Counseling One Another

March 7, 2014
by Paul Tautges
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Theology Primer for Counseling: Bibliology

Today, we continue our series covering the ten basic categories of theology and relating them to our walk with the Lord and to our personal, one-another ministry that we call ‘counseling.’

Bibliology: The Doctrine of the Scriptures

Scripture alone provides the final authority for our counseling since it is the Word of God. There is nothing that man experiences that God does not directly or indirectly address in His Word, by precept or principle, i.e. the Bible is sufficient to deal with the problems we face because God created us and because Scripture is the revelation of God, our Creator (Psalm 19:7-11).

The Word confronts us when we get off the right path and shows us how to get back on and trains us to live godly lives so that we mature and become equipped to serve God: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Because the Word of God is a living book, it has the power to transform the inner man—the heart—and consequently to produce changes in behavior, i.e. produce righteous living (Hebrews 4:12). Scripture is the Spirit’s primary tool in the miraculous event of conversion and the process of sanctification (John 17:17). Every truth-claim made by any person can and must be tested against the Bible, which is “the mind of God in written form” (1 Corinthians 2:10-16). This is not to say that no extra-biblical knowledge (as opposed to unbiblical teaching) that, when filtered through the Word of God, may not be helpful in our understanding of the human condition.

“Inspired” (2 Timothy 3:16) means “God-breathed.” It does not refer to breathing into someone an inspirational thought, but is the act of God whereby He breathed out His will—His thoughts through the chosen human agents. Scripture is the mind of God in written form. It is the divine will inscripturated (in writing) and inerrant in the original manuscripts (Matthew 4:4, 5:17-18). Therefore, Scripture does not merely contain truth—it is Truth with a capital “T.” Scripture is the final authoritative standard of Truth and the instrumental cause of faith and sanctification (Romans 10:17; John 17:17), empowered by the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18). Everything contrary to it is error. Thiessen defines inspiration well when he writes, “The Holy Spirit so guided and superintended the writers of the sacred text, making use of their own unique personalities, that they wrote all that he wanted them to write, without excess or error.”

The authority of Scripture is a by-product of its infallibility. Some who call themselves Evangelicals claim to have an authoritative Bible while at the same time deny its infallibility. This is impossible. The authority of Scripture flows from its divine origin and, since God cannot lie (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18), it too was flawless in its original form. This is not to say that what we now possess contains errors, for God has been faithful to preserve His Word through millennia. The Dead Sea Scrolls are an example of this. Without an infallible Bible we have no authority to counsel people in regard to what they must believe and do. However, because we do possess the infallible Word of God, we also possess divinely-delegated authority to counsel according to its precepts and principles. We can and must say to counselees, “Thus saith the Lord,” and “this is what God requires of you.” Jay Adams writes, “The ministry of the Word in counseling…is totally unlike counseling in any other system because of its authoritative base. This authoritative character stems, of course, from the doctrine of inerrancy. If the Bible were shot through with human error, and were no more dependable than any other composition—if it were not God-breathed revelation—this note of authority would give way to opinion. But, because the Bible is inerrant, there is authority.” I also appreciate what Wayne Grudem writes, “The essence of the authority of Scripture is its ability to compel us to believe and to obey it and to make such belief and obedience equivalent to believing and obeying God himself.”

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March 6, 2014
by Paul Tautges
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Theology Primer for Counseling: Theology Proper

Today, I begin a brief series covering the 10 basic categories of theology and relate them to our walk with the Lord and to our personal, one-another ministry that we call ‘counseling.’

Theology Proper: The Doctrine of God

One’s view of God shapes his thinking in every area of life. Of course, this is true for every subsection of Theology Proper. However, for the sake of brevity, a few specific areas that often come to the forefront in counseling include God’s sovereignty, love, goodness, and the “three omnis.”

Counselees who are suffering especially need the biblical understanding of God’s sovereignty over every affair of life including when bad things happen to God’s people (Psalm 139:16; Romans 8:28-30; Eg. Life of Joseph in Genesis 39-50). Whatever the secondary cause of suffering, we must teach counselees that God is truly in control and, therefore, is the principal cause and is trustworthy. Though He is not responsible for evil, God is sovereign over it—whether it comes through sin, Satan, or the natural consequences of the curse, which God placed upon the created world in the Garden of Eden after the fall.

