Emotions Can Be Dangerous
I plan to use some hymn songs in my discourse on emotions can be dangerous to the Christian. Emotions are not a bad thing whatsoever, and I am not here to discredit them. We experience good and bad emotions on a daily basis, but it is how we handle those emotions as to how they affect us.
It seems today lots of Christians are driven by emotions, they base everything about Christianity on their emotions. They often look at high or wonderful feelings they had when they got saved, basing their Christianity on those. This makes for a tough road, because we are not always going to feel like that. There will be times when we feel like we are going to leave God, or times it seems he is not present. Christianity is not a bowl-of-cherries, it is rough at times. Robert Robinson says it best in the hymn song “Come Thou Fount”
Let thy grace Lord like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to thee;
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love;
In this verse is summed up some of the more sad and depressed days of our Christian walk, when our hearts are wandering. These dark period sometimes are the hardest to deal with, we feel lost and alone, and unable to quench our sin which so easily besets us.
During this time is when we must be cautious about what we do with our emotions. Sometimes we become eccentric and make all kinds of promises to God, that we won’t do this, and we won’t do that. All kinds of things which we more than likely cannot follow through with. Truthfully if we observe our motives on these promises, it is not that we feel ashamed over God glory. Rather for more selfish reasons do we make these promises, so that we might experience an opposite emotion. One of ecstasy in which we feel like we are on cloud nine almost up there with God.
The problem with this is, our motives were desiring for that very purpose of ecstasy. So when we are up it is only for a little time, then we sin and find ourselves spiraling back down. Only faster and farther than before, because we feel even more wretched than before we broke our promise to God not to sin.
This is called the roller coaster effect of Christianity, a continuous pattern too, if we don’t figure out how to stop it. Christ is not interested in all the things that we promise him, he only wants us to obey his word and know the promises he has given us in scriptures.
God knows that we are unable to fulfill and obey his law perfectly, that is why Christ was sent to die for our sins. The problem still remains after we are saved, sin is still at work in our flesh within us trying to bring forth all kinds of sordid sins; but now we have the Holy Spirit abiding within us to help us to overcome sin.
Does that mean it is ok to sin? God forbid, when we do sin we can go to our Father through Christ blood and get forgiveness of our sin. This still does not answer about emotions though.
Ok let me see if I can put this into words. When we grieve the Holy Spirit by sinning, he returns with convictions, because this living Spirit within us hurts and writhes in pain. This makes us sad, because we have hurt the one we truly love, by committing adultery, with sin. We have hurt this one who quickened us who were dead in trespasses and sins. This conviction is not meant to depress us and drive us into the ditches of despair. They are meant to remind us that we still have a sinful nature so we must keep our focus on Christ or put our focus back on the one we love. So we are also reminded the one who loves us wants us to return to him and draw near to him for forgiveness and strength for healing. Our convictions make us humble and bring us to remembrance of God’s holiness.
We should not mix convictions up with despair, because then we have a pity party. Here are some powerful words by Charles Wesley about the forgiveness found in Christ, and the love that abounds in our hearts.
No condemnation not I dread
Jesus, and all in Him is mine!
Alive in him my living head
And clothed in righteousness divine
Bold I approach the eternal throne
And claim the crown through Christ my own
Still the small inward voice I hear
That whispers my sins are forgiven
Still the atoning blood is near
That quenched the wrath of hostile heaven
I feel the life his wounds impart
I feel the savior in my heart
By our faith and belief in Christ all condemnation and wrath were quenched by Christ. We have nothing more to fear in our life, for Christ took away the only thing we truly have to fear and that is death and hell. When by faith we accepted Christ, he deposited his Spirit within us, by which he says, “I feel the life his wounds impart, I feel the Savior in my heart.” That is the pain we feel in our heart every time we sin, and with that we should draw to Christ, not our own resolution.
