Some thoughts on mental health and modern-day psychology. Before proceeding, let me just say that I’ve not written this to dismiss or belittle the reality of mental and emotional suffering. The pain is real. The anguish that some experience is profound. But this is precisely why the subject deserves serious examination, not through the lens of popular culture or secular thought, but through the unchanging light of God’s Word. Is it possible that in our well-meaning attempts to help, we have unmindfully adopted a system of thought that neither begins with God nor ends in Christ? Far from attacking those who suffer, but challenging the systems we have come to trust, we ask whether the modern mental health movement, often cloaked in compassion, is, in fact, leading people further from the only source of true healing. Can we afford to ignore the ways psychology has redefined the human condition, reshaped our vocabulary of sin and guilt, and subtly replaced the gospel with self-help?
Also, I’m not suggesting all forms of counseling are inherently wrong. There is certainly a place for offering wise, compassionate, and biblically grounded guidance to those who are struggling with some difficulties in life, &c., but the comfort we offer must be grounded in the truth, not in man’s attempts to understand the soul, but in God’s unchanging Word, which alone can bind up the brokenhearted. Isaiah 61:1. Likewise, mental health is undoubtedly a real struggle for many, if not most, at some point in life; but once again, true and lasting wholeness (“ye are complete in HIM,” Colossians 2:10) comes not by way of human reasoning, (which can only diagnose but never deliver,) but through the truth of God’s Word, and the life & light of Christ, in whom alone is found a balm sufficient for every sorrowing heart and mind distressed by sin. He alone is the true physician of souls, who speaks peace where none else can. “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.” Matthew 9:2.
Without drifting too far from the main point, I can’t help but observe something I may have overlooked until now in these words of Christ, particularly as it speaks to the realm of mental health, for what could be greater in this life than the forgiveness of sins? What greater comfort could there be in this life than the assurance that one’s sins are forgiven? No wonder Christ says be of good cheer! Sounds to me like this forgiveness of sins might be worth inquiring after, (which is a bit difficult to imagine in this day when the forgiveness of sins & salvation are looked upon as ‘on-demand’ entitlements, and the mercy of the Lord in Christ is panhandled in such a flippant and irreverent fashion, as if pardon were indiscriminately handed out like tracts on a street corner,) instead of seeking our council from those who perhaps have never trembled under the authority of holy scripture, nor rejoice in the grace of Christ, &c., who know nothing about the true nature of their disease, Isaiah 1:5-6, and even less in reference to the only cure. Numbers 21:8-9 / John 3:14-15.
It seems like over the years, and It’s been a long and wondrous journey, Genesis 24:1, I would like to think that the LORD has brought me to the point in my life where it has become undeniably clear to me that Scripture alone, apart from tradition, addition, or the reasoning of man, is the final and sufficient authority in all matters, not only concerning salvation through Christ, but also all things in an absolute sense, things present and things to come. Scripture alone lays bare the true condition of our hearts, exposing the depths of our corruption, the blindness of our self-deception, and the hardness of our unbelief, whilst confronting us with the undeniable truth that we are utterly powerless to save ourselves. Ephesians 2:1.
That the Bible alone contains all we need for life, godliness, salvation, and spiritual truth, which is otherwise known as the sufficiency of scripture, is clearly taught in God’s word. Every competing authority, whether it arises from tradition, psychological insight, or philosophical reasoning, &c., must be tested by and subordinated to the Word of God, and subjected to its supreme authority in all things. In sum, to affirm the sufficiency of Scripture is to take God at His Word, that He has not spoken in vain, nor left His people without light, truth, or guidance. It is to rest wholly upon what is written and to reject all that would add to, detract from, or stand alongside that word as a rival authority. “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” Deuteronomy 4:2.
The Bible is not a partial or supplemental guide; it is a complete and finished revelation concerning all that pertains to life and godliness. II Peter 1:3. This knowledge comes through Scripture alone. John 17:17. This has led me to decisively turn away from secular psychology, as well as the misguided attempt to fuse it with biblical truth under the label of ‘biblical counseling. Only God’s Word exposes the true condition of the human heart, Jeremiah 17:9, which is not merely dysfunctional but spiritually dead apart from Christ. Ephesians 2:1. Psychology often frames man’s problems in terms of trauma, low self-esteem, or unfulfilled needs. Scripture teaches that man’s core problem is sin. Self is not to be pampered, but put to death. Galatians 2:20. Again, and this cannot be stressed enough, man’s problem is sin; his need is redemption; and his cure is Christ. Christ is the answer to man’s deepest needs, and His Word is enough.
Any system that displaces or diminishes Christ as the sole physician of souls or seeks to intrude upon the domain that belongs to the Word of God alone must be looked upon or treated as a rival gospel. “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men…and not after Christ.” Colossians 2:8. Many psychological models suggest that man’s primary need is self-esteem, self-affirmation or personal peace, solutions which can be attained through human effort, reflection, or therapeutic technique, offering, in essence, a kind of self-salvation through mental or behavioral reform. In doing so, they trade the piercing truth of God’s Word for self-congratulatory introspection, and the redemptive power of Christ for the illusion of personal deliverance. Instead of sin, they diagnose trauma, imbalance, or low self-worth. This subtle exchange displaces Scripture from its rightful throne and places man at the center. II Thessalonians 2:4. Sin is explained away or redefined as a psychological malfunction rather than a moral offense against God, as nothing more than a mental health issue, some form of neurosis or psychosis; ss if rebellion against God were a disorder to be treated, rather than a sin to be repented of and forgiven through Christ. When sin is no longer acknowledged, everything must be reinterpreted without reference to guilt, repentance, or grace. As this ideology gains ground within our thoughts, the Word of God and the cross of Christ are inevitably displaced.
As I attempt to close these thoughts, I would be negligent not to briefly mention another spectrum of this subject, just as disturbing, which is the idea that a person’s behavior, thoughts, and emotions are primarily the result of their upbringing, social environment, or past traumas. In a broader sense, it’s part of what’s known as the victimhood mentality, which within a short period of time has essentially taken over the way people interpret human behavior, redefining sin as sickness, and dressing it up in psychological terminology. Repentance is replaced with therapy, and man is seen as wounded instead of wicked. It is a subtle yet sweeping denial of accountability before God! Whilst Scripture doesn’t deny the influence of one’s environment or upbringing, it never excuses sin on that basis. Instead, it calls all people, regardless of background, to repentance and faith, Acts 17:30, recognizing that the root issue is the heart. Jeremiah 17:9. Mark 7:21-23. Deny guilt, and you nullify grace! By denying one’s guilt, a person renders grace meaningless or unnecessary, because grace only applies to the guilty. If you’re not guilty, you don’t need grace, you don’t need Christ, and the gospel becomes a needless message. “When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, they that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Mark 2:17. I believe the implications here might be greater than we realize! Think about it, there is no greater peril to the soul than seeking relief from its miseries anywhere but in Christ. “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” Jeremiah 2:13. MPJ