One of the most misunderstood doctrines of the Church is baptism. Denominations are known by their method of baptism; the same English word, baptism, is used to mean christening of babies, sprinkling, and immersion. No wonder people are confused when they are asked, "Have you been baptized?"
The various denominations have widely conflicting views regarding the meaning and significance of baptism. Some teach that there is sacramental power in baptism--that is, that baptism is the means by which salvation is actually applied to one's soul. If that is true, then one is not really saved until he has been baptized. The logical outcome of that doctrine is the need for infant baptism and last rites.
Others teach that baptism actually washes away one's sins. This means that your sins cannot be forgiven totally until you have been baptized by the church.
Other groups teach that baptism is the ceremony which one must go through before membership into the church is granted. They may, or may not, believe that baptism is necessary for salvation.
At the opposite end of the spectrum are those who believe that baptism is an ancient religious act with no modern significance or need. Some churches go even further teaching that baptism is actually wrong because it is a return to works for salvation.
With all of these sincere and yet opposite teachings, how can one know what a new believer should do about baptism? At LIFE Fellowship, we have people who have come from many denominations (Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, , Catholics, Lutherans, Episcopalians, etc.) How do we decide which for of baptism to accept?
LIFE Fellowship has but one standard for faith and conduct--the Bible. We do not have to comply with a denominational concept. So let's go to the Bible and see what it says about baptism.
The Purpose of Baptism --Mark 1:1-11 Our word, baptism, comes from the Greek word baptizo, which literally means, "to dip" or "to immerse." In Mark 7:4 there is a passage dealing with ceremonial washing of the hands and eating utensils; the Greek for"cleansing" and "washing" is from our word, baptizo. Luke 11:38 is a similar example.
The purpose of this ceremony was to symbolize one's clean standing before the Lord. Jesus condemned the Pharisees in Luke 11 for being more concerned with ceremonial cleansing than having a pure heart.
Mark 1:4 says, "John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism for the forgiveness of sins." Does this, and similar passages teach that one must be baptized to have his sins forgiven? The word translated "for" in "for the forgiveness of sins" is the Greek word, eis. It means "the basis or ground," not "the purpose or aim." John did not baptize for the purpose of having sins forgiven, but because forgiveness had happened as a result of repentance.
As an example of this use of the word eis in another location, look at Matthew 12:41, "the men of Ninevah...repented at (eis, because of) the preaching of Jonah." In Matthew 3:11, John says, "I baptize you with water for (eis, as a result of) repentance." Genuine repentance is the requirement for forgiveness of sin. 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, (God) is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness." Simply put, baptism is not required for salvation or forgiveness of sins.
Then, Why Be Baptized?
To publicly identify with Christ
In Matthew 3:15, Jesus said of baptism, "...in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Jesus did not need to be baptized; He had never sinned. But He was identifying with us and our need for salvation. In the same way, we need to be willing to identify with Him. Baptism is one of the most beautiful pictures of what Jesus does in one's life when he becomes a Christian. It is an ideal opportunity for witnessing to family and friends about your new faith. It is surprising how unbelievers are open to attending a baptism of a friend or relative.
To Obey Christ's Command
Matthew 28:19 says, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." As a new believer, it is important for you to be obedient to the Lord in everything. Though baptism will not save you, it is important for obedience and testimony. Have you been saying to the Lord, "I will obey you in all things...except baptism?"
What is the Right Method of Baptism? Sprinkling? In the Bible, the word for "sprinkle" is rhantizo; it is never used in connection with the ordinance or ceremony of baptism. There is no Biblical basis for the practice of sprinkling.
Historical Background From the beginning of the early church, baptism meant total immersion in water. The Greek word baptizo was used to signify the dyeing of a garment or drawing out water from a bucket by dipping a cup or dipper into the water.
The Roman Catholic church practiced immersion until the year 1311 when the Council of Ravenna substituted sprinkling as their method of baptism.