One things if depression has a hold of you, think back on all the wonderful way God has worked in your life, if that doesn’t help think on this great and wonderful promise. Best said by Robert Robinson, “Come Thou Fount”
Oh that day when free from sinning
I shall see thy lovely face
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing thy sovereign grace
Come, my Lord no longer tarry
Take my ransomed soul away
Send thine angle now to carry
Me to realms of endless day
It seems today lots of Christians are driven by emotions, they base everything about Christianity on their emotions. They often look at high or wonderful feelings they had when they got saved, basing their Christianity on those. This makes for a tough road, because we are not always going to feel like that. There will be times when we feel like we are going to leave God, or times it seems he is not present. Christianity is not a bowl-of-cherries, it is rough at times. Robert Robinson says it best in the hymn song “Come Thou Fount”
Let thy grace Lord like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to thee;
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love;
In this verse is summed up some of the more sad and depressed days of our Christian walk, when our hearts are wandering. These dark period sometimes are the hardest to deal with, we feel lost and alone, and unable to quench our sin which so easily besets us.
During this time is when we must be cautious about what we do with our emotions. Sometimes we become eccentric and make all kinds of promises to God, that we won’t do this, and we won’t do that. All kinds of things which we more than likely cannot follow through with. Truthfully if we observe our motives on these promises, it is not that we feel ashamed over God glory. Rather for more selfish reasons do we make these promises, so that we might experience an opposite emotion. One of ecstasy in which we feel like we are on cloud nine almost up there with God.
The problem with this is, our motives were desiring for that very purpose of ecstasy. So when we are up it is only for a little time, then we sin and find ourselves spiraling back down. Only faster and farther than before, because we feel even more wretched than before we broke our promise to God not to sin.
This is called the roller coaster effect of Christianity, a continuous pattern too, if we don’t figure out how to stop it. Christ is not interested in all the things that we promise him, he only wants us to obey his word and know the promises he has given us in scriptures.
God knows that we are unable to fulfill and obey his law perfectly, that is why Christ was sent to die for our sins. The problem still remains after we are saved, sin is still at work in our flesh within us trying to bring forth all kinds of sordid sins; but now we have the Holy Spirit abiding within us to help us to overcome sin.
Does that mean it is ok to sin? God forbid, when we do sin we can go to our Father through Christ blood and get forgiveness of our sin. This still does not answer about emotions though.
Ok let me see if I can put this into words. When we grieve the Holy Spirit by sinning, he returns with convictions, because this living Spirit within us hurts and writhes in pain. This makes us sad, because we have hurt the one we truly love, by committing adultery, with sin. We have hurt this one who quickened us who were dead in trespasses and sins. This conviction is not meant to depress us and drive us into the ditches of despair. They are meant to remind us that we still have a sinful nature so we must keep our focus on Christ or put our focus back on the one we love. So we are also reminded the one who loves us wants us to return to him and draw near to him for forgiveness and strength for healing. Our convictions make us humble and bring us to remembrance of God’s holiness.
We should not mix convictions up with despair, because then we have a pity party. Here are some powerful words by Charles Wesley about the forgiveness found in Christ, and the love that abounds in our hearts.
No condemnation not I dread
Jesus, and all in Him is mine!
Alive in him my living head
And clothed in righteousness divine
Bold I approach the eternal throne
And claim the crown through Christ my own
Still the small inward voice I hear
That whispers my sins are forgiven
Still the atoning blood is near
That quenched the wrath of hostile heaven
I feel the life his wounds impart
I feel the savior in my heart
By our faith and belief in Christ all condemnation and wrath were quenched by Christ. We have nothing more to fear in our life, for Christ took away the only thing we truly have to fear and that is death and hell. When by faith we accepted Christ, he deposited his Spirit within us, by which he says, “I feel the life his wounds impart, I feel the Savior in my heart.” That is the pain we feel in our heart every time we sin, and with that we should draw to Christ, not our own resolution.
One things if depression has a hold of you, think back on all the wonderful way God has worked in your life, if that doesn’t help think on this great and wonderful promise. Best said by Robert Robinson, “Come Thou Fount”
Oh that day when free from sinning
I shall see thy lovely face
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing thy sovereign grace
Come, my Lord no longer tarry
Take my ransomed soul away
Send thine angle now to carry
Me to realms of endless day
posted by James | 3:38 PM
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