The first half of Colossians identifies Christ as preeminent in all things. The second half of Colossians gives us a test so that we can objectively measure how well we understand that Christ is preeminent in all things. The first question on the test, which we looked at last week, is found in Colossians 3:5-7and deals with every kind of sexual immorality. If there is sexual sin in your life, you are not in fellowship with Christ. The second question on our test is found in Colossians 3:8, But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. (NASU) Verse eight is a pretty straightforward statement. If we have anger issues we are not in right relationship with Christ. This was hard for me when I was younger. Anger was far too common in my life.
While we must admit that it is possible to be angry and not sin, we must also admit that most of the time anger leads to sin. In fact Ephesians 4:26, which tells us that it is possible to be angry and not sin, specifically warns us not to let it turn into sin. The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary states, “Anger is sinful when it rises too soon, without reflection; when the injury that awakens it is only apparent; when it is disproportionate to the offense; when it is transferred from the guilty to the innocent; when it is too long protracted and becomes revengeful (Matthew 5:22; Ephesians 4:26; Colossians 3:8).” We are prone to all these issues so the warning in Colossians 3:8 is much needed these days.
The Holy Spirit says in Colossians 3:8 that all the things in the list, not part of the things, should be absent from our lives. Anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech are all clearly related. Anger implies a lingering, smoldering emotion that will likely burst into flames at some point. Wrath implies acting on this smoldering emotion in an attack on another person. Malice indicates a desire to injure another person. Bear in mind that not all injuries are physical. In fact the next two items in the list give some common examples. Slander is a deliberate attempt to injure another person’s good name. The Bible seems to put significant importance on names in general and there can be no doubt about how God vehemently guards His name. Deliberately destroying another man’s good name is no small matter. Gossip falls into this category even if it is disguised as a prayer request. Abusive speech includes not only personal attacks on other people but also obscene, filthy language. The concluding phrase “from your mouth” is a striking reminder that it is every Christian’s responsibility to examine his own mouth not the mouth of his neighbor. This is a personal responsibility. There is no room in the life of a professing Christian for sinful anger, wrath, malice, slander, or abusive speech. If you think you are a Christian and yet these things are present in your life, something is terribly wrong. You can be sure that Christ is not preeminent in your life as He should be.
Lest we fall into legalism, we must keep in mind that this test is not designed to get us to “try harder” but rather this test is to “crowd us to Christ”. If we find ourselves beset by these sins of anger, we should read again the marvelous truths about Christ in the first two chapters of Colossians. Seeing Christ more clearly will clear up our anger issues.
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