Quotes from theologians of various denominational backgrounds will show that baptism has always meant immersion:
Episcopal scholar, J. B. Lightfoot: ";Baptism is the grave of the old man and the birth of the new. As he sinks beneath the baptismal waters, the believer buries there all his corrupt affections and past sins; he emerges thence, and rises regenerate, to new hope in new life."; (We do not endorse his theology; we quote him only to show that Episcopalian theologians understood baptism to mean immersion.)
Presbyterian founder, John Calvin:"Here (Acts 8:38) we see how baptism was administered among the ancients; for they immersed the whole body in water."
Marcus Dods, Scottish Presbyterian scholar: "To use coined language, his old man is dead and buried in the water, and he rises from this cleansing grave a new man. The full significance of the rite would have been lost had immersion not been practiced."
Methodist, John Wesley: (On Romans 6) "We are buried with him, alluding to the ancient manner of baptizing by immersion."
A. S. Peake (British Methodist scholar): "The rite of baptism in which the person baptized was first buried beneath the water, and then raised from it, typified to Paul the burial and resurrection of the believer with Christ."
Lutheran founder, Martin Luther: "The word 'baptize' is a Greek word. It may be rendered 'immersion' as when we plunge something in water that it may be entirely covered with water--and though that custom is now abolished among the generality (even children are not immersed entirely but only have a little water poured on them) nevertheless, they ought to be completely immersed and immediately drawn out, for the etymology of the word requires it."
The Meaning of Baptism - Romans 6:1-6
Going into the water in baptism is symbolic of the believer's 'death to sin' (v.3 "all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death". This is a sign of the true repentance for sin that a genuine believer has experienced. Verse 11 says, "Consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." One who is dead can no longer be tempted by sin; our new nature (Romans 7) is not. As we submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit in everything, we can be controlled by our new nature and have victory over sin. Going into the water is a picture of our choice to abandon the old lifestyle of sin and guilt.
Actually being under the water is spoken of in verse 4 as being "buried with Him through baptism." This pictures the permanence of our decision to reject the old life of sin. It speaks of commitment to our new life in Christ.
Coming back up out of the water' is a beautiful illustration of our new life in Christ (v. 4, 5): "As Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in the newness of life, for if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection."
Baptism, Then, Is An Object Lesson
It pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. It also illustrates our identification with Him and our decision to die to sin, be buried, and be raised to walk in a new way. Further, baptism is a glorious picture of how Jesus death, burial, and resurrection have literally washed away the record of our sins because the Father has blotted out our sins with the blood of Christ. That is, He has applied Christ's sinless record to us to legally declare us righteous.
Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation? Some churches teach that the water baptism is essential for salvation. They use verses like Acts 22:16 to support their doctrine: "Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name." There are translations which make the meaning more clear: Williams' Translation, "Get up and be baptized and wash away your sins by calling on His name," and the Berkeley Translation, "Rise; be baptized, and calling on His name, be cleansed of your sins."
If Paul Believed that it was essential to be baptized in order to be saved, wouldn't he have been certain to see that all of his converts were baptized? Yet, in 1 Corinthians 1:14, Paul says, "I thank God that I baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius, that no man should say you were baptized into my name... (v. 17) for Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach to gospel..."
Peter makes it clear that baptism is not the vehicle for salvation: 1 Peter 3:21, "corresponding to that, baptism now saves you--not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience--through the resurrection of Christ..."
It is not the act of baptism that saves, but the repentance and faith in the finished work of Christ that saves. Baptism is merely the outward sign of that transaction.
Will Not Being Baptized Keep A Person Out Of Heaven?
If so, then Christ was mistaken when He promised the thief on the cross that he would be saved (though he was not baptized), Luke 23:43. Belief that salvation is dependent upon baptism is an error to the heresy condemned in Galatians 2:16-21.
Salvation is based solely upon faith in Jesus Christ--not in any work we add to that faith (Rom. 10:9-13, 1 Peter 2:24)
The Position of LIFE Fellowship
Baptism is important as a testimony and a step of obedience to the Lord, but baptism has no saving power or merit. We encourage you, if you have accepted Christ as your Savior, to obey Him by being baptized at the very next baptismal service we conduct. Pray about what God would have you do. If you have any questions, feel free to call us at 303-451-LIFE.
