"Watch
Those Feelings" Part One By Sholiach/Apostle
Rabbi Moshe Yoseph Koniuchowsky
11-7-09 at
B'nai Yahshua Synagogue of
*Please Note that the usage of pagan names and titles in this
article are in reference to people who use such phrases and not because the
author indorses.
Should We
Follow Our Feelings as Authority or Guide in our Faith and Worship?
Do feelings and emotions constitute a reliable guide in our
faith in Yahuwah? Should we design worship according to what excites our moods?
What is the proper standard of authority and guidance in worship and service to
Yahuwah? Can we know we are right because we feel right? Does excitement prove
we are spiritually close to Yahuwah and prove the Ruach/Spirit is moving? Should
we shout "Amein" and "HalleluYah" every few minutes? Can we trust the
Scriptures to guide us in all service to Yahuwah?
Introduction:
Human emotions play important roles in our lives. This is natural
and may be quite wholesome. But we all realize that sometimes emotions cloud people's
thinking, so they do things they should not. Emotions can be confusing,
uncertain, and even dangerous.
The purpose of this study is to consider the role emotions have in
our understanding the scriptures and to consider some ways that emotions cloud
people's thinking in our faith.
By "emotions" we mean inner feelings,
sensations, moods, and thrills, such as excitement, anger, fear, sorrow, hate,
etc.
Consider the influence emotions may have and the problems they may
cause in some areas of our faith and learning Yahuwah’s Word: 2 | P a g e
1. Emotions as a Guide in our Faith
A. Many People Accept or Reject Scriptural Beliefs on the
Basis of Emotion.
They may believe in a church, synagogue, preacher, or doctrine,
because they "feel good" about it, regardless of
whether or not they have found convincing evidence that it is true.
Some almost rebel against the need for study and evidence in
scripture. They view faith as a "leap in the dark"
based on feelings. A popular song said, "It can't be wrong when it feels
so right." That expresses the approach some take to determining
their scriptural views.
On the other side of the coin so to speak, many make the mistake of
allowing their emotions to interfere with receiving truth from Yahuwah’s Word,
because something may not "feel" right they
automatically write it off or condemn the truth.
Consider some specific examples.
Better-felt-than-told" scriptural experiences
Some people had emotional experiences that convinced them they were
saved. Maybe they attended a "revival" with rhythmic music, hypnotic
preaching, clapping, excitement, and people claiming to "feel the
Spirit moving." Perhaps emotional appeals brought them to the
"mourner's bench" where they tried to "pray through."
Or some may have experienced guilt or some other deep emotional
need, and they prayed to Yahuwah for help. Then maybe they have heard some
scriptural teaching and assumed this was Yahuwah's answer. Maybe they received a
deep sense of peace and warmth, so they just "feel sure" they
are saved. Asked to describe this feeling, they say, "It's better
felt than told, but if you ever feel it, you'll know it." Others
have said, "I wouldn't trade this feeling for a stack of
Bibles."
Others may pray for healing or some other great blessing. Perhaps
someone tells them to "expect a miracle." Maybe they
speak sounds they had never spoken before, so they conclude they "spoke
in tongues." This may give a deep emotional conviction that Yahuwah
has accepted them or that they are "led by the Spirit" to
do certain things.
Some teachers tell people to pray to know the truth and Yahuwah
will answer in the form of a feeling of warmth, peace, conviction, etc.
Some call this a "burning in the bosom." Such
feelings often come naturally, as when your ball team wins or you meet a pretty
girl. But when it happens after a preacher suggested that you watch for it,
people conclude Yahuwah is telling them that the teacher and his message were
from Yahuwah, etc. The result is that beliefs are accepted on the basis of feelings,
not evidence.
Strong emotional appeals are used to justify certain
practices, regardless of what the Scriptures say.
People may accept a doctrine because "my dear mother (or
other loved one) believed this, and I just can't believe she is lost." Or
some programs and organizations make emotional appeals for money to help needy
people or to save lost souls; despite the fact the program or organization
itself may be corrupt or unscriptural. Many such examples could be given.
Are Feelings a Reliable Guide in our Faith in Yahuwah?
B. Can we
be sure we are right scripturally just because we feel right
or because we prayed and had an emotional experience?
Are feelings a reliable guide outside scripture?
All of us know instances where
feelings have led to serious mistakes. Movies, books, and songs urge people to "follow
your heart." The Star Wars characters said, "Reach out
with your feelings," and "What do your feelings tell
you?" It makes good entertainment, but many people who try it in
real life have lived to regret it.
Young people· "feel sure" they
are in love, so they marry on impulse, then regret it for the rest of their
lives.
People become afraid and· "feel
sure" they hear a thief, so they shoot and kill a family member.
Strong emotions may lead to adultery, killing,
stealing, and· other evils.
Are these acts right just because
our emotions led us to do them? Where does Yahuwah's
word say that feelings will show us right from wrong?
The Brit Chadasha (Renewed Covenant) is
filled with examples of people who needed to know right from wrong. Where were
such people ever told to trust their feelings or to pray for a "burning
in the bosom" to tell them whether a church or belief is right or
wrong?
2 Timothy 3:16, 17 - The Scriptures
provide us to "all good works." If we ought to trust
our feelings to tell us right from wrong, then the Scriptures should say so.
Where does it say this?
If this approach is good, why do people who use it end up
contradicting one another?
When questioned, Mormons, Pentecostals, Catholics, Baptists, and
Charismatic’s often tell about their emotional experiences. They may tell how
they prayed to know what was right or had an experience that gave them peace
and assurance that they were right.
There is not an inch worth of difference in their stories that would
convince you which one believes the truth. Yet they thoroughly contradict one
another and many believe the others are wrong. Do their feelings really prove
they are all pleasing to Yahuwah?
1 Corinthians 1:10-13 - Yahuwah rebukes
religious division and contradictions. Yet such division is inevitable if we
follow our feelings, because feelings vary so much from person to person and
from time to time.
Following feelings to guide us in scriptural understanding results
in division, but Yahuwah condemns division. Therefore, Yahuwah does not want us
to follow our feelings when it comes to studying and applying His Word! (1
Cor. 14:33; John 17:20,21; Ephesians 4:3-6; Galatians
5:19-21)
I myself have experienced this type of division within the Assembly,
where members leave over teachings they have emotional issues with, either from
past experiences or over some type of unforgivness or
rejection issues they have not yet dealt with in their own personal lives.
How do you know which feelings come from Yahuwah and which come
from S.a.tan?
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 - Satan is a
deceiver, liar, and counterfeiter. Everyone knows that Satan and evil may
inspire feelings like anger, hate, etc. So why can't they inspire us to feel
sure certain doctrines are true, when really they are not true? (2
Corinthians 11:3; Matthew 24:24). 5 | P a g e
I once read of a minister who felt he should have other ministers
push him down a flight of stairs. They did. Afterward he said he "felt
a great sense of peace with Yahuwah." Did his feelings prove Yahuwah
was pleased with him? Should we all do the same?
Hosts of other people tell experiences that led them to "feel
sure" they were right, but their practices thoroughly contradict
the Word of Yahuwah. How do you know when a feeling does or does not really tell
you Yahuwah's will? How can you be sure your feeling is really from Yahuwah? Part 2 Next week!