Is it possible to become “too obsessed” with faith and belief in jesus

Blaise N · Mar 15, 2022

Hi everyone,

I’m asking another question that’s causing me some troubling thoughts.

so as the title states,I worry occasionally/rarely about being “too obsessed” with faith in Jesus.What I mean is in the way that “faith is strangely overproductive,everconsuming,and taken to extreme proportions”-my own words.

now needless to say some may say that being obsessed with Jesus is ok.Yes I love him very much,but I sometimes get scared that I’m being obsessive about faith in him.
Some people especially become so obsessed it’s almost cultic,and then they become almost fanatical.

I worry about the possibility Of that happening to me.

Also,my daily faith life is constantly relying on God so I never stumble and fall away,relying on him for love and support,relying on him for wisdom,and relying in him as my hope.I pray before every meal,thank him greatly for all the things I have,pray as soon as I wake up and before I go to sleep.And read the Word occasionally (however im changing that to be a more frequent and active activity).

Being someone with ocd,I,like many other Christian sufferers,fear of believing false doctrines,Having the scary thoughts of somehow becoming a cult leader;when one would never think or be one,etc.

point being is,out of my 4 person household(me,my parents,and my sister),I out of the quartet take faith seriously and lovingly the most.I don’t do this to prove to anyone I’m a Christian,because that’s what the Pharisees did,I do all the listed things above so I can have a close/healthy relationship with Jesus.I don’t hold any unbiblical principles like for example “not watching tv” or “not dancing” or “wearing double fabric is a sin” etc.I only obey the commands from the lord himself.I guess I feel singled out because I’m separate from the unredeemed,what I mean is that I probably feel the way I do because I’m behaving in the proper, God-pleasing manner that he instructs us to do.

In conclusion,I worry about being to obsessed or fanatical about faith.Now obsessed is a neutral topic,there’s positive and negative obsessions,I like the fact I’m close him,but I worry I take things to seriously or literally.

.Mikha'el. · Mar 15, 2022

If you're flaunting your faith in front of other people, that is crossing a line, imo.

disciple Clint · Mar 15, 2022

Blaise N said:
Hi everyone,

I’m asking another question that’s causing me some troubling thoughts.

so as the title states,I worry occasionally/rarely about being “too obsessed” with faith in Jesus.What I mean is in the way that “faith is strangely overproductive,everconsuming,and taken to extreme proportions”-my own words.

now needless to say some may say that being obsessed with Jesus is ok.Yes I love him very much,but I sometimes get scared that I’m being obsessive about faith in him.
Some people especially become so obsessed it’s almost cultic,and then they become almost fanatical.

I worry about the possibility Of that happening to me.

Also,my daily faith life is constantly relying on God so I never stumble and fall away,relying on him for love and support,relying on him for wisdom,and relying in him as my hope.I pray before every meal,thank him greatly for all the things I have,pray as soon as I wake up and before I go to sleep.And read the Word occasionally (however im changing that to be a more frequent and active activity).

Being someone with ocd,I,like many other Christian sufferers,fear of believing false doctrines,Having the scary thoughts of somehow becoming a cult leader;when one would never think or be one,etc.

point being is,out of my 4 person household(me,my parents,and my sister),I out of the quartet take faith seriously and lovingly the most.I don’t do this to prove to anyone I’m a Christian,because that’s what the Pharisees did,I do all the listed things above so I can have a close/healthy relationship with Jesus.I don’t hold any unbiblical principles like for example “not watching tv” or “not dancing” or “wearing double fabric is a sin” etc.I only obey the commands from the lord himself.I guess I feel singled out because I’m separate from the unredeemed,what I mean is that I probably feel the way I do because I’m behaving in the proper, God-pleasing manner that he instructs us to do.

In conclusion,I worry about being to obsessed or fanatical about faith.Now obsessed is a neutral topic,there’s positive and negative obsessions,I like the fact I’m close him,but I worry I take things to seriously or literally.