THE BASIC GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST
Of all the pages in this web site, this is the one we hope you'll remember the most. We want to share with you the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our reason for wanting to share this with you is because we ourselves have fallen way short of God's glory, yet have been forgiven by His grace.
This is not about self-righteousness or shoving religion down your throat. This cannot be a forced decision--it's yours to make. Our purpose here is to gently share with you the Gospel which has given us hope.
You've probably heard it before, and we'll explain it in more detail later on this page, but the gospel, in a nutshell, goes like this:
God is Holy.... In other words, we mean that God is so pure, so perfect, that any presence of evil is impossible in the presence of God. It is like oil and water, it is physically impossible for the two to mix. Humanity is NOT Holy... At least, not since Adam & Eve sinned. Therefore, we are separated from God by our sin and have absolutely no way to make ourselves holy enough to enter heaven to be with God. (Romans 3:23) The sin of mankind, which we all carry, results in death. (Romans 6:23)
For another example, think of a beautiful, bright white carpet. Part of what makes the carpet so beautiful is the fact that it is so white. Now, think of yourself covered with mud from head to toe. You can't walk on the carpet without the carpet being ruined. The carpet can't continue to be white if you walk on it. Therefore, you can't walk on the white carpet. God is holy, and can only remain holy if we are kept away from Him. But check out what's next... God Had A Plan... God loves us all, and He created us so that we could love HIM. The trick to that is, it had to be voluntary. We couldn't very well love God if we were forced too, right? So, God gave us free will. Sadly, we chose NOT to love Him when Adam and Eve sinned, and that made all of humanity UNHOLY.
God anticipated this. So, He set His divine plan in motion. God's only Son, Jesus Christ, is the Savior whom God sent to restore us. Jesus is the Son of God and is "One with the Father." (John 10:30) This Scripture verse, along with many others, make one thing clear. Jesus is God. His Life on Earth... When the time was right, Jesus left heaven to be born as a human man and to live a human life on this earth. Although in His life here on earth He experienced all the pains and temptations every person faces, Jesus never sinned. He was absolutely without flaw. God's Law... From the beginning, God's holiness required that all sins be atoned for in order for humanity to have fellowship with Him. The Jews, God's chosen people, were given very specific laws and regulations for living and for gaining forgiveness for their sins. Sin always results in death. Rather than bringing about the deaths of those who sinned, the Law called for animals to die in their place. These were called sacrifices, and it called for animals–often a lamb, without defect, to be sacrificed in order to atone for the sins of man.
The trouble was, men couldn't keep up with their own sin. Try as they might, they could not, from their own effort, earn their salvation. That, in fact, is exactly what God wanted to teach the Jews for all the world, including ourselves, to see. The Lamb of God... That's where Jesus comes in. Jesus came to the earth as a man, lived without sin and was without defect. His earthly ministry included teaching and healing many people, but the main reason He came was yet to be fulfilled.
Jesus came to be our sacrifice. Once for all, the death of God Himself as a sacrifice for all the world's sin, past, present and future, would atone for all the sins of the world.> The Final Sacrifice... When the time had come, Jesus was then falsely accused and executed. This was all part of God's plan. God's justice required that all the sin of the world should be put to death forever. There are only two ways for this to happen.
One way is for each person to die because of their own sin and never enter the presence of God. The other way is for someone who is perfect--someone who is holy--someone who is actually God Himself, to die in our place.
Jesus took our place and died for us. Our sins (our wrongdoings and basic tendencies toward rebellion) are like an enormous debt that we each owe, and if the debt is not paid in full by the deadline, we face execution. It's a scary concept, but don't worry.
