We have psychologized the preaching of the cross in our day. The message of the cross today is laden with psychological euphemisms. Sin is called sickness and is denied implicitly or explicitly. Recovery has replaced repentance. A therapeutic cross is preached, where feelings, happiness, self-esteem and psychological healing are celebrated.
In spite of the fact that evangelical churches have grown in numbers, size and ministries, there has nevertheless come a hollowing-out of conviction. The loss of the belief in the sufficiency of Scripture has led to an erosion of morals. While churches have grown larger in stature and in number, they have diminished in character and quality. Secularism’s intrusion in the evangelical church has caused it to lose its moral bearings. The Divine is replaced by the human (ungodliness) and righteousness by the therapeutic (unrighteousness). The old quest of godliness is replaced by a quest of psychological wholeness. Psychological wholeness is the substitute for godliness and is therefore ungodliness. It inevitably leads to more unrighteousness, bad feelings and the search for self-understanding continues. Who are we now that we have lost our understanding of the nature of man? One psychology tells us one thing, another psychology tells us another. Do we surrender ourselves to a biological fate and admit we are just the sum of our genes?
Dr. David M. Tyler, God’s Funeral, p.91, 120
The answer to that last question is, of course, “absolutely not.” We need to go back to the Bible and get rid of all traces of secular psychology. After all, the Bible does declare that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
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