Day: March 24, 2026

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

“They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you” (Galatians 4:17,18 KJV).

Let us see if we can identify and comprehend the dangers of relying on emotions….

I have seen it in my own life, and I am certain you have experienced it too. A solitary emotional episode can ruin a well-thought-out plan. The result is utterly disastrous! Ruminate on this, dear friend. Father God devised the local church to be a place where His people fellowship around each other as they are filled with the life of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, but the flesh controlled the reckless Galatian assemblies of today’s Scripture! Adam alive and well in and through them, they were spiritual cannibals gobbling up each other in their selfishness, childishness, and pettiness! “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another” (Galatians 5:15). If they were disposed to attack themselves, Paul doubtless expected they would easily consider him a rival too (Galatians 4:16)!

“You are not going to tell us who we can invite to speak at our Bible conference!” A group of professing “grace” Christians told me those words when I informed them of how their favorite teacher was false. By the way, this was the very assembly to which I had ministered for the prior five years. They wanted the lie, and, following God’s example, I decisively handed them over to it (Romans 1:24,26,28). That was their own fault, neither my fault nor God’s. Unfortunately, they not only lacked spiritual sense but also refused it, and would therefore threaten my own spiritual health if I did not get away from them. “Be not deceived: evil communications [friendships, companionships, associates] corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians 15:33). Since they were more emotional than they were scriptural and dispensational, I promptly cut off fellowship with them. Last I heard of them, they were further from the truth than ever… and their false teacher was still there, teaching worse doctrine.

If our doctrine is not that which demonstrates the life of Jesus Christ, we have no reason to assemble—no matter how good it “feels” or how emotionally attached we are to the teacher or pastor….