EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS IN THE CHURCH
Emotional problems are part of the tribulation our Lord Jesus Christ told us in John 16:33, “these things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world.” A lot of scriptures offer guidance, comfort, wisdom for navigating emotional sufferings, grief, lost of faith and secure and maintain our peace in Christ Jesus.
In this short lecture, lets us do an exposit on cause and effect of emotional problems on the Christian living and journey to eternity, making your election sure, while you work out your salvation with fear and trembling. (2 Peter 1:10; Phil.2:12). The sub titles are to aid the explanations.
Carnality
John 3:6, Romans 8:5-10
After a man has given his life to Christ, what is expected of him is to grow to the fullness of the Spirit of God. The church of Christ is passing through Emotional problems due to lack of adequate word of God in the life of believers.
When we Christians do not reckon on the crucifixion and burial of self with Christ, we are “yet carnal” (1 Corinthians 3:3). This carnal nature continues to remain as a thorn in the flesh of the Christian to harass his fellowship with Christ.
Christians who are “yet carnal” do not seem to realize that the self which has not been reckoned crucified strives against the Spirit of God. This striving creates worry, fear, anxiety, bodily tensions, and a myriad of psychosomatic symptoms so called nervous system. These nervous Christians, because they are more carnal than spiritual, live and move about in a “yet carnal” atmosphere. They reason and think carnally. Being energized by their carnal disposition, they look to the world for an answer to their problems.
Christians with emotional problem often are at the root of the depression in many of our churches and Christian fellowship groups. They have a driving zeal for doing works in the church. They aspire to hold positions of authority in the church. These frustrated individuals may become so disturbed over their inability to accomplish good works of their self-nature that they create tensions and divisions in the body of believers. When one member of the Body of Christ suffers, all members suffer.
(I Corinthians l2:26). Satan generally drive such a carnal Christian to indicate himself until he becomes so upset that he requires counseling. In a spirit of vindictiveness, he naturally seeks someone to confirm his attitude. First, he will consult a pastor or member of another church, anticipating confirmation. The zeal need is for him to be taken into the word so he will see his need for the milk of the word.
If he does not grow spiritually, his frustrations will eventually produce psychosomatic symptoms, that is organic symptoms such as stomach ulcers, mucous, colitis, indigestion, hypertension and many others – all organized by some nervous tension, not by a physical disease. Should he continue to live in his carnality, he may become so emotionally upset he will need psychiatric help. Under the guidance of non-Christian psychiatry, usually he will be encouraged to avoid the problem that frustrates him. This would be to avoid the fellowship of Christians. Probably, this same individual would have no problem of adjusting in a civic club.
The verbal testimony of many Christians, is often not very convincing neither do they by their fruits and manner of title inspire the unsaved to become Christian. Too many are satisfied with salvation only, and they do not care to mature to discipleship. They may acknowledge Jesus as savior, but they refuse to make him the Lord of their lives.
The Bible calls these Christians “carnal” because they have not reckoned their flesh nature as having been crucified with Christ. They still love the old self more than they love Christ who bought them. They are aware of their attitude, and they resent being classified as “Carnal Christians”. Neither do these Christians like to be called “babe in Christ”, even though they have failed to add one inch to their spiritual growth. Of course, they are not really babes, because they have no desire for the sincere milk of the word” (1 Peter 2:2).
Unbelief
Mark 6:5-6,9:24; Hebrews 3:12,19,11:6
Many Christians with emotional problem suffer because they do not believe God or the Bible. They are constantly harassed by such thoughts as: “I do not know, if I believe” I do not know if I am saved”. I am “1 am afraid I will know if I believe”. “How do I know this is not just my wish because others told me? How do I know I let Him into my heart? How can I be sure I believe” How do I know that Christ has taken away my sins in His own body on the tree?” Perhaps I do not have the mental capacity to believe “since I had electric shook, I am not sure what I believe and finally, “what is believing?’
Living Faith
John 3:36, 15:5; Romans 1:17
Living faith always lays hold of the living God. The Christian suffering from unbelief is not laying hold of God. But casting about for some reason for assurance rather than having faith in Christ when God calls us, we are made conscious (convicted) of our sinful, lost state. We realize that we are lost forever separated from God unless, we accept God’s plan of salvation. God will not perform the miracle without help, “For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph.2:8,9). God does not ask the drunkard to quit drinking before he saves him, as Christians have observed, the drunkard cannot really stop until after he is saved. God takes away the desire for alcohols when he is washed in the precious blood of Christ.
In like manner, this holds true for the religious man. He cannot give up his religiosity until he has a new nature that gives him a desire for the sincere milk of the word. Thus of course, is true concerning all unsaved, such as the Pharisee, the church goers, and the good man-who so often do not see their need of salvation.
The faith to believe in Christ is spiritual. “That which is born of the spirit is spirit (John 3:6). This is not the faith that is cultivated and acquired by daily experience in the secular realm over which the flesh has control. Spiritual faith grows only as it is exercised in the word of God.
