The Word and the feelings

[Neighbor]

Hi all,

Reading many very well intended declarations that the word of God the Bible is what saves, and often the declaration made along with it that feeling or feelings do not or are not a part of salvation, I share that I found that not to be my experience with the specific call to me personally to my own salvation by the Holy Spirit. I suggest for consideration that  neither is salvation, nor saves. God saves. God saves who he wills be saved. The person   saved may not have read a single word of anything at all, and the person may experience some very deep incredible emotions at that call.

If a person is reading the Bible for salvation and experiencing no emotion, well  might something not yet be complete? And cannot a person have  a Damascus road experience even today without having been a scholar in the Torah?

Seems to me that:  

if; The Bible,  both Old Testament and New, is foolishness to the unsaved reader of it; and  if enlightenment comes by God the Holy Spirit often bringing great emotion to the human  body, spirit, with beginning edification of the human soul of the one that does come to understand the Word  of the Bible through God alone  by the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit alone, enabled to  recognition and submission to  Jesus as Lord alone, and to the seeing of God the Father as LORD alone.  

Then; No one need be able to  diagram the Triune-ness of God in order to experience salvation that is by the triune God, nor recite any of the Bible at all.-It may be a chicken and egg thing  to an extent in that;  hey one can still eat eggs near forever long as they don't eat the chicken first. To a hungry person  presented with eggs the mechanics of it just doesn't matter much.

 

Yes the Word saves, yes Jesus is the Word of God. Yet the most ignorant of the Bible person can be called  personally to their salvation by GOD. I suggest that it will indeed be very emotional for the recipient of that call, and maybe as much so  for God in that it pleases Him.

Praise  God that the formulas drawn in great schismatic detail by man mean nothing to Him, for He created all men and none of them  created Him nor rules of conduct for him. He made by His will all that is. 

Salvation is by God alone, made known by the Holy Spirit alone,  revealing Jesus who is God. It is obedience and absolute duty for  the saved individual to work at learning the Word of God the Bible for that is the armor of God's protection.

It is obedience to share of the experience of salvation and to share of the word of God  as that  pleases God, but it saves no one, for no man saves another.

Salvation is by God alone, so that no one may brag on themselves for their own salvation nor any one else's. Instead all that are called to their salvation may praise God his mercy and grace being awesome and fearfull a power.  

 

May God bless each  as each is worked along by God to their soul's greater edification. I have a long long way to go, yet I am fully saved have been from the moment I surrendered at the call to me by God the Holy Spirit to see Jesus is my Lord, that I am of His flock and save in His fold.

Praise God and Maranatha.

 

 

...INCOMING!

[Who me]

9 minutes ago, Neighbor said:

Hi all,

Reading many very well intended declarations that the word of God the Bible is what saves, and often the declaration made along with it that feeling or feelings do not or are not a part of salvation,

...INCOMING!

 

There is a problem that needs addressing and that is often seen in Christian Reddit, where a poster writes about. " they do not 'feel' that they are saved, christian, going to heaven, of value to God or in some strange way that their 'feeling' is relevent to whether they are or are not saved.

 

Christianity involves all of us, opur spirit, our intellect, our feelings and our bodies.

But from many posters one gets the impression that the most important aspect of Christianity is how one 'feels'.

 

When one looks at Jesus's teaching it is firmly rooted in the reality of facts. When John the Baptist had a crisis of faith Jesus pointed to the facts of what he was doing, the dead being raised, blind seeing, deaf hearing, dumb speaking, sick healed and the goodness preached.

 

One of the most powerful weapons we all have is the story of how we became a Christian, to tell how and what changed us.

Strangely that is never an imotion, but always something to do with the facts of Jesus.

I don't want to remove 'feeling' just put it in its place, subject to ones intellect/reason.

For the record this applies doubly when courting and think about marriage.

[Neighbor]

 

On 3/15/2019 at 8:20 AM, Who me said:

 Excerpted : ...One of the most powerful weapons we all have is the story of how we became a Christian, to tell how and what changed us.

Strangely that is never an imotion, but always something to do with the facts of Jesus....

 

Hi,

Sorry I do disagree. I don't know if imotion was a deliberate spelling or not, ( I presume it was), but the indwelling of the Holy spirit was and still is  emotional. First awareness of it happening more highly emotional than I have vocabulary to describe.

I suspect only those  indwelled by the Holy Spirit can recall that experience, and then  perhaps the recalling of and any attempt at sharing of the full power of that moment  is never as strong as the moment itself.

The absolute awesome power of God is again beyond vocabulary to describe. The Indwelling  of the Holy Spirit within me the most power filled moment of my life. To be born again is not  a cutsy phrase, it is awesome God fullfilling His will on His creation for His pleasure. What an awesome God.