Coupled with His sovereignty, the goodness of God must be communicated along with His love, mercy, and pity toward sinners, which was ultimately made manifest in Christ on the cross (Romans 5:8). The holiness of God compels us to trust Him (for He cannot lie, or do us wrong) and calls believers to a life of holiness (1 Peter 1:15ff). Whatever sin-related struggle we battle, or suffering-related problem we face, God knows it (omniscience), is with us and will never forsake us (omnipresence), and has infinite power to intercede on our behalf according to His desires (omnipotence)

What does all of this mean? The bottom line is: God is worthy of our trust and obedience.

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March 5, 2014
by Paul Tautges
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Abandoning the Mirage Hopes

Here’s more God-centered encouragement from Paul Tripp’s book A Shelter in the Time of Storm.

[O]ur inability to find security for ourselves is so profound that we’d never find on our own the One who is to be our rock; no, he must find us. The language of Psalm 27 is quite precise here: “He will lift me high upon a rock.” It doesn’t say, “I will find the rock and I will climb up on it.”

Here is the hope for every weary traveler whose feet are tired of the slippery instability of mud of a fallen world. Your weariness is a signpost. It’s meant to cause you to cry out for help. It’s meant to cause you to quit looking for your stability horizontally and begin to cry out for it vertically. It’s meant to put an end to your belief that situations, people, locations, possessions, positions, or answers will satisfy the longing of your heart. Your weariness is meant to drive you to God. He is the Rock for which you are longing. He is the one who alone is able to give you the sense that all is well. And as you abandon your hope in the mirage rocks of this fallen world and begin to hunger for the true Rock, he will reach out and place you on solid ground.

[Excerpt from A Shelter in the Time of Storm.]

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March 5, 2014
by Paul Tautges
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The Tragedy of Ahithophel

[A couple weeks ago, Dr. William Varner, a professor at The Master's College, posted on Facebook some brief, but very insightful thoughts from the life of David, particularly about a lesser-known figure named Ahithophel. I asked him if he had more to say about this man and he was so kind to send me this larger article.]

Following David’s awful sin of adultery with Bathsheba and the ensuing arranged murder of her husband, Uriah, he was confronted by Nathan the prophet. Among the consequences of his sins were that from his own household enemies would arise against him (2 Sam 12:10-11). Three of his sons – Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah – each caused serious problems for him and his successor, Solomon (2 Sam 13; 14-17; 2 Kings 1-2). There was another person, whose name also began with an “A,” who rose up against him as a betrayer. This man, Ahithophel, had been a close advisor to David and could even have been called “the smartest man in the world.” “Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed, both by David and by Absalom” (2Sam 16:23). He evidently came out of his own retirement and joined the revolt of Absalom as his trusted advisor (2 Sam 16:23).

What is often overlooked, however, is that Ahithophel evidently became part of David’s family by marriage. Two passages explain that Ahithophel was the grandfather of Bathsheba (cf 2 Sam 11:3 with 23:34). One need not speculate too much to see that when David “took” Bathsheba (2 Sam 11:4), Ahithophel must have left David’s service. Later, the crafty Absalom must have assumed (correctly) that Ahithophel would jump at the opportunity to get revenge against David so he asked him to come out of retirement – an offer that the old man simply could not refuse.

After David fled from Jerusalem, Ahithophel advised Absalom to strike David quickly and even offered to ride at the head of the column, so he could kill David himself (2 Sam 17:1-4). From a purely human viewpoint, it was good advice, because it would not give David time to gather his forces. God, however, had purposed to frustrate the advice of Ahithophel by the contrary advice of another advisor named Hushai, who was actually a spy who was loyal to David. Hushai appealed to Absalom’s pride by telling him he should consolidate his forces and then go out at the head of his army and personally kill David himself (2 Sam 17:5-13). Absalom couldn’t resist the temptation to get all the glory and followed Hushai’s advice, thus allowing David time to organize his own scattered forces. The reader of 2 Sam 18:9-15 knows that Absalom’s attack on David led to his own ignominious death.

When Ahithophel saw that his advice was not followed and that because of this he was certain to be punished by the eventually victorious David, he retired to his own home again and committed suicide by hanging himself (2 Sam 17:23). What a tragic end for the smartest guy in the world!

