The following is part of an article written by David Powlison in 2007. His writing is so insightful, no commentary is needed. Over this next week, portions of that article will appear here.
See: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
The Therapeutic Gospel
by David Powlison
Which gospel?
Which
gospel will you live? Which gospel will you preach? Which needs will you awaken
and address in others? Which Christ will be your people’s Christ? Will it be
the christette who massages felt
needs? Or the Christ who turns the world upside down and makes all things new?
The Grand Inquisitor
was very tenderhearted towards human felt need—very sympathetic to the things
that all people everywhere seek with all their heart, very sensitive to the
difficulty of changing anyone. But he proved to be a monster in the end. There
is a saying in mercy ministries that runs like this, “If you don’t seek to meet
people’s physical needs, it’s heartless. But if you don’t give people the
crucified, risen and returning Christ, it’s hopeless.” Jesus fed hungry people
bread, and Jesus offered His broken body as the bread of eternal life. It is
ultimately cruel to leave people in their sins, captive to their instinctive
desires, in despair, under curse. The current therapeutic gospel sounds
tender-hearted at first. It is so sensitive to pressure points of ache and
disappointment. But in the end it is cruel and Christ-less. It does not foster
true self-knowledge. It does not rewrite the script of the world. It creates no
prayers or songs.
We must be no less
sensitive but far more discerning. Jesus Christ turns human need upside down,
creating prayer. He is the inexpressible Gift of gifts, creating song. And He
gives all good gifts, both now and forever. Let every knee bow, and let
everything that has breath praise the Lord.[1]
The Once-for-All Gospel
The
real gospel is the good news of the Word made flesh, the sin-bearing Savior,
the resurrected Lord: “I am the living One, and I was dead, and behold, I am
alive forevermore” (Rev. 1:18). This Christ turns the world upside down. One
prime effect of the Holy Spirit’s inworking presence and power is the rewiring
of our sense of felt needs. Because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, we keenly feel a different
set of needs when God comes into view and when we understand that we stand or
fall in His gaze. My instinctual cravings are replaced (sometimes quickly,
always gradually) by the growing awareness of true, life-and-death needs:
• I need mercy above all else:
“Lord, have mercy
upon me.”
“For Your name’s
sake, pardon my iniquity for it is very great.”
• I want to learn wisdom, and unlearn willful
self-preoccupation:
“Nothing you desire
compares with her.”
• I need to learn to love both God and neighbor:
“The goal of our
instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a
sincere faith.”
• I long for God’s name to be honored, for His
kingdom to come, for His will to be done on earth.
• I want Christ’s glory, lovingkindness, and
goodness to be seen on earth, to fill the earth as obviously as water fills the
ocean.
• I need God to change me from who I am by
instinct, choice, and practice.
• I want Him to deliver me from my obsessive
self-righteousness, to slay my lust for self-vindication, so that I feel my
need for the mercies of Christ, so that I learn to treat others gently.
• I need God’s mighty and intimate help in order
to will and to do those things that last unto eternal life, rather than
squandering my life on vanities.
• I want to learn how to endure hardship and
suffering in hope, having my faith simplified, deepened, and purified.
• I need to learn, to listen, to worship, to
delight, to trust, to give thanks, to cry out, to take refuge, to obey, to
serve, to hope.
• I want the resurrection to eternal life:
“We groan within ourselves,
waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.”
• I need God Himself:
“Show me Your glory.”
“Maranatha. Come,
Lord Jesus.”
Make it so, Father of
mercies. Make it so, Redeemer of all that is dark and broken.
Prayer expresses desire.
Prayer expresses your felt sense of need. Lord, have mercy upon us. Song
expresses gladness and gratitude at desire fulfilled. Song expresses your felt
sense of who God is and all that He gives. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.
But there are no prayers and songs in the Bible that take their cues from the
current therapeutic felt needs. Imagine, “Our Father in heaven, help me feel
that I’m okay just the way I am. Protect me this day from having to do anything
I find boring. Hallelujah, I’m indispensable, and what I’m doing is really
having an impact on others, so I can feel good about my life.” Have mercy upon
us! Instead, in our Bible we hear a thousand cries of need and shouts of
delight that orient us to our real needs and to our true Savior.[2]
[1]
Powlison, D. (2007). The Therapeutic Gospel. In The Journal of Biblical Counseling: Volume 25, Number 3, Summer 2007
(6). Glenside, PA: The Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation.
[2]
Powlison, D. (2007). The Therapeutic Gospel. In The Journal of Biblical Counseling: Volume 25, Number 3, Summer 2007
(3–4). Glenside, PA: The Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation.
No comments:
Post a Comment