One of the most misunderstood and misapplied verses in scripture is Ephesians 4:26, which says, "be angry and sin not: do not let the sun go down on your anger."

I grew up in a Christian home. In fact I grew up in Southern Baptist home where I was in church 9 months before I was born. I have heard many sermons. 

For years, the only way I have ever heard Ephesians 4:26 preached is you shouldn’t go to bed angry at your spouse.  In other words don’t let the sun go down before you resolve any conflicts. He is not saying be mad at your spouse all day, just make sure you get it resolved before the sun goes down. That is NOT what this passage means! 

While I do think it is a great idea, and you are well advised to be at peace with your spouse on a daily basis, context is crucial. We have the habit in modern evangelical circles of taking passages of scripture and ripping them out of the context in which they were written. The surrounding versus say nothing about husbands and wives. 

The surrounding versus deal with speaking falsehood, not letting the devil have an opportunity, don’t steal, don’t lie, and don’t let corrupt communication come out of your mouth, among other things. They are dealing with sin and what happens when sin is in your life.  

While anger can be a sinful issue in our lives when it is allowed to grow into bitterness, resentment, wrath, and hatred, it is possible to be angry and not sin.  

Unlike the modern interpretations of this passage, husbands and wives are not mentioned anywhere in this chapter. We have a habit in modern Christianity of taking versus out of their original context kicking and screaming and we try to make them fit a particular theology or interpretation. This is not the way we should handle the scripture.

Look at the context. He has been talking about how we should live as believers and certain things we should eliminate from our lives. In verse 22 it says that we should put off the old way of life which is corrupt. Verse 25 says put away lying, he says to speak truth. He says in verse 28 not to steal anymore, but instead work with your hands. In verse 29 it says not to let corrupt communication come out of your mouth. He says don't grieve the Holy Spirit. Verse 31 says to put away bitterness, wrath, anger, outbursts, and blasphemies. 

I don't want to give you a greek lesson today, but I do want to let you know that verse 26, when he says be angry, that is in the imperative mood, which means it is a command. He is commanding us to be angry. And yes, we can be angry and not sin. 

As believers, we know that Jesus did not sin. He lived a perfect life while He was on the earth. Yet, the scripture tells us that He fashioned a whip and drove the money changers out of the temple because He was angry they had made the house of worship a den of thieves. He was furious, but He did not sin. It is possible for us to be angry and not sin. 

He is commanding us to be angry over our sin.

While I do think he is saying that we should put away vengeful anger and not hold on to it, He is saying be angry at your sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger. Don’t quit hating your sin. Don’t stop being angry over your sin. Because if you stop being angry over your sin, you will give the devil opportunity. 

Simply put, don’t get comfortable or numb over sin. Sin has no place in the life of a believer. May God help us to continually confess and repent. Stay angry over YOUR sin!

Not letting the sun go down should remind us of an OT story. Remember when Joshua was fighting with Israel over the 5 kings of the Amorites, the scripture says that the sun stood still for a period of 24-hours.  

Joshua 10:11-14 says, 11 As they fled from Israel on the downslope from Beth Horon, the Lord hurled large hailstones down upon them from the sky as far as Azekah. They died, and in fact more died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword.

12 On the day the Lord gave over the Amorites to the children of Israel, Joshua spoke to the Lord and said in full view of Israel:

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon;
and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”
13 So the sun stood still,
and the moon stood in place
until the people brought vengeance on their enemies.
Is this not written in the book of Jashar?

The sun stood still in the middle of the sky and did not set for about a full day. 14 There has not been a day like this either before or after it, when the Lord obeyed a man, for the Lord waged war for Israel.

As long as the sun was up, Israel experienced victory. Joshua and Israel were victorious over the Amorites. So how does that relate to the sun not going down on your anger in the New Testament? We should never allow the sin of complacency to infiltrate out lives. Sin should not have a place in the life of a Christ follower. Do not let the sun go down on your anger and give place to the devil.