I would say that it is not possible to have too much faith just as it is not possible to have too much health.

Ahermit · Mar 15, 2022

Fear and doubt have nothing to do with faith in what is True. Truth is Loving and Faithful. Jesus preached to those that had ears to hear, and eyes to see, not to those that did not seek the Truth. Once a person knows that the Truth can be heard by the teachings of Christ, then that is enough. Those that want to know more will seek out the Truth. In the meantime, live and let live. Let go, let God. Your serenity, calmness, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, tolerance, and allowance, all in silence is witness enough for anybody to recognize. All this, not by obsession, but by 'loving the Love that loves you'.

Gregory Thompson · Mar 15, 2022

Blaise N said:
Hi everyone,

I’m asking another question that’s causing me some troubling thoughts.

so as the title states,I worry occasionally/rarely about being “too obsessed” with faith in Jesus.What I mean is in the way that “faith is strangely overproductive,everconsuming,and taken to extreme proportions”-my own words.

now needless to say some may say that being obsessed with Jesus is ok.Yes I love him very much,but I sometimes get scared that I’m being obsessive about faith in him.
Some people especially become so obsessed it’s almost cultic,and then they become almost fanatical.

I worry about the possibility Of that happening to me.

Also,my daily faith life is constantly relying on God so I never stumble and fall away,relying on him for love and support,relying on him for wisdom,and relying in him as my hope.I pray before every meal,thank him greatly for all the things I have,pray as soon as I wake up and before I go to sleep.And read the Word occasionally (however im changing that to be a more frequent and active activity).

Being someone with ocd,I,like many other Christian sufferers,fear of believing false doctrines,Having the scary thoughts of somehow becoming a cult leader;when one would never think or be one,etc.

point being is,out of my 4 person household(me,my parents,and my sister),I out of the quartet take faith seriously and lovingly the most.I don’t do this to prove to anyone I’m a Christian,because that’s what the Pharisees did,I do all the listed things above so I can have a close/healthy relationship with Jesus.I don’t hold any unbiblical principles like for example “not watching tv” or “not dancing” or “wearing double fabric is a sin” etc.I only obey the commands from the lord himself.I guess I feel singled out because I’m separate from the unredeemed,what I mean is that I probably feel the way I do because I’m behaving in the proper, God-pleasing manner that he instructs us to do.

In conclusion,I worry about being to obsessed or fanatical about faith.Now obsessed is a neutral topic,there’s positive and negative obsessions,I like the fact I’m close him,but I worry I take things to seriously or literally.

If you do too many activities, it can result in your devotions becoming idolatry instead of an expression of faith in God.

Blaise N · Mar 15, 2022

Michael Collum said:
If you do too many activities, it can result in your devotions becoming idolatry instead of an expression of faith in God.

Based on your viewpoint,do I do too many activities?

Gregory Thompson · Mar 15, 2022

Blaise N said:
Based on your viewpoint,do I do too many activities?

It sounds like your mind is full of business based on your posts. So even when you're doing nothing, it must be incredibly exhausting. This need to create momentum to avoid emotional manifestation has an idol like effect.

Blaise N · Mar 15, 2022

Michael Collum said:
It sounds like your mind is full of business based on your posts. So even when you're doing nothing, it must be incredibly exhausting. This need to create momentum to avoid emotional manifestation has an idol like effect.

Thanks for your response Micheal.I was only asking this because I was scared I may in a near impossible hypothetical way I’m like Jim Jones.I know,it’s a way out of proportion comparison.

I just want to be sure I’m not cultic obsessed,like I said,fanatical obsessed.
I just want to be sure I have healthy faith like a normal Christian

Unqualified · Mar 15, 2022

You can wear yourself out obeying and ministering to the poor or being a missionary. But most of us don’t do that. Only a few work full time for the lord and overtime. We don’t have to be perfect but at the same time ‘to whom much is given much is required’. Don’t worry about how you understand but be true to the lord and your gifts and your family. You can love them I hope. Love them into the kingdom, help them, obey your parents
@Blaise N . Pray for them, they could be your mission field. Blessed is the one who the lord justifies.lol The lord bless you.

