1. PERSONS INVOLVED IN COUNSELING The Holy Spirit is the principal person (Jn. 14:16, 17) The Spirit of truth – the Source of truth and who leads into truth His work of holiness – Fruit of the Spirit, counseling is one aspect of the work of sanctification. Don’t ignore the Holy Spirit or avoid use of Scriptures in counseling

2. All Christians benefit from the Holy Spirit’s counsel. He regenerates and enables the believer to understand the Scriptures. THE HUMAN COUNSELOR Who should counsel? Three specified sources of personal problems in living:

3. Demonic activity Personal sin Organic illness Counseling is ministerial and congregational Role of the pastor/pastoral staff Role of the Christian

4. Qualifications for counseling Knowledge of the Scriptures Divine wisdom Love for people Experiencing change in one’s life Read good books (many available) Graces of the Spirit through the gifts of the Spirit

5. Authority in counseling All Christians must counsel (Col. 3:16; Rom. 15:14). Exercise God’s authority, not authorities in their own right Must not violate God’s authority Distinguish between good advice and biblical principles themselves

6. Counselors must be directive “nouthesia” – “to give advise or direction “non-directive counseling” – contradiction of terms “Human counselor must know the good counsel of the Scriptures, and develop those skills by which he may confront others directly in deep concern.” Adams

7. The personality of the counselor Personality of the counselor is not the determining factor. In counseling…each counselor will develop his own style. Personality traits that might interfere must be altered.

8. THE COUNSELEE You already know a lot Sources of knowledge Three sources of information available to the Christian counselor: The Scriptures His (and others’) counseling experience

9. The dynamics if his own sinful heart No surprises necessary There are just so many basic common themes of sin and no more. What is the difficulty? Solutions for every problem

10. What the counselor needs to know What is the specific problem in this case? Specifically, what biblical principles apply in this case? What must be done to bring these principles to bear upon the case in order to understand and solve the problems?

11. How prior knowledge helps Counselees can change Radical change, the most radical change known to man, is described in the Scriptures as a new birth. God is in the business of changing lives. Change is what the Christian ought to expect, ought to demand of himself, and ought to learn to live with.