Santification Includes Your Emotions
“We become enslaved to our feelings, even as we try to follow them toward freedom.”
What is sanctification? This is a word that is often said from the pulpit and Christians nod their heads in agreement with it but have little understanding of it. In an article from The Gospel Coalition the West Minster Shorter Catechismsays this about the doctrine of sanctification, “is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.” Anthony A. Hoekema, author of Saved by Grace, says this about sanctification: “that gracious operation of the Holy Spirit, involving our responsible participation, by which he, delivers us from the pollution of sin, renews our entire nature according to the image of God, and enables us to live lives that are pleasing to him.”
Reading definitions like these can leave Christians more confused on what sanctification looks like in their their daily life. Christians can reduce sanctification down to a list of behavior management goals such as reading the bible more, praying more, going to church more and acquiring of doctrinal knowledge. Furthermore, Christians struggle to understand how their emotions are involved in the process of sanctification. For many Christians I work with there is an underlying belief that their Christian life and emotional life are separate; that emotional life is to be controlled or ignored and understood through counseling and psychology. They’ve learned how to modify behavior, avoid sin, and answer theological questions, but they remain emotionally confused, anxious, or numb. They wonder, “Why do I still feel this way if I’m following Jesus?”
The indirect assumption is clear: emotions aren’t part of sanctification.
If sanctification is about the spiritual formation of a believer, that includes their emotions. Emotions are central in the sanctification process. God is after the whole person which includes the heart, where we would say our emotions come from. God is not just after sanctifying our mind and our actions, but our emotions as well.
The Cultural Narrative: Emotions as Truth
Cultural anthems like, “live your truth” “follow your heart” “you are what you feel” frame up how collectively emotions are thought of. Emotions dictate reality and a persons’ identity. The underlying belief with this narrative is the reality and identity that emotions communicate must be true and have no right to be challenged.
Under this view, culture would define healing as expressing and affirming feelings without boundaries or critique. Emotional self-expression becomes its own form of righteousness. However, this view often leads to a deepening of confusion and instability. We become enslaved to our feelings, even as we try to follow them toward freedom.
The Church’s Misstep: Emotions as Distrustful
Unfortunately, the church has mishandled emotions. If culture has its emotional anthems, then the church has its emotional refrains, “don’t trust your feelings” “faith isn’t a feeling” “emotions aren’t part of the flesh”. These responses to people in and outside of the church show the misunderstanding it has towards the role emotions play in a person’s life and that they aren’t left out of the sanctification process.
Our emotions can be misleading and often produce a distorted view, but emotions showed be viewed as opportunities for growth, not obstacles to faith rather. The unintended consequence of a church that engages in the above emotional refrains is that many Christians learn to suppress or ignore them: Emotional suppression becomes a badge of spiritual maturity.
But what does scripture have to say about emotions?
The Emotional Life of God and His People
We see an emotionally expressive God throughout scripture. Scripture speaks of His compassion (Exodus 34:6), anger (Romans 1:18), jealousy (Exodus 20:5), delight (Zephaniah 3:17), and grief (Genesis 6:6). These are not signs of weakness or instability—they are expressions of His perfect, holy character.
Some of the strongest emotional language we read through is in the Psalms. The psalmist shows us a range of emotions from joy, despair, anger, hope, fear, and peace. David famously says in Psalm 84:2 “my heart and flesh cry out for the living God.”
Moving forward into the New Testament, Jesus, the full embodiment of God, showed emotions on many occasions. He wept over the death of Lazarus (John 11:35). He rejoiced in the Spirit (Luke 10:21). He was overwhelmed with sorrow in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:44). His emotions were not sins to manage; they were righteous responses flowing from a sinless heart. Spiritual maturity is the by-product of sanctification and spiritual maturity does not require emotional numbness. It requires emotional honesty tethered to theological truth.
Emotions as Instruments in Sanctification
Emotions are a window into our hearts and our hearts are where our affections, desires and motivations reside. Emotions show us the condition of our heart. James 4:1–3 asks: “What causes quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” This is emotional language. Anger, fear, envy, and despair are rooted in disordered desires. They expose where our loves have been misaligned.
Sanctification addresses this misalignment by causing an emotional reformation. God is reshaping what we feel, which changes what we do. As the Holy Spirit works in us, our emotional responses begin to reflect the heart of Christ. We grieve what grieves God. We rejoice in righteousness. We learn to mourn sin and find comfort in His mercy.
Our goal should be emotional alignment with the truth
1. Practice Emotional Awareness
Slowing down to be able to name our emotions is a key first step. Naming our emotions is not self-centered introspection—it’s Spirit-led examination. Like the Psalmist who cries, “Why are you cast down, O my soul?” (Psalm 42:5), we ask honest questions.
God invites you to bring your whole heart into His presence.
2. Ask Good Questions
When emotions arise, ask:
- What is this emotion pointing to?
- What do I want or fear right now?
- Is this aligned with what God says is true?
Asking good questions causes us to be in a place of reflection rather than reaction. Asking good questions leads us into communion with Christ.
3. Align Your Emotions with Scripture
We are not ruled by our emotions, so you should let the Word of God shape how you interpret and respond to your feelings. Our emotions should be submitted to the authority of Christ. This doesn’t mean pretending you feel something different. It means bringing the raw truth of your experience under the even greater truth of Scripture.
4. Pursue Emotional Honesty in Community
Too many Christians suffer emotionally in silence because they think struggling is a sign of spiritual failure. But the church is meant to be a place where we “bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2), not hide them.
Invite trusted friends, pastors, or counselors into your emotional world. Sanctification is communal.
5. Be Patient with the Process
Emotional maturity is a lifelong process and takes time. Our emotional patterns have been formed over years of wounds, lies, and habits. God is gracious and patient, and He calls us to the same posture. As Paul wrote, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion” (Philippians 1:6)—and that includes your emotional life.
The God Who Sanctifies the Whole Person
Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, “May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Sanctification is about whole person. Sanctification is about the whole heart.
Settling for spiritual maturity that bypasses emotional formation should not be the goal. The gospel is not merely about behavior modification and correction—it is about heart transformation. That includes the parts of us we often try to manage privately or ignore entirely.
God is not surprised by your emotions. He made them. And in Christ, He is redeeming them. Sanctification includes your emotions—because sanctification includes you.
Christian Bringolf MA LMHC