Not trying to be hard on you only to further you a bit. I think you should be happy you are doing so well and feeling strong. Keep it up grasshopper. It’s part of life. Jesus loves you.

1watchman · Mar 15, 2022

A truly "born again" saint: 'new life in Christ', should not be worried about "obsessed" with faith --that is ridiculous! I am ALWAYS in remembrance of my daily walk with my Savior (my 'best Friend'), and count it a privilege to be in communion with Him in ALL things touching my life. Don't be afraid to talk with the Savior; just be sure you know Him, as John 3; John 14; etc.

angelsaroundme · Mar 15, 2022

When people have contamination OCD they sometimes wash their hands till they are cracked and bleeding. A severe case may decide to not leave the house because there are too many germs. Howard Hughes is reported to have thought germs could only come from outside.

Religious OCD or scrupulosity tends to be similar but it's based on moral and spiritual matters. Someone might pray over, and over, and over, in a state of panic, because a thought occurred that made them feel sinful or contaminated. They might distance themselves from others because they don't meet what most would consider an unreasonable standard of behavior.

I think scrupulosity should be treated more or less like contamination OCD. That means you figure out what is the normal standard and you keep yourself from going passed it. So, with cleaning that would be washing your hands for five-ten seconds instead of continuing until the compulsion goes away. In your religious behavior that would be not worrying over small things because most Christians don't. It would mean to do activities that most Christians find acceptable and not think about God 24/7.

Doing this, I believe, would help manage your scrupulosity and eventually you'd be able to more clearly separate the OCD and intrusive thoughts from your faith. Of course, I'm not an expert. It would be good to do more research yourself or talk to someone trained in this specific field of OCD.

Tolworth John · Mar 16, 2022

Blaise N said:
,I worry about being to obsessed or fanatical about faith

Are you able to hold a job down, attend college, interact with people, attend church etc etc or does your OCD make this either difficult or impossible?

Normality = being able to do the above.

Blaise N · Mar 16, 2022

Tolworth John said:
Are you able to hold a job down, attend college, interact with people, attend church etc etc or does your OCD make this either difficult or impossible?

Normality = being able to do the above.

Do the above!

aiki · Mar 16, 2022

Blaise N said:
now needless to say some may say that being obsessed with Jesus is ok.Yes I love him very much,but I sometimes get scared that I’m being obsessive about faith in him.
Some people especially become so obsessed it’s almost cultic,and then they become almost fanatical.

Do you mean like the disciples of Jesus who went all over the place preaching Jesus, forming communities of Christ followers in every town and city that they could, and dying for him? Do you mean like the apostle Paul who wrote, "For to me to live is Christ"? Do you mean like Peter who wrote that "in everything God may glorified through Jesus Christ"? I think many today would look at any Christian living for Jesus after the manner of those in the NT and call them "fanatical." What they are, in fact, are true disciples of Jesus. The problem lies with the critics, not with those whose lives are consumed with Christ.

Philippians 3:7-10
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

To the average "Christian" today, Paul's words here sound out-of-proportion, radical, excessive. They read them and immediately begin to mitigate their meaning and force: Paul was unique; we don't have to be just as he was; he had a special mission that required total commitment to Jesus. A person doesn't have to give up everything to know Christ; this isn't a literal giving-up, only figurative one for most Christians. And so on. By this blunting of Paul's words, the modern Christian excuses himself from any significant sacrifice in his pursuit of Jesus, from any interruption of his living by his so-called commitment to Christ. But, then, Jesus said,

Matthew 16:24-26
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

No one can truly follow these words in their practical living and not come off to those who aren't as "fanatical" and "extreme." But it isn't from these compromised critics that you will one day receive your eternal reward.

