It was a real treat this evening when MSC alumni Grant Smith, his wife Meagan, and 7-week-old daughter Piper, visited with us as Grant led our midweek Bible study.
Grant, Meagan & Piper Smith
Below is the outline of Grant’s lesson, followed by an audio recording of the lesson:
How do we balance our emotional and mental faith?
We live in an experience-driven culture. How something affects us defines the way we perceive it. We have come to expect more out of life than a pragmatic exchange. Instead, we want goods and services to cause emotions to stir within us. As a result, we want our faith, our religious experience, to do the same. But where is the line? At what point does our desire for an emotional experience overcome our desire for a sincere faith, grounded in
biblical truth?
1. We see emotional faith throughout scripture
a. Anger – Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 3:5 (Christ)
b. Joy – John 15:11-14 (of Christ and His followers)
c. Deep Compassion and Care – Matthew 9:36 (Christ’s compassion and care toward us)
d. Affection – Philippians 1:7,8 (Paul’s affection toward his brothers)
e. Inspiration – Acts 2:42,43
The crux of the matter hangs on the first portion of verse 42:
2. Deep devotion to the gospel
a. Emotion generated by looking outside of biblical authority is not worth having
b. Psalm 19:7-14 – The Law of the Lord
c. John 4:19-26 – Worshiping in Spirit and in Truth
But, when we don’t dedicate ourselves to study, when we don’t find the beauty of God through Truth, we pursue:
3. Emotion outside of authority, leading to error
a. Romans 10:3 – seek to establish their own
b. When we start to cut corners in order to improve the “experience” of worship, we have become no more than those who do not know the righteousness of God
c. II Peter 1:3 – We have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness
“How Do We Balance Our Emotional & Mental Faith?” — Grant Smith
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