1 Cor. 8, Dealing with Scrupulosity (2)

 My point is not to do an “all you need to know to be healed from OCD.”  It is actually a little bigger than that.  I want to simply show the sufficiency of the Word of God, the written Word (the Bible) and the living Word (Christ) who lives His life in the believer.  We are doing NT word studies and have considered asthenema (scruples in Rom. 15:1), it’s root word astheneo (we saw this in several passages yesterday), and now a deeper root word …

o   asthenes (25x in the NT), an adjective meaning weak, infirm or feeble.  Again, a study of it’s uses in the NT can be helpful.  Here are a few examples.

§  Mk. 14:38: Jesus told His disciples to “watch and pray” because the flesh is weak.  Being on the alert is important to the believer who wants to take captive every thought (2 Cor. 10:4-5).  Learning to “pray without ceasing,” to be in tune with our Father throughout our days, is a fundamental weapon (Eph. 6:18) in dealing with attacks on the mind.

§  Rom. 5:6: when we were without strength, Christ died for us.  This is valuable because it reminds me that in my weakness Christ still loves me. 

§  This word was used in the “weaker brother” context of 1 Cor. 8-10 (8:7,10; 9:22).

§  Paul also used the term in describing the law as the “weak and beggarly elements” (Gal. 4:9; Heb. 7:18 also speaks of the weakness of the law).  God will help us by His grace.  We cannot access His help by the application of laws to our lives.  Rather, we first submit ourselves to Him, offering ourselves as living sacrifices (Rom. 12:1).  Then, as we set our minds on the things of the Spirit (the Word of God, Rom. 8:5) our minds are renewed (Rom. 12:2). 

§  1 Th. 5:14 speaks of the value of the family of God in upholding the weak.

o   These Greek terms come from a combination word, with the Greek “a” (negative) in front of the word “sthenoo” (1x in the NT; to make strong, strengthen; especially of one’s soul).  That is what OCD is: an issue of the soul.  We find it in 1 Pt. 5:10, where it is one of 4 terms that describe Christ’s promise to establish us. But may the God of all grace, who has called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.  That has always been a favorite of mine.  “After you have suffered a while.”  The stories of Luther, Bunyan and Therese are illustrations of both the suffering and the ultimate victory.  The multitude of mental and emotional issues that we face these days, regardless of what name is attached to them, can be faced with a proper use of many spiritual blessings God has poured out on His children (Eph. 1:3).