Smart people can sometimes make really stupid choices. On the one hand we can appreciate and understand Ahithophel’s disappointment over what David had done to Bathsheba. I actually can understand why he might retire from David’s service. But Ahithophel then allowed his hurt and his pain to develop into bitterness and into a fierce desire for revenge. His bitterness clouded his normally clear vision when he sought the opportunity to get revenge on David.

Passages in two psalms may be about this brilliant but sad man (Psalms 41:9 and 55:12-14). Interestingly, these psalms also were mentioned by Jesus as finding “fulfillment” in a later traitor to the Son of David who also hanged himself when his own plans for Jesus’ destiny were not followed (Matt 26:23; John 13:18; Acts 1:16).

Years ago Jay Adams taught me that two wrong responses to someone’s wrong actions against you are either that you “blow up” or you “clam up.” When people “clam up” instead of dealing with their anger, the sad reality is that they eventually will “blow up” later. Jay based his advice on Eph 4:26-32. Ahithophel clammed up when he left David’s service and then nurtured his own anger until he had the opportunity to blow up at David – with some tragic consequences for his own life!

What do you do when people fail you or hurt you in some way? You may not choose that person as your best friend, but allowing your emotional hurt or pain to develop into bitterness will poison your own soul and it will eventually explode into revenge at the right “opportunity.”

Learn a negative lesson from the smartest person in the world, whose bitterness eventually led to his own tragic end.

[Today's post is written by Dr. William Varner, a professor at the The Master's College.]

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March 4, 2014
by Paul Tautges
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Counseling as Discipleship

Authentic biblical counseling is a matter of fulfilling our God-given command to make disciples, but what exactly is a disciple? The Great Command at the end of Matthew’s Gospel contains one main action: “make disciples” of Jesus Christ (28:18-20). A disciple (mathetes) is “one who follows one’s teaching…not only a pupil, but an adherent.” This is probably why F. Wilbur Gingrich chose the word “apprentice.” Therefore, a disciple of Jesus Christ is not merely one who confesses Christ, though that certainly is true (Rom. 10:9), but one who intentionally attaches himself to Him and adheres, or submits, to His commands as the new standard for living and consequently becomes like Him. There can be no doubt this is exactly what Jesus means in Luke 6:40: “A pupil [mathetes] is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.” Edward Hinson explained Jesus’ concept of a disciple this way:

In the ancient world a “disciple” was a person who became totally disciplined to the life of his master-teacher. He shared the master’s life-message as well as his didactic message. Jesus required His disciples to abide in His word (John 8:31), meaning they were not only to listen to His message, but to adopt it as their way of life. To the ancient Greek the disciple was bound to his master by the ideas of the teacher, whereas, to the Jewish disciple, he was bound to the rabbi by his knowledge of the law (Torah). In contrast to both, Jesus (cf. John 6:64) bound His disciples to Himself!…Since it is Christ who decides who will enter discipleship, it is also He who lays down the conditions for discipleship. They obey His words because of their commitment to Him personally and renounce all material comforts which may hinder their allegiance to Him (Matthew 10:37)….A “disciple” (mathetes) is synonymous with a ‘servant’ of Christ. Thus, a disciple has bonded himself willingly to the Master-Teacher for a lifetime relationship….The disciple does not attempt to make Christ his Lord through a lifelong struggle. Christ is already his Lord, and he must learn to obey Him as such.

A disciple of Jesus Christ is one who is committed to a lifelong process of growing in obedience to his Master’s commands and, by doing so, becomes like Him. To the degree that we are helping each other along this process is the degree to which we are making disciples and, therefore, counseling one another.

-Excerpted from Counsel One Another: A Theology of Personal Discipleship

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March 2, 2014
by Paul Tautges
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Perfect Security

Where should my sense of security come from? That’s a vital question. Here’s how Paul Tripp counseled me last evening.

If you are God’s child, you are the object of the love of the Person who rules everything that there is to rule.

