Emotional Salvation

 This is a sermon that focuses on Luke 4:28 and many other Scriptures which all speak about the various kinds of emotions individuals displayed when encountering God, Jesus or others who spoke the truth. While there are many different emotions referred to in the Bible, this message is limited to three: anger, sorrow, and joy. A video recording of the worship service in which this message was preached can be viewed by clicking here.

Written Excerpts:

Luke 4:28 ^(NKJV) So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,

Introduction:

I don’t know what comes to your mind as you read the title for my sermon. There are a number of different thoughts that the title conjures up in my own mind. So I will begin by simply saying that a person’s salvation cannot be primarily based on an emotional experience. If one simply relies on emotion, it might be difficult to distinguish between the “fire of the Holy Spirit,” or the jalapeños on your taco! Some of you will know what I am speaking of when I say that I have seen many people supposedly come to salvation as a result of a great emotional experience, but they easily drifted back into their unbelief and sinful ways when the feelings were nothing more than a distant memory. That kind of “emotional salvation” is not what I am preaching about today or would I ever recommend.

The idea for this sermon came as I was reading in the Gospel of Luke the other day and read these words in Luke 4:28, “… when they heard these things, [they] were filled with wrath.” As I was meditating about these words and how these people felt about the words of Jesus, I remembered hearing a quote a long time ago, so I searched on the internet until I found what I remembered hearing.

Dr. Vance Havner- "Preaching the truth either makes people sad, mad, or glad. Too many people leave church on Sunday neither sad, mad, or glad; they go out as they came in. Better to out mad than just go out!" (http://walkert/Preachers/a-new-page.htm)

I heard long ago someone said if your preaching never makes anyone mad, then you’re not preaching the truth. Well, I have no idea whether my preaching has ever made anyone mad. I can say that I have never preached with the motive or intention of making people mad. However, I am quite sure that Vance Havner is correct when he says preaching the truth will make listeners sad, mad, or glad. The whole point is that hearing the truth ought to produce a passionate response.

For the rest of our time today I want to speak to you about these three primary emotions, anger, sadness and gladness or joy. I want to use various passages of Scripture to illustrate how these emotions relate to salvation.

I.          God’s truth makes some people mad.

(Phillips' Treasury of Humorous Quotations) When a man is wrong and won't admit it, he always gets angry. — Thomas Haliburton

Why do some people get angry / mad regarding the truth?

A. It exposes their evil, wickedness, immorality, etc.

Genesis 4:5 (NKJV) but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

Matthew 14:3-4 (NKJV) For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. ⁴ Because John had said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."

As I was thinking about this point, I was reminded of an old mountain preacher by the name of Charlie Wireman. He had been a wretched outlaw in the mountains of Kentucky before the Lord miraculously saved him. His life testimony included his resistance and anger toward Christian people and he even threatened to beat up preachers of the gospel. Then, after his miraculous conversion and call to preach, he told stories of wicked, rough mountain people (and some city folks) who would get mad over the preaching of God’s truth.

B. It exposes their pride.

John 9:31-34 [esp. v.34] (NKJV) Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. ³²  Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. ³³  If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing." ³⁴  They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?" And they cast him out.

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day could not tolerate a man who hadn’t received the same kind of education they had received. In their religious piety and pride, they shut him up and cast him out.

C. It exposes their prejudice and bias.

Luke 4:28 ^(NKJV) So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,

The folks in Jesus’ hometown could not tolerate the message Jesus was giving because He exposed their bias against the “hometown prophet.”

People everywhere harbor prejudice, bias and pre-conceived notions about the Gospel or preachers of the Gospel until they are entirely unable to accept the truth. In some cases they become filled with anger when their bias is exposed.

Josh McDowell said one time that a college student came to him after a lecture and said, “I cannot believe in the resurrection of Jesus.” McDowell asked, “If I could absolutely prove to you that He did rise from the dead, would you surrender your life to Him?” After the student declared he would not, Josh replied, “Your problem, then, is not in your head from a lack of understanding, but your problem is in your heart from a willful refusal to yield to God.”

D. It exposes their refusal to change.

John 3:19 (KJV) And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Galatians 5:19-20 (NKJV) Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,

Whenever someone has made up his/her mind to never change they may be inclined to get angry when the truth of God’s Word is proclaimed to them. This includes church-going, religious people as much or more than unrepentant, wicked sinners.

A few moments ago, I mentioned “Bulldog Charlie Wireman.” Many of the people who got the angriest with his preaching were church members, Sunday school teachers and other “upstanding” people of the community because he preached against the sins they did not want to forsake.

Sometimes God’s salvation truth makes people angry, yet many times that anger changes as a result of the Holy Spirit and brings about a genuine conversion later.

II.        God’s truth makes people sad.

Sadness results when guilt is acknowledged.

Nehemiah 8:9 (NKJV) And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep." For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.

Matthew 5:4 (NKJV) Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.

Expositor's Bible Commentary, Revised – The godly remnant of Jesus’ day weeps because of the humiliation of Israel, but they understand that it comes from personal and corporate sins. The psalmist testified, “Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed” [see Ps 119:136].

Psalm 119:136 (NKJV) Rivers of water run down from my eyes, Because men [we] do not keep Your law.

Many commentators state that the mourning of this verse includes more than sorrow for one’s sins, although that is certainly included.

2 Corinthians 7:8-10 (NIV) [Especially v. 10] ⁸Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— ⁹yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. ¹⁰Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

III.       God’s truth makes people glad.

Isaiah 61:3 (NKJV) To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."

Luke 15 – Three stories about things that were lost (sheep, coin, and son). In all three examples there was great rejoicing when the lost was found.

Luke 10:20 (NKJV) Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."

Psalm 5:11 (NKJV) But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.

Acts 16:34 (NKJV) Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

I’ve referred to Kentucky mountain preacher, Charlie Wireman, a few times already. In the story of his life, he reports the joy and gladness that came over him after he was thoroughly converted.

The Gospel of Jesus makes people glad.

We rejoice that all our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus and our record is cleared in heaven!

We rejoice that through the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit we have peace with God and fellowship with Him day by day!

We rejoice that the power of His Spirit can give us victory over sin as we continually submit to His control in every area of life!

We rejoice that we have hope of living eternally in heaven with Jesus as we praise Him for His wonderful grace!

Conclusion:

So, when I speak of emotional salvation, I am not talking about some brief feeling of remorse or a moment of happiness. I’m not even talking about having “a good crying spell” or an “exhilarating shouting spell” when it isn’t accompanied by a transformed life. I am referring to the fact that the truth of the gospel will produce in us an emotion of anger, of sadness and of joy that cannot be produced by any other event in the world.

May I suggest that the greater the anger and the sadness is, then the greater the joy will be.

For our closing song today, I want to sing a chorus we have often sung: He Has Made Me Glad