The Violent Take It By Force
We are all familiar with the above scripture and know, for the best part, what it implies but how many of us are applying it? Many Christians think that any type of anger or aggression is bad (sinful) and that to be angry is especially wrong for a Christian as we should be all lovely and nice all of the time. However, this is not what you will find in the Bible. The Bible actually says that we SHOULD be angry but that we should sin not (Ephesians 4:26). There is a difference.
Believe it or not, anger can be quite a noble thing. Most of the drastic change that has ever taken place in history has almost always preceded someone taking a stance against a system or regime. Whether it was the suffragettes who fought for their right to vote as women or protestant Christians who took a stance against controlling institutionalised religion; each time it was a sense of injustice and dissatisfaction that sparked a resistance and non-tolerance to these things.
So, if it's ok to be angry what type of anger is acceptable? The Bible is very clear that the only type of anger that is acceptable is righteous anger but what is righteous anger?
David spoke about hating everything that opposed God and His Word in Psalm 139:20-22. He also wrote that he hated every false way, Psalm 119:128. The Bible also says that the fear of the Lord is to hate evil and describes evil as pride and arrogance and a perverted mouth, Psalm 8:13.
Jesus got extremely angry with the money changers in the temple when they were using God's house as a trading centre rather than a house of prayer. Jesus overthrew the tables and ran those money changers out of there (Matthew 21:12-13)! But yet Jesus was without sin.
Jesus also rebuked the Sadducees and Pharisees calling them snakes and vipers, hypocrites and blind! (Matthew 33:23-37). Jesus did not hold back or mince His Words!
Brothers and sisters there is a place for being angry and the anger that we should have is righteous anger. The Bible says that we should abhor that which is evil and cleave to that which is good (Romans 12:9). It also says that we should hate and reject every wicked way.
The Bible tells us to be angry with sin, injustice and anything that opposes God's will.
That means anything that is getting in the way of you receiving God's best is wicked and opposing God's will. This means that you should be getting angry with that sickness or the poverty that is trying to come on you because if you don't you run the risk of accepting it or tolerating it and when you do nothing changes.
If you want something bad enough, the Bible says that you should take it by force. The blessings may not all fall down from heaven on you automatically. That is not because God didn't provide them for you. That is because there are opposing forces KEEPING them from you.
You can either sit back and let those blessings pass you by or you can take them by force!
You can be passive and miss out or you can get angry and begin to demand your God-given rights with a seven-fold return (Proverbs 6:31).
This not only applies to you as an individual but to the church as a whole. When the world is trying to impose their views and persecute the church to intimmedate her into a passive corner, what do you think she should do? What the world wants? No! Note the words of the apostles after they were told that they were not preach the Gospel: But Peter and John answered and said unto them, "Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye." (Acts 4:19). What is right in the sight of God? To listen and obey man or to listen to God?
Today, maybe you need to get a little militant with the devil and take back what's yours. Do not sin in your anger because righteous anger does not sin but take by force that which belongs to you in the spirit. Use the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God and the shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16-17) and fight the good fight of faith! Do not tolerate anything less than what Jesus has died to give you.
Take it by force! (Matthew 11:12)
