We live in a “feelings-based” culture. We tend to operate as “feelings-driven” people. By “feelings” I mean one’s personal will, emotions, desires, motivations, etc.
In the current cultural paradigm, an individual’s feelings are seen as a trustworthy primary source for life direction. You have heard and maybe even used the sayings, “Just follow your heart” or “I just have a good feeling about this one…”
This is not the way we should live as Christians (or as human beings, for that matter). Your feelings are not a trustworthy primary source for life direction.
Why?
We are “fallen”… every last one of us. Sin has corrupted mankind and contaminated us to our very core. No man will experience complete freedom from his indwelling sin this side of the grave.
Christians ARE free from sin in another way (in the sense that we no longer have to serve sin as our master… the chains have been broken and we ARE FREE to serve our new master, Jesus Christ). However, we will continue to have indwelling sin as we serve Him.
Stay with me… we live in a time when popular thought says that your feelings ARE a trustworthy source of direction for your life. I am telling you that this is NOT TRUE because you are contaminated with sin down to your deepest parts, including your feelings.
At best, your feelings are often confused. Worse than that, they are often misleading and can be downright destructive. In fact, the corruption in this world has been caused by sinful desire (2 Peter 1:4).
The biblical paradigm puts your feelings in their proper place. Your feelings do not dictate your obedience to God. Your obedience to God dictates your feelings.
1 Peter 1:22-23
“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.” (I would recommend reading all of 1 Peter 1 to get the fuller context… Peter describes the great GIFT of salvation and the Christian’s responsibility in light of the gift).
Have you ever been faced with this dilemma? “I REALLY WANT to do ‘that thing’ but I know that God hates ‘that thing’ so I know I shouldn’t do ‘that thing’… but I really want to.”
If you have been a Christian for more than 5 minutes, you have had that dilemma. You have competing sets of feelings. Sometimes you are in touch with the PURE feelings that God has given you, but sometimes you are in touch with your SINFUL feelings. They wage war against each other inside of you. They compete for your loyalty.
Take heart… you ARE FREE from the slavery of service to your sinful desires. You ARE FREE to serve Christ. HOWEVER… please understand that your feelings are not trustworthy. They are NOT to be the primary source of direction for your life. The truth is.
What should you do in that dilemma?
Obey the truth not your feelings. Peter says that your obedience to the truth purifies your soul. Is Peter being legalistic? No. Peter is not talking about earning your salvation… he is talking about living out your salvation. If you are truly a Christian, you have experienced a second birth… born of an imperishable seed… you have been given salvation.
What are the makings of this second birth?
From 1 Peter 1:23 we at least know that it has come “… through the living and abiding Word of God,” also known as the truth. Elsewhere, we find more clarity into the fact that God has actually given His people HIS HOLY SPIRIT! See Ezekiel 36:25-27. God has given His people the inner means of obedience. If you are a Christian, he has caused you to be born again of the truth for obedience to the truth. Salvation IS a gift… and the means of your obedience is part of the package. Do not despair of your indwelling sin… live your life in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit… live your life in obedience to the truth.
Ezekiel 36:27
“And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”
Regardless of the way you feel, obey the Word… and as you live your life in obedience to the truth, your soul will be purified. This is an important distinction. Your motivation for obedience is not to be the driving force of your obedience. Truth is. Truth dictates what you should or shouldn’t do and obedience to the truth purifies your motivations, or feelings. The more you follow God, the more you will want to follow God (and I would say that the more you live in sin, the more you will want to live in sin).
Think about the implications in the context of marriage:
Ephesians 5:24-25
"… as the church submits to Christ so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…”
But what if I don’t FEEL like it!?
Ephesians 5:33
“… and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”
But what if he is being a jerk and he makes me mad? What if I don’t FEEL like it!?
These are not conditional commands… in fact, the call is for unconditional love. Put your feelings in their place. Husband, your call is to sacrifice yourself for your wife’s sake. Wife, respect your husband… submit to him in everything.
Obey God’s commands… He has given you the ability to do so. After a while, you will feel like it.
