During these increasingly violent days leading to Jesus Christ's return, we hear of a road-rage incident at least once a week. These confrontations often lead to severe injury or even death for one or both parties involved. At the very least, each incident adds just another tiny layer of scar tissue, hardening hearts and making it easier to do it the next time—until it does lead to death, eternal death!

Have we ever stopped to consider that when we boil over with anger in any situation, we are also adding another layer of scar tissue to the heart of flesh that God has graciously given us through Jesus Christ? How seriously do we take our responsibility to resist this eruption of carnal nature that is a vile part of the "Old Man"?

Scripture contains a stern warning to those who have God's Holy Spirit that "unrighteous" anger, out of line with the mind of God, is sin and not mere venting, as many people call it.

Recently, the church received a letter from someone who claimed we were misleading people, breaking God's command in Revelation 22:18 by using the New King James Version's (NKJV) translation of Psalm 4:4 rather than the King James Version's (KJV):

• "Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still." (NKJV)
• "Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still." (KJV)

The NKJV translates the Hebrew word râgaz as "be angry," while the KJV translates it as "stand in awe." As we will see, "be angry" does not diminish or change the intent of this scripture, which is somewhat enigmatic in the first place.

The apostle Paul employs this very verse in his letter to the Ephesians, warning them to be careful not to get caught up in the emotions of the Old Man. Instead, he encourages them to ensure they behaved as the New Man God intended them to be through Christ. They were no longer to be driven to the boiling point but learning to live as Christ lives, being created in righteousness and holiness:

But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another. "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. (Ephesians 4:20-27)

Paul warns them not to let fearful emotion overwhelm them, allowing Satan room to coax them back into the carnal mind of the Old Man, and standing on the threshold of sin, strike out in anger.

In Psalm 4:4, the word râgaz—translated as "stand in awe" (KJV) and "be angry" (NKJV)—literally means "to quiver (with any violent emotion, especially anger or fear)," and so it is translated as "be afraid, stand in awe, disquiet, fall out, fret, move, provoke, quake, rage, shake, tremble, trouble, be wroth." Alongside this definition, we need to see Psalms 3 and 4 from within David's circumstances. Absalom had recently usurped his father's throne and authority, and David, hastily gathering his allies, was forced to flee his son's superior numbers. These psalms, then, are prayers David made when his back was against the wall.

In a similar position, the carnal-minded person, quivering with emotion and uncertainty, will typically strike out in fury, provoked by terror, pride, or a combination of both. Therefore, translations like the NKJV are not wrong to translate râgaz as "be angry"; it is certainly within the scope of the Hebrew term's meanings, especially within the context. The New Living Translation, a paraphrase, expresses the essence of the verse: "Don't sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent."

We live in a time when quivering with fear- or pride-induced rage of the carnal-minded Old Man easily gives Satan a foot in the door that should remain firmly closed through Jesus Christ. Through His Spirit, God blesses those transforming into the New Man with the ability, by daily training, to exercise the mind of Christ (I Corinthians 2:12-16). When troubles start piling on and our backs are against the wall, with this consistent practice, we will not fall back into the Old Man's habits and sin with emotion-driven rage.

Venting when someone cuts us off on the highway, even if they cannot hear it, is not just harmlessly getting it off our chest. It is sin! In the same way, exploding in anger day in and day out as we see society crumbling around us is also not merely venting but failure to reach the high standard of Christ's example. The New Man cannot let fear- and pride-fueled wrath give Satan access, which he will do if we allow the Old Man to drive our actions with heightened, negative, and perhaps violent emotions.

Righteous anger has its place: when sin and failure to hit the mark are not involved, as demonstrated by our perfect and sinless Savior. He drove the moneychangers out of the Temple in righteous anger! His words and actions in this scenario provide such a vital example of being angry without sin that God made sure the writers carefully recorded it in each of the four gospel accounts (Matthew 21:12-17; Mark 11:15-19; Luke 19:45-48; John 2:14-17). We can only learn how to control this volatile emotion through Christ and thoughtful, daily consideration of His example in word and deed.

Self-control, a fruit of God's Spirit (Galatians 5:23), starts in the mind. God is teaching us daily in even the smallest of things, as the apostle Paul told the Philippians, to welcome and use the mind of Christ within the New Man (Philippians 2:5). Quivering in emotional rage driven by fear or pride is sin, the opposite of the mind of Christ. But if we stay the course with Him and develop His mind within us, we will learn how to "be angry and sin not."