Therapy Culture Has Hurt Us -- Christ Transforms Us

"Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core." (Jude 11)

What is the way of Cain? Trying to come to God and get His favor/acceptance through our efforts:

"And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD." (Genesis 4: 3)

At this time, the fruit of the ground was cursed, because of Adam's sin, and thus all of mankind's sin:

"And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;" (Genesis 3: 17)

It took the flood and then Noah's sacrifice -- a symbol of our baptism in Jesus by His Spirit -- for this curse to be reversed:

"And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done." (Genesis 8: 21)

We cannot remove this curse through our own efforts, nor can we ignore it.

We need the cleansing of Jesus' blood, not our own efforts toward self-improvement:

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works." (Matthew 16: 25-27)

The Message provides the following rendition of this passage:

"Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. 26 What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for? 27 "Don't be in such a hurry to go into business for yourself. Before you know it the Son of Man will arrive with all the splendor of his Father, accompanied by an army of angels. You'll get everything you have coming to you, a personal gift."

Just think about it -- How can self-help really help ourselves? If we need help, it follows that we have no help in ourselves in the first place.

Therapy culture today suggests that we can improve ourselves.

Yet from the moment when Adam at from the forbidden tree, man has become dead in his trespasses.

"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2: 17)

Oaul explains to the Romans the pains caused to the human race because of Adam's sin, and how the Work of the Second Adam overcame the sin of the first Adam:

"12Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 13(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

15But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." (Romans 5: 12-17)

 

Dead men need life, and that life must come from the outside, thus cannot be found in our efforts:

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10: 10)

He grants us eternal life, and this life grants us the grace and righteousness to reign, in spite of our sins, for just as God undid the curse on the ground because of the sacrifice, so too today we have the ultimate sacrifice in Christ's blood, which keeps on cleansing us from all sin (1 John 1: 7)

Not our efforts, but His effort, not our brute force, but His red blood, not therapy but the Truth sets us free.

Let Christ Jesus transform you today.