Introduction⤒🔗

Many pastors are asked for help in counseling. This is especially true with members of their churches. People look to their pastors for help.

As pastors, we can help with every kind of problem. Yet we cannot help with every kind of problem in the same way. For example, we are not trained in psychology or psychiatry. We are not trained in medicine. When people come to us with a physical or mental illness, we can help them in a certain way, but we cannot help them the way that a doctor can.

Pastors should be men trained to help people with spiritual care. Many years ago, pastoral counseling was called "the care of souls." We are not trained to solve medical problems – a pastor is not a doctor for the body and that includes the brain. However, we should aim to be doctors for the soul. Hebrews 13:17 says that pastors are those who care for the souls of the sheep that God has placed in their flock.

In this lecture, I want to explain how pastors can help the people in our churches with ev­ery kind of problem. How can we help in the way that fits with the work that God has given pastors to do?

Presuppositions←⤒🔗

To begin with, we need to speak about pre­suppositions. Presuppositions are concepts or ideas that we hold which are not up for debate or discussion. They are firmly held beliefs.

They are the starting place for our discussions about anything else. All pastors should have certain presuppositions, concepts that are taken from the Bible that are the foundation for everything else we think about. Presup­positions are the concepts that are the founda­tion for everything we do. When we look at a topic like pastoral counseling, it is helpful to make our presuppositions clear. In this sec­tion, we want to especially make clear those presuppositions which directly affect how we think about pastoral counseling. We will now do that. I should say that much more could be said on each of these presuppositions. But I will try to keep it short. So, our first presup­position:

The Word of God←↰⤒🔗

The Bible teaches that it is the inspired Word of God. It is the authority for our lives. The Bible can never be wrong. The most important Bible passage here is 2 Timothy 3:16-17:

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruc­tion in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

From that passage, we know that the Bible has been breathed out by God – it is inspired by God, it comes from God. Many people were involved with the writing of the Bible, but the first author is God.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 also tells us that the Bible is useful for a number of things. It is useful for teaching people. That means it is useful for teaching people truth that matters, truth that saves. It is useful for rebuking. That means it is useful for pointing out where people are go­ing wrong in their lives. The Bible is useful for correcting. That means it is useful for showing people the right way to go in their lives. Scrip­ture is useful for training in righteousness. That means the Bible is useful for making people look more and more like Jesus Christ. And what is the result of all these uses of the Bible? God says the result is that the man of God will be totally ready for every good work. That means the Bible leads every Christian to be ready for a Christian life.

Now I could say a lot more on this point, but let me say just two more things. 2 Timothy 3:16 says "All Scripture." When those words were first written, the New Testament was not finished. When Paul wrote "All Scripture," that first of all meant the Old Testament. To­day many Christians do not place much value on the Old Testament, but God says here that the Old Testament is useful for all these dif­ferent things. Of course, as time went on the books of the New Testament were also added. They are also the inspired Word of God that is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. But we often forget that the Old Testament is important too.

That brings us to the question of what the Bible is about. What is its main message? We have help on this point from Jesus Christ. Listen to what he said in Luke 24:27 as he spoke to the two men on the road to Emmaus,

And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, he expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

A little further on, Jesus appeared to his dis­ciples and he said in Luke 24:44-45,

These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning me. And he opened their under­standing, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

He said something similar to the Jews in John 5:39, 'You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of me.'

And also in John 5:46,

For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.

So, who is the Bible about? It's all about Jesus Christ. It all points to him. Remember that when Jesus said these words, the New Testa­ment was not written yet. The entire Bible, including the Old Testament, points to Jesus Christ and the salvation we have in him.

When we come to pastoral counseling, we do so with the understanding that the Bible alone is our foundation and the Bible's mes­sage centers on Jesus Christ and on the gospel. That has to be our starting point, our first and ultimate presupposition.

What the Bible Teaches about God←↰⤒🔗

The Bible teaches that God is there. It assumes the existence of God. We know that God is highly exalted (transcendent), but he is also intimately present (imma­nent). We also work with the presupposition that God is three persons in one being, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is our Creator, Redeemer, and Renewer. There is much more to mention, but let me also say that we presuppose God's sovereign power. He is almighty God and no one can stop him from doing what he wants to do.

What the Bible Teaches about Man←↰⤒🔗

The Bible teaches that God created man in his own image. Before the fall into sin, man was perfect, but yet finite. Man is limited in what he can do and know. The Bible teaches that man fell into sin. Afterwards, the Bible says that man is dead in transgressions and sins (Eph. 2:1). This fallenness extends to every aspect of our humanity. We call that pervasive (or total) depravity.

