Thursday, September 18, 2008
The Measure
Milt Stanley links to a J.D. Hatfield post on the role of emotions and the charismata in a life with Christ. Consider:
Second point - The argument against emotionalism and in favor of genuine, often passion-limited, transformation is so valid that it needs to be extended beyond simply the confusion of charismata and emotion. Consider the emotional high produced by a particularly good praise time in service - or from a summer camp experience - or a short term mission experience - or just attending an evangelistic crusade.
The emotional response to the gospel, motivates, but it is no substitute. When we, in an effort to capitalize of the "easy sale" that emotional response provides, neglect the true depth and transformative power of the gospel, we represent something short of the gospel. We offer a poor substitute.
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Repentance, not sacrifice, is what God wants; read Isaiah chapter 1. Reformation of character, not revival of charisma is the call of God. Too often we are equating spiritual revival with emotional displays, without seeing (permanently as opposed to temporarily) transformed lives. The fruit of the Spirit is the tell tale sign, not emotionalism, and not even gifts. Actually, the fruit of the Spirit often may involve a lack of personal passion (i.e. showing patience, self-control). Emotional feeling cannot be the measure of a deepening relationship with God; the Bible declares the measure to be the fruit. You can’t display all those in a one-hour service each week. These are things measured over time in the test tube of life, and manifest in the day-to-day walk, irrespective of any emotional component.The piece is largely an argument on the charismata and the basic argument, "Repentance, not sacrifice, is what God wants;" is absolutely right on. But there are a couple of points to be made here. First to equate charismatic expression with emotional outbursts is a mistake. Charismatic expression is indeed an emotional experience, but they are not an equation - co-existence does not mean equality. While it is true that many do seek the charisma for the emotional "high" they produce, using such an equation runs the risk of throwing out the baby with the bath water. Scripture is clear - there is a place and a role for the gifts in our faith life, to argument against them is to argue against scripture. Better to argue for their proper role in our lives.
Second point - The argument against emotionalism and in favor of genuine, often passion-limited, transformation is so valid that it needs to be extended beyond simply the confusion of charismata and emotion. Consider the emotional high produced by a particularly good praise time in service - or from a summer camp experience - or a short term mission experience - or just attending an evangelistic crusade.
The emotional response to the gospel, motivates, but it is no substitute. When we, in an effort to capitalize of the "easy sale" that emotional response provides, neglect the true depth and transformative power of the gospel, we represent something short of the gospel. We offer a poor substitute.
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