Is Anger Always Sinful?

The Lord has built into man the emotional capacity to BE ANGRY, and this powerful emotion was originally meant to be helpful and not harmful. Anger can be a proper and useful emotion! Yes, there is such a thing as a HEALTHY, HOLY, RIGHTEOUS ANGER (sometimes called "righteous indignation").

Healthy, Holy, Righteous Anger

1) God is angry.

God is _____________ with the wicked ______________ _______

(Psalm 7:11). God is always and ever angry against sin!

2) The Lord Jesus is sometimes angry.

Consider the following passages and discuss why the Lord Jesus was angry:
  • Mark 3:5 (compare Matthew 12:10-12--these religious leaders were more merciful to a dumb animal than they were to their fellow man!).
  • Mark 10:14 ("much displeased" should be translated "moved with indignation or anger").
  • Mark 11:15-17 (compare John 2:13-17).
  • Matthew 16:21-23.
  • Matthew l8:6-7.
  • Matthew 23:13-33.
  • Revelation 2:6,15.
  • Revelation 19:15-16.

3) The Holy Spirit sometimes causes men to be angry (1 Samuel 11:6).

4) God commands the believer to "BE _________________" (Ephesians 4:26).

Caution: The Lord knows that with frail men righteous anger can easily become sinful anger, so He adds the words, "and _______ not" (Eph. 4:26). It’s easy for us to get angry at the wrong things or to get angry at the right things for the wrong reasons! If your sinful anger has harmed someone else, don’t go to bed until you have corrected the problem in God’s way (prior to the age of electric lights people used to go to bed when the sun went down!).

As you consider the following people and their anger, decide whether their anger was SINFUL (indicate by "S") or RIGHTEOUS (indicate by "R"):

1.______Cain (Genesis 4:5-6).
2.______Esau (Genesis 27:41-45).
3.______Moses (Exodus 16:20; 32:19 Leviticus 10:16-17).
4.______Moses (Numbers 20:7-13; compare Numbers 27:12-14; Deut. 1:37; Psalm 106:33).
5.______Balak (Numbers 24:10).
6.______Saul (1 Samuel 11:6).
7.______Saul (1 Samuel 20:30).
8.______David (1 Samuel 17:26, 45-46).
9.______David (2 Samuel 12:5; note: David was right in getting angry at the sin of this man, but who should he really have been angry at?).
10.______Elisha (2 Kings 13:19).
11.______Asa (2 Chronicles 16:10).
12.______Nehemiah (Nehemiah 5:6).
13.______Jonah (Jonah 3:10; 4:1-11).
14.______Herod (Matthew 2:16).
15.______People of Nazareth (Luke 4:28).
16.______The Elder Brother (Luke 15:28).
17.______The Jerusalem Jews (Acts 7:54-58).
18.______Saul (Acts 9:1).
19.______Paul (Acts 13:9-11; Galatians 1:7-9).
20.______Satan (Rev. 12:12,17).


  • This study is shared with permission from the owner, Middletown Bible Church. Feel free to print this study to fill in the blanks and do the studying!
To add in my own words, I myself have had times where I have been rightfully angry but also times where I was sinfully angry and I have had to ask forgiveness. A lot of times we are unsure how to handle certain situations and are quick to act without praying and asking God how to the handle the situation. If it is sin you are angry at, then God is angry also!

I'm far from perfect but with each day and each new situation that arises in my life, God is teaching me and showing me where I fall short and what I have to work on in my life! We all have something we must work on, none have attained. However continuing in the sin is a whole different matter, when you do not ask forgiveness and you continually do the sin......you are far from God. But thanks be unto God he offers forgiveness through the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, our advocate. All we have to do is ask!
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