17. Give some typical assignments for a person who is depressed. Next, do the same for a person who worries. Finally, do the same for a person who is afraid. Don't discuss what you would do in giving assignments; rather give actual assignments as you would write them down for the counselee.
Specific assignments that would be given may depend on the person, the situation, and where you as a counselor may have helped move the counselee along the path of sanctification. However, below is a small sample of some assignments that would be appropriate for people describing these particular “presentation problems” regardless of their current level of progression or regression.
18. Describe how you deal with sin in counseling. Use a case history, in which you were the counselor, to show how you dealt with sin.
At the start, we must appropriately and clearly define sin. Sin has been referred to as “cosmic treason”.[1] In this article R.C. Sproul concluded, “Not until we take God seriously will we ever take sin seriously. But if we acknowledge the righteous character of God, then we, like the saints of old, will cover our mouths with our hands and repent in dust and ashes before Him.” Sin is the issue because it has separated us from our God (Isa. 59:2). God is so pure and holy that he can’t “approve evil” or “look on wickedness with favor” (Hab. 1:13). Sin is so serious that one sin in the Garden of Eden has since changed the whole world. Once “very good” (Gen. 1:31), we know that “the whole creation” now “groans and suffers” (Rom. 8:22). One sin is enough to condemn a person of breaking all of God’s holy law (Jas. 2:10). Yet we sin at an incalculable rate. Sin is the sole reason that there is death (Rom. 6:23). God sentencing us to death is justifiable because He is holy and our sin is so offensive to Him. Since “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23) it is amazing that God even provides for us let alone gives the amazing grace of saving sinners from Hell to Heaven at the cost of His Son’s life.
Sin is cosmic treason not merely because the behaviors of sin are putrid (lying, stealing, lusting, blaspheming, etc.) but because of the horrible reality that we naturally love and prefer our sins over Him (John 3:19). We’d rather do that which God hates than that which honors Him. In our natural state we are “hostile towards God” (Rom. 8:7), “an enemy of God” (James 4:4), a “rebel” against Him (Job 24:13), and prefer to fulfill the “desires of your father the devil” because we are “held captive by him to do his will” (John 8:44, 2 Tim. 2:26). When we see sin as humbling as it is and as a result see how gracious God is in not completely punishing and banishing us all, we should marvel at His goodness, patience, kindness, love, mercy, and grace.
To truly help people, we must call sin “sin”. It is not a “mistake”. It is not something that we can merely be sorry for and it’s not permissible on the grounds that everyone does it. It’s not just a problem, it’s the problem. It must be pointed out and it must be killed so that people can live (Rom. 8:13). We must help them see what sin is by pointing out Scriptures like the ones above. We must ask them to describe sins that have been committed, ask them if the sin concerns them, and we must never minimize or re-label sins. Our counseling sessions must always re-focus side-topics back towards the individual’s personal sins contrasted against the holiness and goodness of God. Finally, we must help them see that despite how full of sin we are, God extends love and forgiveness of sin through the blood of Jesus Christ. We offer them this hope! They must be called to repentance, faith, and a new manner of life for Christ’s glory.
Though I have not counseled believers I have had evangelistic opportunities. When a Catholic co-worker would meet with me so that I could help him with his sins of fornication and pornography, I stuck to the Scriptures to describe His sin. He was interested in change but never enough to let go of all of his idols. Over time he became discouraged. I realized that he couldn’t repent because He didn’t know or apply the true Gospel. Interestingly, he was always thankful when I pointed out the wretchedness of his lusts but when shown Biblically that he was falsely worshiping God through an apostate religion he became defensive and changed the subject. I told him that his sin issue was not merely lusting. Lovingly, I told him that he has fashioned himself a god of his own liking and was rebelling against God. Discipleship ceased because he knew that I was calling him to repent of all of his heart-level sins, not just the ones causing him worldly sorrow. Since he never demonstrated true saving faith there’s little left to do but pray for him. Nonetheless, our faithfulness is in pointing out sin and trusting the results to God.
