatians 1:9.
Nowhere in the New Testament will you find Paul more angry than here in Galatians 1. He is calling God’s curse on someone, ostensibly a church leader in Galatia. It’s almost equivalent in our culture to tell someone “to go to hell”! Whereas, in Colossians 3, he calls on us to bear with one another, to forgive one another. Is Paul confused or schizophrenic?
The Bible does not forbid anger. God’s wrath and anger is often displayed throughout the Bible, as is his grace. Preminently, the cross is where God’s wrath and grace meet. Remember the first time you played with a magnifying glass. The thrill of being able to concentrate the sun’s rays in one tiny bright spot. Surely you remember when your brother showed you how you could concentrate the sun’s rays on the skin of your arm!! The cross is where the focus of God’s wrath and God’s grace is at its most intense and excruciating.
Elsewhere Paul teaches us, “Be angry and do not sin”, Ephesians 4:26. Which means that it is possible to be angry and not sin. There is such a thing as righteous indignation. We ought to be angry with sin, with injustice, with corruption, with racism, with evil.
Sadly, we too often sin in our anger. When we say things which are hurtful and damaging. When we are unwilling to forgive. When we hold a grudge against others. The Bible is quite clear that we are not to take revenge; that we are not to repay evil with evil. Jesus says, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”, Matthew 5:44.
It seems that in Galatians 1, Paul is responding with righteous indignation to very dangerous false teaching. The context is most clearly explained in Acts 15:1, “But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved”. In effect, they were saying that faith in Christ is not sufficient for salvation, you also need religious works. In this case, circumcision. Paul responds with anger. They are subverting the Gospel of grace. This cuts to the very heart of the Christian faith.
Now we need to bear in mind that we are not Apostle’s as Paul was. Great care and wisdom is needed before we respond in a similar way. However, it would seem that anger is appropriate when a serious principle or Gospel truth has blatantly been committed. Galatians 1, was no doubt written long after Acts 15 occurred. One would surmise that there had been opportunity for discussion, perhaps even vigorous debate. However, by the time of Galatians, all other avenues had probably been exhausted, which compelled to Paul to speak with such force and anger. The very heart of the Gospel of grace was at stake.
However, it would seem that when we are slighted in some way; when we are ignored; when we are personally maligned; when the offence is personal; when it is not a matter of principle or Gospel truth, that we are to “bear with one another” or “to forgive one another”. It seems that in those cases where it is only my ego, or my importance at stake, that “love covers over a multiple of sins”.
Of course, the great question is whether the issue at stake is my pride or a principle! How often don’t we get that wrong. That’s why we need wisdom!