Ben Zornes

Living and Dying to Show the Preciousness of Christ

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Book Review: “Feelings and Faith” by Brian Borgman

Book Review: “Feelings and Faith” by Brian Borgman

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Feelings and Faith: Cultivating Godly Emotions in the Christian LifeFeelings and Faith: Cultivating Godly Emotions in the Christian Life by Brian S. Borgman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Borgman lays out in the first part a basis for understanding the rightful place and perspective for our emotions. He looks at God’s character, and although God doesn’t have passions (as Westminster Confession puts it), the Bible is full of language demonstrating that God is a feeling God. Not that He is dependent on them, or controlled by them in any way. Rather, our fallen natures, and the fallen emotions we thus experience, “answer” to a similar thing in God. Borgman does a really great job with such a delicate topic of God and emotions. 

Part two shows how we are to not merely intellectualize our faith, and be cool and stiff in regards to truth. He shows how emotions are a part of the scope of our sanctification. 

Part three deals with how we ought to mortify unbiblical emotions. 

Part four is on how to cultivate godly emotions.

All in all, very helpful. Part One in particular was very good, insightful, soul-stirring. The other sections have many helpful insights for understanding where our feelings fit within our faith. Borgman gets it right, on the whole. 

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“Which” not “Whether”

“Which” not “Whether”

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I have asserted before, and will certainly do so again, that faith is not a question of “whether” but of “which”. It isn’t “will I have faith?”, but rather, “where will I place my faith?” In Eden, Adam & Eve were under the command of God (Gen. 2:15-17), and at least for some time functioned in obedience to Him.

Then came the serpent, deceived Eve into eating the fruit, who then gave it to Adam. At the heart of this temptation was that by eating it they would be as gods (Gen. 3:5), and thus their rebellion from God’s authority was largely a departure of faith in God to faith in self.

One of the effects of the fall most clearly delineated in Scripture is that man, in rebellion to God, insists on trusting his own good works to merit Salvation; after the fall, it didn’t take long before we were found scrounging for fig leaves to cover us. We see the story of mankind is one of continually placing his faith anywhere other than Christ in God.

The examples of this are manifold; but I want to zero in on a particular breed of unbelief in God. All other objects of faith are by definition an act of unbelief in God. As Christians, we are often tempted to trust in our track record of “good behavior” as the barometer for our spiritual health. This usually breeds a trepidation in the soul as to whether one is in “right standing” with God. We think that because we’ve gone a “while” without cussing, without lusting, without jealousy, without pride, without envy we are especially in God’s favor.

What this really is, is a faith in our performance and merit. It is a misdirected faith. Is God pleased by our good works? Or is He pleased in His Son, who is working in us to will and to do according to His good pleasure (Phi. 2:13)? Our faith must never be rested upon our good or bad behavior. Otherwise, if your doing “well” (by your standard, I’ll point out) you will soon be vain-glorious, arrogant, prideful. If–or when–you fail, you will certainly fall into doubt, insecurity, ungodly fear, and a toxic, timorous introspection.

As believers in the Lord Jesus, we must recognize that our justification is by faith alone, and so is our sanctification. In the process of sanctification, we often forget the very basic truth of our justification (by faith alone), and pin our confidence before God on our measurement of how far along we’ve been sanctified. From top to bottom, Salvation is a work of God; unbelief only gums up the work.

Fight against the pull to hope that your performance can ever win you “cred” with the Almighty; this is simply a cover for self-love, self-worship, self-glory. You don’t actually care about His glory because you’d prefer to rest your faith in the mighty fine track record you’ve got going. The saint’s faith is in Christ (yes, we need to be often reminded of this); and because of this, the result is that the saint desires the glory of God. This means that self will be humbled and abased, self-righteousness is something to be repented of and not boasted of, and the aim will be: “that God will be glorified”.

In the first instance the faith is in self’s merit, in the second case, it is in the only One worthy of faith; again it isn’t “whether” we will trust in a god, but “which” god will we trust? It’s either man-worship or the One True God-worship. One is damnation; the other, Salvation.

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Headlong Into Worse Sin

Headlong Into Worse Sin

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The Text

Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. (1 Samuel 8:4-7)

Samuel’s Ministry

Samuel began his ministry with a denunciation of the sinfulness of the sons of the High Priest, Eli. Amongst the many transgressions of these wicked sons, perhaps the most poignant one was bringing the ark of covenant into battle with the Philistines (1 Sam. 4-6). Essentially, they wanted to pretend at piety, but their prior lifestyle showed them to be apostates of the worst kind.

Skipping forward, Samuel’s position as the highest leader of Israel is capped off in 1 Samuel 7 when it tells us of another battle with the Philistines: “And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel (1Sa 7:10).” This is followed by the intimation that Samuel’s sons were exhibiting corrupt behavior; and the people of Israel, not wanting a repeat of the defeat brought about by the wickedness of the sons of Eli, insist on having a visible King lead them in battle.

God the Warrior

Here’s the important thing to remember. From the conquering of Canaan under Joshua & Caleb, to the deliverances recorded in Judges, down to the account of this victory over the Philistines in 1 Samuel 7, God is presented as fighting for His people. Despite their idolatry, God would always raise up a deliverer; but it was God who was viewed as the Warrior on behalf of His people (Deu. 1:30, 3:22, Ex. 14:14).

