How can a person make God angry?

Understand that the one who is believing on the Lord Jesus Christ can never experience God's anger. Christ's suffering and death for us made sure of this. Isaiah prophesied about His sufferings for us in Isaiah 53 and the glories that follow in Isaiah 53 and 54. See one of such "glories" in Isaiah 54:8-10 --

“”With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” Says the Lord , your Redeemer. “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; For as I have sworn That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, So have I sworn That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” Says the Lord , who has mercy on you.”

Because of Christ's sacrifice, we who are under the new covenant of Grace (having Christ as our utter Source of righteousness and strength and putting no confidence in our ability to obey the law or what we think we can do to save ourselves from God's wrath) will never experience God's anger/wrath:

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God." Romans 5:9.

So what can a person do to make God angry? No One better to answer this question than the Word Himself-- Jesus Christ and He did this in Luke 14:

Christ was invited to dine at the house of a prominent Jewish religious leader. The guests jostled for the best seats and Christ taught them about humility and hospitality right before He told the Parable of the Great Supper where we see what makes God angry-- Luke 14:15-24:

Verses 15-16: “15 When they heard this, one of the dinner guests said to Jesus, “Someday God will have a kingdom feast, and how happy and privileged will be the ones who get to share in that joy!”

The Jewish dinner guests assumed that God's kingdom realm was yet to come. They had no idea that the Joy they were expecting was sitting right there with them, ready to freely give to them the righteousness (godliness) that they sought from the law (an effort in futility according to Romans 3:20) as a gift. Christ responded with the Parable in the next verse:

Verses 16-17: Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, 17 and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’

These verses mirror Christ's word in John 3:16-- “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” Also Romans 8:32 -- “He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

God gave this Great Supper and Christ Himself is our Feast. Recall His word in John 6:53-58 --

“Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.””

But see the response of the guests who were invited to the Great Supper to feast on Christ--

Verses 18-20-- “18 But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ 20 Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’”

Whatever it is that man needs in order to have life -- righteousness that is acceptable to God, salvation from sins, being godly like God, healing, provision, safety, success in family, career, relationship and marriage as well as eternal life for which the excuses of “a piece of ground,” “five yoke of oxen,” “a wife” above are weak and beggarly substitutes -- at this Great Supper, all things are now ready and freely given to all who are empty of themselves (human effort) and come empty to the Great Supper to freely partake of God's saving Grace-- undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour. For example, many churchgoers see their sins and addictions as obstacles to partaking of God's freely-given Great Supper- Christ Himself. Such try to deal with their sins before coming to eat at His table. But those sins that many struggle with, God knows that it is impossible for man to save himself from them, so He sent His own Son to save us from them: Matthew 1:21--

"And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

The arm of flesh (human effort at attaining good) will fail. Whatever we're rushing off to deal with which prevents us from accepting God's invitation to partake of the Great Supper is freely available at His table, all without terms and conditions. Those things which we chase after in our own strength (arm of flesh) are poor substitutes that can never bring peace.

Rather than “Taste and see that the Lord is good…" (Psalm 34:8,) the man who reposes confidence in the flesh (human effort) would rather fend for himself using his useless arm of flesh that God's word says will fail. He rejects all things that are now ready at the Great Supper for his puny efforts at acquiring “a piece of ground,” “five yoke of oxen,” and “a wife” -- representing weak and beggarly replacements for the perfect gifts which Christ died for us to freely have. This brings us to what makes God angry---

21 So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’

That's what makes God angry-- rejecting His Grace aka undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour while disagreeing with His word which says “the arm of flesh (dependence on human effort for the attainment of good/godliness) will fail.” Now we see why God's anger can never be directed at believers in Christ: we are already freely partaking of the feast that God so graciously provided for us—empty of ourselves and being filled Christ.

So much to say about “the servant” in this Parable. He is a picture of the Holy Spirit who is even now bringing to the Great Banquet “the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind" aka the helpless who are deemed notorious sinners or inconsequential by the (self-)righteous who think that they can be godly (be like God) by human striving. Reminds one of Eve and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Just like the tree, the letter (law) kills. Just like the tree, the law, which many churchgoers try to keep in order to be godly, furnishes man with the knowledge of good and evil. The Parable continues in verse 22-

Verses 22:24-- “22 And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ 23 Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’”

Notice there are two groups of people in this parable:

1. Those inside the hedges namely the first set of invitees who made excuses as well as “the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind” who were within the city
2. Those outside the hedges of whom the Master said to the servant: “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in,..”

The “healthy" people inside the hedges were called first and they refused the invitation. Now recall Christ’s response to the Canaanite woman who asked Him for healing for her demon-possessed daughter, right before He commended her for her faith and healed her child— Matthew 15:24—

“Then Jesus replied, “I have been sent only to the lost sheep of the people of Israel.””

