The Temptation of Anger

So I found this book, "Great Sermons by Great Preachers" (1927) on my bookshelf.

I don't remember exactly where I got it, or how long I've had it. But I decided that I would read one of these sermons a week. There are sermons from Luther, Spurgeon, Bunyan, Edwards, Chrysostom, and of course, Wesley, as well as a whole slew of preachers from the beginning of Christondom up to the turn of the 20th century.
Today's sermon was from Aurelius Augustine, aka St. Augustine, written sometime around 420 AD, entitled "On the Lord's Prayer". This is significant for me, because as a church we are committed to praying this prayer every day for 40 days as we began 2019.

                                                                 #40DaysofOurFather

Augustine takes the approach to divide up the phrases of the prayer and expound generally and briefly upon each one.  "Our Father who art in heaven", "Hallowed be thy name", etc.

What struck me today was his comments on "lead us not into temptation". Augustine here focused inward rather than outward. And on one particular temptation, rather than the many "outward" temptations that beset us regularly, daily, or hourly.

The inward temptation that, for Augustine, this passage clings on, is anger (vengence). The preceeding words of the prayer, "Forgive us our debts (trespasses) as we forgive our debtors (those who trespass against us)" is key for Augustine to the next step in the prayer, "AND Lead us not into temptation".

"What then is that firghtful temptation which I have mentioned, that grievous, that tremendous temptation, which must be avoided with all our strength, with all our resolution; what is it? It is when we go to avenge ourselves. Anger is kindled, and the man burns to be avenged."

I usually do not go straight to thinking about my anger with others, or my desire to be avenged when I think about this part of the prayer. But this temptation does place me at the center focus, I am the locus point and my desire against someone else (perhaps because of what was done to me or said to me, or maybe even what was not done) becomes the primary focus.
Yet we have just asked the Lord to forgive us...as we have forgive others anything (debt, sin, or trespass) that they have done (or not done, or said, or not said) against us.

So I was wondering today, where this temptation sits with me? And as a reader, where does it sit with you? Is there anger in your heart today toward another person?

This prayer that we call "The Lord's Prayer" is found in Matthew 6, as part of a series of sayings of Jesus recorded by Matthew as part of the sermon on the Mount.
The prayer is Matthew 6:9-13. But the very next 2 verses say:

"For if you forigive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." (Matthew 6:14-15)

It seems that for those people in those hard times in our lives that sometimes we simply can't move on past the feelings. Maybe we feel that we are justified in how we feel, after all, we didn't do anything wrong, which means that all the wrong is on the other person.

But, at least thinking about this prayer today, I don't think it's a matter of right/wrong, or even who is to blame and who is not. After all every one of us has sinned (Romans 3:23).

We are praying this prayer between us and our God. Our righteous, holy ("hallowed be thy name"), perfect, and loving ("Our Father") Judge. And since we are none of these things and God is all of things, we leave it in His capable hands (Romans 12:19).

Augustine offers this hope, "If ye shall see any anger making a stand against you, pray to God against it, that God may make thee conqueror of thyself, that God may make thee conqeror, I say, not of thine enemy without, but of thine own soul within. For He will give thee His present help, and will do it."

If there is anger/vengence in your heart toward another as you pray this prayer today, then I pray with you that God will make it known and that God will be your very help right now to conquer through grace and forgiveness. We have been forgiven much, so as forgiven and redeemed people, let us be the first to offer much forgiveness. This will lighten your soul. The anger that you are holding to is poison to you, not the person to whom you harbor these feelings. By the grace of God, and in the name of Jesus, today, let it go.


Great Sermons by Great Preachers, Jessse Hurlbut, ed, (The John Winston Company, Chicago, 1927), 31-39

God of the Old & God of the New

I have spent a lot of time in the Old Testament book of Kings this month. And I mean “A LOT” of time. I just completed an intensive course in Old Testament exegesis of Kings this month at Duke Divinity School. And as a result, I am thinking a lot about some of those stories and some of those people.

There are great stories in the books of Kings, stories that when we properly understand them, helps us understand the New Testament better. In fact, I am going to go as far as to say that you cannot understand the New Testament if you don’t understand the Old Testament. I know that might seem like a bold statement, but if you don’t understand the need for the Messiah, if you don’t see the correlation between the fall of humanity in the garden of Eden and the redemption of humanity through the cross at Golgotha, if you don’t see how having a “Davidic King” sit on the throne forever is part of an everlasting covenant, then I don’t think that you can effectively understand the New Testament when you read about Jesus.

            Remember, Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).

            When you read the Old Testament through the lens of the Gospel, you see what Jesus was talking about. Jesus is not just introduced in the Gospels as a baby born in Bethlehem. That was just His incarnation into humanity. Jesus is God, pre-existent with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The apostle John, in his gospel, said it this way; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:1-3). The “Word” mentioned here is Jesus. Think pre-creation, and Jesus was there.

            All of the Bible is God’s Words.

            Some people mistakenly think that the God of the Old Testament is somehow different than the God of the New Testament. Jesus, they think, just seems nicer when talking about love and forgiveness than the God who instructed Moses to kill nations in conquest or who made prohibitions and rules against so much. That line of thinking dates back to at least the second century, and is found in a heretical theology of the early church called Gnosticism.

            I say all of this, simply to say that all of your Bible is important. It is all there, given as a gift, and for a reason. And the reason is not just to teach, thought the Bible surely teaches us in many ways. And the reason is not just to instruct, though the Bible surely offers invaluable instruction. And the reason is not just to provide a narrative history, though the Bible surely offers historical data.

The Bible is here to connect us with God. This is a beautiful, and very complex, story of God’s greatness, of God’s power, and most of all, of God’s love. And God’s love has been ever present, unchangeable, and never-ending. And His love is for you. From the beginning of creation in Genesis, through the ups and downs of life and exile through Kings and Chronicles, through the incarnation at Bethlehem in Luke and into the eternal promise fulfilled in Revelation, the Bible is a story of God with us. Emmanuel.

Take some time this year to read through some of these great stories of God’s love for you. Find a Bible reading plan that is a good fit for you. Engage with a small group Bible study in your church. Or just read through 1 and 2 Kings. God’s love and God’s presence will meet you there.