Titus 2 Men And Women

Principals Of Christian Counseling Part 1
What Christian Counseling Is
Danette Tucker

What is Christian counseling, really?  The role of "counselor" in the church is a relatively new thing as an official "position."  In the Bible we see no "counselor" listed in the offices of the church.  And, as a counselor or potential counselor, it can seem a little intimidating and even scary to think that people will come to me wanting to know answers for their problems --- often big problems.

Just recently God has been showing me the answer to this question and I have been amazed at just how simple, and yet how amazingly powerful, it is.

Basically, the role that we now call "counselor" is nothing more nor less than what God has always intended for mature believers to provide in the body.  I don’t think it was ever intended to be a special office in the church.  But the church, as a whole, has abandoned this function so that now it has become something special and out of the ordinary.  Let’s look at what the Word says.

Heb. 3:12-13

Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of

unbelief, in departing from the living God.

But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any

of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

Heb. 10:24

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

Titus 2:3-5

The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh

holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their

husbands, to love their children,

To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own

husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Heb. 5:12-6:2 says that teachers are those who "by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."  Teachers have matured beyond the need for elementary things.  These elementary things, taught by those who are mature, include repentance, faith, etc.

Jesus gave us, as believers, a specific commission:

Matt. 28:19-20

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Mark 16:15

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Acts 1:8

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Of course, these verses are very familiar!  Unfortunately, they are so familiar that we miss something huge in there!  When we read these verses we mentally translate them according to what we’ve been taught for years and we don’t even think about what they might really be saying.  We unknowingly follow a string of assumptions about the meaning of these verses. 

Let’s look at our translation process:

We translate these verses to mean "we’re supposed to witness to the lost." 

We translate "witness" to mean "present the plan of salvation."

We translate "plan of salvation" to mean "a scripted presentation following a trail of Scriptures designed to convince the lost person of their need for a savior and to make a profession of faith."

We translate "profession of faith" to mean "praying the sinner’s prayer, followed by assimilation into the church and discipleship."

And we translate "discipleship" to mean "learning all the do’s and don’ts of Christianity and basic doctrine/theology through accumulation of Bible knowledge."

Let’s go back to the very beginning here.  These verses say we are to be witnesses.  To witness doesn’t mean "present the plan of salvation."  Witness quite simply means to tell about what I’ve seen and experienced.  In a court of law a witness can only testify to what he himself knows; no heresay.  The same is true of our witness!  A true witness cannot tell about what someone told him is true or what he read in a book.  A true witness can only be about what I have seen and experienced to be true.  So, in this context, to witness for the Lord I must have a real personal relationship with Him to tell about.  As counselors our role is to tell what we have experienced with Christ and how it offers the same hope and healing to others.

Another translation we make is to interpret "gospel" to mean "plan of salvation."  Gospel means "good news."  Gospel includes what we know as "the plan of salvation" but is not limited to this!  The plan of salvation is only a part of a very big whole.  Not only is it a part of a larger whole, but it is integrally mixed with the whole.  In other words, the whole is not subdivided into separate parts with one part being the "plan of salvation."  The plan of salvation is an integral and inseparable part of a larger whole.  It does not equate to a scripted presentation of verses designed to convince someone to pray the sinner’s prayer. 

Jesus Himself defines the word gospel and we suddenly find ourselves looking straight in the face of our ministry as counselors.  Jesus presented the detailed description of his ministry in Luke 4:18, which is a restatement of Isaiah 61:1-4.  In Luke we see the word "gospel" and in Isaiah 61 we see the words "good tidings."  There is nothing in these passages to insist that these words be limited to the meaning "plan of salvation" as we know it.  Rather, the context of both suggestions a broader, while still inclusive, meaning. 

Jesus’ ministry, as described in these passages and throughout the New Testament, was one of meeting people at the point of their physical and emotional need and bringing healing.  This healing, as demonstrated in the whole of Scripture includes, stems from, and is integrally connected to repentance and the forgiveness of sin --- which is the part we would call "salvation."  Jesus’ message of salvation doesn’t stop with just the forgiveness of sin, it goes on to healing the whole person.  And this makes sense when we remember that the names of God describe who He is.  Jesus is called our Savior.  That doesn’t mean He only saves our eternal soul from damnation.  As a  fundamental part of His character He is a savior.  He is our savior in every area in which we need saving --- including emotional and physical need.  He is also our Redeemer.  He not only redeems our eternal souls but He redeems our daily lives and our painful yesterdays.

There are several places in the Word that indicate that repentance and the forgiveness of sin are intrinsically connected to physical/emotional healing. 

In Matt. 9:2-6, when the paralytic was brought to him, Jesus told him his sins were forgiven.  What?  That’s not what the paralytic came to find!  But then Jesus goes on to heal the man physically, in demonstration of the fact that the power to forgive sins and the power to heal are demonstrations of the same power. 

In James 5:14-16, we are told that confession of sin and prayer precede physical healing. 

So, how does this apply to us as counselors?

II Pet. 1:3 says, "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue..."  Through knowing God we are given "all things that pertain unto life and godliness."  That says ALL things.  Through relationship with God and through His Word He gives us all the knowledge and all the answers we need for every single situation or circumstance that we, or our counselees, will ever experience.

As we follow the example of Jesus we will meet people at the place of their need, bringing them healing through the "gospel" --- simply testifying about the good news of the truth.  The Word says that "ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (Jn. 8:32)  The truth, found in the Word (Jn. 17:17) and in relationship with God (Jn. 14:6) through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 16:13-14), is the answer for every place of bondage. 

This role of "counselor" is, in fact, true discipleship and is a fulfillment of the Great Commission.  As counselors we are leading others into the truth through our testimony.  A disciple is a follower, one who patterns their life after another --- in this case, Jesus Christ.  As counselors, we are witnessing as we share the truth of the physical and spiritual healing found in following Christ.

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