Slaying My Anger

I was angry this morning.  I won't go into what the situation might be (other than to say it most expressly does not have anything to do with Michael, naturally), but I will say that I was on the brink of tears.  That's my typical response when I shoot past irritated, cruise beyond frustrated, & arrive at destination:  angry, angry, angry.  It doesn't help that it's completely beyond my control either - the situation, that is.  What do you do when you feel that choler burning & boiling up from the pit of your stomach, threatening to erupt in a scream?  I pondered calling Beth to vent or Sweet T to beg for wisdom & advice.  I considered waking Michael up so I could pour out my anguish & receive his sympathy.  Instead, I cried out to God to "help me, please help me, because I don't want to feel this way or respond in this manner."  He brought to mind John Piper's "How to Kill Sin" sermon series, which I have lately been listening to once again.  My thoughts ran thus:

     ~Anger is the sin that I'm presently battling, & I want to kill it.
     ~How do you kill sin?  By the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.
     ~That means I need to delve into my Bible to see what it has to say about anger.

Here's what I found, & it was very helpful.  As the situation & feelings of anger have continued to spring to the surface throughout this day, I have been fleeing back to God's Word for the renewal of my mind & spirit.  I pray it is the same balm to you.

*Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.  A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy (often the cause of anger) makes the bones rot.  ~Proverbs 14:29-30 (notation mine)

*A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.  ~Proverbs 15:18

*Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, & he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.  ~Proverbs 16:32

*Good sense makes one slow to anger, & it is his glory to overlook an offense.  ~Proverbs 19:11

*Know this, my beloved brothers:  let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, & slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.  ~James 1:19-20

*A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.  A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.  ~Proverbs 15:1, 4 (I found this appropriate because I'm likely to have a "harsh" or "perverse" tongue when I feel angry.)

*But now you must put them all away:  anger, wrath, malice, slander, & obscene talk from your mouth.  Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy & beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, & patience, bearing 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 3:8, 12-13

May the word of Christ dwell in us richly & the peace of Christ rule in our hearts.  Amen.

Jesus Is . . .

Jesus doesn't need our acceptance.  He doesn't need you or me at all.  We need Him.  We desperately need Him.

The Marvel of God's Mercy ~ David Platt

Okay, can I just say something?  This . . . is . . . amazing!!!  Seriously!  God's sovereignty in salvation is hotly debated among professional & lay theologians.  But, Scripture lays this out plainly, & you simply cannot read the Bible without seeing it everywhere, Old & New Testament alike.  Not the least of all is Romans 9.  My understanding is that some people rose up & walked out of last week's sermon.  You may be tempted to turn away from this one, as well.  However, I encourage you to be like the noble Bereans & search out the Scriptures to see if what David is saying is true.  And if it is, no matter what your previous beliefs or biases were, you should humbly accept it.  This is biblical Christianity.  And it truly does lead one to marvel in the mercy of God.

The Cross-Centered Life ~ David Platt

"Your only hope for joy, & your only hope for peace, & your only hope for comfort, your only hope for love, & your only hope for strength in this life is found in the cross of Jesus Christ."

How To Kill Sin ~ John Piper

Even though I've been a Christian for decades, I've sometimes wondered if I'm truly saved because I still struggle with sin.  About a year & a half ago, I was overcome with sadness due to this heavy burden of uncertainty.  Michael & I were listening to a Paul Washer sermon & he began talking about this very thing.  I sobbed with relief into the linens I was putting away as he assured us that only someone who was truly a child of God would ever be concerned about their salvation.  An unbeliever couldn't care less.  Words fail to express the balm that this truth was to my chafed & weary soul.

But, I'm still left with my dilemma of sin.  Like Paul, "I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing." (Romans 7:18-19)  Can't you just hear the utter exasperation in his voice?  His cry of "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" reverberates through my soul.  This is just how I feel!  I can't get out of this!  I keep sinning & can't free myself from this death sentence!  Who will free me?!  Only Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  Yet, while I stand before God cleansed of my sin & perfectly righteous through Christ's atonement (praise be to God!), I still sin.  I am a righteous sinner.  And I want to just be righteous.

As Christians, we hate sin because God does.  We love what He loves & hate what He hates.  So, we hate the sin in ourselves, even while we often feel powerless to overcome it.  And we are.  But God isn't.

"For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." (Romans 8:13)

There are certain sermons that stand out to me, & John Piper's series entitled "How to Kill Sin" tops my list.  In it, he deals with this verse & how we as believers are to "put to death the deeds of the body".  Just a hint - it's not by white-knuckled effort.  Each sermon in this series is positively, absolutely excellent!  Follow these links & download parts 1, 2, & 3.  We copied them to discs, & I've listened to them while driving & cleaning the house.  I . . . LOVE . . . THEM!!!  Seriously, I've listened to them enough to where I'm starting to be able to quote them!

