jesus praysThe most crucial step in counseling is knowing whether a counselee is a true believer in Jesus Christ. How come? A true believer has God’s divine power to believe the truth of God and apply it to her life.

In this article, you”ll discover:

  1. A key part of the biblical counseling process.
  2. The inner workings of a biblical counseling office.

‘Pre-Counseling’

If a counselee is not a true believer–though she may be a nice person, attend church, and listen to Christian music–her life is built on sand. A wise counselor pre-counsels–or shares the gospel with her.

Your relationship with God doesn’t depend on your performance–or, all the good things you do for Jesus. Rather your relationship with God depends on Christ’s performance–what he did and is doing.

The gospel in brief:

  • Jesus lived a life completely pleasing to God the Father.
  • He was crucified. His paid for every sin, once for all time, satisfying God’s wrath.
  • He rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father.
  • A person who trusts in Jesus is forgiven and becomes a child of God with all the benefits that accompany her new identity, including the indwelling Holy Spirit..

A counselee who is not a believer in Jesus may feel better for a while but will experience no real heart change in counseling.

More important is her relationship with Jesus. A very scary Bible verse I sometimes share in the counseling office is this one:

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:21-23

My hope is that God convicts a counselee by the power of the Holy Spirit of her need for Jesus. Her eternal life depends on the gospel.

Two Diagnostic Questions 

In the counseling office while getting to know a counselee, I ask her to fill out a Personal Data Inventory. One section probes her salvation experience. The two questions are:

  1. Have you come to the place in your spiritual life where you can say that you know for certain that if you were to die today you would go to heaven?  o Yes  o No   o Uncertain
  2. Suppose you died today and God asked you “Why should I let you into my heaven?” What would your say?

If her story of how she became a Christ-follower seems murky, I’ll ask more questions, such as:

  • “Who is God?”
  • “What is he doing in the world?”
  • “Where do you fit in to his purposes?”

If I sense she is not a true believer, I’ll “pre-counsel,” as mentioned above. If she is a true believer, I listen to her story of what brought her to counseling and look for opportunities to help solve problems through biblical counseling. Two favorite Scripture passages are Ephesians 1:3-14 and Ephesians 4:17-32. Part of it is printed in italics below.

New Life in Christ

With a counselee in the counseling office, after I’ve gathered data (including her salvation story) and listened to her struggles, I often turn to the book of Ephesians.

The apostle Paul describes the believer’s new life in Christ. She had a darkened mind as an unbeliever, now the mind of Christ. She lived to please herself, now to please God. She acted from her old self, not from who she is in Christ. Listen:

Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. hey have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Becoming more like Christ is a lifelong process. God plants godly beliefs in you as the Holy Spirit renews, reeducates, and redirects your mind. Your life goal is do God’s will.

Did you know that before you became a Christian, you were unable to do God’s will? In Christ, you have the power to believe God’s truth and apply it to your life and obey his commands – not because you have to, but because you want to!  

And it all begins with becoming a true believer.

COUNSELING: Did you know I offer a complimentary, 20-minute consultation? You can ask questions about counseling or anything else on your heart. Send me a message now. Thanks! 

Sharing Hope with Your Heart,

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