Colossians 3:8

Some things you should put to death, other things you should put off.

Paul said we should put sexual immorality to death; he said that it is a magnet for God's wrath.

You don't have to look further than Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:1-29), and some of the reasons why God said that Canaan vomited the people out (Leviticus 18).

Those seem to me to be class-A sins. In the list in the focus verse, we have what can be called class B: anger, rage, malice, slander, and abusive language.

These are relational items. This list is not compatible with Jesus' desire that we be one as he and the Father are one (John 17:20-23). For example, anger is against closeness.

Anger, rage, malice, slander, and abusive language would ensure that there is no seed of relationship sown, no bonding between people.

Another five things…

Just like in verse 5, we again have five things that Paul has listed, and again, just as in the first list, the first word controls the remaining four.

• Sometimes, someone is committed to angering you, fueled by their own anger against you. Be careful not to match that anger.

In the focus verse, anger is the real danger, and rage is action fueled by anger that blinds the senses.

Proverbs offers advice about not going with an angry man so that you don't learn his ways.

Do not make friends with an angry person, and do not associate with a wrathful person, lest you learn his ways, and entangle yourself in a snare (Proverbs 22:24-25).

If you grew up with an angry father or mother, you may be starting way behind on the journey that Paul wants you to take with this verse. It means you have associated with a wrathful person and have learned his/her ways (seeped into you, like an over-the-air software installation).

That proverb says that learning the ways of a wrathful person means you entangle yourself in a snare. It’s not good, to say the least.

• Some people express anger with slander; they cannot strike you in the face, but they would strike your reputation with slander. The Greek word is blasphēmia, which is what you tell others (true or false) to damage the reputation of a third party.

• How else is anger expressed? Abusive language out of your mouth.

Paul is calling for repentance, that you put off these things. Treat it like a dirty cloth that you won’t want to be seen on you.

Note that Paul is not now promising the wrath of God as he did with sexual immorality. And as the writer of Hebrews says, God will judge the sexually immoral people and adulterers (Hebrews 13:4). 

• Malice is mentioned right in the middle of this list. But what is that? Malice is an intention to cause harm. It can emerge from anger.

• Slander is reputation damage. But this is difficult to stop with the fuel of anger.

So think of it this way: there is a tree (anger) with four branches: rage, malice, slander, and abusive language.

Can we please take Paul seriously and put off anger, rage, malice, slander, and abusive language? Can we do that please?

This means that we should not express ourselves in those ways; Paul would later tell us how we should express ourselves, but let's start by seeing that the problem is with anger, rage, malice, and abusive language. It’s a call to not follow your instinct.

It is hard. Putting off is hard.