Sometimes You Need to Make People Angry to Save Their Souls

Thinking about Romans 11:13-14.

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For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. (Romans 11:13-14)

Beginning in Romans 11:13, Paul turns his attention to the Gentiles and cautions them not to be arrogant or treat the Jews as if they had no hope of ever coming to Christ and being saved.

Paul’s Apostleship to the Gentiles.

While Paul proclaimed the same gospel as the rest of the apostles, he had been sent with a special focus on the Gentiles.

Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you [Jews] first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us: “I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ” (Acts 13:46-47)

But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’ (Acts 26:16-18)

Many other passages discuss Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles and the gospel message he proclaimed of Gentile equality with the Jew in the one body of Jesus Christ (See Ephesians 2-3; Galatians 2:7-8; 3:26-28).

Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles, and he did not minimize or hide this ministry when he was around his fellow Jews.

He knew his ministry to the Gentiles could be used to reach the Jews with the gospel.

Paul Used His Apostleship to the Gentiles to Provoke the Jews.

He didn’t hide the fact that he ministered to Gentiles. Instead, he “magnified” it. He was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, which was for all people - Jews and Gentiles.

In connection with the Jewish people, Paul desired that his ministry among the Gentiles “provoked” jealousy among the Jews and brought some of them to the Savior.

As you read through the book of Acts, you will see the Jewish people often being “provoked” by the gospel message Paul proclaimed - especially the part where the Gentiles were equal heirs together with the Jews in Christ (Acts 13:44-45; 22:21-22).

Sometimes People Need to be Made Angry to See the Truth.

Paul realized that to bring some of his Jewish countrymen to Christ, they would have to be “provoked” and stirred up first. If the gospel message angered them, Paul could invite them to “search the Scriptures” and show them what God had said (Acts 17:1-12).

While Paul risked his life, he knew it was worth the risk to “save some of them.”

It has been our experience that if you can “provoke” folks to search and examine, they are more likely to learn the truth for themselves. Legion are the stories of men and women who have, through the years, admitted that it was not until they became angry at what they were hearing that they took the time to examine, and by examining, come to a knowledge of the truth. Is this not what Paul hoped to do? - Wacaster, Studies in Romans, 393

Even today, this principle still holds true. Sometimes, people need to hear the truth and be “provoked” to anger by the truth. Perhaps then they will study the truth for themselves, realize they were wrong, and then humble themselves before God and obey Him.

But there is a crucial point to be made here.

The Truth, Not Your Personality, Must Be What Angers Them.

It’s the TRUTH that must anger or stir people up, not the arrogant personality of the one proclaiming the truth.

You’ve probably observed preachers who taught the truth but were arrogant jerks in the way they presented the truth and in the way they interacted with the ones listening to them.

A good preacher friend and mentor of mine once told me in reference to a preacher who was well-known for proclaiming the truth in the way mentioned above, “It’s possible to preach the truth without being a jerk.”

I’m also reminded of what the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy.

And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:24-26)

If we teach the truth, sometimes the truth will make people angry and lash out at us. Does that give us the right to “be a jerk” or unkind in how we treat them? Not according to the same apostle who said he hoped to “provoke” his fellow Jews.

We must be “gentle” to everyone, patiently teaching and correcting in humility. We must teach the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).

Those who teach the truth must be kind and gentle in teaching the truth, and yet firm and unwavering in presenting the word of God (2 Timothy 4:2). It’s not an either/or thing but a both/and thing.

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When we teach the truth of the gospel, sometimes it will make people very angry.

While someone’s anger at the truth will probably be directed at the one who teaches it, it’s not actually YOU who makes them angry - at least, it shouldn’t be.

If we remain kind, humble, and gentle, we can view this as an opportunity to save their souls with the gospel of Jesus Christ - just as Paul did with his fellow countrymen.