Wrath: The Most Destructive Sin

this episode is brought to you by nordstrom for 125 years nordstrom has been part of your story the stylist who found the perfect outfit for your big interview the first pair of walking shoes for your one-year-old the tomato soup you shared with your sister at the cafe these are the moments that make nordstrom nordstrom big or small we're here for all of it celebrating 125 years with new moments still ahead discover it all in nordstrom stores and at Nordstrom.com. What's going on, guys? Welcome back to another episode of the Bryce Crawford Podcast. I'm Bryce, and today, by the title of the episode, we're going to be talking about wrath, about anger. Is being angry really inherently sinful, or how do we direct anger? We're going to define wrath, look at the Bible and what it all says about wrath and anger and how we can talk about it. But first, we got to define exactly what wrath is. You see, wrath is uncontrolled feelings of anger, hatred, or rage that are often seeking vengeance. You see, wrath essentially is making yourself the god and taking justice into your own hands for something that has provoked anger or hatred or malice in your heart. This is why Paul says, hey, get rid of anger, hatred, wrath, and malice. He like ropes them all together because they're kind of like a friend group. Anger, hatred, malice, wrath, all of these things kind of coexist together because they help breed wrath. What does the book of Jude says? It says vengeance is the Lord's. But when we try to take justice into our own hands, whether it's deserved or not, and we're letting anger or hatred or those feelings or emotions cause us to seek vengeance or justice over someone, that's what wrath looks like. And the thing about wrath is that it starts small, but it builds into something nasty, mean, and bigger. And that's why we really need to hyperfixate on anger today and what anger really looks like because oftentimes anger is the starting point to wrath. All right, real quick, if these videos have helped you, the best way to support what we're doing here is by becoming a member of the channel. Membership helps support the ministry and helps us keep reaching more people with the gospel. You also get extra members-only content, including early access to new episodes, extended guest cuts, members-only shorts, behind-the-scenes updates, exclusive text posts, badges, custom emojis, and a monthly Q&A live stream where I can answer your questions more directly. I used to spend a lot of time responding in the comments, but as the channel has grown, it's gotten harder to keep up with. So membership is now the main place where I can stay more connected with you guys directly. It's $8 a month in the browser or $11 a month in the iPhone app because of the Apple fees. So jump on your browser to save a few bucks. To become a member, just hit the join button right below the video. All right, enjoy the rest of the podcast. Do you struggle with temper? Do you struggle with frustration? All of these things. I struggle getting frustrated so easy at small things, whether I should be getting frustrated at them or not. So like if you're someone that struggles with that, I totally understand. So I kind of want to talk about what the Bible says about it and then we'll get into it. Let's go to Matthew chapter five, verse 21. Jesus says something very interesting. You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. If you murder someone, you're liable to judgment. Then he says, but I say to you, everyone, not some, everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council. And whoever says you fool will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you're offering your gift at the altar and then you remember your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go first be reconciled to your brother and then come to the altar. So if you're offering your gift at the altar, come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge and the judge to the guard and you be put in a prison. Jesus takes anger down to a heart issue. He says, yeah, murder physically is liable to judgment. But like, if you are angry at a brother in your heart, you've basically, if you were angry at a brother, you've committed murder in your heart. This is the reality of anger. And I love what Paul says. He says in Ephesians chapter four, he says, do not let sin, do not let sun go down on your anger. There's something profound about that verse coinciding and connecting with Matthew chapter five, because Jesus is like, look, if you got a problem with somebody, like go make amends. Have you ever heard that advice is like common marriage advice? People always say like, don't go to bed angry with your spouse. Don't go to bed angry. Right? Because that anger, if you let it build up over time and you hide it, because a lot of people try to avoid it. A lot of people try to suppress it because it's like not that big of a deal. But actually, in fact, communication, is going to be a primary weapon against anger and wrath. Even if you're bothered by something little, especially if you're growing in friendship or in a romantic relationship with someone, you're going to find yourself growing in longevity with that person. And you're going to find things that trigger you and trigger them and things that you don't like and things that you like and all this things. And so like communication is going to be a primary weapon for you when it comes to combating wrath and anger in your heart. Because Jesus is like, you're liable for judgment. If you're angry at a brother, you've committed murder in your heart. So you need to be careful. And Paul gives just a plain warning. Be angry and do not sin. So is all anger bad? No, there's such thing as righteous anger. But here's the difference between righteous anger and anger. Righteous anger, it responds to sin rather than the person. And it focuses on God and his character and deals with it in that way. Righteous anger is being angry at sin, not at the person. And so a primary example of like some sinful sin that could turn into something is, for example, if you are angry at the person rather than the sin itself, because the sin is what's harmful. And so we see a prime example of righteous anger. Jesus is seeing in the synagogue that people are making a quick buck off of new converts by selling stuff to them. They're taking advantage of their faith for the anger. God's character, anytime you see the wrath of God in the Bible, it's righteous. Like why did God flood the earth? Well, because they were rebelling and having sex with fallen angels and creating the Nephilim. Why did God? We have to trust that God's wrath is just perfect and good and necessary punishment for whatever wrong that has been committed. And so righteous anger is a response to sin