~ from email ~

I understand depression. I will not undermine the suffering that a physical sickness can bring, but in a way this is worse than a physical sickness. With a physical sickness, you feel like you are in hell; with a psychological sickness, you feel like hell is in you. Whether the sickness is in your body or in your mind, healing belongs to us through Jesus Christ.

Watch your spiritual diet. Avoid teachings that tend to make people more depressed, often disguised as manifestos on God-centeredness, holiness, repentance, suffering “for the glory of God,” and so on. Avoid teachings that merely comfort you in your unbelief and defeat. They will not get you out of the pit. There are teachings that focus on repentance in a way and in a proportion that ironically make it into a meritorious thing. An improper emphasis on repentance is destructive, because it is in fact unbelief toward the blood of Christ. If you have repented, you are forgiven through Christ. You can march into the throne of grace without fear and without shame, not to beg like one without a covenant, but to talk and ask like one who belongs there – like a son, like a prince.

There are teachers that, over and over again, beat you with how unworthy you are. They say that they are God-centered, but they keep talking about themselves. They are so proud that they are not like the shallow preachers on television, and they keep reminding you of it. They mock the biblical gospel of joy, power, and blessing, and make the Christian life as bleak and depressing as possible. These people are not preaching the gospel. They are not better than the “charlatans” that they criticize – they are just running a different scam. They are charlatans as well, only a lot less happy, and they wish to drag you down with them.

Tell them, “Look, I don’t know what kind of weird fetish you are into, but I am not an idiot. You are trying to pass off pessimism as profundity, condemnation as consecration. And then you want me to believe you’re some great prophet of righteousness, suffering for the glory of God. All hung up with tradition but think you’re not because you play sports or something. ‘Oh, look how free I am, I’m so engaged with non-Christian society. I’ve got a cultural mandate to drink lots of beer, but I’m persecuted because I’m misunderstood, and the prosperity preachers are drawing all the people and taking all the money. That’s why I’m such a failure.’ Well, boohoo! Go sell that trash somewhere else. I’m not buying. Pervert.”

You already know that you are unworthy. This is an elementary doctrine of Christ, an entry point for this life. Now is the time to acknowledge the surpassing excellence of Christ — credited to your account by grace. The Bible teaches that Jesus has overcome the world for you (John 16:33), that he has left us his peace (John 14:27), that we have been seated at the right hand of God with Christ (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 3:1), that we are co-heirs with Jesus Christ (Romans 8:17), that we are a new creation, and that all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17), that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21), that greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4), that if you will abide in him and if his word abides in you, you will ask what you will, and it will be done for you (John 15:7), that if you have faith, you can command a mountain to throw itself into the sea, and it will obey you (Matthew 21:21), that if you ask for anything in prayer, if you believe that you receive it, you will get it (Mark 11:24), that it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32), that if you ask, you will receive, and if you seek, you will find (Matthew 7:7), that God is for us, and no one can be against us (Romans 8:31), that God is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6), that we can approach the throne of grace for help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16), that we should cast all our cares upon him, because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7), and on and on and on.

Turn your attention to doctrines of faith and blessings. Your “God-centered” preachers try hard to hide them from you, because they are so “centered” on God that they refuse to believe him, listen to him, or look at his many promises of grace and power. (Yes, it is a scam.) Paul prayed that his readers would receive a spirit of wisdom and revelation, and that the eyes of their hearts would be enlightened, so that they would know all the blessings that belong to them through Jesus Christ. Some only preach what we don’t have, and not what we have in Christ. Condemning health and wealth, wellness and victory, even when God’s promises must become collateral damage, is a shortcut to make themselves look spiritual and righteous. This is anti-gospel. They are anti-Christ. When you are suffering, you cannot afford to play their religious games, or you will just become another stepping stone on their path to self-glorification.

In myself, I have the worst self-esteem in the world, but this is why I can be bold, because I have given up on myself long ago, and now I act on the basis of the worth and power of the one I represent. Those who think I am arrogant have never given up on themselves. Their confidence may partly come from Christ – I hope! – but a lot of it comes from their self-worth, and they imagine that someone who speaks like I do must be a megalomaniac, because they themselves would have to be megalomaniacs if they were to speak the same way. But I know my own business. I was the most stupid, fearful, depressed, talentless, pathetic loser I have ever known, who had barely accomplished anything and could barely put a sentence together. So what? If I minister out of myself or if I preach myself, I would not be a servant of Christ. He saved me. Now I work for him. And he owns the whole world. So when I am doing the King’s business, I am bigger than any professor or president, any corporation or denomination. I will rebuke Satan himself.

Some people would speak boldly if they work for a prominent company or if they represent some powerful politician, but if someone is bold because he works for Christ, he is a monster. It is all holy and hallelujah when we are talking about how poor and sick we are, but if you dare bring up God’s promises concerning healing and prosperity, blessings and miracles, you are a heretic. You are a wolf in sheep’s clothing. You preach a cheap gospel. Don’t you dare quote Jesus on his many promises on faith and power or they would “redemptive-historical” the devil out of you. They can RH any Bible passage to oblivion, so if you want to keep your Jesus, you’d better shut up. You cannot surrender to this if you wish to get out of depression. This kind of theology is a religious fetish. The name plaque says “Pastor” but the P is for “Pervert.” It is not humility. You have to feed on God’s word on victory, on what Jesus has accomplished for you, on what you have and who you are in Christ. You are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). You are more than a conqueror in him (Romans 8:37). The Bible says, “As he is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But cheer up! I have overcome the world!” (John 16:33).

Think on verses like these (Philippians 4:8; Romans 12:2). Turn them over and over and over in your mind, day and night (Psalm 1). Talk in line with what God teaches. Pray with faith, not false humility. I did this continuously. I did this so much I wanted to throw up. Then I did it some more. I did not socialize, watch television, or play video games. I did not use “for everything God created is good” (1 Timothy 4:4) as an excuse to indulge in entertainment and drink buckets of beer and smoke cigars “for the glory of God.” God’s word was my only companion. Then I cried myself to sleep every night. Then the next day it was the same thing all over again. But then I stopped crying. And then I grew strong. And then I became happy, unmovably happy. From that time forward I have never been fearful or depressed. I have peace and joy all the time. There are pervert preachers who think there is something wrong with this, but Jesus said he gave me his joy, and I am not going to let some half-way Catholic take it away from me.

Now I can walk into a place and lift a whole group of people out of depression, fear, unbelief, and sickness. I can fight these things in all of them at the same time. Sometimes I have to fight all the people while trying to help them because they are all against you — you know how people can be. I can bring them the healing that Christ brought me: “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope.” I preach repentance, much stronger than the half-way Catholics ever could – so strong that even they criticize me for it – but then I preach real deliverance, a deliverance that produces actual effects in the people. God is not just a psychological crutch.

You can do this too. You need to talk to yourself, rebuke yourself, encourage yourself, with the word of God. He said, “In this world, you will have trouble,” and some perverts only preach this far. But he continued, “Cheer up! I have overcome the world!” He has given you his joy. You can be happy by the power of Christ, when you are facing trouble, and when you are not facing trouble. This is true piety.