It’s fundamentally impossible to be in a situation, location, or relationship where he is not present. It’s impossible for anything to exist outside of the sphere of his control. It’s impossible for anything or anyone to be more powerful than him. It’s impossible for anything or anyone to be wiser than him. It’s impossible for what he desires and has chosen and planned not to come to be. He rules every microbe of physical and spiritual creation. There is no rule of law that stands above him. There is no one to whom he must answer. He is perfect in every way, existing entirely without flaw of will or character. He is the beginning and epicenter of everything that’s good, loving, wise, and true. He never forgets, and he never fails to deliver on any of his promises. And Scripture says that he exercises his rule for the sake of his body, the church (see Eph. 2:22-23).

You are secure not because you have control or understanding. You are secure even though you are weak, imperfect, and shortsighted. You are secure for one reason and one reason alone: God exists and he is your Father, He will never leave your side.

[Excerpt from A Shelter in the Time of Storm.]

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February 28, 2014
by Paul Tautges
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Gospel Antibiotic for the Poison of Bitterness

As we continue to walk through the story of David and Absalom, in my preaching at our church, we are learning that it is by focusing on David that we see Christ through him and the godly response to betrayal (read my previous post). By focusing on Absalom, on the other hand, we get a pretty good picture of what bitterness will do to a person who does not deal with hurt biblically.

Let me encourage you to read 2 Samuel 13-18 sometime this weekend to see the whole picture of the situation and how Absalom handles the evil done in his family. We recognize the problem with David’s passivity as a leader here, but we should not blame David for Absalom’s anger, hatred, and desire for revenge. For two years, Absalom plotted and planned how he would kill Amnon (2 Sam 13:28-32). For the next three years, Absalom lived with his maternal grandfather. David was not proactive in trying to reconcile with Absalom. When Absalom returned, David communicated no desire to work out the relationship with his son. Two more years went by, and finally Absalom asked, by way of Joab, “What is the point? Why am I even returned?” So David allowed Absalom to come to meet him at the palace. Absalom bowed, and David kissed him. From the rest of the story it is apparent that biblical reconciliation did not take place. Forgiveness, repentance, and restoration result in a new and better relationship, not one marred by the past.

For the next four years, Absalom worked at gaining the loyalty of the people in the kingdom around David (2 Sam15). When David realized the betrayal and destruction that was coming, he gathered his loyal friends and soldiers and headed into retreat. It is one of those literary and historical ironies that the man who had been David’s counselor was now Absalom’s counselor. His name was Ahithophel. He was the father of Eliam, Bathsheba’s dad.

If you were in Absalom’s place, what would keep you from being poisoned by bitterness? That, I think, is a critical question. All of us will go through some hurt. We will face pain and anguish over things that take place. We may even struggle to resolve a broken relationship with someone who was once close to us, yet we don’t see the relationship changing in a positive direction. We will probably have a family member or church friend who says things that are not true or are very hurtful. How do we then respond? Bitterness starts out as anger that is unresolved. We tend to turn to God and blame Him. However, in these times we have to resolve these emotions and deal with them. I recommend two simple steps to avoid bitterness.

Step #1: Recognize the Impact of Bitterness

Peter met a man who is described as being in the “gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity” (Acts 8:9-25). This man’s anger had gone deep and taken control. When this happens bitterness becomes toxic waste that damages our inner man.
Notice that the writer of Hebrews 12 has a section of general admonitions (vv. 14-15). Here he warns us about the effect that bitterness has if we let it loose in our midst and in our relationships with others. I think we can easily see this warning and its damaging effects played out in the life of Absalom. Consider its work in the kingdom around him.
The reason that bitterness has such an impact on our lives is that bitterness is sourced in a poor view of God. As A.W. Tozer says, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” It is fascinating to note Deuteronomy 29:17-19, where the idea of bitterness in its general form shows up for the first time. Idolatry is the driving force as people turn from God and their hearts bear “poisonous and bitter fruit.”
Rarely in the Bible do we see someone who is as honest about his struggle with bitterness as Job. He reaches out to God looking for help since his friends obviously have provided none this is sound. Job implies that God is at fault (9:18; 27:2). He speaks out of a heart and soul that is in anguish (7:11; 10:1). Like the Psalmist, he lets us know what is going on deep inside. And then, in the final chapters, it is Job’s view of God that God addresses. Job finally gets it!