Jesus can pay all of our debts for us! Now, we can choose for ourselves. We can either choose to pay our own debt and then discover that we don't have enough to cover it and be executed, or we can let Jesus pay our debts for us! You see, the penalty for our sin is death, but Jesus bore that penalty for everyone who loves Him. (Romans 6:23) Victory!!! Jesus' resurrection from the dead proved that He is God, and also proved that death could neither defeat Him nor anyone who trusts in Him and who love him. After all, what good was His sacrifice if He's dead? Jesus is alive!
Think about what this means to you! Not only has Jesus paid for your sin, He defeated death for you! If He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, so will you! There, for all eternity, you can be with Him after you die! It's Still Your Choice... That brings us back to love. By now, there should be no doubt in your mind that God loves you. The question is, do you love Him? Even after all that's happened, it's still your choice, and the results of your decision have eternal implications.
You see, Jesus' death for you is a gift of love, but the gift can't be yours unless you claim it as yours! Unless you acknowledge that Jesus is God, that you are a sinner who needs the forgiveness Jesus purchased for you, and that you love God and will commit to loving Him, Jesus' gift cannot be yours!
So, who loves him? Those who obey Him--that's who! You see, Jesus loves us, but He's still God. We show Him our love by being obedient to Him and doing things to make Him happy. We can't fake that, by the way. Jesus knows who really loves Him and who doesn't.
In other words, you and I are sinners, unable to be with God. But by believing in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior (accepting Him as the Son of the one true God, promising to obey Him and love Him, acknowledging and repenting of your own sin and accepting that Jesus' death paid the price for your sin) you can be made holy and can therefore enter heaven after you die. Make Him Your Lord and Savior!... If you are ready to believe this, you can ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior right now, simply by talking to him (praying), admitting your sin to Him, and asking Him to be your Savior. If you do this, you should then tell someone of your decision and get involved with a Bible-teaching church. We would love to meet with you and talk with you about this, so if you can't come to worship with us this Sunday, give us a call at 1-303-451-5433. We look forward to welcoming you into the family of God!
A BIBLICAL PURPOSE AND PLACE FOR COUNSELING
God’s Purpose for Counseling--Sanctification
Christ has given a unique call, mission, and authority to the Church to counsel God’s people. The ultimate purpose of counseling is to sanctify — set apart, reserve specially for God, to make holy — God’s people, positionally and experientially. In other words, Biblical counseling is concerned with leading a person into salvation whereby God considers that person holy due to his position in Christ (positionally sanctified) and into a personal daily walk with God whereby one actually experiences a holy lifestyle (experientially sanctified). God has not authorized any other organization to carry out that responsibility.
Paul describes these two forms of sanctification in 1Thessalonians, where he connects sanctification with peace and freedom from guilt. Note that Paul views sanctification as affecting every portion of a person’s being: “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Thessalonians 5:23).
This is where theology and real life come together. It is where theory is put into practice. This is what separates a professing Christian from the genuine article. This is what changes the desperately wicked heart into a heart that desires to please the Father.
Don’t be put off by the terms sanctification and holiness. For many people, these words conjure up a negative image of a monk cloistered away from real life in a forbidding and silent monastery, never having to face the day-to-day pressures of living. That concept of sanctification, however, is not the kind Jesus presented. His gentle and joyful holiness was lived out in the dusty streets of Nazareth, Capernaum, and Jerusalem, as He walked and talked with real people. Remember, he was criticized by the self-righteous Pharisees for his friendship with “sinners.”
Holiness and Love God’s call for us to live holy lives is based on His love for us, His children. The motivation for holiness that pleases God the most is our love for Him. Let me explain.
My wife, Marlowe, and I have four children and, though they are now grown, we are as incurably proud of them now as we were when they were children.
In our family devotions, we sometimes discussed the fact that each of us has a responsibility to uphold our family’s five-century-long heritage of faith in Christ and living for the Lord. My wife and I have no guarantee that all our children will continue in our spiritual heritage, but the bond of love that we all have for one another, our commitment to the Word, and our identity as a Christian family come as close to a guarantee as we can find. Because we love our children, we want them to love our Lord. And because they love us as parents, they want to please us, and have responded to the Lord as well. All of our children, now adults, work side by side with us in our ministry.
