Emotional Complex of Sins 2
10-01-25
The Emotional Complex of Sins 2
Theological Outline: The Emotional Complex of Sins
I. Introduction and Spiritual Preparation
A. The Moment of Silence for Rebound
1. Purpose: To ensure the filling of the Holy Spirit, who is the true teacher of Bible doctrine. To study the Word of God effectively, the believer must be in fellowship.
2. Mechanism of Rebound: Confession of sin.
Scriptural Basis: 1 John 1:9 - "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us for our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Exegetical Detail:
"Confess" simply means to name or cite the sin to God.
It does not require an emotional response, feeling sorry, or performing penance.
The promise of being cleansed "from all unrighteousness" includes sins we are not even aware of.
3. Additional Purpose of Silence: To set aside worldly distractions and anxieties.
Scriptural Basis: 1 Peter 5:7 - "Cast your cares upon him because he cares for you."
Application: Use this moment to mentally give all troubles, trials, and tribulations to God to enable concentration on His Word.
B. Opening Prayer
1. Petition for concentration and understanding through the Holy Spirit.
2. Petition for strength and power to speak with the authority of God's Word.
3. Petition to speak with the grace that God's Word teaches.
II. The Emotional Complex of Sins: A Doctrinal Study
A. Context of the Study
1. This study follows the completion of the "Arrogance Complex of Sins."
2. It is situated within the larger series on the "Faith-Rest Drill" and the "Faith-Rest Life."
3. Thesis Statement: The arrogance and emotional complexes of sin are the two most effective categories of sin at removing a believer from the faith-rest life and God's plan.
Rationale: While acts of immorality (e.g., drunkenness, lying) are sinful, they are often easier to recover from through simple rebound (1 John 1:9).
The insidious nature of arrogance and emotional sins is that they can take a believer far down a path of reversionism before they are even recognized, often due to a neglect of consistent Bible study.
4. Purpose of Learning: Not for condemnation or guilt, but to recognize sinful patterns, stop them, and get back on track with Bible doctrine.
B. Defining Emotion and the Emotional Complex
1. Emotion in the Soul Structure:
The Greek word for emotion is pathos .
In the soul, emotion is the "appreciator," adding depth, joy, and intensity to life.
Conclusion: God-given emotion is not inherently sinful. Normal emotional responses to life events (e.g., sadness at the loss of a loved one) are not sin.
2. The Working Definition of the Emotional Complex of Sins:
The Key Principle: "When emotion replaces thought, the believer becomes vulnerable to irrationality and reversionism."
Emotion was never designed to rule the believer's life; thought and divine viewpoint are meant to rule.
Scriptural Support: Proverbs 29:11 - "A fool loses his temper, but a wise person holds it back." This illustrates the principle of thought controlling emotion.
C. The Source of Emotion: The Primacy of Thought
1. Scientific and Biblical Principle: All emotion is the result of thought. No person or circumstance has the power to make you feel an emotion. Your thoughts about the person or circumstance trigger the emotional reaction.
2. Illustration: Road rage. The person who cuts you off does not make you angry. Your thoughts about their action lead to anger. A different thought pattern (e.g., being in a great mood) could lead to a different, non-angry emotional response to the same event.
3. The Biblical Solution: The key to controlling emotions is to control one's thoughts by replacing human viewpoint with divine viewpoint. This is achieved through the renewing of the mind.
4. Contrast with Human Viewpoint Solutions: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) teaches isolating and observing thoughts, but ultimately advises replacing negative thoughts with human viewpoint, which is ineffective for the believer. The divine solution is replacement with divine viewpoint from Bible doctrine.
III. The Entry Point and Progression of the Emotional Complex
A. The Entry Point: Anger and the Devil's Opportunity
1. Scripture: Ephesians 4:26-27
"Be angry and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity."
2. Exegetical Analysis:
"Be angry and yet do not sin": It is possible to experience the emotion of anger without it being sin. A normal human emotional reaction is not, in itself, part of the emotional complex of sins.