Blaise N said:
Also,my daily faith life is constantly relying on God so I never stumble and fall away,relying on him for love and support,relying on him for wisdom,and relying in him as my hope.I pray before every meal,thank him greatly for all the things I have,pray as soon as I wake up and before I go to sleep.And read the Word occasionally (however im changing that to be a more frequent and active activity).

How about submitting to Him? Do you do that? Christians are quick to trust God (when they have no other choice), they are quick to depend upon Him (in circumstances that don't require any actual, concrete moments of dependence), they are quick to obey Him (except in those secret areas of their lives where they are determined to do what they want no matter what God wants). But they never actually submit themselves to Him. They tell themselves that in depending upon God, in trusting Him, in obeying Him, they are submitting to Him, but this isn't necessarily so. Submitting comes before all of these things - or ought to.

The Pharisees were professionally-obedient to God's laws but Jesus said their hearts were far from God. At least on the surface, they were hyper-careful to keep God's laws but in reality they were "tombs full of dead men's bones," terrible, two-faced hypocrites. Mere obedience, then, is not synonymous with submission to God.

You and I trust ourselves to other people in all sorts of ways (doctors, dentists, barbers, fellow drivers on the road, etc.) but we don't submit to them wholesale as God calls us to do. We might trust God here and there, in circumstances over which we recognize we have zero control, when we have no other choice but to trust Him, or when trusting Him doesn't require anything of us except the declaration that we trust Him, but submitting as a living sacrifice to Him, placing ourselves entirely under His control throughout each day is another matter entirely. Many Christians are quite easy about saying they trust God but choke on a sincere, heartfelt prayer of submission to Him.

You and I also depend upon many various things every day: the electrical grid, the water-supply infrastructure, the supply-chain of goods to the grocery store or retail outlet, the love and support of family and friends, etc. We do so, though, without submitting to any of these things as God demands we do. We can be dependent without being submitted. And many Christians are this way with God. They acknowledge their ultimate dependency upon God without a problem, but balk sharply at constantly yielding themselves to Him as His bondservant, as God's slave of righteousness, totally at His disposal and under His control.

And so, I ask you: In all of the relying upon God that you do, are you as careful always to place yourself under His control, to submit to Him?

Blaise N said:
Being someone with ocd,I,like many other Christian sufferers,fear of believing false doctrines,Having the scary thoughts of somehow becoming a cult leader;when one would never think or be one,etc.

This is just what happens when Self grows out of control, seeking to protect itself, to preserve itself, from any discomfort, or difficulty, or harm, imagined or real. Self is always ultimately destructive because it refuses God's perfect, life-giving, stabilizing, holy authority and control. Self, occupied with the impulses of the flesh, with earthly, temporal things, with rebellion and sin, wants its own without boundary, without constraint, if possible, driving people to obsessive thinking and behavior, to addiction and, often, to destruction.

Romans 7:18
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

Romans 8:5-8
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Galatians 5:17
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

And so, Self must die before the life of Christ can properly manifest in the Christian person. See Romans 6, Galatians 2:20; Galatians 5:24; Colossians 3:3, etc..

Blaise N said:
In conclusion,I worry about being to obsessed or fanatical about faith.

No, I think you worry because you are in the habit of worrying. Prompted by Self, you have established a practice of responding to things with anxiety and fear - even things that should cause you no distress at all. But this, again, is where Self always takes us if we aren't being guided and shaped by God as we consciously, repeatedly place ourselves under His control throughout every day.

James 4:7, 10
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God...

10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Romans 6:13
13 Neither yield the members of your body as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those who are alive from the dead, and the members of your body as instruments of righteousness unto God.

