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| The Simplicity of Biblical Healing for the Soul |
The Christian life is actually quite simple. God has not given us a large and overwhelming system of steps to follow in order to find healing for our deepest wounds. Jesus was once asked to condense the laws of God into a small understandable package. This is how Luke describes the encounter:
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself. (Luke 10:25-27) I believe Jesus was saying the same thing in Matthew when He told us how to treat others: "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 7:12). Such an attitude is only possible when we first love the Lord with all our being.
Mistaking Confusion for Depth
Jesus' summary of true religious experience is simple, but deeply profound. Let us never mistake simplicity for shallowness. By the same token, we should never confuse complexity with depth.
When I began investigating the validity of "Christian psychology" I came across a book written by a well-known author who is respected as an orthodox evangelical with a genuine commitment to the Scriptures. I still cannot bring myself to deny his sincerity, though I question his understanding of Biblical interpretation and theology.
I remember reading one of his books which purports to explain how we can be changed from the inside out. I had heard from others that his book was spiritually deep and intellectually challenging. As I read it, I found myself asking, "What is the man really trying to say?" Eventually I realized the book was not deep; it was confusing. It reminds me of speakers who delight in using erudite language to impress audiences with their intellectual powers. People are seldom moved toward a closer walk with God by such speakers, but they are certainly impressed. When asked if they understood what a speaker said, some have to admit they did not. Nonetheless, many will whisper with awe, "But he was so deep!"
Expertism
Much of psychology is like that. It complicates life with its endless theories of behavior and therapies which try to uncover and explain the subconscious motivations of our soul. And psychology says it so impressively and with such authority. Psychological experts tell us that special training and knowledge are required to unravel our twisted psyches and to effect the healing of our wounded inner selves.
The Foolishness of MPD
We no longer have to deal with just one depraved soul per individual. No, thanks to psychology and the twisted theory of Multiple Personality Disorder, the counselor must now ferret out dozens of alter personalities, become acquainted with each one, build a trusting relationship with all of them, and deal with each individual trauma of the various alters in order to help integrate the several into one host personality. Failing to do that, the therapist must lead each remaining alter to a personal commitment to Christ.
It makes one wonder how God decides whether a person goes to heaven. If only some of the alters become saved, will only part of the soul be redeemed?
Simple Faith vs. "Working Through One's Pain"
In psychotheology, a person can no longer come to Christ in simple, childlike faith, be born again and experience transformation by the power of the Holy Spirit. Instead, wounded people are told that they must submit to therapy so they can work through the pain of their past and eventually learn to cope with their confusion and suffering. Hope is a thing of the past, a vestige of antiquated theology.
My dear suffering friend, I pray that you will reject the powerless philosophy upon which most psychology is based. It is a mistaken and twisted theology that looks for healing through the humanistic theories and therapies developed by men who openly rejected God and His Holy Word. Though unbiblical psychotherapies may produce a weak and temporary relief, they will never produce genuine healing for the wounded heart.
Worldly Complexity or the Power of the Cross
Paul addresses the issue of worldly complexity and Biblical simplicity, when he said that he preached the gospel, "not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power" (1Corinthians 1:17). He readily admits that "the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing," but he adds without hesitation, "but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1Corinthians 1:18).
Paul is not intimidated by the intellectual powers of the educated elite. He writes, "Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" (1Corinthians 1:20).
You see, worldly intellect is simply inadequate to deal with spiritual problems. That's why Paul says, "For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. "(1Corinthians 1:21).
God offers true healing through the Scriptures and the working of the Holy Spirit as we submit to His authority in our lives. Jesus told us that only the truth can set us free (John 8:32) and furthermore, He defined that truth: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).
The Walk of Faith
If you have read this far, you obviously are interested in genuine healing from God. I use the term ?Saturation Therapy? only to contrast it with the ineffectual therapies being passed off upon an unwary public as miracle cures. Saturation therapy simply means to fill our heart and soul with the truths of the Scriptures. Biblical counseling is just another way of saying "discipleship." It's purpose is to prepare and produce in us a daily walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Saturating Ourselves with God's Word
The first step in saturating one's being with the healing truths of God's Word is to believe it. To believe means that we accept something as true or real. One who believes God expects what He says to actually happen, right here on our planet, in real time and existent space. It means to have full confidence in the character and power of the Lord to do what He promises. Belief means to have a bold faith in a sovereign God and in the absolute dependability of His written Word.
Paul had that sort of faith. He publicly declared, "I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets" (Acts 24:14). Oh, that we will be like that in our own day!
Either It Is or It Isn't!
When writing to the church at Thessalonica, Paul said, "we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe" (1Thess. 2:13). That's the issue! Either the Bible is truly the Word of God or it isn't. It is a weak and foolish stand which accepts the Scriptures as true but insufficient to deal with our inner pain.
I identify with a television ad that says, "Growing old is not for sissies." Amen! And neither is believing the Bible. It takes people of courage, character, and common sense to see beyond what their physical senses can perceive.
God has always put a special value upon belief. He asked Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?" (Numbers 14:11). Is He asking that about you or me, my dear friend? In spite of all that He has done for us, do we still refuse to believe Him?
The problem with Israel was, "they did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance" (Psalm 78:22) and it proved disastrous for the entire nation. The reason so many Christians are suffering in slavery to sin is that they do not believe in God and they are trusting others to deliver them.
Two suffering men approached Jesus one day, asking for healing. Here is their story: As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"
When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" "Yes, Lord," they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you"; and their sight was restored. (Matthew 9:27-30)
Do You Believe?
In the same way, Jesus asks us, at this very moment, "Do you believe I am able to do this?" Some will reply, "Ah, yes, Lord, I do believe!" and will receive healing for their wounded hearts. Others will hesitantly reply, "Well, Lord, I'm not sure. I've been told that my illness will require expert psychotherapy." And Jesus will sadly walk away to heal others who do believe.
He says to us, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!" (Luke 24:25). Are we really Christians? Then, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent" (John 6:29).
The Truth Hurts!
Jesus knew what it was to be rejected. He said, "because I tell the truth, you do not believe me" (John 8:45). Let's face it: the truth hurts! We don't like to be told we are sinners in need of repentance instead of victims in need of therapy. But healing only comes through receiving and responding to the truth.
Is It Therapy or Belief?
We must believe God's Word even though it is politically correct to dismiss it as simplistic and na?ve. If we have to add to His Word or improve upon it with our studies, findings, and innovative therapies, we are repeating the mistake of the Galatians. Paul asked them, "Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?" (Galatians 3:5). He might well ask us today, "Does God heal your wounded hearts because you have undergone therapy or because you believe what you heard?"
[Portions excerpted from the book, Only God Can Heal the Wounded Heart, by Ed Bulkley ? Harvest House, 1995, Return to the Word Publishing House, 2002] Now available from Return to the Word, 1-888-463-7967.
Copyright © 2004 L.I.F.E. Fellowship Church |
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© 2006 - LIFE Fellowship is an Independent Bible Church, Affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America
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