This woman was not a Jew. She was a Gentile-- under that dispensation, she was not eligible to receive the Good News and the benefits that come with it. She was one of those out in the highways and outside the hedges like every non-Jew. The “people of Israel” to whom Christ was sent rejected Him and His message— but not all of them. It was the self-righteous among them who looked down on “sinners" and thought they could keep the law in order to get right with God that rejected Him, just as their religious conterparts in the church do today. These churchgoers are yet to realise that if God was not screening and filtering the trials and tests that come a man's way, those who are pridefully boasting in their strength or ability to keep even a tittle of the law/stand as Peter boasted before he denied Christ would see their true sinful selves. There is no good in man of himself. It is God's restraining hand that restrains man from crumpling into the sins-ridden mass of flesh that man is of himself. His word addresses this truth in Romans 1 where a group who “suppress the truth” of righteousness by faith (verses 16-19) devolved into sin after “God lifted off His restraining hand…” —

“24 This is why God lifted off His restraining hand and let them have full expression of their sinful and shameful desires…”

If God lifted off His restraining hand that restrains us from devolving into committing heinous sins and let us rely on our human effort and will-power at producing good, keeping the law in order to be saved, godly or for whatever reason, we would all devolve into heinous sin and see how utterly lacking in good we are of ourselves. No one can afford to not freely partake of God's Great Supper who is Christ and we bring absolutely nothing to the table-- none of man's works or (self-)righteous acts which are like “a menstrual rag” in God's sight according to Isaiah 64:6-

“We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in Your sight."

Recall what happened after those among the “hedged in" group who thought they could afford to reject the Master's invitation to the Great Supper made their excuses and the Master was angry--

“21 So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’”

“the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind” were Jewish too, also inside the hedge -- among the lost sheep of the people of Israel of whom Christ said--

“Then Jesus replied, “I have been sent only to the lost sheep of the people of Israel.””

They represent those Jews whom the self-righteous among the religious Jews saw as notorious sinners-- tax collectors, prostitutes, outcasts, non-observant Jews, etc— Jewish sinners who knew that they were sinners and looked utterly to Christ for salvation. Take a look at a cross-section of the reputation of those who followed Jesus Christ (the same yesterday, today and forever) when He walked the earth and told this parable over 2,000 years ago- Mark 2:15-17:

“And as Jesus, together with His disciples, sat at table in his [Levi’s] house, many tax collectors and persons [definitely stained] with sin were dining with Him, for there were many who walked the same road (followed) with Him. 16 And the scribes [belonging to the party] of the Pharisees, when they saw that He was eating with [those definitely known to be especially wicked] sinners and tax collectors, said to His disciples, Why does He eat and drink with tax collectors and [notorious] sinners?

17 And when Jesus heard it, He said to them, Those who are strong and well have no need of a physician, but those who are weak and sick; I came not to call the righteous ones to repentance, but sinners (the erring ones and all those not free from sin)."

See the Amplified Version of verse 15: ”And it happened that Jesus was reclining at the table in Levi’s house, and many tax collectors and sinners [including non-observant Jews] were eating with Him and His disciples; for there were many of them and they were following Him.”

These imperfect people followed Jesus Christ “the same yesterday, today and forever” and they never remained the same. Beloved of God, Christ has not changed. He is still eating and drinking with sinners who know that they are sinners today and look utterly to Him for salvation; and in Him, we never remain the same. This is Grace- undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour. Beloved of God, God's Grace is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11 says of Him:

"God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone."

Verse 14 of the same Titus 2 says: "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Matthew 1:21 tells us what Christ's job description is: "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

These as well as the gifts of the Spirit are some of the benefits of being at God's Great Supper which is going on right now. Trusting (believing) Jesus which encompasses utter dependence on His provision is how we get to “not perish but have everlasting life" but man would rather fend for himself using his arm of flesh in his quest to be blessed and godly aka be like God who is the embodiment of goodness.

Again consider verses 22:24-- “22 And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ 23 Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’”

There is still room in God's house. Since the death and resurrection of Christ in whom we who believe have eternal life, the Holy Spirit has been out in the highways and hedges, compelling all to come in and partake of Christ. We see an Old Testament faith picture of this calling in the how Abraham (a picture of God the Father) sent His servant (a picture of the Holy Spirit) to find a bride (Rebekah, a type of the church) for his son Isaac (a type of Christ.) That's how come you and I who believe in Jesus do so. See John 6:43-46 (MSG)--

"Jesus said, “Don’t bicker among yourselves over Me. You’re not in charge here. The Father who sent Me is in charge. He draws people to Me—that’s the only way you’ll ever come. Only then do I do My work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End."

Anyone who puts confidence in the flesh (trying to keep the law in order to be eligible to partake in God's gift which is of Grace aka unmerited favour) cannot partake of Christ:

“For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's Grace.” Galatians 5:4.

What makes God angry? Pride aka dependence on human effort (arm of flesh) for the attainment of godliness or any good thing aka rejecting His abundance of Grace and His gift of Righteousness to us in Christ which is the only Way to live in triumph over sin and death (all earthly ills are “death begun:) --

"And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:16-17.

Beloved, why don't you ask God to rid you of all false theology/deathly doctrines that are still lurking in your mind and let His Grace abound in you? He hears you. I remember my dad and how I did not need to book an appointment, make a donation or starve myself before submitting my requests to him or chatting with him. He gave us his best. Believer, how much more our Father in heaven? In Christ, the Almighty God is our Daddy. In Christ, we are His "little children." Like Him, we'd choose our little children's badly drawn/written birthday cards or letters over the fanciest designer cards made by someone else on their behalf. So ask.

Believe Right and you will Live Right