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Foundations of Faith |
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· Why Should I Have Faith When Evil And Suffering Are In The World? |
Faith and Feeling
Bible Reading: John 1:1-5
Introduction
1. Feelings and emotions have a definite role to play in our lives. But they should never be substituted for facts or reality.
2. Human beings often believe things just because they feel like it, even though the evidence doesn’t quite measure up. Sometimes the consequences of doing so are serious, sometimes they are not.
3. But what are the consequences if the things we believe – or don’t believe – pertain to large issues like the existence of God, or moral issues, or relationships, or matters of life and death?
4. Assuming faith in God, a central question of life is: How is God’s will to be determined? Has God revealed His will to us objectively, or, must we rely on our own intuitions and emotions in our approach to the challenges, problems, and issues we face?
5. Everyone grapples with the question of how to determine God’s will. The temptation is strong to believe that our intuition and emotions are indicators of God’s will and purposes.
6. We wrestle with this for a couple of reasons: Because we trust our own inclinations and find it hard to admit when we’re wrong (and so pride gets in the way). And then the problem is compounded when trusted friends (and a few religious thinkers) are too quick to advise us to follow our hearts (even leaving the impression that God’s Spirit prompts us and moves us emotionally). Also, it’s just easier to follow our own inclinations.
7. So I am saying we need to be cautious. God’s Word teaches us to be cautious: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa.55:8-9). Translation: God and man don’t always think alike. We need to take great care in how we discern God’s will!
Body
I. Let’s probe this a little deeper. Our emotions and inclinations have an important role to play in our response to God.
A. First: God wants the whole human personality to belong to Him (Mark 12:30).
B. Second: Faith itself has a subjective, personal quality to it.
1. Many examples in the Scriptures of emotional responses to Jesus.
2. The message of Christ effects each of us personally and uniquely. One person may respond to the message of the death and resurrection of Christ because the historical evidence is so compelling; another person may be affected more by the thought of overwhelming Divine love. Both responses are acceptable to God.
3. Every response of faith to the gospel is a subjective response because it arises from each person’s own knowledge of God’s Word (imperfect though it is), and conviction of sin (imperfect though it is), and will (imperfect though it is).
4. One of the most important expressions of our faith occurs in our worship of God. God designed worship to be an emotional exercise!.
II. However, it remains a fact that emotions (and even heartfelt intentions) can be out of harmony with God’s will.
A. Dare we forget what happened to Eve in the garden of Eden (Gen.3)? She had an emotional response to something (the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) – an emotional response prompted by the devil – and the result was disastrous. She should have trusted what God told her (for her good)!
B. Which brings to mind an important caution: We don’t always know what prompts our emotional responses. It may be hormones, insomnia, medication, an upset stomach, prejudice, or even pride. One thing is clear: There are some feelings and desires (like lust, and bitterness, and hatred) that are completely out of harmony with God’s will (and they are detrimental to the soul). Here is an example: 1 John 2:15-17.
C. May I propose a better way? Let me direct you to 1 Corinthians 2:12-13.
1. Paul was inspired by the Spirit to speak God’s message (which he did faithfully)! But even as Paul lived and ministered the Word of God, he described how inspiration was being transferred to a Book (2 Tim.3:16-17; 1 Cor.14:37).
2. Today, God speaks to us through this collection of inspired writings we call the Bible. God has a plan for this Book. He wants it to be received by you with an open mind and an open heart.
3. When this happens there is a coming together of mind and soul (of thought and feeling) in perfect harmony. This is where God wants you to be. This is what He designed you for.
III. But is this really possible? Is it possible for the objective and the subjective to harmonize? Yes, and here’s how:
A. First: Be sure your mind (informed and trained by God’s Word) is guide to your emotions!
1. Seek to meet life on a more intellectual/reasonable basis (by a mind that has been taught of God). Think before you act. Seek wisdom. Pursue the ways of God.
2. This is not to say that intellect and reason are to be given absolute sway. Absolutely not. Your mind can mislead you as easily as your emotions. But God makes His first appeal to us by means of the intellect. We know this because He has chosen to communicate to us through words (language): Romans 10:17
3. This is one of the characteristics that separates us from the world: Ephesians 4:17-24; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Romans 12:2
4. Peter (in a burst of emotion) once complained that the crucifixion of Jesus should not be allowed to happen. But Jesus rebuked Peter: Matthew 16:23.
5. On the moral front, the only successful way to navigate the issues of the day is to yield ourselves to God (by understanding and obeying His Word; Heb. 5:12-14).
B. Second: Be sure that your mind (informed and trained by God’s Word) stimulates your emotions!
1. Because the truth ought to stir us! Consider: Luke 24:32; Jeremiah 20:9.
2. Do you remember what happened on the Day of Pentecost? It’s a perfect model! Peter preached the Word of God, and those who heard it were ”cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37). God’s Word brought conviction to those hearts, and that led to obedience to God (Acts 2:38-47).
3. Just as we don’t want passionless preaching, so we don’t want to be guilty of passionless hearing. See Ephesians 5:14.
4. Faith without emotion is like a fire without a flame. We need to be passionate about what we believe. When we contemplate what our God has done for us – what this God has given to us – it ought to stir us.
5. When we encounter (in God’s Word) the truth of Hell, and the lostness of the Iost, and what it’s going to take to convert a cold and calloused world…. Well, it’s just not going to get done without a fervent and heartfelt regard for God’s wondrous grace!
Conclusion
1. May the Lord do some stirring today, in all of us, to make us like His Son, to worship in spirit and truth, to love God’s people with a holy love, and to seek Heaven’s gate.
2. Let me close this sermon with an earnest appeal for you to do some serious thinking (followed by heartfelt desire for the things of God and the things of life).
3. I know of no other way to invite you to be a Christian (and live the Christian life) then to remind you that God’s Son died so that you could avoid Hell and go to Heaven.
4. The gospel of Christ is appealing on every level (intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, and morally)! Will you come to Christ today?
Content by Brian Giselbach
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