Testament book of Nehemiah and Nehemiah chapter 5 and we'll read from verses 1 through to 13
and here is an occasion in the midst of the work that Nehemiah had been called of God
and in the providence of God made the way open for him to rebuild Jerusalem the city of God
and he did it in an enormously quick manner even in the midst of this work
there arose a great injustice the nobles and the wealthy were extracting usury from the brethren
and making them slaves basically because they couldn't pay their debts and the law of God
has much to talk about that it was unrighteous it was a way of the world rather than the way of God
and we find in this occasion that the the great man of God Nehemiah became very angry
and he made sure that justice was done and that these people be forgiven of their debts
according to the law you know there was always that
that they call it sabbatical year every seven years and anybody who was in debt to the brethren
would be forgiven of that debt and they would be released from the bondage of having to pay
that debt back so it's although usury or charging interest on money was not to be practiced in Israel
you either gave it or you lent it without usury without interest but you never
put your brethren in a position where they became slaves particularly in Israel
and this was something that caused the very anger and hot fury of the man of God
and that's what I want to look at today the injustice of such things caused the
a proper response a spiritual response in the man of God
and then after that we'll be looking at how Jesus when he saw the the improper
way in which the temple was being used he became angry and he wove a cord into a whip
and he cleansed the temple and he and it was said and the zeal of the Lord consumed him
so he was one who was filled with the anger of God against such abuse
okay now we'll take that from John chapter two as we open our bibles to the fourth chapter and
we're coming to the end of this chapter there's not very much more in it and where we go from here
is yet to be seen but
we see in this chapter that the apostle is very concerned about the doctrine of the church
and the unity that should be found within the church of Jesus Christ and there are many things
that would stand to seek to oppose these things that are so important remembering the church
is the apple of God's eye he died for it and there is nothing he loves more
than the church of Jesus Christ that is the invisible church of Jesus Christ
and he says here
um therefore put away lying that each one speak the truth to his neighbor for we are members one
of uh of one another be angry and sin not do not let the sun go down on your wrath
nor give place to the devil now i want to concentrate on verses 16 and sorry 26 and 27
there are three injunctions given to us three imperatives given to us that i see
i see be angry and sin not so i see that as one of the great imperatives
do not let the sun go down upon your wrath in other words there is a command for us to be meek
yielded to the sovereignty of God and be reconciled to God first in all this and with our
neighbor as far as it is possible with us and the third imperative is that we are not to give
any place to the devil remember that the devil is hot on the heels of strife and it's very easy for
strife to become an occasion for the devil to gain ground in the the whole situation that we
are dealing with so therefore i want to look at these three points that we are to exercise righteous
anger and therefore we are not to sin in the midst of it we are commanded to be meek that is
to be yielded to the lord's will and command and it is commanded of us and thirdly we are to never
give ground to the devil now when we look at this be angry and sin not
in modern evangelicalism is suggested that all anger is essentially sinful
and we might sort of find ourselves thinking well that's what we've got to do we've got to avoid
anger and if we have got anger somehow suppress it and don't let it come to the surface at all
but we are called upon to be angry now modern evangelicalism is probably looking at
what the lord jesus has said concerning anger in the sermon on the mount and if we just look at
this before we start chapter five of uh of matthew's gospel and he says in the context of murder
okay so murder is a sin and we are called not to sin
he says you have heard in verse 21 of chapter 5 of matthew's gospel you have heard that it
was said to those of old you shall not murder and whoever murders will be in danger of judgment
but i say unto you that whoever is angry with his brother without cause and that's the uh the product
uh the the um uh the condition uh shall be in danger with the judgment whoever says
to his brother racket or bonehead or a put down term shall be in danger of the council
whoever says you fool shall be in danger of hell in other words what he's saying here is that
in the context of murder and it's very easy to move from uh it says the spiritual condition of
murder is an unrighteous anger or a selfish anger as an anger of um uh that is based in uh
in wanting your own way kind of anger uh that leads to murder now in the end um whatever leads
to that kind of sin must be wrong and that kind of anger is wrong now what the lord says here
is that we are to be angry but it must be without sin
and it is very hard for us um to think in terms of um of anger because so in such little cases
in such few cases very often our anger is so marked by sin uh so marked by selfishness
um that uh uh it is uh is something we must be very careful as we use it but we are called upon
to uh to use it it says quite clearly here be angry and there is a time when we are to be angry
and we must be those that are moved by the right motives in our anger and if
um there there needs to be a time when