What the Bible Teaches about Salvation←↰⤒🔗

However, God comes after man to save him. To save him from what? To save him from the wrath of God against sin. That wrath will be most fully poured out in hell. God saves man from that. He does that through Jesus Christ. If a man will be saved, he must believe in Jesus Christ alone for his salvation. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone and through Jesus Christ alone. The result is glory for God alone!

What the Bible Teaches about Sanctification←↰⤒🔗

The Bible teaches that God saves people from the curse of sin. That means when we believe in Jesus Christ, we have peace with God. However, that does not mean that Chris­tians are perfect people. The Bible teaches in Romans 7 and Galatians 5 that we have the remnants or leftovers of the old nature still in us. While the curse of sin is taken away, we still have to contend with the power of sin. We must fight against sin in our lives. Yes, we have peace with God, but it is a peace which starts a war. It is a war against sin. We call this war "sanctification." Sanctification is the process by which God makes us to look and more like Jesus Christ. He does that with the Word and with the Holy Spirit.

What the Bible Teaches about the Church←↰⤒🔗

Salvation and sanctification normally occur through the ministry of the Church. The church is not a hotel for saints, but a hospital for sinners. It is the place where sinners are being made well. Believers cannot be people who live by themselves. God has put us in the body of Jesus Christ – in the Bible, especially in Ephesians, the body of Christ is typically the local church.

What the Bible Teaches about the Future←↰⤒🔗

At the end of the age, the Bible teaches us that Jesus Christ will return. When he returns, we will receive more with Christ than what we lost with Adam's fall into sin. We have a glorious salvation in Jesus Christ waiting for us. We know that Jesus Christ has the victory over sin and death and when he returns that victory will be revealed as being complete. The Devil and all who followed him will be thrown into the lake of fire.

Applying the Presupposi­tions←⤒🔗

So, those are our presup­positions. Now I want to take those presuppositions and apply them to pastoral counseling. Especially that first presupposition about the Bible. Second Timothy 3:16 said that the Bible is useful for a num­ber of things. Did you notice that all of those things have something in common? They are all about change. Changing people into some­thing new and better. The Bible is useful for changing people. Now that is what counseling is all about, isn't it? People come to us because they are unhappy. They want to change and be happy. Counseling is all about change. So, the Bible is useful for counseling.

Now remember what I said a few moments ago about the message of the Bible. It's all about Jesus Christ and the good news about him. If that's true, then we should think about how to apply the good news of the Bible to pastoral counseling. As pastors, how can we bring the gospel of Jesus Christ into a broken marriage? As pastors, how can we bring the good news of Christ for someone addicted to alcohol or drugs? How can we help some­one who is depressed with the gospel? How is bringing the gospel going to bring real change?

Application of the Gospel to Pastoral Counselling←⤒🔗

When we do counseling, usually we are work­ing with people who have broken lives. Some­times this brokenness is caused by their own sin or sins. Sometimes this brokenness is cause by the sin or sins of other people. Sometimes the brokenness is caused by the fact that we live in a world that has sickness and weakness – things which are the general effects of the fall into sin of Adam and Eve. Many times it is a combination of these things. Sin is at least part of the problem – and sin is the part of the problem that pastors are able to help with.

As pastors, we know what to do about sin and how to help sinners. We have Jesus Christ who came into this world to save sinners. We have Jesus Christ who not only saves people from the wrath and curse of God. Jesus Christ also saves people from the power of sin in their lives. He can help!

So, when we do pastoral counseling we need to think carefully about where Jesus Christ fits in this situation. How can we present the gospel as good news for the person who asks for our help? How can that good news be­come even better good news as Jesus Christ continues to do his work in that person? How can that good news change sinners to become more and more like Jesus Christ?

There is a lot to say here and I am keeping things simple. To help you understand what I am saying, let us look at three examples or case studies.

Case Studies←⤒🔗

A Broken Marriage←↰⤒🔗

Marriage problems are common, even among Christians. What do you say when you have a couple in front of you and they just cannot stop fighting? The first thing we need to get them to realize is where the problem really is. They have to look in the mirror. The famous British author G.K. Chesterton was asked what he thought the biggest problem in the world was today. He said, "I am." What is the biggest problem in my marriage? I am. This is where we need to get couples. We need to have them see their own sin and take responsibility for it instead of blaming.

