Obtaining Victory Over Sin - NetBibleStudy.com

Victory Over Sin 58It is true, however, that by self-understanding, by self-control, and by bringingall our feelings – both the surface and the deepest ones –- into obedience to Christ andto His Word, that many emotional tragedies can be avoided!No one part of our being is enough to be our guide. We do not live by thoughtalone – or by will power – spiritual perception – physical activity – or by feelings,alone! We are a whole person, made in God’s image, and no one of these areas of ourtotal make-up is enough to guide us. No even all of them together are sufficient.When Jesus spoke of His tempter, He said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, buton every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). He was suggesting theprinciple of balance, of a life under the authority of the revealed Word of God.Pitfalls of Living by FeelingI would like to make some suggestions on how we can cope with our emotions,however, before I do, I would like for us to look at what happens when we live by thedictates of our own hunches and whims.1. A LIFE BASED ON FEELINGS IS AN INVITATIONTO THE SIN OF DISOBEDIENCEOften our feelings run counter to what God requires. In fact, simplyfollowing the path of least resistance, by doing whatever we feel like doing, iswhat develops most sinful habits. Many of our struggles can be traced tosensuality, or being controlled by our physical senses. Spiritually, this spawnsdefeat, negativism, and unbelief.Many people who think they cannot obey God’s commandments reallydon’t feel like obeying. Occasionally they have days when they wake up wantingto do what God requires – but not often. Our fallen human nature seldom feelslike obedience; usually it wants to do its own thing. This attitude comes fromSatan as he suggests to us – as he did to Eve – that God has asked us to obeycommands that we cannot or need not keep. If we think we must feel like it,before we obey God’s Word, we will never get off the ground in our spirituallives.Let’s consider an illustration. Let’s say that a couple seeks counselingbecause they feel that they just are not “in love” any more. Neither one hascommitted any serious sin against the marriage. They just feel that the feeling oflove is gone. They go to the counselor hoping that he will confirm their decisionthat if there is no feeling left, the only recourse is divorce. However, the couple isshocked to find that the Christian, Bible-believing, counselor says, “If you don’tlove each other, there is only one thing to do: you will have to learn how to love oneanother.” The couple is skeptical, “How can we learn to love someone? You can’tproduce feelings out of thin air!”