[1] R.C. Sproul, http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/cosmic-treason/
Sin is cosmic treason not merely because the behaviors of sin are putrid (lying, stealing, lusting, blaspheming, etc.) but because of the horrible reality that we naturally love and prefer our sins over Him (John 3:19). We’d rather do that which God hates than that which honors Him. In our natural state we are “hostile towards God” (Rom. 8:7), “an enemy of God” (James 4:4), a “rebel” against Him (Job 24:13), and prefer to fulfill the “desires of your father the devil” because we are “held captive by him to do his will” (John 8:44, 2 Tim. 2:26). When we see sin as humbling as it is and as a result see how gracious God is in not completely punishing and banishing us all, we should marvel at His goodness, patience, kindness, love, mercy, and grace.
To truly help people, we must call sin “sin”. It is not a “mistake”. It is not something that we can merely be sorry for and it’s not permissible on the grounds that everyone does it. It’s not just a problem, it’s the problem. It must be pointed out and it must be killed so that people can live (Rom. 8:13). We must help them see what sin is by pointing out Scriptures like the ones above. We must ask them to describe sins that have been committed, ask them if the sin concerns them, and we must never minimize or re-label sins. Our counseling sessions must always re-focus side-topics back towards the individual’s personal sins contrasted against the holiness and goodness of God. Finally, we must help them see that despite how full of sin we are, God extends love and forgiveness of sin through the blood of Jesus Christ. We offer them this hope! They must be called to repentance, faith, and a new manner of life for Christ’s glory.
Though I have not counseled believers I have had evangelistic opportunities. When a Catholic co-worker would meet with me so that I could help him with his sins of fornication and pornography, I stuck to the Scriptures to describe His sin. He was interested in change but never enough to let go of all of his idols. Over time he became discouraged. I realized that he couldn’t repent because He didn’t know or apply the true Gospel. Interestingly, he was always thankful when I pointed out the wretchedness of his lusts but when shown Biblically that he was falsely worshiping God through an apostate religion he became defensive and changed the subject. I told him that his sin issue was not merely lusting. Lovingly, I told him that he has fashioned himself a god of his own liking and was rebelling against God. Discipleship ceased because he knew that I was calling him to repent of all of his heart-level sins, not just the ones causing him worldly sorrow. Since he never demonstrated true saving faith there’s little left to do but pray for him. Nonetheless, our faithfulness is in pointing out sin and trusting the results to God.
[1] R.C. Sproul, http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/cosmic-treason/
19. Outline a comprehensive counseling program to help a couple develop good communication patterns.
Both of my faithful shepherds have counseled me regarding marriage and communication concerns. Joey Newton and Parker Reardon of Newtown Bible Church have many outlines and homeworks that are useful in counseling. Below is a general outline based off of Parker’s sessions with me and my wife. I would use these as the primary teaching sessions and homework analysis. Many sessions may be needed before these to collect data, assess salvation, and correct some immediate concerns to create hope. The supremacy of Christ and God’s sovereignty are the threads interwoven through all of these sessions. This is a flexible guideline.
God and His role for marriage is first in this series because we cannot begin to work out the imperitive of Godly marriage behaviors until we deeply grasp how the marriage relationship is a picture of the Gospel and what God has done for believers through Christ. Many other homeworks, topics, and counseling methods would be considered based on the couple’s progress and needs.
God and His role for marriage is first in this series because we cannot begin to work out the imperitive of Godly marriage behaviors until we deeply grasp how the marriage relationship is a picture of the Gospel and what God has done for believers through Christ. Many other homeworks, topics, and counseling methods would be considered based on the couple’s progress and needs.
20. Would you work cooperatively with a physician? A psychologist? Justify your answers biblically.
When
speaking in any manner (professional or casual) with the secular world,
presuppositions are always the foundations upon which people will debate or
argue. We are no different. Our presupposition is founded on God’s word
and power. The secular world is based on
everything and anything else. As stated
by Dr. Jason Lisle in his presentation “Ultimate Proof of Creation” from the
Answers in Genesis ministry, there is no neutral ground on which the secular
world and the Biblical world can meet.
The secular world will constantly ask that we meet on “neutral ground”
but accompany that request with comments such as “let’s leave religion out of
this… let’s talk without mentioning the Bible… etc.” The problem is that when a Christian agrees
to this for the sake of meeting on common ground he has just left his
foundation behind and entered into the secular grounds. To put it plainly, there is no neutral
ground.
