The sermon continues an ongoing exposition of Ephesians 4, moving from last week's theme of putting off falsehood to this week's focus on anger, drawn from Ephesians 4:26-27 and 30-32. The preacher opens by illustrating the destructive power of unchecked anger through the Netflix miniseries "Adolescence," in which a thirteen-year-old boy, driven by rage after being humiliated by a female classmate, stabs her to death. Though extreme, the preacher argues this story is not random but points to a pattern of uncontrolled anger that quietly wrecks marriages, friendships, and even churches — citing a young man from the church's youth fellowship who broke his own hand punching a wall in anger.

The sermon then works through Ephesians 4:26, "Be angry and do not sin," establishing that anger itself is not inherently sinful — there is a category of righteous anger. God himself is described as angry at sin (Ephesians 5:6), and Jesus is shown looking around at the Pharisees "with anger" and grief at their hardness of heart in Mark 3:5. The key marker of righteous anger, the sermon argues, is that it is accompanied by grief over sin rather than personal offense. James 1:19-20 sharpens this: believers are to be "quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." Human anger typically fails this test because it flows from wounded pride and a desire to retaliate or destroy the offender rather than from love of God's holiness — quoting the folk saying "I won't do evil to you, but if you do evil to me, I'll do worse to you" as a picture of sinful anger's true motive. Such anger also blinds a person's perception of reality, distorts relationships through disunity, and gives the devil an opportunity to work.

Moving to the second command in verse 26 — "do not let the sun go down on your anger" — the sermon stresses urgency: even righteous anger becomes dangerous when nursed and replayed in the mind, because rehearsing an offense, rather than resolving it, hands the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:27). Matthew 5:23-25 is invoked to show that reconciliation is so urgent it must precede worship — leaving a gift at the altar to first go and be reconciled with a brother. The preacher warns that anger left to fester drains joy, corrodes a person's countenance, and endangers their faith, illustrated by a pastoral account of a man who described a seven-year-old hurt as though it happened yesterday because he had replayed it daily without ever forgiving.

The sermon then offers the "shield of faith" (Ephesians 6:13, 16) as the practical answer: extinguishing the flaming darts of anger by holding fast to the truth and promises of God rather than the "deceitful desires" of the old self (Ephesians 4:22). Four further texts are unpacked as tools for this shield. 2 Timothy 2:24-26 calls believers, like the Lord's servant, to be non-quarrelsome, kind, and gentle even toward those who oppose them, trusting God to grant repentance. Ephesians 4:31-32 commands putting off bitterness and putting on kindness, compassion, and mutual forgiveness "as God in Christ forgave you" — grounded in the gospel, illustrated by a vivid excursus on Christ drinking the cup of God's wrath at Gethsemane and the cross so that believers, who owed an infinite, unpayable debt, could be forgiven. Colossians 3:12-13 extends this to "bearing with one another" and forgiving even those who never acknowledge their wrongdoing. The preacher retells Jesus's parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18) at length — a servant forgiven an impossible debt of 10,000 talents who then strangles a fellow servant over a comparatively trivial 300 denarii — to expose how small human offenses look next to the believer's forgiven debt before God.

Finally, for cases where an offender never repents or reconciliation seems impossible, the sermon turns to Romans 12:19-21: believers must not avenge themselves but leave room for God's wrath, since "vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord," while actively overcoming evil with good rather than passively accepting mistreatment. 1 Peter 2:21-23 closes the message by pointing to Christ as the pattern — reviled, he did not revile in return, but entrusted himself to the Father who judges justly. The sermon ends in prayer, asking God to keep the congregation from being ruled by destructive anger and to root their forgiveness of others in the depth of forgiveness they have received in Christ.

Bible Verses Used

• Ephesians 4:26-27: The sermon's central text — anger is not inherently sinful, but it must not lead to sin or be nursed past sundown, since doing so gives the devil a foothold.

• Ephesians 5:6: Cited to show that God himself experiences righteous wrath against sin, establishing that anger per se is not condemned.

• Mark 3:5: Jesus looks on the Pharisees "with anger," grieved at their hardness of heart — the model of righteous anger paired with grief rather than personal offense.

• James 1:19-20: Believers are to be slow to anger because human anger does not produce the righteousness God requires, exposing the self-serving root of most human anger.

• Matthew 5:23-25: Used to show the urgency of reconciliation — it must precede worship itself.

• Ephesians 6:13, 16: The "shield of faith" is presented as the believer's weapon for extinguishing the flaming darts of anger through trust in God's truth.

• 2 Timothy 2:24-26: Calls believers to be gentle and non-quarrelsome even with opponents, trusting God to grant them repentance.

• Ephesians 4:31-32: Commands putting off bitterness and anger and putting on kindness and forgiveness, grounded explicitly in the forgiveness believers have received in Christ.

• Colossians 3:12-13: Extends the call to compassion and "bearing with one another," forgiving even those who never admit fault.

• Matthew 18 (parable of the unforgiving servant): Retold at length to illustrate how the enormity of the believer's forgiven debt to God dwarfs any debt owed by others.

• Romans 12:19-21: Believers are not to avenge themselves but to leave room for God's wrath and to overcome evil with good.

• 1 Peter 2:21-23: Christ's example of not reviling in return but entrusting himself to the Father who judges justly is held up as the pattern for handling unresolved wrongs.