Romans 12:1
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Blaise N · Mar 16, 2022

aiki said:
Do you mean like the disciples of Jesus who went all over the place preaching Jesus, forming communities of Christ followers in every town and city that they could, and dying for him? Do you mean like the apostle Paul who wrote, "For to me to live is Christ"? Do you mean like Peter who wrote that "in everything God may glorified through Jesus Christ"? I think many today would look at any Christian living for Jesus after the manner of those in the NT and call them "fanatical." What they are, in fact, are true disciples of Jesus. The problem lies with the critics, not with those whose lives are consumed with Christ.

Philippians 3:7-10
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

To the average "Christian" today, Paul's words here sound out-of-proportion, radical, excessive. They read them and immediately begin to mitigate their meaning and force: Paul was unique; we don't have to be just as he was; he had a special mission that required total commitment to Jesus. A person doesn't have to give up everything to know Christ; this isn't a literal giving-up, only figurative one for most Christians. And so on. By this blunting of Paul's words, the modern Christian excuses himself from any significant sacrifice in his pursuit of Jesus, from any interruption of his living by his so-called commitment to Christ. But, then, Jesus said,

Matthew 16:24-26
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

No one can truly follow these words in their practical living and not come off to those who aren't as "fanatical" and "extreme." But it isn't from these compromised critics that you will one day receive your eternal reward.

How about submitting to Him? Do you do that? Christians are quick to trust God (when they have no other choice), they are quick to depend upon Him (in circumstances that don't require any actual, concrete moments of dependence), they are quick to obey Him (except in those secret areas of their lives where they are determined to do what they want no matter what God wants). But they never actually submit themselves to Him. They tell themselves that in depending upon God, in trusting Him, in obeying Him, they are submitting to Him, but this isn't necessarily so. Submitting comes before all of these things - or ought to.

The Pharisees were professionally-obedient to God's laws but Jesus said their hearts were far from God. At least on the surface, they were hyper-careful to keep God's laws but in reality they were "tombs full of dead men's bones," terrible, two-faced hypocrites. Mere obedience, then, is not synonymous with submission to God.

You and I trust ourselves to other people in all sorts of ways (doctors, dentists, barbers, fellow drivers on the road, etc.) but we don't submit to them wholesale as God calls us to do. We might trust God here and there, in circumstances over which we recognize we have zero control, when we have no other choice but to trust Him, or when trusting Him doesn't require anything of us except the declaration that we trust Him, but submitting as a living sacrifice to Him, placing ourselves entirely under His control throughout each day is another matter entirely. Many Christians are quite easy about saying they trust God but choke on a sincere, heartfelt prayer of submission to Him.

You and I also depend upon many various things every day: the electrical grid, the water-supply infrastructure, the supply-chain of goods to the grocery store or retail outlet, the love and support of family and friends, etc. We do so, though, without submitting to any of these things as God demands we do. We can be dependent without being submitted. And many Christians are this way with God. They acknowledge their ultimate dependency upon God without a problem, but balk sharply at constantly yielding themselves to Him as His bondservant, as God's slave of righteousness, totally at His disposal and under His control.

And so, I ask you: In all of the relying upon God that you do, are you as careful always to place yourself under His control, to submit to Him?

This is just what happens when Self grows out of control, seeking to protect itself, to preserve itself, from any discomfort, or difficulty, or harm, imagined or real. Self is always ultimately destructive because it refuses God's perfect, life-giving, stabilizing, holy authority and control. Self, occupied with the impulses of the flesh, with earthly, temporal things, with rebellion and sin, wants its own without boundary, without constraint, if possible, driving people to obsessive thinking and behavior, to addiction and, often, to destruction.

Romans 7:18
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

Romans 8:5-8
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Galatians 5:17
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

And so, Self must die before the life of Christ can properly manifest in the Christian person. See Romans 6, Galatians 2:20; Galatians 5:24; Colossians 3:3, etc..

No, I think you worry because you are in the habit of worrying. Prompted by Self, you have established a practice of responding to things with anxiety and fear - even things that should cause you no distress at all. But this, again, is where Self always takes us if we aren't being guided and shaped by God as we consciously, repeatedly place ourselves under His control throughout every day.