"Do not let the sun go down on your anger": The sin occurs when the anger is allowed to linger and is not dealt with.
"Do not give the devil an opportunity": Failure to confront and resolve these emotions opens a door for satanic influence, leading one down the path of the emotional complex of sins. Suppression is not the answer; confrontation is.
B. Stage One: Emotional Reaction
1. Definition: An immediate overreaction characterized by fear, anger, or despair. This is the starting point of the complex.
2. Biblical Illustration: The Report of the Spies
Scripture: Numbers 14:1
"Then all the congregation raised their voices and cried out, and the people wept that night."
Context (Numbers 13-14):
This event follows the report of the twelve spies sent into the Promised Land of Canaan.
Ten spies gave a negative report, focusing on the "giants in the land" and the impossibility of victory.
Two spies, Joshua and Caleb, gave a positive report: "Let's go at once, for we are well able to possess the land."
Theological Principle: The Promised Land (Canaan) is a type of the believer's pre-designed plan from God (the supergrace life), not a type of heaven. The presence of "giants" (problems, battles, adversity) confirms this.
The Root Cause: The Thought Life
The ten spies and the two spies witnessed the exact same reality (the giants).
Their emotional reactions were diametrically opposed because their thoughts were different.
The ten operated from human viewpoint, leading to fear, weeping, and rebellion.
Joshua and Caleb operated from divine viewpoint, thinking, "God is going to fight for us." Their thoughts were based on God's character and promises, not the circumstances.
Application: The battle is won or lost in the mind. When facing trials ("giants"), the believer must bring their thoughts back to the divine perspective: God has a plan, God will provide a way through, and God is in control.
C. Stage Two: Emotion Overrules Thought
1. Definition: The point where emotion begins to dictate decisions and the faith-rest life is abandoned. The believer is no longer thinking doctrinally but is reacting out of pure emotion.
2. The Point of Recovery and the Faith-Rest Drill
This is a critical stage where recovery is possible if the believer recognizes they are letting emotions dictate their actions.
Step 1 (Stabilization): Claim a Promise. Recall a specific promise from Scripture (e.g., Hebrews 13:5, "He will never leave me nor forsake me") to calm down and stabilize the soul.
Step 2 (Rationality): Apply Doctrine. The promise alone is a starting point; it must be supported by the doctrine of rationality.
God's Omnipotence: God is all-powerful and can resolve any situation.
God's Sovereignty: If God allows the trial to continue, He has a specific plan and purpose for it.
God's Perfect Plan: Whether in life or in death, God's solutions are perfect.
The Principle of Momentum Testing: When a believer passes tests by trusting God, it builds spiritual muscle, allowing God to release unique "escrow blessings."
3. Biblical Illustration: King Saul's Impatient Sacrifice
Scripture: 1 Samuel 13:8-12
"Now he waited for seven days, the time appointed by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, 'Bring me the burnt offering...' ...But Samuel said, 'What have you done?' And Saul said, 'Since I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come at the appointed time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash, I thought, "Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked the favor of the Lord." So I worked up the courage and offered the burnt offering.'"
Context:
Samuel had instructed Saul to wait seven days ( 1 Samuel 10:8 ). This was a divine test of trust and obedience.
The military situation was dire: the Philistines were amassed (1 Sam 13:5) and the Israelite soldiers were terrified and deserting (1 Sam 13:6).
Saul's Failure:
Wrong Thinking: Saul "saw" the circumstances and "thought" disaster was imminent. His fear was a product of his human viewpoint thinking.
Emotional Dictation: Fear and impatience overruled his thinking. He stopped thinking about divine procedure and reacted emotionally.
Violation of Protocol: He took matters into his own hands and performed a priestly duty.
Blame Shifting: He justified his disobedience by blaming the circumstances and Samuel's perceived delay.
The Tragic Timing: Samuel arrived immediately after Saul's act of disobedience.
