If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and 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. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
(Colossians 3:1-17 ESV)
So after Paul’s finished with sexual sin, he moves on to yet more sins that the earthly self indulges in. And by the way, when I’m writing about these or any sins (including the previous post), I don’t want anyone to think I’m writing from a purely academic standpoint. This isn’t an intellectual exercise; I genuinely want to study and learn from God’s Word and pass on what I learn to anyone who wants to listen in hopes that it helps them in some way. This isn’t just a random academic thing. This is a passionate discourse.
Now, on to the next part of this passage, verses 7-8: “In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.”
So the big problem here is that these are all sins that flow from anger and hatred. I find it interesting that both sets of sins that Paul gives are both sins that Jesus Himself talked about in the same discourse, the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that 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.” (vv. 21-22)
What’s Jesus saying? He’s saying that being angry with and verbally abusing people is morally the same as murder. Just like in the last post, the big issue with these sins doesn’t only lie in the outward acts, but also in the heart and the motives of the sinner. These are the motives that lead to murder, and thus are just as sinful and evil as it.
Not all of these sins are outward. Anger, the stem from which all the other sins flow, is an inward feeling. In the study Bible he put together, John MacArthur calls it “a deep, smoldering bitterness” and “the settled heart attitude of an angry person.” It’s within us. It is about our attitude and our heart.
Now I don’t know about you, but I’ll be the first to admit I struggle with this, and this is a confession. On rare occasions, there are times when I feel so angry I want to yell at whoever it is angered me and tell them exactly how horrible I think they are. But that’s absolutely the wrong attitude, and it’s sinful enough to be compared to murder. James 1:20 says that “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” As Christians, we are supposed to reflect the glory of God to the world. But as humans, we are imperfect and sinful. When we are angry with people, it’s rarely for purely righteous reasons. Oftentimes it’s selfish (“How dare they do this to me!”) and tinged with the desire to avenge oneself on the object of our anger (“They’ll pay for what they did to me!”).
However, there is such a thing as righteous anger, evidenced when Paul says to believers, “Be angry and do not sin” (Eph. 4:26). But I think we need to be very careful our anger is for the right motives. If we are angry at sin in the world, for example, that’s a good thing. If we are unselfish in our anger, that’s also a good thing. But again, because of our sinful hearts, we need to be extremely careful about that.
I find it interesting that James specifically calls “the anger of man” wrong. That’s because the anger of God is never wrong. God, unlike us, is perfect, holy, loving, good, and just. His anger is always for the right reasons. I’ll talk more on that in a bit.
Wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk are outward expressions of anger. Specifically, the word “malice” comes from a word talking about badness or depravity, but in this context it seems to be against others. These encompass the time when you are outwardly angry with people and start to yell at them, verbally abuse them, and potentially even hit them. But once again, that’s wrong. God doesn’t want us to retaliate against those who hurt us. Jesus also talks about retaliation in the Sermon on the Mount:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you." (Matt. 5:38-42)
There’s no need to go through every single part of this paragraph, but what Jesus is basically saying here is not to seek out vengeance and retaliation for personal wrong. The slap on the right cheek that Jesus is talking about gives the picture of a backhanded slap meant to directly insult someone’s dignity. This has nothing to do with self-defense or even defense of someone else; it’s alright to defend ourselves and others (Acts 24:10). But that’s where the line is drawn: self-defense and defense of others, not personal retaliation. As MacArthur says in his study Bible, “[Jesus] was calling for a full surrender of all personal rights.”
Is it wrong to want justice? Absolutely not. God is absolutely just and desires justice far more than we do. Not only that, but He also knows how to deal out justice far better than we do. Thus Paul says in Romans 12:19, “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.’” And we know that God’s justice will always and ultimately prevail; whether a saved person’s sins were paid for on the cross by Jesus’ death and thus that person has been cleared, or an unbeliever dies in his sin and is punished, all sin will be dealt with and paid for in full. So there’s no reason to get angry with people or take out vengeance ourselves. It’s ultimately in God’s hands.
So, reader, where do you stand in this ultimate scheme of justice? Are you someone whose sins have been paid for in full by Jesus’ death? Or are you living in sin that must someday be paid for? And are you willing to give up everything to Christ to be saved? Or would you rather take your chances in front of a God who knows every deed and sin in your life and will judge you for them?
If this seems like a scare tactic, it’s not; it’s a genuine, loving warning to check your life. However, you should be afraid; Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!” (Luke 12:4-5).
Do you believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, that He came to earth, and died and rose for sin? If you do, are you willing to submit to Him as Lord and Savior? When Jesus returns to earth, the rightful Creator King, to establish His Kingdom, will you be one of His enemies, punished forever for constant rebellion and insurrection against Him? Or will you be one of His subjects living in eternal peace in the Kingdom of the One Who created everything and thus has the ultimate right to rule?
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