Acts
28:23-24 From morning till evening he
expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them
about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. And some were
convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved.
How do destructive people
become constructive? How do out-of-control people become fruitfully
self-controlled? How do people adrift lean to focus? How do hopeless and angry
people find hope and peace? Before we ask ‘How?’ we must ask, ‘Why are troubled
people troubled’?
The way Scripture answers
these questions is clear. Yet, we find more and more that Scripture is not
being used to bring answers to these questions. Society has caused us to seek
other clinical or environmental answers.
To recover the correct
footing for the cure of souls, two things are required: conviction and content.
The conviction is our whole-hearted belief that Scripture is given to us for
the understanding and helping of troubled people. The Scriptures are sufficient
for all teaching, rebuking and training of people for healthy living. The
content of Scripture is God’s words on the subject of the human heart, mind and
soul.
Convictions demonstrated in
action, shown to be penetrating, comprehensive and subtle, will edify the
teachable and even persuade the skeptical. The content of Scripture is the good
news of Jesus Christ. “The gospel of Christ is as wide as human diversity and
as deep as human complexity. The Scriptures that bear witness to this Christ in
the power of His Spirit are sufficient to cure souls.” (The Sufficiency of Scripture to Diagnose
and Cure Souls)
