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DOCTRINE OF WORRY

A. Definition.

1. Worry is a mental attitude sin in which there is soulish torment or anxiety regarding anything in life. It is a disquieting and painful state of mind involving undue concern over something in life.

2. Worry always anticipates the worst, and so becomes apprehension or anticipation of danger, misfortune, trouble, or uncertainty. Worry is a state of restlessness and agitation, producing mental disturbance, uneasiness, foreboding, anxiety, and painful uncertainty.

B. Worry is a destroyer of the soul. If unchecked, it results in mental illness. You get a warning first, often with a physical problem. Worry in the mind causes shock to the body, Prov 12:25.

C. Bad news causes worry, Jer 49:23ff.

D. Worry causes hysteria, Lk 10:41. Everyone has an area in which they are prone to worry.

E. People cause worry. People are always worried about other people. Worriers have to have an object, 1 Sam 10:2. You can always find an object if you really want to worry.

F. Economic disaster is a cause of worry, Jer 44:16.

G. Worry leads to reversionism and the sin unto death, Ezek 4:15-17,12:18-19.

H. Sin causes worry. People worry about sin which causes guilt, Ps 38:18. Worry is a sin, Rom 14:23. We are ordered to stop worrying, Lk 12:29.

I. Worry characterizes reversionism, Isa 57:11.

J. Worry does not solve problems, Mt 6:25-34. Logistical grace offsets worry.

K. Worry distracts from doctrinal teaching, Mt 13:22; Lk 8:14.

L. Therefore, blessing from God includes freedom from worry. Jer 17:7-8, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord.” This verse teaches the difference between a growing and a mature believer.

M. Therefore worry is forbidden, Phil 4:6-7. Ask God in prayer for anything. When you get enough doctrine you won’t worry anyway, 1 Sam 17:47; Ps 55:22; Isa 26:3-4; 1 Pet 5:7.

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