things are around us happening that are so outrageously sinful so um uh so
so absolutely dreadful that the best response and the only response is a righteous indignation
and very often today evangelicals are standing by they're often angry because they haven't got
their pay right or they're often angry if somebody has done something wrong you see the
kind of rage you see on the road and it's merely only that they have been inconvenienced or they
may have been put behind schedule a few seconds and they become very angry such anger is utterly
sinful selfish and total totally um out of order but what we find here is that we are to be angry
about the things that god is angry remember that god is a god of wrath the wrath of god
is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the
truth in unrighteousness and therefore it is imperative for us often to respond in a godly way
we are to be those that should be outraged at some of the social sins that exist in our society
and yet we have to speak uh what god would have us to speak in these situations
now uh sometimes we have to do it in a very careful way and a very wise way but nonetheless
it must be exercised and uh and we must be outraged at the kind of things that we are
seeing in our society now to give an example of that uh many people are outraged at the kind of
things we are seeing in terms of abortion for instance there are more abortions in this land
than there are births and anybody to say that there is some justice about this
is uh is on the side of the world and not on the side of god at all
now some have taken these things into their own hands and actually have murdered the abortionists
now obviously that is wrong absolutely wrong because it says here be angry but sin not
and murder at any case is a sin taking such things into your own hands is not according to god's will
into god's will but i think it's appropriate for the christian church to be angered by such
a spectacle as abortion it is murder and it should be seen as that and the world should understand it
as that i say the same thing about homosexuality we should be outraged we should be absolutely
incensed by such evil sin in our society and would the church rather than explain it away
rather than put it to one side it should be the appropriate thing that we should be outraged by
such a sin another thing that really uh really irks me is the kind of thing we are seeing in the
name of dating today and we find that parents who have spent all their lives raising their children
and caring for their children for somebody to come along and uh uh and steal our children
in the name of dating uh is to me an outrageous thing and angers me dearly
now you might say well it takes two to tango but then again when you are young
and when the old hormones are running right um it's uh it's very hard for us to not yield
to the temptations that might lead us to sin and fathers and mothers are outraged
at that kind of trickery and um uh and wrong i'm just giving some examples of things that i would
find uh terrible in my mind and i think the appropriate thing is at times uh to be angry
now that quote comes directly from psalm 4 be angry and sin not psalm 4 says this uh this very
thing psalm 4 and verse 4
it says be angry and sin not meditate within your heart on your bed and be still offer the
sacrifice of righteousness and put your trust in the lord now that's the context by which this has
been said in other words if you are angry and when you are angry there is a a necessity for us
to walk particularly close to the lord in it to be very careful that we are not sinning
and that we are those that uh uh hide ourselves in a savior that is keeping our steps short
and our attitudes right so um
as we come to this particular subject of being angry
it is no good sort of sitting on it very often we are called upon just to sit on it and uh
and suppress it but god did express his anger and he expressed his anger in a godly manner
what we can do we ought to be doing and what we can't do as a psalmist has said
come back to god and rest and trust god in the midst of the issue that we are facing whether it
be the things that i've raised uh that is uh particularly uh pointing to us we need to be
very careful and as we are careful there are things we may be able to do to make sure that
the injustice is righted and of course when we deal with the issue of abortion or homosexuality
or um or the the issue of uh or whatever you might be uh facing um do what you can do
and then leave the rest with the lord and as you can do more then raise the issue again for
instance at work i've got a group of young men that are incessantly blaspheming
and this really distorts me and i don't think the way to deal with it is to take it all the time
the way to deal with it is to point it up and um
and um point it up and raise the issue with the men and say this offends me
and uh simply do not live with it any longer one of my challenges this year
certainly particularly when the name of the lord is in in vain uh that's one thing i will
not put up with and uh and i will have the lashing of my tongue uh and my disapproval
every time they do it and they'll have to live with their own conscience in that process now i
suggest that some of the things like that need to be stated clearly i'm not going to break my
friendship with them but i am going to deal with what i believe has brought the uh the standard
of my workplace into disregard and disrepute even the boys say to me why does sir swear so
so incessantly and i said well i can't live for him but you will know from me
that you will never hear me do that and i can state it like that and i think it's the
only way in which i can do it i think there are probably many many examples without being prudish
