We have been discussing whether or not a depressed Christian should take medicine. We have looked at my presuppositions as well as outlined two simplistic (in my opinion) views. Today I just want to briefly point out what is at stake.
It is important to understand that most everyone in this particular debate has the same goal. If we are talking about Christians discussing this issue; I am assuming that they all love Jesus, they all want to see God glorified, and they all want to see God significantly heal people through the gospel. Nobody wants to detract from God’s glory and nobody wants to harm another person. But what unifies us is also the core of what is at stake.
Each side runs the risk of harming another person. If someone NEEDS medicine and for theological reasons they refuse it—they will be harmed. If it is true that taking medicine merely masks the deeper problem then they will not be significantly healed. So this is not something that we can casually approach.
Both sides also can detract from God’s glory and neuter the gospel. It is possible that medicine could fill an idolatrous role that only God intends to fill. If someone is distracted from the much greater reality of spiritual battle and this becomes a biological issue, it is possible that “science” can get glory that should belong to the Lord. And it is also possible that God has redeemed science and medicine and that part of the ripple effects of the Cross is the use of medicine to provide significant healing. To refuse to use something that Christ purchased is a numbing of the benefits of His redemption. So in one sense the glory of God is also at stake in this discussion.
This is the bottom line—helping people for the glory of God. How best does God say that we do that? That is THE question in this entire discussion.
