by Kim Chapman
Righteous indignation is not anger and not emotion. It is a clear understanding of a bad situation because you have divine viewpoint. Therefore, there is no reaction which leads to anger and sin.
In Mark 10:14 Jesus became opposed to the disciples when they forbade the children to be brought unto Him. This was not anger, it was an understanding of a wrong. Jesus expressed righteous indignation in Matt. 23:13-36 when he condemned the scribes and Pharisees. And He wasn’t angry when He told Peter “Get behind me, Satan, you are a stumbling block to me. You have not concentrated on the things of God, but on the tings of man.”
Another example of righteous indignation is a Christian’s mental attitude toward criminal activity. You can pursue, prosecute, and sentence a criminal without compromising such principles as grace, forgiveness, or impersonal love. You are aware that the criminal’s act is wrong and that he must be stopped. That is righteous indignation. But you don’t hate the criminal or fall apart emotionally because of sinful anger. Impersonal love is a result of Christian growth and allows believers to have a regard for even the most obnoxious people that does not depend on their character or behavior.
It is righteous indignation that allows God to be “angry” about sin but to love us anyway. His love for us depends on His character, not on ours.
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