The phrase “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” was coined in a sermon by Jonathan Edwards. He declared that God in righteous anger sends sinners to a horrible hell. It scared people and moved them to repent of their flawed behavior. Others began to repeat the message and it appeared to help trigger the Great Awakening Revivals (1734-1750) that swept through the American Colonies and Europe.
While Scripture does not contain such a phrase, this type of message continues to be used to motivate people to repent. Does Scripture support such an idea? Can there be a righteous anger? Is anger a sin?
Understanding Anger and Wrath
Our English anger and wrath in the Old Testament comes from the Hebrew word aph. This word refers to an emotional show of displeasure displayed in the face. In the New Testament, anger and wrath comes from the Greek word orge. This word speaks of an intense breathing to show disapproval. These Hebrew and Greek words refer to an appearance of displeasure and do not indicate any further action.
Anger and wrath are human traits that illustrate emotional levels of disapproval. We want to remember that the Eternal One is nothing like damaged and defective humans. (a) [see endnotes for Scriptures] Since we cannot see God, our Bible says He is angry and shows wrath, so we can relate to His displeasure.
When God responded to the deathly error of Adam and Eve in the Garden, anger was not indicated. He simply sent them out of the Garden to experience the separation they chose. When the first time anger is mentioned in Scripture, it notes an emotion in Cain. God instructed Cain to do well or what is right, but instead he sinned. Regrettably, he did not heed God’s council, acted in anger and killed Abel. (b)
Scripture clearly states the love of God is much more than a part of His nature, for “God is love.” (c) Loving-kindness is a core feature behind all of God’s actions toward His wandering offspring and His responsive children. (d) God does not get angry nor can His actions be a result of any noted wrath. (e)
While the Old Testament record occasionally indicated God was angry, His expressive action always functions with the character traits of the Fruit of His Spirit: “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (f) The Eternal One cannot negate or cancel any part of His nature. God’s actions are always motivated by His enduring and restoring love.
God desires to draw us away from our erroneous ways of living into a better way of life. His activity always seeks to restore what was lost or harmed and improve our relational interaction with Him and with each other. (g) The salvation God provides intends to deliver us from our failing error and release us into a freedom that allows us to mature more appropriately into His “image and likeness.” (h)
God is always motivated by His enduring and restoring love.
The Zeal Of Jesus
To clarify God’s intention, His spoken expression (logos) came into this world to live as a responsive son. (i) The life Jesus lived is the most exact “image and likeness,” the clearest reflective resemblance of God. (j) Jesus is God’s human example and role model, a visual for us to observe and learn from. (k)
This is why Jesus is identified as the “mediator between God and man.” (l) As a maturing son of God, (m) Jesus illustrated to mankind God’s reflective image while he resembled God’s likeness as a son.
As justification for acting out in anger, many people are quick to reference the only event in our Bible where Jesus is assumed to have acted in anger. Many messages and pictures of the event depict Jesus as angry. Let’s examine the text and see if Scripture really describes the demeanor of Jesus as angry.
At 30 years of age, Jesus was baptized in the 
Jordan River and the Spirit of God anointed him for public ministry. Following his testing in the wilderness and the miracle of turning water into wine, Jesus entered the Temple in Jerusalem. (n) The Temple was built and dedicated to be respected as the house of God. It was honored as a holy place and intended to be a place of prayer and sacrifice. (o)
In this first of his two visits, Jesus observed the Temple had become a den of robbers. Merchandisers were selling animals and other goods for sacrifice. Jesus is recorded making a scourge of cords, overturning the business tables, and driving the merchandisers out of the Temple area. (p)
This action reminded the disciples of David’s Psalm: “Zeal for Thy house will consume me.” (q) While the Hebrew word translated as zeal means “jealousy,” the New Testament Greek means “a bubbling, as an uprising stir, as an emotional stirring.” Scripture uses this Greek word only two other times to speak of a positive stirring about the purposes of God. (r) Why do we assume the zeal of Jesus was in anger?
A whip with cords was commonly used to perform public rebukes. The one using the whip did not act in anger but was simply doing their job. Jesus even said his action was to “Stop making my Father’s House a house of merchandise.” (s) This event does not indicate Jesus was angry and there is no clue that the whip was used to strike anyone. His action was a public rebuke about their activity.
Jesus is God’s human example and role model, a visual for us to observe and learn from.
Defining Anger
At the end of His three year public ministry Jesus is recorded going to the Temple a second time: “Behold your King is coming to you…gentle and mounted on a donkey…The multitudes going before Him and those who followed after were crying out…hosanna…hosanna in the highest.” (t)
While Jesus approached the Temple the crowds were in festive praise, acknowledging Jesus as their Messiah. As he entered the Temple, Jesus saw they were still conducting business, so he chased them out. This time no whip is mentioned. His zeal was obviously not in anger because people that are in need are not drawn to an angry man. Instead, “the blind and the lame came…and he healed them.” (u)
The chief priests and scribes became angry only when they saw he was healing people. Jesus even sought to calm “their” anger by quoting a Scripture about children praising God. (v) Then Jesus left the area. There is not even a hint of anger indicated in the words or the actions of Jesus.
Since this is the only place in Scripture that it is assumed that Jesus was angry or acted in anger, we can clearly say Jesus did not and does not provide any justification for anyone to speak or act in anger.
By the way, Scripture does not say the emotion of anger is a sin. We are instructed to “Be angry, and yet do not sin; let not the sun go down on your anger.” (w) We are encouraged to not act out in anger nor remain angry beyond daylight. It is our angry actions that are sinful! Scripture reports that Jesus was “tempted in all things, as we are, yet without sin.” (x) If Jesus acted in anger, he would have sinned.
Yes, we can become angry when we experience contrary situations and harmful activity. Anger is a sensation that belongs to this created life. It is an emotional component in us that can feel displeasure and be angry. Anger only becomes a sin when we maintain it or when we speak out or act in anger.
Rather than labeling our sinful actions as righteous anger, let us be quick to ask God for help so we do not sinfully say something or act out in anger. Doing the right thing in anger is never the right thing.
What a difference this insight can make in our life and in the lives of those around us.
Our anger only becomes a sin when we maintain it or when we speak or act out in anger.
a) Isaiah 55:8-9; b) Genesis 4:5-8; c) 1 John 4:8, 16; d) Isaiah 54:8; Jeremiah 31:3; Luke 6:35-37; Romans 8:38-39; e) John 3:17; f) Galatians 5:22-23; g) Luke 19:10; Matthew 18:11; h) Genesis 1:26; i) John 1:1, 14, 18; j) Colossians 1:15; Ephesians 4:24; k) John 1:1, 14, 18; l) 1 Timothy 2:5; m) Luke 2:40, 52; n) John 2:13-15; o) 2 Chronicles 7:11-15; Isaiah 56:7; p) Jeremiah 7:8-11; q) John 2:13-17; Psalm 69:9; r) 2 Corinthians 9:1-2; Romans 10:2-3; s) John 2:16; t) Matthew 21:5- 9; u) Matthew 21:12-15; Luke 19:46; v) Matthew 21: 16-17; w) Ephesians 4:26-27; x) Hebrews 4:15
Keith Carroll, “The Relationship Guy”
Relational Gospel Founder
Created To Relate author