KerygmaticChristian: RAD and the Christian

The goal of therapy for a RAD child is not to reduce his anger or to change his behaviors. The ultimate goal is to attach or bond the child to his parents. When your child becomes bonded, changes will take place spontaneously. Changes in emotions, behaviors, attitudes, and thinking will happen automatically. © Walter D. Buenning, Ph.D.

Where I work, I read files with this diagnosis in them every day. What struck me about this quote though, is how easy it is for me to accept the truth of this guy’s assertion when we’re talking about a psychological problem, but yet how hard it is to accept the same thing in my spiritual life. To show what I mean, here’s the same quote with some word-substitutions;

The goal of the Gospel for a sinner is not to reduce his anger or to change his behaviors. The ultimate goal is to attach or bond the sinner to Christ. When you become bonded, changes will take place spontaneously. Changes in emotions, behaviors, attitudes, and thinking will happen automatically.

My apologies to the good doctor. I did this to show what’s so different and radical about Christianity. I’ve never met a religion (and I’ve met several) that didn’t set out to change the behavior of the believer. Most forms of Christianity aim to do the same thing, which is what makes the Reformed take on the Gospel so radical. That very word radical is very appropriate. The Gospel aims at the very root of the problem, which is our unbelief and our separation from God. The Gospel reconciles us to God; that is the main thing we need. Making us behave better is not going to accomplish this; we couldn’t do it well enough. Saving faith aims at the root of our sin, which is lack of trust in God. This is what we are learning about in church lately; that it’s belief in the Gospel that results in holy living, rather than forcing ourselves to act better.

I’ve been struggling with this for a while now. It appears that I don’t really believe the Gospel. I can’t believe the levels of rage and blasphemy lying just beneath the surface of my quiet Presbyterian exterior! A couple days ago my pastor and I had a talk because the study we’re having after church is bringing up all kinds of emotions for me. We’re studying St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians, and we’ve been talking Law/Gospel, Sonship (yes, Jack Miller’s name has been taken in vain), it’s all sounding very antinomian to me. No, I will not call the Creator of the Universe daddy!

I digress. The pastor and I had a talk and I was saying how I can’t really believe that Jesus died for my present and future sin as well as my past sin, because God is holy and He can’t stand sin. I compared sin to my cat’s box. I love my cat, but the box must be changed, for her sake as much as mine. So my pastor said, when God smells that odor (of my sin) it makes Him want to thrust another lance into Jesus. I got very angry, just incredibly angry for a second. Of course we both understand that Christ’s work is finished, that’s not what made me mad. The way he said it just brought it home, the whole thing seemed so unjust. Everything in me rose up against this horror, stabbing the wrong person! That’s the Gospel, though. We are forgiven because of the death of another; we are rewarded for the good works of another. It can’t be done any other way, because, like the debtor in Matthew 18, we can’t pay. See, I can articulate this so well! Lord, help my unbelief!