Some Biblical support for this comes from the statements the Bible gives us about friendship with the world and the state of natural man. Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me” (Matt. 12:30). The “mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so” (Rom. 8:7). “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (Jas. 4:4). Since the Bible never describes a neutral place with God it is an unbiblical principle to agree to meet on any neutral terms. Instead, the Christian must be “holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict” (Tit. 1:9). Other responses have already said how different the psych-world is from Biblical worldviews[1] including the difference in anthropology and exclusion of God.[2] So my answer to the question “would you work with a psychologist”[3] would be “yes” in that I would be happy they send me their “patients” who have tried everything else and lost hope. I would love to present the Gospel to their staff and the foundations upon which Biblical counseling rests. Though I would never join the ecumenical movement where “cooperative” worship ensues, I would go into any false teacher’s church and preach truth. However, they are not allowed to preach their idea of truth in our pulpit or teaching classes. Therefore, it is the “cooperatively” phrase in this question that makes my answer regarding psychologists mainly “no”. To cooperatively work with a psychologist is to agree to meet on some neutral ground or for one of us to agree to come to the other side. I’d be happy to bring my truth to their side (but they wouldn’t want that) and I would not want them to bring their theories to my counselees.
The answer for a medical doctor is different. Practiced correctly, medicine ought to be dealing with biological tests, treatments, and conditions. Sadly, in our psychologized world most medical doctors turn to the psyche once they cannot find a biological issue (“how has your stress level been… maybe you should talk to someone about your anxiety levels…”). Additionally, many medical doctors hold to an evolutionary worldview since much of their biological training in secular environments teaches that as truth. Nonetheless, the body does affect the soul and the soul does affect the body. We as counselors are not trained to deal with the organic issues that can cause the inorganic suffering we will hear about in our ministry. Therefore, I would say “yes” for physicians because it is important to have Christian physicians (or at least secular ones that hold to physiological realms only) that you can refer counselees to, have referred back, and have on-going discussions with about physical issues and the symptoms that accompany them.
[1] See response to Counseling questions #7, 8, and 13.
[2] See response to Theology questions Anthropology #1 and 2.
[3] Notice I purposely left out the “cooperatively” part.
Some Biblical support for this comes from the statements the Bible gives us about friendship with the world and the state of natural man. Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me” (Matt. 12:30). The “mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so” (Rom. 8:7). “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (Jas. 4:4). Since the Bible never describes a neutral place with God it is an unbiblical principle to agree to meet on any neutral terms. Instead, the Christian must be “holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict” (Tit. 1:9). Other responses have already said how different the psych-world is from Biblical worldviews[1] including the difference in anthropology and exclusion of God.[2] So my answer to the question “would you work with a psychologist”[3] would be “yes” in that I would be happy they send me their “patients” who have tried everything else and lost hope. I would love to present the Gospel to their staff and the foundations upon which Biblical counseling rests. Though I would never join the ecumenical movement where “cooperative” worship ensues, I would go into any false teacher’s church and preach truth. However, they are not allowed to preach their idea of truth in our pulpit or teaching classes. Therefore, it is the “cooperatively” phrase in this question that makes my answer regarding psychologists mainly “no”. To cooperatively work with a psychologist is to agree to meet on some neutral ground or for one of us to agree to come to the other side. I’d be happy to bring my truth to their side (but they wouldn’t want that) and I would not want them to bring their theories to my counselees.
The answer for a medical doctor is different. Practiced correctly, medicine ought to be dealing with biological tests, treatments, and conditions. Sadly, in our psychologized world most medical doctors turn to the psyche once they cannot find a biological issue (“how has your stress level been… maybe you should talk to someone about your anxiety levels…”). Additionally, many medical doctors hold to an evolutionary worldview since much of their biological training in secular environments teaches that as truth. Nonetheless, the body does affect the soul and the soul does affect the body. We as counselors are not trained to deal with the organic issues that can cause the inorganic suffering we will hear about in our ministry. Therefore, I would say “yes” for physicians because it is important to have Christian physicians (or at least secular ones that hold to physiological realms only) that you can refer counselees to, have referred back, and have on-going discussions with about physical issues and the symptoms that accompany them.
[1] See response to Counseling questions #7, 8, and 13.
[2] See response to Theology questions Anthropology #1 and 2.
[3] Notice I purposely left out the “cooperatively” part.