and not the person and focuses on the character of God, who he is, the truth of who he is, all of the above. But anger is a starting point and a prolonged anger develops sinful qualities. If you let the anger linger, you're going to allow the devil the license to use it against you. You know what else is in Romans chapter four? It says unrepentant sin gives the devil a foothold in your life. And so if you're not repenting of anger in your heart towards a brother, towards someone that has committed wrongdoing to you, that might be the foothold that you've given the devil to weasel his way into oppressing you, tormenting you, or in your struggle. You might not see it, but in that same chapter of Ephesians four, where Paul's like, do not be angry, be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger. He's like, Hey, you need to like, get it out there and be like, Hey, this really made me upset. I'm just, I just wanted to confess to you. I don't want to let anger in my heart. I'm sorry. You know, I'm not holding it against you. Just want to get it out there because when we confess things, it makes Satan lose his power over us in that area. And so we have to be confident and approach in humility, man, this thing made me really angry or frustrated. I just want to bring it up. I'm sorry. I don't want to, I don't want to deal with this. And I just don't want to have this bitterness towards you in my heart. I just want to make amends and move on. Did you mean it in this way? Because oftentimes like prolonged anger can just come from misunderstanding. Like how many times you've been frustrated and upset at someone for a misunderstanding? Oh, no, no, no. I wasn't angry at you over text. Like maybe just the text tone or no, I didn't say that. Like I would never, I would never say that. Or, you know, you, you, you confront someone and they're like, Oh, I never said that. Or the text tone. I didn't mean that in the text tone. Or someone was like, Oh, you must've misheard me. I didn't say that. I said this, or, Oh, that's not what I meant by this. And even if you were still hurt by something, you can be like, yeah, I'm just, I was just hurt by that and angry. And I'm sorry if I misunderstood you and do not the sun go down on your anger. Even if you go days with anger in your heart, bitterness in your heart, it's sin. And we have to be careful. I want to read Romans 12 again, 17 through 21. This is what Paul says. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. You see, society says an eye for an eye. If you hit me, I'm going to hit you harder. Or if you scratch my back, I'll scratch your back. But Jesus even does this, in the gospels. He says, yeah, if you slap me on the cheek, I'll give you the other one. So what Paul says, he says, repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. Love covers all offenses. Keeps going. Verse 18, if possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Jesus' blessed are the peacemakers in Matthew chapter 5. Verse 19, beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. If someone is gossiping about you, if someone has done wrong towards you, someone has done wrong towards you, hurt you emotionally, physically, sin against you. You know what we should do? Pray for them. Pray for their families. Pray for their careers. Pray for their lives. Pray that the Lord encounters them. Pray that the Lord blesses them. Fall on your knees and go to battle over their soul as you wish the same mercy that has happened in your life would happen to theirs. Because when you hold anger and bitterness in your heart towards someone for the wrongdoing that they've committed against you, you're trying to repay evil onto their life for the evil that they've done to you instead of having the heart of Christ and turning the other cheek and saying, no, I'm going to pray for you, and I'm going to bless your family in Jesus' name, and I'm going to bless your career in Jesus' name, and I'm going to bless you in Jesus' name because that's the heart of God. Repay no one evil for evil, but consider what is honorable in the sight of other people. Serve that person. Love that person. Because love is more powerful than evil. And it was the love of God. It's the goodness of God that brings man to repentance. It's not the anger. It's the goodness of God. His servitude, his love, his mercy, his grace, and those same qualities that gripped your soul should be shining through your life to grip the souls of other people. And so anger can sneak up on us. And we have to be very careful about anger and wrath because we try to take justice and what God wants to do into our lives. And we have to be very careful about that. And we have to be very careful about our own hands oftentimes, and we want to make it seem like it's our duty and responsibility. But we are trusting that God's going to take care of it. A would be God saves their soul. God redeems them. They come to their senses. They repent to the Lord. They ask for forgiveness. Primary B is like if they don't, God's going to deal with it. He sees everything. He's all-knowing. So we're going to pray right now. If you're someone like me that struggles with frustration or anger or whatever it may be, we're going to ask that God gives us clarity, reveal to us parts of our heart if we have any bitterness or anger towards people or sin or whatever it may be. Surrender it to the Lord. And we're going to ask God to give us a tender heart for people. Lord Jesus, we thank you for who you are. God, we thank you for your mercy and grace that you've shown to us. God, we want to not let anger and wrath lead to sin in our lives. So Lord, would you reveal in our hearts any areas that were angry or bitter towards people for wrongdoing? Lord, would you give us a tender heart for those people? Compassion? Compassionate heart. And God, would your grace and love and mercy for us shine through our lives every day and let that be the driving factor for our interactions with people? God, we love you. We thank you. We praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. Use it to save on your next Lowe's haul. Exclusions, restrictions, and more terms apply. See Lowe's.com slash MyLowe'sMoneyDays for details. MyLowe'sMoney expires 30 days after issuance. Subject to change. Credit offer subject to credit approval. Finding a doctor is hard enough. Finding the right doctor, even harder. Someone who takes your insurance, has an available appointment when you need one, and feels like someone you can actually open up to. That's where ZocDoc comes in. Download the ZocDoc app to search and compare doctors by specialty, insurance, and availability. Read real patient reviews, find the right fit for you, and book instantly. Because getting seen by the right doctor matters. ZocDoc. Ready to be seen? Download the ZocDoc app today.