Step #2: Resist the Infection of Bitterness

The first principle I encourage you to follow in resisting bitterness is to make sure you have passages of Scripture memorized and/or easily accessible to reread and meditate on that remind you of the overall goodness of God. We doubt this truth in the depths of bitterness.
The second principle is sourced in the need to make sure you are daily reaffirming the specific goodness of God as found in the cross. I call this the gospel antibiotic that fights the infection of sin in its most powerful forms including the poison of bitterness. Psalm 103:10-14 is one of those passages: “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.”
The third principle is that you must deal with your pride. We believe we deserve so much better than we get; that is a huge problem in each of us. We struggle to remember that Jesus brought us undeserved forgiveness. I believe we truly need these daily reminders of God’s good news spoken to our soul so that we don’t drift into taking it for granted. Colossians 3:12-13 remind us that we are to be ready to forgive others even as Christ has forgiven us. So once again, sourced in the gospel, we find truth addressing something that fights bitterness.
The fourth principle for fighting bitterness is sourced in Romans 12:19-21. God is the only one with the right to take vengeance out on those whom He chooses to punish. We are not equipped to be the judge and jury; we must not. Paul’s words are so crucial because he does not want us to hold onto evil, nor does he want evil to get a hold on us.

Compare Absalom and Joseph. What a difference in how they responded to the pain and hurt that came into their lives through their family! Genesis 50:20 is an Old Testament version of Romans 8:28-29. God expects us to put away the record of wrongs that we have held against someone who has hurt us (1 Cor. 13:5). When they seek forgiveness and reconciliation I am called to open my heart, forgive, and pursue love. Applying this biblical counsel will protect our hearts from the poison of bitterness.

[Today’s post, and the previous Valley of Betrayal, is written by Dave Coats, a biblical counselor and pastor in northern Wisconsin.]

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February 27, 2014
by Paul Tautges
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Hell Glorifies God

Hell glorifies God—that is the premise of Thor Ramsey’s book The Most Encouraging Book on Hell Ever, the newest release from Cruciform Press. It is very encouraging to see a Christian publisher (who consistently aims at the general Christian audience) invest in a topic so essential to true Christianity. It is one thing to notice a few biblically-faithful publishers putting out academic defenses of the doctrine of hell (rare in itself), but it is another thing (and refreshing) to see diligent work put into the placing of such vital truth in the hands of the average person in the pew.

This book is refreshingly honest, and bold. In a day when too many publishers find it fashionable to waste paper and ink on so-called biblical treatments of hell (which are nothing more than pathetic regurgitations of old heresies), this book does not attempt to improve God’s reputation. As the author writes in his Introduction, “there is a swath of fashionable new preachers with a mission to clean up God’s nasty reputation as a bloodthirsty old clod. Unfortunately, in the process of doing God the big favor of helping his PR, they’re reinventing the doctrine of eternal punishment with a new and improved gospel. It’s gospel-riffic!” This book is a much-needed antidote to the plague of unbiblical teachings from famous, fashionable, and rich preachers who treat hell “like the Christian’s dirty little secret—the pock mark on the church’s history formed during its teenage years.”

How, exactly, does hell glorify God? That’s the question the author answers, both biblically and efficiently (a very easy 104 pages). In his four chapters, he draws our attention to four essential aspects of God-centered theology that are lost when the biblical doctrine of hell is neglected, or downright rejected. I will state them positively.

Hell glorifies the fear of God. If the fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom (and it is) then losing the fear of God in any generation will only be disastrous. Faithful preaching on the doctrine of eternal punishment will rescue the pathetic state of the church from our Santa-god. “Contemporary preacher poets don’t scare people with the wrath of God anymore. They lure people into becoming Christians toothy promises of eternal life.” This is not to say that hellfire and brimstone preaching absent from the glories of God’s love is what is needed. Simply scaring people into heaven without truly presenting to them the glory of Christ, our Rescuer from the wrath of God, will not produce true conversions. But let’s face it. The average professing Christian today has “no idea how much danger they are in.”
Hell glorifies the holiness of God. Changing the doctrine of hell requires first that we change God’s nature. “Eliminate hell and we eliminate something vital to God’s character, namely that God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29), completely holy, infinitely pure and righteous (Hebrews 1:9), a God who will not let the guilty go unpunished (Exodus 34:7). Eliminating hell changes who God is. Removing hell doesn’t make God more loving. It makes him smaller, more like us.” And that’s the last thing we need!
Hell glorifies the gospel of God. When preachers minimize, or distort, the biblical doctrine of eternal punishment they drain power out of the gospel. Without understanding the wrath of God against our sin what in the world are we even being saved from? Why do we even need a Savior? Hell glorifies God because hell glorifies the one and only Savior Jesus Christ who alone endured the wrath of God for us.
Hell glorifies the love of God. Hell exalts the love of God by keeping it in balance with all of his other attributes, and within the boundaries of truth. Love rejoices in the truth (1 Corinthians 13:6), that is, biblical truth is the pasture in which love grazes. Hell keeps God’s love from becoming squishy and self-centered. We need this because, “as sinners, we manage to bring a measure of corruption into everything we do. To a great extent, therefore, we love people because of what they bring to our lives. We love them because of how they make us feel. We get something out of loving them.” The doctrine of hell saves us from emotional and relational suicide.

