(upbeat music) - A few years back I had a chance to sit down with some friends of ours at CCEF, the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation in Philadelphia. I had a chance to sit down with Dr. David Powleson, a biblical counselor and one of my favorite authors. And I asked Dr.

Powleson, what is sinful anger and what does it express? Here's what he said. - Sinful anger is an expression of the fact that I am not pleased with what is going on right now with you, you jerk, or whatever's the variant thereof. Sinful anger presumes a, and the Greek or Norse mythology is just great in this.

I mean, it presumes a Zeus or a Thor or some guy throwing thunderbolts 'cause the world's not going the way he wants. And the Bible just so enters that metaphor that the mythologies capture and just puts us right in the seat of the kingdom builders, the ones who attempt to live for my way and the ones that when my almighty will gets crossed, I throw lightning bolts at all offenders or I sulk or I passive aggressive in some way demonstrate that you are not giving me what I want and you are in the doghouse in some way.

So the Bible has these absolutely unmistakable heart-searching, pride-devastating analyses of sinful anger. One of the ones that I have found most convicting and then from conviction the most nourishing is in James 4.12 where James says, and it's in a context of anger and interpersonal conflict and all kinds of fussing and fighting and quarreling.

And he says, "There is only one lawgiver and judge. "He who is able to save and to destroy. "Who are you that you judge your neighbor, "that you speak against your brother?" And it is one of those that just peels off, it just peels away the front story and gets to the back story behind anger.

Seeing that inner core of anger is tremendously helpful in one's sanctification, in pastoral counseling, preaching and so forth. I'd liken it to, let's take a typical parent-child or husband-wife interpersonal conflict and I'll sometimes literally physically pick up two books that are closed, two fat books, and I'll bang them together cover to cover.

You know, here's the conflict and why are we fighting? And this book says, "We're fighting 'cause of you." And this book says, "We're fighting 'cause of you." And the Lord opens the books to reveal the heart and says, "You are fighting because of you, yourself. "You're fighting because of your heart." Even if the other person's not doing right and in fact is doing wrong, sinful anger is an expression of your playing God, according to James 4:12.

Who are you if you judge your brother? Who are you if you speak evil of him? Well, you're God. You're acting as though you are a lawgiver and judge. And that inner core of anger is something that none of the self-help books in Barnes & Noble or on Amazon is going to tell you.

It's one of those things that from a biblical point of view is utterly obvious and so sanity-inducing to be able to see that. You know, the covers of the human heart are peeled away. The book is open. I can actually look at, well, why am I embittered? And why is there that cutting, sarcastic edge in my voice?

And why am I raising my voice? And there's a tone of real disdain or disgust towards the person that I'm angry at. And as you really open the book as the way God opens it, you see yourself that there is a pride, a God playing, a passion for my will be done that has taken over the controls.

So, godly anger. I think of this as, it's one of those things that, again, the delightful way scripture, it is just an inch away, and yet it is 10 million miles away. One example I like to think in this is that both Satan and Jesus point out our sins and express anger.

But Satan expresses anger driven by pride and self-will and condemnation unto his own purposes. Christ expresses a holy anger unto God's glory that is an anger that has chosen to bear the wrath himself. And so, they're both pointing out what's wrong, but one voice is pointing out what's wrong.

The log is not in Jesus' eye when he's looking at our specks. And he's able to, he is thus able for his children to put his finger right in our eye and to rummage around and get rid of the speck, whereas sinful anger would go in there and go, and stick you in your eye.

It's, both have to do with right and wrong. Now, righteous anger sees right and wrong more clearly, typically. But you can actually see what's wrong and be sinfully angry. It is a different issue. The seeing what's wrong is your circumstance that's coming at you. And the choice of whether your anger will either be fundamentally godless or fundamentally, though firm and vigorous, also laced with mercy and fundamentally submitted to Christ's kingdom.

That is the life and death difference for a person tempted to be angry. - That was Bible counselor and author, Dr. David Powleson of ccef.org. His books include "Speaking the Truth in Love" and "Seeing with New Eyes." We will hear from him again next week. And on this topic of anger, it reminds me of an episode we recorded a while back.

I asked John Piper, if God is so happy, why does he seem so angry? That was episode number 133, which you can find at desiringgod.org. But another weekend is upon us. I'm your host, Tony Reinke. I'll see you on Monday. (silence) (silence) (silence)