In the same way, our desire to please our heavenly Father ought to stem naturally from love. It is the loving parent-child relationship that God refers to in 2 Corinthians 6:18: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters.” Paul then says, “Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2Corinthians7:1).
This reverence is not primarily motivated by fear, but love. Because we are God’s children, we are “to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). Peter reminds us that “it is written: ?Be holy, because I am holy’” (1Peter 1:16).
Holiness and Fear If love alone is not enough to motivate the believer to holiness, the writer of Hebrews warns us, “Without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Peter emphasizes this fact when he writes, “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives” (2Peter 3:11). I don’t want to linger over fear as a primary motivator. Fear of God has its legitimate place, but love is infinitely more pleasing to God as our reason for holiness.
The Source of Holiness Those who want holiness often have no idea where to find it. Some seek it in mystical experiences, good works, or acts of penance. According to Jesus, however, sanctification comes through the Word of God: “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John17:17).
Real change of character happens when the truths of God’s Word are understood and applied in an individual’s life. There is no shortcut to spiritual maturity. It does not come by a mystical experience or new revelation. It does not come through psychological findings or clinical research. Sanctification comes when our hearts and minds are saturated with the truths of God’s Word and those truths are activated in our lives by the Holy Spirit.
Let’s see how the Word of God and the Church are connected in the issue of counseling believers.
God’s Place for Counseling: The Church God has specifically chosen the Church to evangelize the world with Christ’s Word (Matthew 28:19,20). He has appointed the Church to edify believers by teaching doctrine and applying Biblical truths to matters of daily living. Evangelism and edification — both of these belong to the Church.
Someone may properly point out that these functions of the Church are not necessarily limited to the local church, but belong to the universal church (all believers of all nations in all times). This would include believers ministering from and through parachurch organizations. I do not dispute that fact. Let me suggest, however, several reasons I believe counseling should take place within the local church.
Church, Not Parachurch The local church is able to invest time and care on individual believers as no parachurch organization can. The term parachurch is revealing. Para means “beside,” and connected with the word “church,” it stands for a group that comes alongside of the Church to help the Church fulfill its function. The parachurch organization may include people who belong to the Church, but it is not, in and of itself, the Church.
There are groups, such as James Dobson’s “Focus on the Family,” formed to aid and support the family unit, but those organizations are not families per se. Groups that are organized to aid the Church in its universal ministry are composed of members of the Church, but they are not the Church in its local sense. Independent counseling centers may be trying to help the Church in the healing of souls, but they are not the Church in the Biblical sense.
Part of the problem may be due to an inaccurate perception of the Church itself. Some think of it as an organization, but it is more accurate to think of the local church as an organism. It is a living body composed of many members, each of whom has a specific function “In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (Romans 12:5). “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1Corinthians12:27). As the Body of Christ in its universal sense (Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18) and in its local form (1Corinthians12:27), the Church is a single unit with interdependent members whose Head is Christ.
Each local congregation is to be an intimate family of believers. The Church is called God’s family in Ephesians 3:15, “from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.” Believers are not just members of a human organization, they are also part of the household of God. “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household” (Ephesians 2:19). Believers are called a spiritual house and a holy priesthood: “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1Peter 2:5). Individually and universally, members of His church “are God's temple and...God's Spirit lives in you” (1Corinthians3:16). Only the Church is pictured in these ways.
To qualify as a Biblical church, a group must have some form of recognized leadership such as elders, deacons, and pastors (Ephesians 4:11; Titus 1:5), and it must have some structure by which corporate decisions are made (Acts 15:2). It must be a group of believers in Jesus Christ who gather regularly for worship, Bible study, administration of the ordinances of the Church (baptism and the Lord’s Supper), fellowship, personal care for one another, counsel, correction, discipline, and restoration. Paul is clear about the purpose of the Church and the ministries of its leaders:
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13).