The Most Encouraging Book on Hell Ever closes with much-needed and sound counsel to all believers to love professing Christians enough to express concern when the fruits of the Spirit are lacking, or absent, from their lives. Because hell is real, and hell is as awful as awful can be, we dare not neglect it, or fear another person’s response to its teaching more than we fear the God who created it for the devil and his angels.

This book is an important and valuable contribution to today’s collection of “theology for the average person in the pew.” I recommend you get a copy (paper or electronic), read it, and share it with others.

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February 25, 2014
by Paul Tautges
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Journey to Biblical Counseling: One Woman’s Testimony

[Previous editions of Journey to Biblical Counseling consisted of interviews with men and woman whom God is using as leaders in today's biblical counseling movement. Today, we depart slightly from that format to publish an unsolicited testimony from one of our regular, out-of-state readers.]

Hi Paul,

I couldn’t hold back any longer. I had to send a note to inquire about your plans for continued ministry in biblical counseling. I read your blog post “My Farewell Sermon.” Many of us are praying that this transition from your long-term pastoral ministry will not affect the role you have in biblical counseling. I understand if plans for the future cannot be announced yet, but I want you to know what an impact you have had on my life and on so many others whom I know.

God in His grace brought me to repentance and faith at the age of forty. He instilled in me an unquenchable thirst to study His Word and live in obedience to it through the Holy Spirit’s enabling. As I studied Scripture and began to understand progressive sanctification and that Scripture tells us; “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness…” (2 Peter 1:3). I went to the Scriptures for answers to my life’s challenges and found them.

It was then that God gave me a desire to help others understand the same wisdom He was giving to me and, consequently, He began to put people into my life whom I could help. I had not read your books at this time, but now wish I had.

In my desire to walk an obedient life amidst the pull of the world, I pursued a Master of Theology degree at Northwestern College in St. Paul. I graduated and was still active in my old church encouraging and training fourteen women’s small group leaders in the truth of His Word. Even though I was helping women live out the truth of the Scriptures by going to the Word for answers, my counsel was met with resistance by the church I was attending at the time. I also saw that at many times people were sent outside the church for help—help which I knew could come from God’s Word. Clearly, God gave warning to us through Jeremiah: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord” (Jer 17:5). I started to search for answers myself.

It was then that I heard about your books and bought, Counsel One Another and Counsel Your Flock. When the books arrived I spent several days devouring every word of Counsel One Another…three times! I was so excited to read and be confirmed in my conviction that the Scriptures give us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3) and that believers need to help each other through the Word, through intensely focused and personal “one-another” ministry and counseling. Your book radically changed my life! Two years ago Counsel One Another put a name to the ministry God had me doing; biblical counseling.

Once I finished reading the book Counsel One Another I wrote to you. I was so excited to finally have a resource to consult and I needed to know more about this thing you like to call “authentic biblical counseling.” You helped me answer many of my questions. Your blog also directed me towards excellent biblical counseling resources and to ACBC (formerly NANC), The Biblical Counseling Coalition, as well as to women who lived near me who are active in biblical counseling. Despite many obstacles since our ongoing correspondence began (there are too many to list here) God grew me and continues to as I seek, through the Holy Spirit, to minister His Word to others.

