So first of all, God made us whole people.
We're not just brains, we're not just rational.
So we've got to resist the urge, anytime we hear the emotional or the sensational, to
just reject it.
You've gotta realize that God made us as persons with valid emotions, and we see valid emotional
expression in the pages of Scripture.
We see depression and sadness, and how the psalmist or the prophet will take that to
God.
We see joy and sort of elation in the text, and how that comes into worship.
So, let's not just have a knee-jerk reaction, and say emotion is bad.
But especially in the American church, we seem to be very, very susceptible to this.
There's a difference between emotion and emotionalism, and when you get into emotionalism, now all
of a sudden, the barometer for what's true or what's real is how I feel about it, and
if I feel excited about this, this is good.
If I don't feel excited about this, this is bad.
And we can even judge doctrine that way, and we can begin to ask, "How does this make me
feel?"
Or, how does a book make me feel, a biblical book?
And we can judge its value to my life and my Christian walk.
Sometimes in emotionalism, we can say, "Well, you know, I don't want to be hypocrite.
I don't really feel like praying today.
The last thing I want to do is be a hypocrite, so I'm not going to pray."
Well, just start praying, right?
It's our duty, it's our obligation, so just start praying and see what comes of that.
So, I think sometimes we get emotions, being emotional.
There's examples of it in Scripture, it's how God made us, but it can get carried away
with itself, and we have to be very careful, very susceptible.
And the other thing I think is, you got to be very careful.
You know when Edwards preached Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Eleazer Wheelock.
And you knew I was going to bring up Edwards a lot tonight.
Eliezer Wheelock, who was a minister, he went on to found Dartmouth College, right?
He was in the audience that night, the sermon was preached in Enfield, Connecticut, and
he was taking notes and observing.
And at certain points in the sermon, I mean, Edwards, this sermon is full of imagery, "The
bow of God's wrath is bent, and the arrow is aimed directly at you."
BINGHAM: It wasn't seeker friendly.
NICHOLS: No, oh yeah that too.
I mean, it's all sin and you're precarious in nature.
So, what happens?
Well, this had an impact.
Wheelock said people were shrieking, like shrieking in the audience.
Here's what Edwards does, he stopped.
He stopped talking.
He let people calm down, so they would get a hold of themselves.
Then he proceeded with the sermon.
Same thing, it builds up, he stops talking.
See, this is the opposite of what happens today.
You see it on television.
They play it up, and they know how to do it, and once they get them going, there is no
way they stop.
BINGHAM: Play that chorus one more time.
NICHOLS: And they ramp it up, you see?
So, what was Edwards saying?
You know, listen, it's the idea here that you've got to reckon with.
And I don't know how to judge your emotional response, you know.
I was at a hockey game the other night, joy, not so much, right?
Is that my judge of truth, right?
Just because I'm happy about something or I'm crying about something and shrieking out,
like what's going on in my heart?
So I think we can learn a lesson from Edwards, and it's very crucial, those who teach the
truth and those who are teachers, you can, you can manipulate the emotions.
Be warned against that.
And for some reason, American evangelicalism has always been susceptible to it, and it
gets played up.
And it's not a responsible handling of God's Word or caring for the flock.
So I would add that.
BINGHAM: And it's a comfort for the Christian too, knowing that God's Word is true, whether
you feel good about it or not, His promises…
NICHOLS: Absolutely, absolutely.
You know, Luther has a hymn, it's coming from memory.
It goes something like this, "For feelings come and feelings go, and feelings are deceiving."
And if anyone knew about feelings, it was Luther.
He's the whole range.
And then he says this, "My warrant is the Word of God, naught else is worth believing."
So, it's a good point.