Is THIS a Sin?? ... Can it Ever Be?

[mizpeh]

Originally Posted by chosenbyone

Anxiety disorders could be genetic or could be caused by other physical ailments such as thyroid problems.

Or by an evil spirit of fear and doubt trying to cause unbelief to fester in our minds.

[SDG]

Originally Posted by mizpeh

Or by an evil spirit of fear and doubt trying to cause unbelief to fester in our minds.

Is fear always an evil spirit ...?

Some are quoting 2 Timothy 1:7

but what does Paul mean by spirit?

In examining 2 Timothy 1:7, I think context and prior knowledge should give us which definition of the Greek word pneuma Paul is referring to ...

Surely it's not definition 1 ... and I dont think it's 2 or 3

For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

ou gar edwken (5656) hmin o qeov pneuma deiliav, alla dunamewv kai agaphv kai swfronismou.


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Pneuma

1. the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son
1. sometimes referred to in a way which emphasises his personality and character (the \Holy\ Spirit)
2. sometimes referred to in a way which emphasises his work and power (the Spirit of \Truth\)
3. never referred to as a depersonalised force

2. the spirit, i.e. the vital principal by which the body is animated
1. the rational spirit, the power by which the human being feels, thinks, decides
2. the soul

3. a spirit, i.e. a simple essence, devoid of all or at least all grosser matter, and possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, and acting
1. a life giving spirit
2. a human soul that has left the body

3. a spirit higher than man but lower than God, i.e. an angel
1. used of demons, or evil spirits, who were conceived as inhabiting the bodies of men
2. the spiritual nature of Christ, higher than the highest angels and equal to God, the divine nature of Christ

4. the disposition or influence which fills and governs the soul of any one
1. the efficient source of any power, affection, emotion, desire, etc.

5. a movement of air (a gentle blast)
1. of the wind, hence the wind itself
2. breath of nostrils or mouth

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I think it has to be the fourth.

[Praxeas]

Spirit often means disposition of mind

[SDG]

Originally Posted by Praxeas

Spirit often means disposition of mind

Right ... an emotion ...

Is anger ... sadness ... other negative emotions sinful too?

Paul did say ... be angry ... yet do not sin ...

[Praxeas]

Originally Posted by Daniel Alicea

Right ... an emotion ...

Is anger ... sadness ... other negative emotions sinful too?

Paul did say ... be angry ... yet do not sin ...

Yes though he does also seem to suggest that being quick to wrath is a symptom of the carnal mind.
2Co 12:20 For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish--that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder.
2Co 12:21 I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced.

Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
Gal 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
Gal 5:21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Eph 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Eph 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Eph 4:31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Eph 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Col 3:7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.
Col 3:8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
Col 3:9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
Col 3:10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

(Jas 1:19) Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
(Jas 1:20) for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
(Jas 1:21) Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
(Jas 1:22) But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

[mizpeh]

Originally Posted by Daniel Alicea

Is fear always an evil spirit ...?

No, not always.

[chosenbyone]

Originally Posted by mizpeh

Or by an evil spirit of fear and doubt trying to cause unbelief to fester in our minds.

No argument here. I just think that we cannot base an opinion on anxiety sufferers just on our own life experiences.

[mizpeh]

Originally Posted by chosenbyone

No argument here. I just think that we cannot base an opinion on anxiety sufferers just on our own life experiences.

The battlefield is in our minds. Fearful thoughts trigger anxious feelings.

God is merciful. He takes pity on our weaknesses and helps us to overcome. Whatever the cause of the anxiety, as Christians, I don't believe we have to live in a state of constant anxiety or be controlled by anxiety.

I read a book about T W Barnes in which he was afflicted by an evil spirit of depression for six months. Interesting stuff.