Ask a Pastor Column

Q: What does the Bible have to say about anger? Is it a sin to be angry?

A: The Christian’s ultimate standard for right and wrong is the character of God Himself (see Matthew 5:48 for one example). This gives us a solid basis for saying that it is not always sinful to be angry, since we are given many examples of both God and Jesus Christ becoming angry (Matthew 21:12-17; Romans 1:18). That being said, anger can lead to sin even though it isn’t always wrong to be angry. Therefore, it must be handled carefully.

A good place to start is with the question, “Is it right for me to be angry?” (Jonah...