Consequence: This act resulted in the loss of Saul's dynasty (1 Samuel 13:13-14).
4. Principles of Waiting on the Lord
Principle: The faith-rest life requires waiting on God's perfect timing, regardless of circumstances.
Scripture: Psalm 27:14
"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord."
Scripture: Isaiah 40:31
"Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary."
Interpretation: Those who wait on God are spiritually renewed and can soar above problems. Those who take matters into their own hands become exhausted.
The Path to Arrogance: This stage is the gateway to the arrogance complex of sins, as the believer begins to operate outside of divine procedure.
D. Stage Three: Emotional Revolt of the Soul (ERS)
1. Definition: The soul moves from being overruled by emotion to actively revolting against God. Emotion becomes the absolute dictator and begins to consciously reject Bible doctrine.
2. The Mindset of Revolt: "I've tried it God's way and it's not working. Now I'm going to do things my way." This is a spiritual temper tantrum against God's authority.
3. Biblical Illustration: Jonah's Anger at God's Mercy
Scripture: Jonah 4:1-3
"But it greatly displeased Jonah, and he became angry."
Exegetical Analysis:
Jonah's anger was a direct result of his thoughts. God's mercy toward Nineveh "displeased" him; his thinking was contrary to God's thinking.
This displeasure (a thought process) produced the emotion of anger, reinforcing the core principle that emotions are the result of thoughts.
IV. Case Study in Stage Three: The Conflict of Viewpoints in Jonah
A. The Prophet's Complaint: Resentment of Divine Grace (Jonah 4:1-3)
1. Jonah's Prayer of Protest (v. 2)
Following the repentance of Nineveh ( Jonah 3 ), Jonah prays in anger.
He reveals his true motivation for fleeing to Tarshish: he fled "in anticipation of this," knowing God's character would lead to mercy.
Jonah's Accurate, Yet Resentful, Theology: He correctly identifies God as "gracious," "compassionate," "slow to anger," "abundant in mercy," and "one who relents of disaster."
The Core of Jonah's Anger: He did not want God's grace extended to the gentile nation of Nineveh, the enemy of Israel.
2. Jonah's Despair and Death Wish (v. 3)
He petitions, "take my life from me... for death is better to me than life."
Doctrinal Analysis: This reveals a complete loss of spiritual perspective, consumed by bitterness.
B. The Principle of Divine Policy: Unconditional Grace and Mercy
1. The Ninevite revival is a historical demonstration of divine grace in action.
2. God's fundamental policy is always grace and mercy. As long as an individual is alive, there is hope.
3. Jonah's reaction to this, the greatest revival in history, was not joy but displeasure and anger.
C. The Conflict of Viewpoints: Divine vs. Human
1. Jonah's Failure: He allowed his emotions (anger, resentment, nationalistic hatred) to overrule his doctrinal thinking. This is Stage Three of the Emotional Complex of Sins.
2. A Modern Application: The Believer's Internal Battle
The initial, fleshly reaction to a horrific crime may be a desire for the perpetrator to perish without salvation.
The Process of Correction:
Recognition: Identifying that this thought pattern is not from God.
Correction to Divine Viewpoint: Recalling the truth of Scripture, such as 2 Peter 3:9: God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Self-Awareness: The issue is not the initial temptation, but the failure to recognize it and adjust back to divine viewpoint.
The Foundation of Humility: Remembering the universal state of man.
No one deserves salvation.
James 2:10: To break one part of the Law is to be guilty of all of it.
Romans 3:23: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
The Mental Trigger: Any internal attitude that deviates from God's desire for the salvation of all people should be a signal to re-align one's thinking with God's viewpoint.
D. Doctrinal Diagnosis of Jonah's Spiritual Failure
1. The Paradox of Knowing Doctrine but Rejecting its Application
Jonah quotes the attributes of God from Exodus 34:6 , but uses this doctrine as the basis for his complaint against God.
