Featured Feel the Spirit?

By your own testimony what you felt was joy. Feeling joy as a result of the Spirit inspired truths about a great God brought to your mind by the Spirit is absolutely biblical. Having an emotional sensitivity whereby you can discern a special presence of the Spirit is not.

Can you provide a single verse which identifies this spiritual sixth sense?

 

You've posted no Scripture that supports this spiritual sixth sense of yours whereby you mystically discern the presence of the Spirit.

 

Not one verse of Scripture.

Scripture, not moving testimonies, MUST be our guide.

We should ALWAYS be saying, "But what does GOD say about it?"

 

When you say you have great joy, comfort, peace and love in KNOWING some great Bible truth about God, you are supporting MY hypothesis.

Joy, peace, comfort, etc... SHOULD result from pondering some great truth about God- particularly those truths revealed in Scripture.

But when somebody says they know God is in a place- not because the Bible says it- but because they feel it- that is VERY problematic.

I feel joy in knowing that he is with me. But I can't say, "God is not at that church because I don't feel his Spirit but he is at that church because I do feel His Spirit."

That is totally unbiblical.

Feeling joy as a result of pondering truth is PERFECTLY biblical.

Having some extra sensory perception whereby you can discern whether or not God is in a place is absolutely UNBIBLICAL.

How many people have left good Bible preaching, Christ-exalting churches that didn't cater to the emotions because they have said, "You can't FEEL the Spirit in that place"?

And how many have left good bible believing churches to go to United Pentecostal Churches (cults that deny the Trinity and preach works salvation) because they "felt the spirit" in those churches?

This sixth sense "feeling" the Spirit business is dangerous. It is an assault against Sola Scriptura. It is charismatic sewage that has sloshed over into baptist life.

I cannot tell you how many people I have counseled that have doubted their salvation NOT BECAUSE OF SOME LACK OF DEDICATION TO GOD ON THEIR PART but because they haven't "felt the Spirit" in a while.

It's awful. We ought to purge this charismatic thinking from our ranks post haste.

 

The Bible.

Remember the context of the passage to which you are referring

23And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 24And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
1Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. 4Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 5They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 6We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

He that knows God hears the word of God. He receives the authority of the Word of God. He affirms that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. The spirit of antichrist denies the implications of the incarnation of the Son of God.

Notice what is conspicuous in its absence here in this passage telling us how to try the spirits- feelings. Not one word about feeling someone's spirit and thereby discerning whether or not their spirit is from God. Not one word. We don't get to add it.

The way to try the spirit is by the Word of God- absolutely NOT by feelings.

 

Nothing about feelings there. However, I am FOR feelings. Don't stereotype me or strawman me just so I'll be easier to debate. I am for feelings. What I am absolutely AGAINST is being AT ALL guided by them.

I believe feeling guilt over your sins after you have been convinced of their gravity by the Word of God is utterly appropriate.

But if you think "convicted" means primarily a feeling, you are wrong.

This spirit of adoption that we have in our hearts is based on something that we believe, namely, that God is our Father.

Should we feel wonderful about that once we truly are persuaded that it is so? ABSOLUTELY. Is it some feeling that comes before we are persuaded it is so? Absolutely not. Feelings that are not the result of faith in truths understood are madness and foolishness.

I believe I am a son of God so I feel the sweetness of it. I don't believe I am a Son of God BECAUSE I feel the sweetness of it. The difference here is HUGE and the importance of that distinction cannot be overstated.

That's an ad hominem and a straw man.

I think no such thing. I actually would be afraid to tell you how far off you are on this one.

You have introduced education into this one- not me. Salvation is the result of truly believing that Jesus Christ is Lord- period. Nothing more. And God gives you the faith to believe that.

But we don't stop there. We continue to grow in knowledge and grace. One of the most important ways to do that is to reject anything that detracts at all from our being guided by the Scriptures. And when you make decisions based on intuitions and extra-biblical sensory perceptions, you lessen the importance of the proper study of the Word of God for guidance.

He guides us into all truth (i. e. the "fullness" of truth) by the Scriptures which he has inspired. The entire New Testament had not been written when the disciples received this promise from the lips of Christ. There was a TON of truth that had not yet been revealed to them. They did not have Romans. They did not have Galatians. They did not have Acts. They did not have Revelation. The Holy Spirit would come and inspire them to give us the Holy Scriptures. The truth Peter knew when Jesus spoke into his hearing the words of John 16:13 can hardly be compared to the truth Peter knew when he wrote his last epistle.
Jesus kept this promise and all the Christians of all the ages can be grateful that he did. Because this promise concerned the giving of the entire New Testament by the Holy Spirit by which we receive the fullness of truth.

 

Joy is the result of knowing the goodness of God. That is what strengthens us.

Joy is not something that exists independently. It is tied to the knowledge of the truth.