God has chosen the Church alone to bring His children into “the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” The parachurch counseling clinic that is not under the direct supervision and authority of a local church simply cannot produce that kind of result.
Personal Care for Fellow Members In contrast to the disengaged clinical approach professional counseling often follows, church leaders are able to care for their members and become emotionally involved with their people. Paul demonstrated this devotion to the Church when he wrote, “You have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you” (2 Corinthians 7:3), and “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us” (1 Thessalonians 2:8).
The psychotherapeutic relationship is very different from what Paul describes. When the psychologist leaves his office, he does not have to concern himself with the impact his advice will have on the entire congregation. It is a rare psychologist who encourages his clients to call him any hour, day or night, if there is a family emergency. Nor is he called upon to provide food, clothing, and aid in case of a financial crisis. His is a professional relationship that begins and ends at the office door. He is a hired professional, not a shepherd.
Knowledge of the Counselee by Pastor and Elders The pastor and elders of a church are able to know their people intimately. They live with their people and better able to know their problems, sins, and stubbornness as well as their victories, joys, spiritual growth, and relationship to the Lord. Paul commanded the leaders of the Church to “keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the Church of God, which he bought with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). Peter said that church leaders are to “be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be” (1Peter 5:2). Note in the same verse that the motivation for ministry should not be because a person is “greedy for money, but eager to serve.” What a contrast to the psychotherapy industry, where patients must pay high hourly fees and professionals may not have the time to help those who cannot pay. Paul said, “I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well” (2 Corinthians 12:15).
Shared Experiences One of the key strengths of the local church is that members can share common experiences. A pastor who has spent years with his people[1] has shared the trials and tribulations his people have gone through. In order to understand the thinking of an individual, a counselor needs firsthand knowledge of that person’s cultural background. In the Church setting, a pastoral counselor can identify with and understand his people in a way that an outside clinical counselor cannot.
Paul connected cultural implications with ministry in 1 Corinthians 9.
Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel (vv. 19-23).
In genuine Biblical counseling, there is an identification with the people and a personal sharing of life. There is no hint of uninvolved professionalism. Paul wrote the saints of Thessalonica: “We were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us” (1Thessalonians 2:6-8). Professional counselors cannot afford to invest such time and emotion in their clients. To survive financially, they have to quickly move on to the next patient.
Accountability Perhaps the single most important reason that Christian counseling belongs in the local church is that the counselee can be held accountable for his beliefs, attitudes, and actions by the Church leadership. And it is for that same reason that so many Christians look for counsel anywhere but their own church. One of the first questions I ask a counselee who does not attend our church is, “Why aren’t you getting counsel from your own pastor?” The most common answer seems to be, “I don’t want my pastor to know about my problems.”
A few years ago a couple came to my office on the brink of divorce. When I asked why they were not seeing their own pastor, they admitted that they had kept up a spiritual charade for years at their church, pretending that their marriage was fine. They didn’t want their own church to know of the sin in their lives. I agreed to meet with them for a short time, but told them they would eventually have to return to their own pastor for the conclusion of counseling and for the purpose of ongoing accountability. After a few sessions, it became apparent that both had no intention of changing their hearts or their behavior. They were trying to outwait each other, hoping the other would file for divorce. They weren’t about to go back to their own pastor for counseling, either. They didn’t want to be held accountable.
We live in the no-fault generation. No one wants to take responsibility for his own sinful actions. We have found excuses for every conceivable failure by relabeling sins as dysfunctions and illnesses. Many churches have bought into this unBiblical philosophy and have joined with the psychological establishment in declaring that humans are all victims and need support and understanding. The Bible, however, says, “I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken” (Matthew 12:36) and “each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). Jesus reminds us, “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done” (Revelation 22:12).
The Biblical church has a built-in system of accountability which the Lord has authorized. “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Hebrews 13:17).
