Feelings

I John 4:1-3  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Oprah Winfrey:  "What I believe is that Jesus came to show us Christ’s consciousness.  …God, in the essence of all consciousness, isn’t something to believe – God is.  God is!  And, God is a feeling experience, not a believing experience.  If your religion is a believing experience, if God, for you, is still about a belief, then it’s not truly God."

There is some benefit to false prophets.  The dynamically opposed views and teachings of false prophets can illuminate and weed out any hint of false doctrine among true believers.  Here is the ultimate example against living your life based on feelings.  In the myriad denominations and persons of Christianity, there is this pervasive influence of “feeling” God’s will, “feeling” God’s power, or “feeling” saved.  Oprah has taken the same argument to the extreme.  Is the view wrong only in its extreme application, or is it just wrong.

Every sect of Islam, or every faction, believes in the forceful conversion of non-believers.  Some of the factions take it to the extreme and practice violence in their forcefulness, while others use economic pressure or political manipulation.  It is the belief which is suspect and wrong, not the magnitude or degree of application.

Some Christians lack faith when they can’t perceive a feeling of God.  Others make decisions, determine behavior, or quantify their salvation on feelings.  If Oprah will deny the deity of Christ in the flesh by referring to Him as a consciousness driven feeling, then we should re-evaluate any feelings-based beliefs. 

Searching through the Bible hasn’t revealed any suggestion of feelings for any aspect of God’s gifts toward men.  The greatest gift of life and the gifts for living life are received through the knowledge of the Word of God and discernment through the indwelling Holy Spirit.  There is no power in feeling, according to scripture, except the power to condemn and deceive.  The scripture makes belief and its consequence two parts in one, (part 1), “believeth in him, believeth on him, believeth on the Son, believeth on me, believeth in me”, and “believeth in Jesus”, (part 2), “should not perish, is not condemned, hath everlasting life, shall never thirst, shall he live, shall never die, should not abide in darkness”, and “as the scripture hath said”.

The charismatic denominations and modernist touchy-feely belief movements should take a lesson from Oprah and re-evaluate their stand or their doctrines or beliefs. 

Christ is the rock and foundation of our belief; never turned, unwavering, and steadfast.  The one truth about feelings and emotions is they are temporal, fluid, and fickle.  Feelings are how Satan deceived Eve.  God said no, Satan said yes, and Eve looked at the forbidden fruit and had a good feeling about it because it was pleasant and desirable.  She did not believe God and her feelings led her astray.  Adam followed suit because he had feelings for Eve.  Satan loves our feelings.  God didn’t make a mistake by giving us emotions and feelings, but we give them more credence than they deserve.  God says believe, Satan says feel the god in you.  Who do you think is right?  Would you like to ask Eve?  God did ask and she answered in Genesis 3:13.

I would not thank God for the likes of Oprah, but I thank God a little deception can be discovered by the affects of great deceit.  Yes, we feel.  We feel sorry for the many that will fall for the ineptness and deceit of Oprah’s message.  But, we should also feel good in the resulting stir and upheaval among believers to ignore their feelings and emotions and rely on God’s Word. 

The world laughs at the disagreement among denominations.  The world uses doctrinal friction among believers to discredit and deny the Gospel. 

If every false prophet and doctrine could be as easily discerned and ostracized as Oprah’s and Tolle’s the world would listen to believers with a more acute ear.

Romans 6:16  Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Psalm 46:10  Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

I John 5:10-13  He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.  And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.  These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

It is suspect that Oprah premises her statements with “I believe”.  I’m not sure she even understands the oxymoronic message she preaches. 

Is your salvation and doctrine based on knowledge, or like Oprah, do you fall back on feelings and emotions?

Adam fell into sin.  Christ is our rescue.  Only a shepherd can keep the flock from following the other sheep over a cliff.  Sheep don’t know any better and, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way...”, (Isaiah 53:6). 

Proverbs 14:12  There is a way which seemeth right unto a man (Oprah, Tolle), but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Do you know?