Babes In Christ
1 Corinthians 3:1-3, Ephesians 4:13-15
For an understanding of the background of the babe in Christ, led us compare his spiritual infancy with that of the physical growth of the natural born baby both have been given the instinct to desire nourishment soon after Birth.
The natural born baby is instinctively ready to nurse at the mother’s breast soon after birth – in the manner, the babe in Christ desire nourishment the “sincere milk of the word”. Immediately after being born into Christ, in both instance God gives the instinct.
By inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Peter gave us special light on this desire of the newborn babe in Christ. We read 1st Peter 2:2; as newborn babe desires the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby”. It is apparent from this that the spirit of the newborn babe in Christ desires the unadulterated word of God. He substitutes the desire of the babe in Christ to know more about and to grow in the Lord is truly God given it is very plain in the inspired verses of 1st Peter 2:2 that the Holy Spirit causes the babe in Christ to want to grow in Christ through the word.
The Holy Spirit is trying to teach us in Peter’s first epistle that we Christian should lay aside the various carnal traits,” all malice, and all gules, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speaking, “that beset us, and consider that as babes in Christ, we did not start with a desire for carnality, but with a desire for the “sincere milk of the word”(1st Peter 2:2).
Undernourished: – as an adult parent, I know that an undernourished baby is an easy pray for any diseases that comes along. He also has greater difficulty in throwing off various infections and childhood diseases, which may leave him in a chronic debilitated state. This hinders his proper childhood development and frequently handicaps him for life. Likewise, in the spiritual sense, one who is newly born again must be properly nourished on the “sincere milk of the word. His spiritual formula must be increased to satisfy his spiritual needs.
Along with the physical handicap of the undernourished body, there is usually emotional sequels (nervousness) which sets the stage for an emotional pattern that grows with the child.
The babe in Christ who is not sufficiently nourished at the right time can and often does-substitute adulterated religious food to satisfy his craving for nourishment. This will not only stifle his spiritual growth, but it will also leave his chronically spiritual debilitated.
Probably the largest percentage of Christian who suffers from emotional problems and from spiritual malnutrition are carnal Christians who were spiritually dwarfed at the babe-in-Christ stage of growth. In other words, they were so handicapped that they could not reach a state of spiritual maturity.
When a Christian suffers from spiritual malnutrition, he is unable to resist the satanic darts of daunt, anxiety and fear which arises from the old self-nature. These cause him to be taken up with scripture verses, which he interprets apart from their context. Thus, he becomes confused over the scriptural distinction of standing and state as well as law and grace.
Satanic Confusion
1 Corinthians 11:14, 14:33; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10
When a babe in Christ is undernourished, Satan comes to him as an angel of light and entices him by offering him nourishment that seems palatable and reasonable. Satan does this by appealing to the believer’s old nature. Since the believer is still a babe, he can be easily deceived into believing “Bloodless” cults which are what Satan’s deceivers often used as a ‘biblical’ terminology to make their teachings palatable.
Satan confuses the unsuspecting babe who starts out with much zeal but ceases to grow. Spiritual growth stops because he has not had sufficient nourishment from God’s word, and he turns to Satan’s substitutes.
In this state it is more difficult to convince him of his heresy than to convince on individual who has never had any Christian teachings. In many cases his satanically inspired zeal will drive Him to disseminate his false teaching as biblical truth. He may turn out to be a rodent proselyte for a cult religion and spiritually crippled for life. {read my lecture on Secret Religion}.
I Want To Work For The Lord
1 Corinthians 3:19, Ephesians 2:8-10
Many Christians’ who say they want to work for the Lord really mean they want to do religious works. These are not works for the Lord but works for self. They have a self-reason for their zeal to work. But does their zeal glorify Christ? Our zeal should be like the zeal of John and Peter who said for we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” Acts 4:20. Many may even engage in personal work of some form of religious work while their lives remain full of things displeasing to God. The presence of those displeasing things hinders God’s blessings upon their work.
Casting Down Imaginations
Romans 8:12, 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
The Christian is commanded to cast down imaginations and to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (11 Cor. 10:5), he cannot do this in his fleshly nature. He can do this only as he keeps in mind his proper relationship with Christ. Every thought can be brought into captivity to Christ only as the Christian meditates on the word and desires fellowship with Christ.
The Christian who would work for the Lord must spend much time in fellowship with Him and in meditation on His word.
Too Much Religion
Isaiah 29:13; Ecclesiastes 7:16; Matthew 15:9, James 1:26
God calls man and women out of the world into His service. Satan, the great imitator of God, also calls men and women for his service. The activities, the ego of the Christian who has not reckoned self a crucified, dead and buried with Christ to desire glory for itself which can be attained through some religion endeavor. Therefore, it is not unusual for some Christians to believe that a sermon on consecration is a call from God to give up their business and head for a pulpit or the foreign mission field.
To be effective, all Christians’ work must depend on the power of God for its contrivance. Further, all Christian work to be effective in the divine purpose must be conceived by God. Christian workers who go in their own might and power, not in the spirit of the Lord, eventually fail. They become frustrated and disappointed in their self-achievements ending up as patients in need of counseling treatment.