No psychologist or counselor in an independent clinic can claim this spiritual authority. They have no such mechanism for holding the counselee accountable to obey Biblical principles.Discipline
Since there is no effective system of accountability in parachurch counseling, there is no means of discipline in the case of disobedience. And since the counseling relationship is more clinical than personal, a psychologist would find it difficult to earnestly reprove the sinful client.
Paul got involved with his people. “Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears” (Acts 20:31). Because of his spiritual authority, he could say to the Corinthians, “I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others” (2 Corinthians 13:2). In balance, Paul was careful to explain his benevolent intentions: “I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down” (2 Corinthians 13:10).
Discipline is rarely used in the modern church. Perhaps the pastor fears a lawsuit or is concerned about his job security. Unfortunately, it is true that many pastors are viewed as expendable employees rather than shepherds of their flocks, and in such cases, it is dangerous to confront rebellious members. Nonetheless, God has called pastors to rebuke and exhort with all authority. “Preach the Word be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction” (2Timothy 4:2). It is a blessed church that has a fearless but loving pastor who will courageously confront sin with the Scripture and discipline his people with the authority of the Word. If necessary, such a pastor will follow the procedure Jesus gave in Matthew 18.
If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ?every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the Church; and if he refuses to listen even to the Church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector (vv. 15-17).
The psychologist or parachurch counselor has no comparable means of discipline other than discontinuation of counseling, and since the professional counselor’s income is dependent upon prolonged therapy, there is little incentive to actively confront the counselee with his sin.
Follow-up When a person receives spiritual counsel from his church, it is important to follow up on the progress of the counselee. The interaction goes beyond the counseling office into the worship, training, and fellowship activities of the congregation. Other members of the Church can be enlisted, with the counselee’s knowledge, to help maintain the progress that is achieved. This is especially important in matters of substance abuse, lust, perversion, and other long-term habitual sins. The pastor, elders, and lay-counselors can work as a team ministering for a sustained period.
Also, with a church, there is no cut-off of service due to insurance running out. Termination of counseling is generally reserved for willful rebellion and disobedience, since Biblical counselors are concerned about the long-term success of their counselees. With Paul they say, “Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing” (Acts 15:36).
Encouragement Biblical counselors are especially equipped to encourage counselees because they truly believe that people can permanently change through the truths of the Scriptures as they submit to the inner work of the Holy Spirit. Christian counseling is able to give a realistic perspective to the inevitable suffering people experience in daily living. Paul and Barnabas ministered from that perspective, “strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. ?We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God’” (Acts 14:22).
When counselees have grown in the Lord, they, in turn, can encourage others. Those who have learned to solve their problems Biblically can help others find the same freedom. “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart” (1 Peter 1:22).
Biblical counseling is encouraging because it aims at sparing believers from unnecessary suffering. Counseling in the Church should be more than remedial. It can be preventative when Biblical principles of living are taught from the pulpit as well as in the counseling office. Paul says that the written Word is given to teach believers how to live: “I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:14,15).
Moving people from a life of darkness into light is another part of the encouragement available in the Church. Biblical counseling can do that because its truths are not based upon the ever-changing findings of psychology, but upon eternal revelations from God Himself. Such knowledge can produce great confidence for change. That is why Jesus said, “Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light” (John 12:36). Paul reminded former pagans at Ephesus that “you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8). He told the Thessalonians, “You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:5).
Counselors in the Church Since the Church has a unique calling and mandate for the healing of souls, pastors need to reclaim their God-given role which has been usurped by the priesthood of psychologists. Many of today’s Christians are wandering in spiritual darkness, much like the people of Jesus’ day: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). What a tragedy it is that so many believers are seeking wisdom outside the Church because their own shepherds are unwilling to feed their flocks.
God has given the standard for His undershepherds: “shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding” (Jeremiah 3:15). Though parishioners will always have a free will and stand accountable to God, as a general rule when pastors fulfill their calling and tend their flocks carefully, their people ?will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,’ declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:4). Peter exhorts the leaders of the local churches, “Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care” (1Peter 5:2).)
