Stay Out of Your FeelingsRomans 2:17–24 "Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?" — Romans 2:21 There is something about being corrected that most of us don't like. We don't mind correction when we already believe we need it. We don't mind hearing somebody talk about somebody else's problem — you can preach about lying, and everybody in the room knows somebody who lies. You can preach about pride, and somebody else's face comes to mind. You can preach about unforgiveness, and we can tell you exactly who needs to hear it. But then there are those moments when the Word stops pointing at somebody else and starts pointing at us. That's when we have to make a decision — are we going to receive the Word, or are we going to get in our feelings? Hebrews 4:12 tells us the Word of God is "quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword." A sword isn't designed to make you comfortable. A sword cuts. And sometimes the Word of God is going to cut into something we don't want touched — expose an attitude we thought was justified, challenge a behavior we've learned to excuse, show us something about ourselves we'd rather not see. But that's what the Word is supposed to do. It wasn't given just to encourage us. It was given to correct us, to convict us, to instruct us, and ultimately to bring us into obedience to God. So when the Word cuts you, don't get mad at the Word. And don't get so caught up in who delivered it that you miss what God is saying. Because sometimes we're so busy asking "why did they say that to me" that we never stop and ask, "Lord, is there something You're trying to show me?" That's where Paul takes us in Romans 2. The Sermon Paul is dealing with people who knew the Law. They knew Scripture — could teach it, could tell other people exactly what God expected of them, had confidence in their knowledge of God. But Paul saw something they didn't want to see: their knowledge of the Word had not necessarily produced obedience to the Word. That's why he asks them in verse 21, "Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?" That's a powerful question. Paul is saying, in essence — you can teach somebody else, but what are you doing with what you're teaching? You can tell somebody else what God said, but are you listening to what God said? You can correct somebody else's behavior, but can God correct yours? You can recognize somebody else's sin, but can you recognize your own? That's the problem Paul is confronting, and I believe it's something the church has to be willing to look at today. Because it is easy to become familiar with Scripture without becoming submissive to Scripture. You can know the Bible and still not obey the Bible. You can quote the Word and still resist the Word. You can sit under preaching for years and still get offended when the preaching gets close to something you don't want to surrender. That's why we have to learn to stay out of our feelings when the Word of God corrects us. The Word is not our enemy. The Word Has to Correct the Preacher Too Now let me make this personal. I'm not standing outside of this message talking to somebody else. If I'm going to preach the Word of God to you, I have to be willing to stand under that same Word myself. I don't get to stand behind this Bible and act like I'm above it. I don't get to tell you what God requires while giving myself an exemption. The Word that tells you to forgive tells me to forgive. The Word that tells you to love your enemies tells me to love mine. The Word that tells you to control your tongue tells me to control mine. The Word that tells you to humble yourself tells me to humble myself. And when the Word finds something in me that isn't right, I don't get to tell God He shouldn't have brought that up. I have to deal with it. Before I point the finger at somebody else, I need to make sure I'm willing to let God put His finger on me. That's one of the reasons every preacher needs to spend time alone with God — because before I can stand before people and tell them what the Word says, I need to ask myself whether I'm willing to live under the authority of that Word. The messenger is not above the message. I'm under the same Word I'm preaching. Don't Confuse Conviction With an Attack Sometimes we say we're being attacked when we're actually being convicted. There's a difference. An attack is designed to tear you down. Conviction is designed to turn you around. When the Holy Spirit shows you something wrong in your life, that's not God trying to destroy you — that's God giving you an opportunity to get it right. David understood that. He said in Psalm 139, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts." He didn't say, "Lord, search everybody around me." He said, search me. That's a prayer we need to pray more often. Lord, search me. Show me what's wrong in me. Show me where my attitude is wrong, where my heart isn't right, where I'm holding on to something I need to let go of, where I'm disobeying You. And when God shows us, don't get angry because He answered the prayer. If you ask God to search you, you have to be willing to accept what He finds. Sometimes the Problem Isn't Who Said It I've watched people dismiss correction because they didn't like the person who gave it, and that's dangerous. You can dislike the messenger and still need the message. You can disagree with somebody about a lot of things and still have God use something they said to correct you. The question isn't "do I like the person who said it." The question is, "is it true according to the Word of God?" That's where we have to be careful, because if the Word of God is true, my feelings don't have the authority