James 4:7, 10
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God...

10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Romans 6:13
13 Neither yield the members of your body as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those who are alive from the dead, and the members of your body as instruments of righteousness unto God.

Romans 12:1
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Hey aiki!

yes I am making it a habit of submitting to him.But regarding that I have a question,when submitting to him how exactly do you do that.Is that simply stop worrying and stopping-trying to control your circumstances and allow God to do the work.?
Or is it something else

Concerning the uppar part I don’t mean those who let Jesus’s power consume their life in a positive influential manner.

I’m speaking of extreme and strange ways of extreme.Such as people who behaved like the evil Jim Jones.People so obsessed with faith that they take it to the beyond extremes,adding self imposed doctrines to core fai the doctrines,claiming to be divine,etc.

Concerning the middle part,yes I’m clear on the people who adhere to the idea of “easy believism” where they think that simply believing in Jesus and his gospel means they are saved,when truth be told,salvation is evidenced by a changed life and fruit of the Holy Spirit,Aka obedience.I do obey God,I do submit to his lordship of my life too,I make mistakes,and slip up.I will not say I don’t have sin,because I do.I do obey Jesus though.and my life reflects that as well

-Luca · Mar 16, 2022

Michael Collum said:
It sounds like your mind is full of business based on your posts. So even when you're doing nothing, it must be incredibly exhausting. This need to create momentum to avoid emotional manifestation has an idol like effect.

Not related to original post, but your profile picture is very useful

Cute Peonies · Mar 16, 2022

I'd rather be obsessed with Jesus and my faith than anything else. It makes me feel secure and I feel like doing the right thing as a Christian. But you're right, there are lines that shouldn't be crossed. I don't think God wants us to obsess over Him 24/7. He gave us assignments, jobs, family, friends. It's important to find a balance.

Blaise N · Mar 16, 2022

Cute Peonies said:
I'd rather be obsessed with Jesus and my faith than anything else. It makes me feel secure and I feel like doing the right thing as a Christian. But you're right, there are lines that shouldn't be crossed. I don't think God wants us to obsess over Him 24/7. He gave us assignments, jobs, family, friends. It's important to find a balance.

Hi ponies,

like I said I like yo think of myself as positive obsessed,and I don’t see that as a bad thing.I’m simply worried about If I’m too obsessed,like into the area of being fanatical or dangerously obsessed to the degree of looking almost cultic.

1watchman · Mar 16, 2022

Blaise N said:
Hey aiki!

yes I am making it a habit of submitting to him.But regarding that I have a question,when submitting to him how exactly do you do that.Is that simply stop worrying and stopping-trying to control your circumstances and allow God to do the work.?
Or is it something else

Concerning the uppar part I don’t mean those who let Jesus’s power consume their life in a positive influential manner.

I’m speaking of extreme and strange ways of extreme.Such as people who behaved like the evil Jim Jones.People so obsessed with faith that they take it to the beyond extremes,adding self imposed doctrines to core fai the doctrines,claiming to be divine,etc.

Concerning the middle part,yes I’m clear on the people who adhere to the idea of “easy believism” where they think that simply believing in Jesus and his gospel means they are saved,when truth be told,salvation is evidenced by a changed life and fruit of the Holy Spirit,Aka obedience.I do obey God,I do submit to his lordship of my life too,I make mistakes,and slip up.I will not say I don’t have sin,because I do.I do obey Jesus though.and my life reflects that as well