[Who me]

On 3/15/2019 at 12:59 PM, Neighbor said:

 

Hi,

Sorry I do disagree. I don't know if imotion was a deliberate spelling or not, ( I presume it was), but the indwelling of the Holy spirit was and still is  emotional. First awareness of it happening more highly emotional than I have vocabulary to describe.

I suspect only those  indwelled by the Holy Spirit can recall that experience, and then I perhaps the recalling of and any attempt at sharing of the full power of that moment  is never as strong as the moment itself.

The absolute awesome power of God is again beyond vocabulary to describe. The Indwelling  of the Holy Spirit within me the most power filled moment of my life. To be born again is not  a cutsy phrase, it is awesome God fullfilling His will on His creation for His pleasure. What an awesome God.

No it was my bad spelling.

 

I don't dispute the emotions involved in meeting or experiencing God, just the dependance on emotion for ones explaination for belief.

We are told to 'Always have a reason for our belief', not a 'feeling'.

[Neighbor]

3 hours ago, Who me said:

Always have a reason for our belief'

Hi,  Doesn't that phrase ( Within 1 Peter 3 ) defend emotion? Seems to me it  relates to having zeal  for our Lord , showing faith  even in the face of rebuke  by  an adversary. Being zealous, is strong emotion. Being prepared to defend that emotion does not negate the emotion, but instead supports it. The countenance exhibited  is to be defended, not repressed. The challenge to it is opportunity to defend our Lord Jesus. So yes be prepared to defend the faith of our Lord and of our reliance upon it, but it does not seem to mean have no emotion.

Similarly, I am to give thanks to God  in all matters and for all things., not be stoic ( which I am by my old man's natural leaning). I am not to guard my expression of faith, but as it is revealed in my emotion, my zealous new nature, I am to be prepared to defend against attack by sharing reason for it.

My reason is - the Holy Spirit indwells me, I know the certainty that is life eternal with God by the mercy and grace extended to me personally through the sacrifice, the willing  emotional sacrifice, made by Jesus at the cross. His sacrifice has paid in full the price of my sin, that price which is my eternal death, and instead has given to me that new birth, the new life  in the sheepfold of the Good Shepherd.

Wow how can I not be emotional about that? How can I not defend it with zeal? I must for it is so awesome, no attack upon it shall defeat the work of my Lord Jesus, for He is God God the Son, just as is the Holy Spirit is God, just as is God the Father. Is that not awesome beyond containment of emotion? Yes! It is it is indeed.

 I could defend my faith in Jesus the moment I had it. I did not have to learn, memorize, and parrot the Bible. I was filled of the Holy Spirit, ready to face all the naysayers that very moment. I could not debate with eloquence against the minion driven nahsayers, but I could not be shaken either. I was a new creature in Christ Jesus whose every move made testimony  of Jesus as my Lord and savior.

No testimony of that awesome change was "a wasted testimony". Perhaps it was purer than what I may testify about today, now having been so enlighened as to almost stutter in expression of my faith today while wondering,  is this exactly right or that or maybe it is slightly another way about, all to the same end, that  Jesus is Lord.  

I think I am more likely today to miss opportunity to witness than I ever did when I was a new babe in Christ! I most cherish the uninhibited new faith I had the day I was turned about by the Holy Spirit to seeing Jesus  is the way the truth and the life, and by whom all that come to God the Father are brought bought in His blood  and saved out from destruction, never to be lost.

Oh for the thrill  the highest emotion of that moment in time, wow it was so grand, so grand.  It stunned so many into wondering what happened? What is this adamant atheist we know going on about? He is a Christian? How can that be? What is this Christ he is turned about to that he  is entirely a changed person? Some bear hugged me and welcomed me into the fold, others not so much, they had lost a drinking buddy and hard attacking cohort in their causes. I was prepared to defend my new faith for the change within me was real.

It is God the Holy Spirit that calls each  of us out, showing  Jesus, that each may be turned about from our sin against God, find the cost of it is paid, and then be that new creature, the  born again believer secure in Jesus.

Such emotion, such awe, one cannot know humbling appreciation the like of it in any other happening.

Never is it a waste to share that;  no one need be a scholar before sharing of Jesus, one only need be born-again.

 

[Who me]

And there is at least one post about 'am I going to heaven, because I don't 'feel' I am.

Go to christian reddit and there are lots of post like that.

Listen to contempory christian music and to many surmons. They are often about how one feels about Jesus. How one feels about the Christian life.

Talk to your minister about doing an apologetic series of sermons on say the resurection of Jesus, looking at the evidence and historical facts and most preachers will decline as it will upset the Ladies in the congragation.

So how would you council a Christian who 'feels' they are not a Christian?

How would you witness to an atheist, by talking about 'feelings or about facts?