Spiritual Depression Part 4
Mark 8:22-26
Romans 6:1-17
Men as Trees, Walking
Mark 8:22-26- "...I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around..."
According to Lloyd-Jones there are 3 principles about people in these situations:
1. They see Jesus Christ is "Somehow the Savior" What does this mean?
2. They do NOT see that their heart is NOT fully engaged. People here seem to find their joy (temporal as it may be) in things outside of Christ. Ever felt this way?
3. Their will is divided. This is the idea of serving 2 masters. Keeping one foot in the World.
So what is our cure?
First, We need to avoid saying, “I’m cured” when we simply see men as trees. Did the man in Mark 8 see? Yes but No
Secondly, we must not lose hope. Maybe the man who sees men as trees would say “there is no hope for me to ever fully see”
Mind, Heart, and Will
Rom 6:1-17 "...But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed"
Spiritual depression in the Christian life is often due to our failure to realize the greatness of the gospel.
Sometimes we struggle with depression because our obedience is not true obedience
Lloyd-Jones “Let me sum up this point by putting it like this. These are the people who decide to take up Christianity instead of being taken up by Christianity. They have never known this feeling of
constraint, this feeling of, 'I can do no other, so help me, God', that they must, that everything else has to be excluded, that the truth has so come to them that they must accept it.” |
