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“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

᛭ INI ᛭

(5. Oops!: Anger is a sinful vice.)

Tonight, anger. Who’s never been angry? Anger is a vice, as Christ says in Matthew 5: “You’ve heard that it was said, ‘You shall not murder,’ and whoever murders will be subject to judgment, but I say to you whoever is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.” Who’s never been angry? Anger is the seed and root of murder, hatred, and unforgiveness. If anger were a mountain range, frustration would be its foothills, grudges and hatred the desert that lies in its shadow…

Now, maybe you’re wondering about all that. How can anger be a sin? And how could Paul then write in our epistle, “Be angry and do not sin”? Maybe you also remember that Christ Himself was angry when clearing the temple of all the money changers—with a whip even! Christ can be angry without sin because He’s God, so His anger, His wrath over sin is always righteous. Christ can also be angry without sin because He’s without sin—a fully righteous human being!

So, in theory there’s righteous anger. Anger that lines up with God’s Word. So, Adam could’ve been righteously angry at the serpent’s lies and twisting of God’s Word. But since he wasn’t, neither can you be fully righteous in your anger and without sin, for, as James says, “The anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires.”

(4 Ugh!: Your anger is truly sinful because of the flesh.)

That’s true of you, too. Your anger is truly sinful before God because of the flesh. Your frustration that steeps into anger doesn’t flow from faith but your flesh. The anger that dwells in your heart works itself out in arguments, maybe even violence, or just the cold war of grudges, bad blood, “family history,” things you just won’t talk about, well, at least not around the pastor…

When you’re wronged or there’s an injustice, we get worked up about it. This happens because we’re really angry at God. How so? Well, when someone says or does something to us for example, or maybe hurts someone or something we care about, we want God to fix it! We want there to be justice, for God to work justice for that situation, and since He’s often slow about it, we get angry. So, that’s how anger at the person who committed the sin is just misplaced anger against God. Just another way that we’re putting ourselves into God’s place. Just more behavior in line with the devil’s lie: “You’ll be like God knowing good and evil.”

But we don’t just get angry about it. We think our anger is justified, so we seek revenge. This is also putting ourselves in God’s place. Taking justice into our own hands is the vice of anger working itself out in our lives. The justice we most often work is just a grudge. And if reconciliation is on the table, that’s our final revenge for the other person to admit they were 100% wrong and we were 100% right. Which can be true in things like abuse. But more often than not, there’s blame to go around. And instead of meeting to resolve the issue through mutual mercy and forgiveness, we’ll instead grandstand, allow the grudge to continue, which is really just unforgiveness festering in our hearts, and Christ says quite clearly says in Matthew 6: “But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Mt 6)

(3. Aha!: CHRIST’S CRUCIFIXION EARNS FORGIVENESS FOR YOUR OFTEN FURIOUS FLESH.)

“Out of the same mouth comes cursing and blessing,” (James 3) “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” (Mt 12) “These things ought not be!” (James 3) “Let us love one another in deed and in truth.” (1-Jn 3) Your anger won’t out burn God’s wrath over your anger. “Man’s wrath doesn’t produce the righteousness God requires.” (James 1) Frustrations prepares for the everlasting fire, grudges gain only Gehenna, that is, hatred hastens the way to hell!

Yet, there’s no reason for despair! And yes, we ought to forgive one another as God in Christ forgave you, but even that won’t make up for your anger and grudge-bearing. Forgiving is just what you’re supposed to, anger, hatred, however we mask it, is what you aren’t supposed to do. But again there’s no reason to despair and lose hope. Gaze up Christ tonight! There He hangs on the receiving end of both God’s wrath and the hatred of mankind. There He bears the brunt of your anger. He’s crushed under the weight of your grudges. He pays for the very thing you’re angry about and for the anger itself at the same time!

CHRIST’S CRUCIFIXION EARNS FORGIVENESS FOR YOUR OFTEN FURIOUS FLESH.

Why are you angry? Christ has died for that sin, paid for it, what that person did to you and what you did to them. Let anger cease, malice die, grudges be gone—Christ was crucified, died, and buried! Bury the hatchet with your neighbor for Christ was buried in the tomb. “Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.” (1-Pet 2)

(2. Whee!: He also speaks peace to His people—forgiveness!)

Yes, gaze at Christ, behold Christ on the cross, see a crucifix and let its preaching be this: CHRIST’S CRUCIFIXION EARNS FORGIVENESS FOR YOUR OFTEN FURIOUS FLESH. But let’s not just look at Christ. Let’s be true disciples and listen to Him. “Let us hear what God the LORD will speak, for He will speak peace to His people, to His saints.” (Ps 85) He speaks that very peace from His cross: “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.”

He speaks that peace to everyone there in general, but He speaks the same peace in a different way to the thief on the cross. That thief had been ridiculing Christ up to a point, but he was brought to faith by seeing and hearing the crucified Christ. “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” “Assuredly I say to you,” Christ said, “today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

His peace isn’t limited to Calvary, something that we are immensely thankful for. He speaks the same Calvary peace to all His saints. He delivers the Word of forgiveness. He speaks forgiveness, forgiveness for all your sins. That’s the peace spoken first at the Font in Holy Baptism. It’s the peace spoken to you in Holy Absolution. It’s the peace announced in the Sermon. It’s the peace delivered at Communion. This is why the rite of Holy Baptism and Corporate and Private Absolution end with “Depart” or “Go in peace.” There’s peace because forgiveness has been delivered. This is why the blessing after the sermon is for God’s peace to keep you. This is why each Communion table is dismissed with “Depart in peace,” and why we sing in the Nunc Dimittis “Lord now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace.”

CHRIST’S CRUCIFIXION EARNS FORGIVENESS FOR YOUR OFTEN FURIOUS FLESH, and that forgiveness is announced (spoken) and delivered in all these ways, so that you are at peace with God for the sake of faith toward Him, that you are also at peace with each other for the sake of love toward one another.

(1. Yeah!: He makes us messengers of His peace.)

And that, dear saints of God, is where the forgiveness for the often furious flesh finally goes: He makes us messengers of His peace. So we go about “forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph 4) After all, the works of the flesh are “fits of anger, dissensions, divisions,” but “The fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, patience,” (Gal 5) and more.“Love does not keep a record of wrong.” (1-Cor 13) “Love bears all things” (1-Cor 13), even the burden of their sins. (Gal 6) “Love covers a multitude of sins.” (1-Pet 4)

“Blessèd are the peace-makers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Mt 5) This is because they are “merciful as their heavenly Father is merciful” (Lk 11)—merciful with His mercy and not theirs, forgiving with Christ’s forgiveness not theirs, loving with the Spirit’s love not theirs. When the Triune God’s mercy, forgiveness, and love flow through you to someone else, suddenly your heart does it, too.

Whatever needs reconciliation was already paid for by God’s own blood, why are you holding out for your pound of flesh? Why are you living as if Christ didn’t die, wasn’t raised? There’s no reason to return to the folly of unforgiveness, malice, grudges, anger. Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Gal 5) Christ earned forgiveness for that already, and going to the other person, not trying grandstand but seeking to give forgiveness, you might find already a tender or maybe ignorant heart. (They might not even remember what you’re still mad about!) But besides all that, Christ earned forgiveness for that sin, and CHRIST’S CRUCIFIXION EARNS FORGIVENESS FOR YOUR OFTEN FURIOUS FLESH.

᛭ INI ᛭