400 Why Christianity 13: The Heart (Sean Finnegan)

What is the proper role of your emotions?  Should you trust them?  How do you know when they are helping and when they are hurting?  Today we’ll take a look at another exciting advantage that Christianity provides.  In this episode, you’ll learn about the problems endemic to emotional reasoning, the robust biblical teaching about your heart, and how God provides us away to exercise self-control.  Even if these are not new concepts, I believe they provide fresh insights in our emotionally fraught time while helping us to lead better lives.

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This is part 13 of the Why Christianity class.

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—— Notes ——

Cognitive Distortions
———————-
– Emotional Reasoning
– Catastrophizing
– Overgeneralization
– Dichotomous Thinking
– Mind Reading
– Labeling
– Negative Filtering
– Discounting Positives
– Blaming

Biblical View of the Heart
—————————
– The problem is worse than you think (Jeremiah 17.9; Mark 7.21-23)
– We are the problem
– Yet, God has provided a comprehensive solution both now and in the age to come

Good News
———–
1. New Birth
– admit you are lost, believe in Christ’s death for you, accept God’s gift of salvation, repent, enter into covenant
– he’ll give you a new heart (Ps. 51.1-2, 10)
– regeneration via the spirit (Titus 3.3-7)

2. Sanctification
– enkrateia ἐγκράτεια = “restraint of one’s emotions, impulses or desires, self-control” (BDAG); Proverbs 16.32; 12.16
– God will help us through his spirit
– (Proverbs 3.5-6; Galatians 5.16-23)
– Jesus is our example (1 Peter 2.21-23)
– ultimately we will benefit from a heart transplant (Ezekiel 36.24-28)