Don't be occupied with what SOME religious type people do, but trust our God. We all have the flesh, but let us not 'walk in it'. It seems to be a misunderstanding for you, Blaise, to think of "believing" as you say, as a thing to keep doing, but you need to see it as a personal relationship ---with the Lord Jesus in your heart as your 'best Friend'. I walk and talk with Him all day! You are talking about "submitting to Him", which is NOT a right state of mind. Certainly the Lord Jesus IS our Creator-God manifested in the flesh, but it is in grace, and we need to praise and thank Him for coming into our life --if in fact one is truly "born again" as John 3; John 14; 1 Jn. 5:10-12; etc; (I hope you are).
Make the Lord Jesus the center of your daily life and honor and love Him, as He loves all His children!
Write me anytime privately at the Conversation Page herein, if you wish to chat about things.
-1watchman

aiki · Mar 16, 2022

Blaise N said:
Hey aiki!

yes I am making it a habit of submitting to him.But regarding that I have a question,when submitting to him how exactly do you do that.Is that simply stop worrying and stopping-trying to control your circumstances and allow God to do the work.?
Or is it something else

Hey, Blaise.

To answer your question:

Determine that you will place yourself under God's control, under His will and way, regardless of what you may or may not feel, by faith trusting that as you do, the Spirit is freed to work his transforming work in you, and then say so to God. Consciously, explicitly, even out-loud if possible, tell God, whenever it is necessary to do so, that you submit yourself to Him, to His control. And as often as the impulse to go your own way, to follow your own godless habits and desires, rises within you, submit again to God, waiting on Him to alter you according to His will.

Very practically, this means when your habit of fear and worry confronts you, pray a prayer of submission to God. And continue to do so, as long as the impulse to fear and worry presses upon you.

Having submitted, stand in faith on who you are in Christ; remind yourself of the facts concerning who you are as a new creature in him. By an act of your will, choose to remain, unmoved, on these facts, trusting to them as the truth, regardless of what you feel or experience.

Standing by faith on the truth of who you are in Christ, glorify God in your living and being, praising Him, thanking Him, and serving as His hands and heart to all those around you.

Blaise N said:
I’m speaking of extreme and strange ways of extreme.Such as people who behaved like the evil Jim Jones.People so obsessed with faith that they take it to the beyond extremes,adding self imposed doctrines to core fai the doctrines,claiming to be divine,etc.

Jim Jones wasn't obsessed with faith but with himself. This was the terrible evil at the heart of all he did, encouraged, no doubt, by the demonic. This is the case for all cult leaders. The simplest way to avoid such a thing is to be obsessed with Christ, instead.

Blaise N said:
salvation is evidenced by a changed life and fruit of the Holy Spirit,Aka obedience.

A born-again person is made so by the Holy Spirit. So, then, to discern the reality of one's salvation, one ought to look for the work of the Spirit within after the manner the Bible describes. Obedience is an effect of the work of the Spirit that can be counterfeited in some measure by Self. Think of the Pharisees. What Self can't counterfeit is the conviction of the Spirit (John 16:8), the illumination of God's truth by the Spirit (John 16:13; 1 Corinthians 2:10-16), the strengthening by the Spirit in times of trial and temptation (Ephesians 3:16; Philippians 2:13; Philippians 4:13), the comfort of the Spirit in seasons of grief and pain (2 Corinthians 1:3-5), and, yes, the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 5:9). To these you should look, first and foremost, for evidence of genuine salvation.

Again, the Bible repeatedly enjoins the believer to submit to God and to continue to do so in their walk with Him. (Romans 6:13-22; Romans 12:1; 1 Peter 5:6; James 4:7, etc.) There is no walking with God without submission to Him. To be in any other state toward Him is to be in rebellion to Him. He is God of your life, your Lord and Master, or you stand as a rebel before Him. There are no other options. And it is only within the context of submission to God that a believer can fully, richly enjoy communion with Him. You must decrease that He might increase. In fact, you must die. (Matthew 16:24-25; John 12:24-25) This is the only way to walk well with Him. But in submission and death there is the new life in Christ and joyful, unhindered fellowship with God.

Is it possible to become “too obsessed” with faith and belief in jesus

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7x13=28

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Change is inevitable, feel free to spare some.

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Change is inevitable, feel free to spare some.

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243 God loves me

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I love flowers irl

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