without being arrogant without um uh showing a um a judgmental spirit simply pointing these things up
can do a lot of good in your place that will be required for you to live
Nehemiah we saw from our old testament reading here he was in a glorious work of rebuilding the
temple of the rebuilding Jerusalem the temple was already built by Ezra and and establishing the uh
the city um in a secure manner uh right in the midst of the whole thing he couldn't have come
at a worse time uh in at the time because the whole country was going through a drought
and uh and yet it was a timing of God to bring about this great work uh to be done
as we had read to us then suddenly those that had money and had resources were busily exploiting and
taking advantage of the situation so that the the people of God were being suppressed and even
put into a state where they could never pay off their debts
and he says even if we could actually uh live uh as free people our children will be come um
slaves of these people and there was an outrage amongst the uh the people of God they came
to the right place they didn't cause a great strike or insurrection or that the whole work
would be completely undone what they did was they went to the leader respected the authority
that was in the situation they went to Nehemiah who was a godly man and as they heard his case
said I didn't realize it was so bad this is a total disgrace to the cause of God and so he
called the whole assembly of God's people together in Jerusalem which it must have been a large
assembly and brought these these uh these these nobles and these uh elders before them and said
is this the case they said yes it is we are just businessmen we're just doing what uh what
businessmen do uh it seems just to us and he said this is making the people of God your own
brethren slaves for generations to come and apart from anything else it is not found in the law of
God and it said there that he was angry in the situation he was filled with indignation
righteous indignation and so he called upon the the uh the elders to stop doing that which was
unlawful according to the law of God it might be lawful according to the law of the land but to the
law of God it is not to be done and he called upon them to forgive them of all their debts and
restore to them that which was their heritage to great cost to them and they said they wouldn't
he bound them by covenant he took them took the priests and said write out what they have said
and if they break this vow they will be shaken out themselves and everyone said amen
not only the elders but also the people said amen justice was then done
and it was achieved because a righteous man had a righteous perspective on what should have been
done and he was angered until it could be sated by doing the right thing
now very often we can't do the right thing because the problem is far out of our control
i say that about homosexuality it's far out of our control but what we can do in our world
we will make it known that this is a sin
and we will not tolerate it and we will not let it come under our roof
and as far as me and the law and and as far as the Lord is concerned we will follow the
Lord in these matters but Nehemiah could do what he did and he did it and he won the day
in the midst of it because he was a person that had a finely tuned conscience by the law of God
that unable to see when unrighteousness was seen he was angered by it we need to be angry
when we see sin we should hate sin in ourselves we should be angered when we fall into sin ourselves
and we should know the fear of God over our souls
otherwise we just let the things go right down unaddressed and unapproached
and no one will speak up
then it says
and it's true the old psalmist says in psalm 97 and verse 10 you that love the Lord hate evil
if the test of our love for God is we actually hate evil and we need to hate it with an intensity
if it arises within our own souls we hate it if it arises within the body of Christ we hate it
in our society we hate it and we are predictably ready to say that we don't like
certain things because it is a sin and it's against the very standards of God
but it does say what is what is wrong anger is when we are angry and sin
uh is undergirded within it and it is just so easy for us to do so we must never be bad tempered
people and that's very easy for us to become you know the kind of personality that is so
irritated and irritable and totally uncontrollable because his time scales and his attitudes
have been have been offended but there's nothing that they should be offended about
except their own comfort zone has basically been upset
we should never express our anger
in excessive violence and uncontrollable
attitudes we should be controlled and sensible in the midst of our anger
we should be those that are focused on the thing that is truly angry and making us angry
is what we are angry about sinful is it injustice is it something that is totally
offending the glory of our God
and if it is then it is appropriate for us to be stirred up and heated up about it
but we are not to exercise and take sinful actions such as the anti-abortionists are killing
the abortionist there is a proper way of dealing with that and it's not that way
and I believe that we've got to be very careful at that
when we are in the state of anger which I think is a natural instinct within us anger is an
instinctive thing as other attributes of the human soul we find that that it is very easy for that
it is very easy for that to become fleshly and to get out of control somebody who is hot
under the collar is usually doing it out of sinful motives and therefore coupled with this
the apostle says to us that we are not to let down let the sun go down on our wrath
he says and this is an expression and we often say this uh this term is entered into the english