It strikes me that part of the Israelites desire for a king was in one sense a reaction to the immediate failures of Eli’s wicked sons, and the prospect of a seemingly similar failure on the part of Samuel’s sons. Either way, their response was not to turn to God in faith, entrusting themselves to His care. Rather, we are told–from the Lord Himself–that this act was an act of rejecting His reign (1 Sam. 8:7).

The Narrow Way

In an attempt to avoid a known evil (corrupt leaders, i.e. Eli’s sons & Samuel’s sons), they chose the unspeakably worse evil of rejecting God’s reign over them, choosing rather to place themselves entirely in the hands of fallen men. So, do not flee in fear from one temptation into the arms of another one; the most secure path is the narrow way of holiness and faith in Christ alone.

Pharaoh Self-Funded His Campaign, Too!

Pharaoh Self-Funded His Campaign, Too!

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In Old Testament history we read the story of Judah‘s king Hezekiah and the Invasion of the Assyrian army (Isa. 36-39, 2 Ki. 18-20, & 2 Chr. 32). Israel had already fallen, and Judah was one of the few remaining nations who had not come under Assyrian control.

The only other nation who had the strength to resist Assyria was Egypt. Thus, as King Sennacherib turned his eye on the prize of the conquest of Judah & Jerusalem, the leaders of Judah were faced with a very real political dilemma. The survival of their nation & way of life seemed to hang in the balance. Many of the leaders of Judah were advocating an alliance with Egypt.

The prophet Isaiah had a word for the leaders who were advocating this course of action: “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD (Isaiah 31:1)!”

In his commentary on this chapter Motyer notes,

They faced the most critical of tests – the Assyrians – but the real crisis was: ‘Where is your faith placed?’

The  21st century evangelical church of the United States faces a very similar dilemma as 8th century Judah did. We are facing a muscular foe of secularism, humanism, despotism in the form of the liberal progressive agenda as espoused by Clinton and Sanders. But over yonder in Egypt is a Pharaoh strong enough to push back; he can self-fund his campaign of chariots, and he says it like it is. He is unafraid of the Assyrian media and he promises to make Judah great again. The caveat?

Forsake your loyalty to God, His Word, and the principles found therein, and trust in the mere “brute force” of Pharaoh’s dynasty. The people of Judah found that an allegiance with Egypt only bought upon them the rage of Assyria, and ultimately, a century later, the shame of a Babylonian exile; all because they did not trust God and remain faithful to follow His commands.

Motyer again:

Life must be faced theologically, that is to say, in the light of what we know about God.

The 2016 presidential campaign is the touchstone of our Nation’s theology, and sadly, all too many evangelical leaders are making a statement that their theology is far more pragmatic than they’ve led us to believe.

The God Who Came Down

The God Who Came Down

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And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

—— Exodus 2:11-12——

As humans we seem to be fixated with fixing. We want to find solutions to the problems, answers to the moses slays egyptianriddles. While the instinct to fix things surely derives from our longing to return to Eden, we, as Christians, must avoid the danger of healing this earth’s troubles via the strength and might of man.

We read (in Ex. 2:11-12) that Moses assesses the problem and discerns the injustice accurately. Tyranny, government overreach, racial tensions, and high taxes were all in play here. However, his solution was built on the sandy soil of humanism; he endeavored to accomplish God’s purposes using the devil’s tools. [Read more…] about The God Who Came Down

He Will Answer

He Will Answer

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One of the most troubling things a believer faces during trials of the soul or circumstance, is the sense that lightstock_57761_xsmall_user_5740715all their prayers, petitions and cries aren’t making it past the roof. We know that this experience is one that is universal for all believers throughout all the ages. This can be an incredible burden on the soul, and I think this is one of the most revealing ways which God uses to show the genuineness of our faith.

It is easy to praise God when the answer to our prayer comes swiftly. But what about when He tarries? What about when the circumstances grow darker, rather than lighter? What about when prayer seem useless? What about when heaven seems silent? I believe this is where true faith shines, and where the real genuineness of one’s devotion to Christ and His Word is proven. [Read more…] about He Will Answer

A Boon of Strength

A Boon of Strength

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One of the great battles for many believers is the assurance of their salvation. The fluctuations of our feelings, the failures we see in our life, the all-too-often lack of passion for the things of God, the accusing voice of Satan all mingle together to confuse and confound the saint. Bunyan, who knew this battle for assurance intimately, dedicated a short passage of his famous “PilgriSorrowm’s Progress” to this battle.

I took notice that now poor Christian was so confounded, that he did not know his own voice; and thus I perceived it. Just when he was come over against the mouth of the burning pit, one of the wicked ones got behind him, and stepped up softly to him, and whisperingly suggested many grievous blasphemies to him, which he verily thought had proceeded from his own mind. This put Christian more to it than anything that he met with before, even to think that he should now blaspheme him that he loved so much before; yet, if he could have helped it, he would not have done it; but he had not the discretion either to stop his ears, or to know from whence these blasphemies came.

[Read more…] about A Boon of Strength

Ben Zornes