The impact of your ministry continues to this day. I am actively working on a second Masters in Biblical Counseling at Faith Bible Seminary and, God willing, will be a certified ACBC counselor sometime this year. God has enabled me to counsel women at our new church home as well as do marriage counseling with our pastor, a biblically sound God-fearing man who believes targeted discipleship (biblical counseling) is the role of his gospel-saturated local church. He is now focused on moving our church towards being a church of counselors as well as having a counseling ministry. He knows that making disciples is not only about evangelism, but it is also about teaching believers to observe all that Jesus commanded us…and we do this by coming alongside believers to help them live out their position in Christ when sin or suffering dims the truth of the gospel. By the way, I also gave him your book, Counsel Your Flock.

To God be the glory as we are seeing Jesus Christ build His church! Several elders, pastors, and lay people plan to attend the training for biblical counseling scheduled here in Minneapolis in March, April, and May (Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries) and the church plans to budget for biblical counseling and training this year.

All this to say, THANK YOU. God has worked through you, your blog, your teaching, your sermons, and your book. He has used your ministry to move this sinner, saved only by His grace, to humbly help other believers conquer their personal problems God’s way and to assist a gospel-focused church to do the same.

I have no doubt that God will continue to use you for His glory. I pray He allows you to do this in biblical counseling as you continue to have a huge impact on my life, others I know, as well as the lives of those who are counseled biblically. We are so very grateful and will be praying for you and your family as the Lord directs your steps.

Serving Christ together,
Soli Deo Gloria!
Karen McMahon

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February 24, 2014
by Paul Tautges
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Two Very Different Ways to Treat Sinners

There are basically two different ways we treat fellow sinners. We either act like self-appointed judges who, like the Pharisees, act out of our supposed self-righteousness, or we act like needy sinners who never step very far away from the cross ourselves and, therefore, like Jesus (who, unlike us, was not a sinner at all!), are quick to dispense grace and forgiveness. To summarize it another way we either live by the letter of the law, which kills the soul, or we live by the Spirit, which gives life (2 Cor 3:6).

These two approaches are what we see in massive contrast in John’s account of the woman caught in adultery. The contrast is startling! Please stop here. Take two minutes to read John 8:1-11 before proceeding.

In John’s example of the redeeming love and grace of Jesus we see the difference between treating people according to the letter of the law and treating them according to the Spirit. Here we see pompous leaders, who long to squash a sinful woman like a bug, contrasted alongside a Savior whose abundant grace pursues and ultimately restores her.

How a Self-Righteous Pharisee Treats Sinners

The scribes and the Pharisees, the self-righteous religionists, drew public attention to the woman’s sin in order to bolster their own reputation as spiritual experts of the law. Their accusation, though true, was for the purpose of trapping Jesus. However, in order to do so they used the woman’s humiliation, public shame, and condemnation for their own self-serving purposes, not for the nurture and care of her broken soul.In short, these spiritual leaders thought first of judgment, but never of mercy, grace, or restorative love.

But something unexpected happened. Jesus turned the tables on the “punishers” and they were caught in their own trap just as passages like Psalm 7:15-16 predict.

How a Grace-Dispensing Savior Treats Sinners

When Jesus effectively turned the focus of the self-righteous leaders to their own guiltiness before God (that they too deserved death as violators of God’s law), they lost the grounds for their accusation and judgment of her.Jesus, on the other hand, pursued the sinner with grace—the kind of grace that first forgives and receives before instructing to live in holiness and obedience to God (2 Cor 5:15).

When sinners are treated according to the letter of the law the soul is killed and any attempt at restoration fails miserably. However, when sinners are treated with the redeeming grace of God then the Spirit gives life as He grants the twin gifts of repentance and faith and the subsequent ability to heed the call to “go and sin no more.”

Which of these two approaches describes us? Are we like the scribes and Pharisees who were quick to pronounce judgment on others and rid their life of offensive sinners who were beneath them? Or are we like Jesus who—without lowering God’s standard of holiness—reached out to sinners with patient grace? Have we forgotten that the ground is level at the foot of the cross? Do we recognize that no matter how long we’ve been a Christian we will never get to the point where we will have the “right” to condemn another? Are we daily conscious of the reality that there is only one who has the power to condemn and that it is not you, or me? (Rom 8:34).

Let’s get honest with ourselves. How do we treat fellow sinners, really?

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