How Jay Adams Would Counsel Charles Spurgeon

"Charles suffered throughout his adult life with bouts of depression so severe that his mental health was significantly challenged." - From Susie, the life and Legacy of Susannah Spurgeon.

Charles Spurgeon is revered as one of the world’s greatest preachers and a godly man.  How would Jay Adams counsel Charles Spurgeon?  Read what Jay Adams says about depression. 

(See my comments at the end)

From Jay Adams "The Christian Counselors Manual"

What Is Behind Depression? 

Almost anything can be at the root of the counselee’s depression: a recent illness in which he gets behind in his work, hormonal changes, a reversal of his fortunes, the consequences of simple negligence, guilt over a particular sin, self-pity arising from jealousy or a disadvantageous turn of events, bad feeling resulting from resentment, worry, etc. 

The important fact to remember is that a depression does not result directly from any one of these factors, but rather comes from a cyclical process in which the initial problem is mishandled in such a way that it is enlarged in downward helixical spirals that eventually plunge one into despair. 

The downward cycle of sin moves from a problem to a faulty, sinful response, thereby causing an additional complicating problem which is met by an additional sinful response, etc. That pattern needs to be reversed by beginning an upward cycle of righteousness resulting in further righteousness. 

Here the reverse pattern may be seen: a problem met by a biblical response leads to a solution which strengthens one’s ability to solve new problems. The downward cycle enslaves one in hopelessness and guilt, thus bringing on a slowing down or cessation of activity, called depression. 

Proverbs plainly warns against the slavery of sinful habits: For directly before the eyes of the Lord are man’s ways, and all his paths are well considered. His own iniquities seize the wicked, and he is held fast by the ropes of his own sin (Proverbs 5: 21,22, Berkeley). 

Sinful habits are hard to break, but if they are not broken, they will bind the client ever more tightly. He finds that as sin spirals in a down-ward helix, pulling him along, he is captured and tied up by sin’s ever-tightening cords. He is held fast by the ropes of his own sin.....

Sin leads to guilt and depression, sinful handling of sin further complicates matters leading to greater guilt and deeper depression, ad infinitum. In the downward cycling the depression certainly contributes to further failures as it often becomes the excuse for a faulty handling of the sin itself. But, in contrast to those who would speak of changing the feelings in order to change the behavior, God reverses the order: He declared, "do right" and "there will be a lifting up of your face." 

Avoiding Depression

 Such depressions never need result if the initial problem is met God’s way. Depression is not inevitable, something that simply happens and cannot be avoided. Nor is it ever so far gone that the depression cannot be counteracted. The cycle can always be reversed at any point by biblical action in the power of the Holy Spirit. The hope for depressed persons, as elsewhere, lies in this: the depression is the result of the counselee’s sin.

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He would have confronted Charles Spurgeon telling him his depression was his own fault due to his sinful handling of things and all he needed to do was repent and do right and everything would be better.  

According to what Adams has written here, one has to conclude that Charles Spurgeon was not doing things "God’s way" or he would not have suffered with depression in the first place.  In fact, Adams use of Proverbs 5:21-22 in the Berkeley translation, would put Spurgeon in the category of the wicked because he sinned by letting depression get a hold of him.

Jay Adams has ripped those verses out of context and twisted them up to make his point "Biblical".  The context is a warning against getting involved with immoral women and cheating on your spouse. It’s talking about infidelity being a trap.  Once you begin to lie to your spouse you have to keep telling lies to cover for the previous lie. It’s like an ever tightening cord or web that tangles you more and more the deeper you get into it.  Depression is not the topic of this passage at all.  

It concerns me that Adams is ripping verses out of context like this. Now I feel like I need to go back and reread everything and look up all his proof texts.