When we get them to that point, we can say to them, "Okay, where is Jesus Christ in your situation?" We can ask them, "Who is Jesus Christ to you at this moment in this problem?" We want to lead them with the Bible to see that first of all Christ is their Saviour, the one who forgives their sin. Jesus is the one who wipes away all their sins in this situation with his blood. The Lord Jesus is the one who lived a perfect life for this couple. They have been forgiven much if they believe in Christ! And if they have been forgiven much, they should also be ready and willing to forgive one an­other, just as Christ has done for them. If they have been shown mercy, they should show mercy. They believe in Christ, they are joined to him with faith, they are in him. What he does has to become what they do.

We also want the couple to see that what Paul says about Christ and the Church in Ephesians 5 is good news. Christ never abandons his church. He works to have a good relationship with her. The church is called to have a good relationship with him. The good news is very good and so in our marriages, we want to reflect that good relationship.

An Addict←↰⤒🔗

Addictions are terrible things. People become addicted to drugs, alcohol, pornography, gambling, and many other things. Addiction is slavery. Basically, sin takes over your life. With addiction, the sin also often takes over your body and makes chemical changes in your body. Pastors can help with the spiri­tual side of addiction, but the physical side is a place where the help of doctors may be needed.

What hope can we give to a person who is an addict? How can we do gospel-centered pastoral counseling with an addict? First, we need to tell them the truth. Addicts are sin­ners like everyone else. And there is hope for sinners. There is hope with Jesus Christ, the friend of sinners. In a sense, we all are addicted to sin. We keep going back to it again and again. Yet there is hope with Jesus Christ. We need to tell the addict that. If he believes in Jesus Christ, if he places his faith and trust in him, there is hope for change. We can read that wonderful passage from 1 Corinthians 6:7-11. Paul says that some of the Corinthian Christians were sexually immoral, some were homosexuals, some were thieves, and others were drunkards – they were addicted to alcohol. And then listen to the good news he brings in verse 11, "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justi­fied in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." That is very good news! There is hope. And that hope comes when we counsel the addict to fix his eyes and focus on Jesus Christ.

Let me mention a resource on the Internet: www.settingcaptivesfree.com This is a gospel-centered counseling program for people with addictions. People can also follow the programs in Spanish. Many people have been helped with it.

Depression←↰⤒🔗

Where I come from, depression is a serious problem for many people. Many people in my church suffer with depression, especially in the winter time. I do not know how things are in Mexico. There are apparently cultures in the world where there is no name for depression. People do not know what it is and it does not seem to happen. At least it does not seem to happen very much.

But okay, maybe you will have a depressed person in your church. How can you give them help with the Bible? Like addictions, depression can be a complicated problem. Sometimes people who are depressed need to be helped with medication. But you are the pastor and you can still give the hope of the gospel. For a Christian, you can comfort them with the promises of God that even though they do not feel like it, God is still there. God still loves them and cares for them. God still gives his grace in Jesus Christ.

The Psalms are very good to read with people who are depressed. In the Psalms we hear many cries for help. David and the other writers of the Psalms often suffer. Take Psalm 88. If you read that Psalm to someone who is depressed, they will agree that the person who wrote it is someone who understands. This is somebody who believes in God, but he feels like God has abandoned him. He feels like God is distant. He feels like God does not care for him. Those feelings might not be tell­ing the truth, but those feelings and emotions are very real for the one who is suffering. The Bible takes those feelings seriously.

Then as we read this Psalm with the de­pressed person, we should ask them to think about whose words they are. They are not just the words of a man. They are the Word of God and that is God's grace for them. In fact, they are the words of the one who is both God and man, Jesus Christ.

We saw earlier that the Old Testament (and the book of Psalms, Luke 24:44) is all about Jesus. The Psalms are the songs of Jesus. When the person we are counseling learns this, we can read Psalm 88 with them again. We read it with new eyes. Psalm 88 is a song about Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus was the one abandoned by God. When he was on the cross he said, "My God, my God, why have you turned your back on me?" Jesus suffered in a way that we can never understand. And he did it for us. So Jesus Christ understands depression. People can go to him and tell him how they feel and ask him for help. They can learn to cope with depression. By looking to Jesus Christ, they can even learn to grow spiritually through depression.

Conclusion←⤒🔗

That brings us to the end. If there is one thing that I want you to remember it is that the Bible is all about Jesus Christ. Further, 2 Timothy 3:16 says that the Bible is useful for helping people to change. In other words, for pas­tors the gospel of Jesus Christ is all we need to do the counseling work that God puts on our path. I am not a counseling expert with many years of experience. Yet I have seen the power of the gospel to change lives. I know the power of my Saviour and I hope and pray you do as well.