language we are not to let the sun go down onto our wrath in other words we are to be those that
deals with the matter in hand and we hide in in a good relationship with our god now very often we
say and take take this quite literally before I go to bed I'm going to resolve this matter
uh I've been sinful in this situation and I need reconciliation of the person I've wronged
and therefore I go to that person and are reconciled
as far as able with me and we do that before the day has finished I don't think it actually means
that it's literally every day we've got to be able to keep these things but we need to be able
to deal with these things quickly and efficiently and the only way in which we can do this
is if we have a meekness of soul and as we are doing the meekness meekness simply means
yielded to the will of god um moses was regained all earth now that doesn't mean to say that he
was a a jelly uh um his backbone had no no strength at all and he just yielded to every
everything there at all no he didn't uh he was the meekest man on the face of the earth and yet
he was able to discipline some 22,000 people when that they um they committed that sin
with the golden calf he had them executed
now that was a meek man because he knew that if the people of god sunk into false worship
that the whole cause of god's testimony would be utterly ruined
it was so important that that was purged out of the people of god that uh he had to take
this matter uh before the law of god and execute the law of god uh to the exactness where 22,000
were put to death that day that's a fairly rigorous form of church discipline isn't it
and he did it and yet it was said that this man was the most meekest man on the earth in other
words when his own reputation was at stake he yielded but when god's reputation was at stake
he roared like a lion and that should be attitude if we have a christ-centered and a god-centered
um perspective the things that offend god are the kind of things that should be offending us
the things that do not offend god and only is only inconvenience to us
then we should let them ride it means nothing really in the end
and so it was imperative for them to to settle matters now in the case of moses he settled the
matter of uh false worship swiftly that day there may have been other occasions
that he had to seek forgiveness and he did that in the appropriate way
we must be those that understand god's will and we should be those that do not allow ourselves
to get out of control so that we are not under the word of god any longer we're not under the
direct commands of god any longer but we are simply hot-tempered and we are moved by passion
rather than by the principles of god's word it is very easy for us to become
to be personally incriminating and then a settled
uh hot spirit comes over us and then we find ourselves internally obsessed
so that we are robbed of our peace in the gospel and as a result we become creatures of passion
uh and and it's under its power and that leads us to the next point our duty is to be meek and
yielded to god we must be able to step back and seek god's perspective in all these things
and if we are doing wrong make sure we repent of it and put our faith in god and rest these matters
in god and having done that then the day will be won whatever happens we are never to give ground
to the devil very easy when we are hot-tempered and we find ourselves becoming robbed of the peace
that should be ours in the gospel then it is not us that is winning it is that sinister usurper
the devil himself he is actually graining ground in our lives and we will have that as a goad over
our lives as long as we harbour such a sin of anger unrighteous anger when a usurper comes
he does not um he does not uh think of the welfare of the original owner but he becomes completely
uh he makes us slaves of the very habits that we are trying to avoid and when such a usurper
takes over you know are no longer in control but you are held hostage
to the very passions that the devil seems to take hold of us
and so we are not to give ground in any way in this matter when the devil has uh the situation
i always reckon that the devil never wants to get rid of the church
he simply wants to control it he is a great usurper and you look around most
of the churches these days unfortunately i have to say most most of them are under the control
of the devil himself and that's why they why the westminster confession calls such churches
the citadel of satan and uh and that's what they become here they he actually the church itself
becomes a platform for the devil to do his work he becomes a takes ground that should not be his
he takes ground that is holy he transforms himself into an angel of light and as a result
and as a result we find the very foundations of god are destroyed and as the psalmist says
in psalm 11 what can the righteous do when the foundations are destroyed
we need to draw the line and make sure that we do not allow the devil to take ground that should
be possessing possessed by the king of kings and the lord of lords so that's really all i need to
say today yes i want to see that we become angry about the right things we should be indignant
about the things that are public sins sins that are are overwhelming we have got to make
sure that we are meek and yielded to the will of god and make sure the word of god is always
speaking to us in the midst of of this appropriate response in all these things it is very easy when
we are hot tempered when we are sinning the devil take over and he gains the ground that he should
not take and therefore we are all the worse off so let's let's take this passage and see
how it should operate within our lives in this coming week and the days to come