Warning: It is possible to have doctrine resident in the soul but to be in a state of rejecting its application.
2. The Specific Sin: Grace Orientation Failure
Jonah refused to align his viewpoint with God's viewpoint.
The Hypocrisy of His Position: In the fish, Jonah declared, "Salvation is from the Lord" (Jonah 2:9), applying God's grace to himself, but he demanded judgment for others.
E. Historical Illustrations of Viewpoint Conflict
1. The Exodus Generation: They had the doctrine from Moses but failed in its application, particularly in waiting for God to act.
2. David vs. Goliath: The army of Israel was paralyzed by fear (human viewpoint). David operated on divine viewpoint, declaring, "This is about the Lord's battle."
3. Conclusion:
Divine Viewpoint: God fights your battles.
Human Viewpoint: You fight your own battles in the energy of the flesh, leading to frustration and failure.
F. The Doctrine of Divine Discipline
1. The events of Jonah's life, particularly the storm at sea, were a form of divine discipline.
2. Principle: God's discipline is perfectly tailored to the individual. He knows exactly what it will take to get each believer's attention.
V. The Divine Solution: Transformation and Victory
A. The Foundational Mandate for Transformation
1. Scriptural Basis: Romans 12:2 - "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."
2. Exegetical Analysis of "Transformed":
The Greek word is metamorphoō , from which we get "metamorphosis."
Grammatical Voice: It is a present passive imperative.
Passive Voice Significance: This is critically important. The action of transformation is being received by the believer. You are not transforming yourself.
Contrast with Self-Help: This refutes the methodology of secular psychology and self-help, which places the burden of active transformation on the individual.
The Divine Mechanism: The transformation is received by means of the renewing of the mind.
3. The Means of Transformation: Renewing the Mind
This is accomplished through the consistent intake of the Word of God (Bible doctrine).
The act of reading and studying the Word is actively changing your thought patterns.
Result: When life's situations arise, your thinking will be different (divine viewpoint), which will, in turn, produce different, stable emotions.
B. Doctrinal Rationale in Practice: Speaking Truth to Your Soul
1. The Example of David:
Scriptural Basis: Psalm 42:5 - "Why are you in despair, my soul? And why are you restless within me? Wait for God, for I will again praise Him for the help of His presence, my God."
Application: This is an example of doctrinal rationale. David is applying doctrinal principles to himself in a moment of emotional distress by recognizing the feeling stems from his thinking.
2. Case Study: Israel at the Red Sea
Scriptural Basis: Exodus 14:10-14 .
The Situation: Israel is trapped between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea.
The Human Viewpoint Reaction (vv. 10-12): They "feared greatly" because of their thoughts of hopelessness and death.
The Divine Viewpoint Command (vv. 13-14): Moses commands: "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord... The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."
The Choice: Israel had a choice to think with human viewpoint (fear, regret) or divine viewpoint (trust in God's promises).
C. The Strategy for Overcoming Anxiety and Worry
1. Anxiety as a Sin to Be Addressed
The initial feeling of anxiety is a normal human reaction, but allowing it to persist and dominate is entering the emotional complex of sins.
Technique: Isolate the feeling of anxiety. Recognize that it is not from God and resist it through divine viewpoint.
2. The Philippian Formula for Peace
Scriptural Basis: Philippians 4:6-8
The Command (v. 6): "Don't be anxious for anything."
The Action (v. 6): "But in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."
Key Element: Thanksgiving. It is commanded to be thankful for all circumstances, even negative ones, because God has allowed them for a purpose.
The Result (v. 7): "And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
This is a divine, supernatural peace that acts as a garrison over your heart (emotions) and mind (thoughts).
The Maintenance Plan - Controlling Your Thoughts (v. 8): "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things."
The Ultimate Object of Thought: All these descriptors are fulfilled in Bible doctrine. You must consciously choose to dwell on and orient your thinking to the principles of the Word of God.