Through these sermons, I'm encouraged to wield the sword of the Spirit to kill my sin.  I hope you are, too.

A Little Bit of Matt Chandler

The Cup of Christ ~ C.J. Mahaney

This gave me chills & brought me to tears.  That's a good thing.

God Saves Bad People ~ Art Azurdia

Radical Christian Sacrifice ~ John Piper

The beauty of this message simply cannot be overstated.  It is chock full of profoundly edifying, convicting, & empowering words from God's word.  But one of our favorites is this little poem & Piper's response:

"'Must I be carried to the skies

On flow'ry beds of ease,

While others fought to win the prize

And sailed through bloody seas?'

NO!!!  How could you ever want such a thing?!  How could you ever . . . want . . . such a thing?!"

Humble Orthodoxy

Before coming to the Reformed faith, I lived my Christian life pretty much like I suppose a lot of Christians do. I went to church on Sunday, listened to my CCM radio station & CDs, & read my Daily Guideposts . . . well . . . daily. I loved God & longed to worship Him. Even to this day, death seems so joyful to me, because when that moment comes, I will see my Savior face-to-face. . .& that is a glorious thought! Since I was 15, I've had a true faith in Him, but it was seriously lacking in true knowledge of Him.

Enter Reformed theology. The first sermon from a Reformed pastor that I listened to was on expiation entitled "Jesus Died to Cleanse Our Filth" by Mark Driscoll. I remember cleaning my house while listening to it & having to sit down several times to just listen & cry. The second sermon was "15 Words of Hope" by John MacArthur. I listened to it on the way to AL to meet Michael's family, as well as on the way back. That sermon was my first exposure to expositional preaching, & it felt like breathing for the first time. I'd never heard anything so magnetic in all my life! I had no idea that sermons could bring about such deep understanding of Scripture. In that moment, I realized that the sermons I'd been hearing all my life had only scratched the surface of God's Word. For a few years, I had felt like something was missing in my church's worship service as well as in my own walk with God. I knew instantly that this was it. In short, I'd been drinking milk while unknowingly craving meat. And, boy, did John MacArthur serve up some steak! There was no going back for me.

I wholeheartedly believe Reformed theology to be true to Scripture. I've searched out God's Word & have found all of the Reformed doctrines to be biblical doctrines. But a problem soon arose in my zeal. I became brash & abrasive in defending Reformed theology & correcting erroneous beliefs. Michael has said that those who are new to the Reformed faith need to be locked up for a couple of years until their zeal mellows. This was SO me! It didn't matter who it was, if they espoused a belief that I knew to be unbiblical, I set them straight right fast! Now, there's nothing wrong with correcting error - in fact, it's wrong not to - but it does matter how you do it. And the only word for my manner of correction was harsh. Completely unloving.

It's been more than 3 years now since coming to the Reformed faith. I'm glad to say that God did convict me of my unloving attitudes. I realize now that I don't have to nitpick what people say, & if they are in error that loving correction is godly correction. I also came to the understanding that there are true believers in unreformed churches. None of us have it all figured out, & when we die & join our fellow believers before the throne of God, we'll see just how much we got wrong in this life.  We'll also see the one thing we all got right, by the grace of God:  trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone as our atonement for sin.

So, here are my three main admonitions to my fellow believers:

     1.) Search out the Scriptures & place yourself under men of God who dedicate their lives to presenting God's Word to the flock truly & accurately. (At the top of my list of well-known pastors are John Piper, John MacArthur, & David Platt.)  Commit to holding Scripture, not your personal opinions or feelings, as your measuring stick.

     2.) Be humble. Sometimes, the most loving thing you can do for someone is to show them their error. But, if you do have to correct someone who is in error, do so gently & lovingly, remembering that God is gentle & loving with you & such a spirit honors & glorifies Him. In this same vein, evaluate your own beliefs in light of Scripture, being humble enough to admit when you're wrong & change accordingly.

     3.) Remember that it's okay to disagree as long as both parties support their views with an accurate interpretation & application of Scripture. Just because someone doesn't believe something just exactly as you do doesn't mean they aren't true believers.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. . . . Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. ~ 1 Cor. 13:1; 4-5a

P.S. For anyone not familiar with Reformed theology or the Doctrines of Grace, I will be writing posts on this topic sometime in the near (hopefully) future.  Feel free to ask any questions you may have, though.

The Scandal of the Gospel ~ David Platt

Bear with it. The initial screen will give way to David Platt as he's preaching. This is an INCREDIBLE sermon!!!