to change it. I don't get to say "well, that's just how I feel." God's Word doesn't change because I feel differently about it. I don't get to say "that's not how I see it" — the question isn't how I see it, the question is what did God say. Isaiah 55:8–9 reminds us that God's thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways. There are going to be times when God's Word disagrees with you, and when that happens, you are the one who needs to move. Not God. Your Feelings Cannot Be Your Master We have feelings — God gave us emotions. But our feelings were never designed to be our master. You can feel justified and still be wrong. You can feel offended and still need to apologize. You can feel like somebody deserved what you gave them and still be walking outside of God's will. You can feel like you have a right to hold on to something God has told you to release. Feelings can be real and still be wrong. That's why we need the Word — it gives us something more dependable than our emotions. Proverbs 28:26 says, "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool." That's strong language, but the Bible doesn't apologize for telling us the truth. God loves us too much to simply agree with everything we feel. Sometimes He'll love you enough to tell you that you're wrong. And when He does, don't get in your feelings — get in position to change. God Is More Concerned With Your Obedience Than Your Comfort There are some things in Scripture that are going to make us uncomfortable. Jesus never promised that following Him would always be comfortable. He said in John 14:15, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." That's obedience — not when it's convenient, not when you agree with it, not when it makes you feel good. If He is Lord, His Word has authority over our lives. First Thessalonians 4:3 says, "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification." God is still working on us. There are things He's still removing, attitudes He's still dealing with, areas where He's still teaching us how to walk — and sometimes that process isn't pleasant. But just because it hurts doesn't mean it isn't necessary. Sometimes the Word hurts because something in us needs to be cut away. And if God is cutting it away, let Him cut. Don't fight the surgeon because you don't like the surgery. Look at Yourself Jesus dealt with this in Matthew 7 — the person who could see the speck in somebody else's eye while ignoring the beam in his own. He wasn't saying we should never help anybody. He said, "First cast out the beam out of thine own eye." First. That's important. Before you try to fix everybody else, take a look at yourself. Before you tell everybody else what they need to do, ask God what He needs to do in you. Before you become an expert on somebody else's sin, make sure you haven't gone blind to your own. That's why Romans 2:21 matters so much — "Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?" And that's not just for preachers. It's for parents, for husbands and wives, for church leaders, for teachers, for every believer. If I'm going to tell somebody else to live according to the Word of God, I need to be willing to let that same Word govern my own life. Don't Run From Correction The mature believer doesn't run from correction. The mature believer asks, "what can I learn from this?" If somebody corrects you and they're wrong, take that before God. But if God uses their words to expose something that really is wrong in you, don't waste the opportunity by getting offended. Repent. Change. Grow. That's what God is after. Second Timothy 3:16 tells us Scripture is profitable for "doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." Notice that correction is part of the purpose of Scripture. So why would we want a Bible that only makes us feel good? I don't need a Bible that only tells me I'm blessed. I need a Bible that tells me when I'm wrong, a Word that will confront me when I get out of line, something that will tell me when my heart isn't right. Because if all the Word ever does is make me feel good but never makes me change, I'm not letting the Word do what God sent it to do. Conclusion So, believer, stay out of your feelings when the Word of God corrects you. Don't spend your time wondering who the preacher was talking about — ask what God is saying to you. Don't get so concerned about the messenger that you miss the message. And don't use Scripture as a weapon against everybody else while refusing to let Scripture examine you. Paul asked, "Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?" That question ought to stay with every one of us. It certainly stays with me. I can preach it and still have to live it. I can teach it and still have to be corrected by it. I can tell you what God said and still have to bow my knee when God speaks to me. The Word of God is not just for them — it's for me. So when the Word cuts you, let it cut. When it convicts you, listen. When it exposes something in you, don't hide it. When God shows you something that needs to change, don't defend it. Repent. Ask God for the grace to change. And keep walking — because God is not trying to embarrass you by correcting you. He's trying to sanctify you. And sometimes the Word that hurts your feelings is the very Word that saves you from continuing down the wrong road. So before I teach somebody else, let me teach myself. Before I correct somebody else, let me allow God to correct me. Before I point out what's wrong in somebody else's life, let me ask God to search mine. "Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?" That's the Word. And it applies to all of us. No need to correct this at all