Compulsion And Restitution
2 Corinthians 9:7; 1 Peter 5:2-3; Philemon 1:14
One of the most distressing problems that some Bible students bring to me is the irresistible to make a restitution to release on anxiety. This Christian like many others with his type of sufferings, knew his standing in Christ and believed that Christ had redeemed him with His Shed blood on the cross of Calvary. But these Christians cannot apply (I Thess.l:9) because they are bound by their compulsive habits. Satan continues to hold them in bondage to the reasoning that they must add their own restitution and compulsive rituals to what Christ has done. This reasoning of course continues to hold them in bondage to the uncrucified self, which Satan can energize whenever the compulsive Christian sense guilt.
Restitution And Satan
Revelation 12:10,
Restitution can become a satanic illusion. The Christian in restitution truly believes he is zealously serving the Lord. He has convinced himself that he is working to be pleasing to the Lord. It is an illusion because he does not realize that the more, he serves restitution, the more unspiritual he becomes. He finds less time to read God’s word. When he does read the Bible, he searches for Bible verses to certify his principle of restitution. Some will make a restitute and go back to do more with the mind that he will do the restitution again thus making himself a ‘mincemeat’ for Satan. Restitution is actually a practical way of clean the record , thereby giving Satan no legal ground to accuse. The inability to keep away from sin makes restitution ineffective to forestall Satan accusing.
When Satan has his victim thus occupied, he congratulates himself because he sees how successful he has been in enticing one of God’s would be zealous workers away from praising and worshipping God. Satan wears him out physically and mentally on a false doctrine do it you-self program, “You must keep yourself sinless to be saved”.
None of these Christians are at peace nor do they ever have a sense of joy after the various acts of restitution. This is because these acts are not carried out by the motivation of the Holy Spirit but by a self-desire. The purpose is not to help the other person but to please the ego of the one making restitution.
They may become weary of being driven by their taskmaster, the deceiver, but he always has another gimmick to stimulate his workers. Quite often some Christian, who are not well-grounded in the meaning of Christ’s atoning work, are driven to make restitution for some no sensual things after hearing testimonies stressing restitution.
Christian tied to restitution (even also, those who belief in generational cause) are not trusting Christ’s finished work. They keep returning to their past. However, the Apostle Paul said, “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press towards the mark for the prize of high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:3, 13, 14).
Self-Centeredness
Romans 12:3; Philippians 2:3-4; 2 Timothy 3:2; James 3;16
The self-centered Christian cannot get all because he cannot see anything but self. He has set up a mental block, which bars entrance of anything that would enlighten him in regard to his conflict.
The Christian who has become so self-willed that he does not each moment cast all his cares on the Lord will eventually be overcome by Satan, because the self-nature will endeavor to gather more self-confidence for each conflict. Gradually, he depends more and more on self until self has crowded God out. This can imply only one thought, and, that is that she self-will is in Christ, he makes self-decisions and goes in the power of the old self nature. Under these circumstances, Satan is able to attack the Christian. Satan energizes and uses the power and intellect of self for his purpose. This, of course, is a subtle, gradual process in which Satan aspires to overcome the spiritual growth by energizing self to become master. When this has been accomplished, the Christian loses his testimony and appears spiritually anemic.
Too often, Christian loses this most important battle when thy try to by force of will to reject unpleasant thoughts. This centers the mind on the problem making the problem the center of attention instead of Christ. When the problem is paramount in the mind, Christ is set aside. In extreme cases the problem over shadows everything and the mind cannot turn the problem to carry on necessary duties of daily routine.
In this dilemma the Christian patient may realize that he should pray and submit (James 4:7) his thoughts to Christ for strength for the battle. But when this hassling with Satan gone on for a long time, the Christian is spiritually anemic from lack of Bible reading. He feels dejected because he has not been in communion with the Lord. He feels useless because he has lost his testimony, he avoids the fellowship of Christians because he is afraid, they will see there is something lacking in his spiritual life. He feels persecuted because his fellow Christians cannot see the sense of all the emotional upheaval. Pityingly he says that they avoid him and don’t like him. He even accuses them of not praying for
him.
In Bondage To Self
Matthew 12:31, 16:24
Christians with emotional problems have permitted their minds to become encumbered with thought, feeling, and doubts that have their origin in self. This should not happen to the Christian.
When the nervous Christian is convinced that his suffering is in his mind, all his thoughts and concerns are centered on self. He is completely wrapped up in self. Eventually, and slowly he becomes carnally-minded and vulnerable to be devoured by Satan by being enrolled into the Secret Religion to gain the world. Lord have mercy. Shalom.
This lecture being an extract from the research notes of Rev. Dr. Olugbenga S. Onasanwo JP, FCTI – The President/ Rector of Upper Room Christian Citadel Ministry and (URCCM Theological Seminary/ Bible College, Lagos, Nigeria).