Insisting on Biblical Counseling Local church members can encourage their pastors in the task of counseling by challenging them to do the work of counseling. They can support their pastors’ study and growth. They can provide financially for tuition, books, and other training expenses. The lay leadership of a church can come alongside their pastor in the task of counseling by studying lay-counseling courses such as those provided by groups such as the International Association of Biblical Counselors[2] and the National Assocation of Nouthetic Counselors. Pastors who may be hesitant in undertaking the ministry of counseling may need personal encouragement from their people.
Churches must express their concerns to seminaries and Bible colleges and urge that their counseling programs return to teaching Scripture rather than psychology. This is especially true of churches that support seminaries through their denominational contributions. Unless local churches clearly voice their distress about the slide toward humanistic philosophies, their seminaries will move ever further from the Word.
Elders and other church leaders must challenge the membership of their churches to seek counsel from their pastors, elders, and trained laity rather than from secular or psychological sources. Believers must be taught that personal problems should be brought to their own churches before seeking help elsewhere. Frequently, members are reluctant to divulge their problems to their own pastor, feeling that he might expose them to the congregation or that he might look down upon them because they are not perfect. The pastor, then, must assure his people of confidentiality and consistent love, and that his purpose is to minister to their deepest needs.
The Final Responsibility Returning Christian counseling to the Church is up to pastors and laity. If pastors refuse to prepare themselves and gifted laity for this important task, psychologists will gladly accept their members as clients. If churches fail to hold their pastors accountable to perform this ministry, many will allow psychologists to do their job. Counseling is hard work and it is time consuming, but the rewards of dealing intimately with the needs of the parishioners are well worth the cost.
Let’s return to the Scriptures for the solutions to our problems. God has provided everything we need for life and godliness. We must not allow anyone to convince us otherwise.
[1]Dr. Bulkley has been the pastor of LIFE Fellowship, near Denver, since 1979
[2]Dr. Bulkley is President of the Internatinal Association of Biblical Counselors ( 11500 Sheridan Blvd., Denver, CO. 80020, 303-469-IABC [4222] and a member of the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors.)
The term “psychology” is ordinarily defined as the science which examines the mind, mental states and processes, human nature, and behavior. The word comes from a combination of the Greek word, psuch?, or psych?, (which originally meant“the breath” or “the breath of life,” and came to represent the concept of the inner man, the immaterial or invisible part, or the soul) and the suffix, ology, which denotes any branch of science or knowledge. Technically, then, psychology is supposed to be the science or study of the immaterial part of man.
We have already discussed the reasons that psychology cannot be considered a true science, but is more accurately understood as a philosophy or secular religion. We also saw the impossibility for psychologists to define and differentiate between the non-material parts of man. We will see why when we examine what the Bible says about the inner man.
Heart The Scriptures use at least four terms to describe the immaterial part of man: the heart, soul, spirit, and mind. The descriptions and functions of these aspects of man seem to overlap.
The Biblical term “heart” (lawbab, in Hebrew; kardia, in Greek) is the clearest summary of the innermost center of the human being. Perhaps the closest psychological term to the heart is the “ego,” the Latin word for “I,”borrowed by Freud to denote the “self.” Peter describes the inner man as “the hidden man of the heart,” (KJV), or “the inner self,” (NIV) (1Peter 3:4). It is the center of one’s being (Proverbs 4:23) where he believes and exercises faith (Luke 24:25; Romans 10:9,10). It is the location of the human deliberation where wisdom is employed. Understanding is said to be the function of the mind, (Job 38:36), yet the connection to the heart is undeniable. The heart is where a man discerns the difference between right and wrong, (1Kings 3:9).
The heart is the center of courage, emotions, and will. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day,” (2Corinthians 4:16).
The heart is the center of man’s character who he really is, (Matthew 15:18). “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks,” (Luke 6:45).
The Bible describes the heart of man as inclined toward evil. “The hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong,” (Eccl.8:11). “The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live,” (Eccl.9:3). “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). “Inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence,” (Matthew 23:25). “For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,” (Mk.7:21).
Soul The term “soul” (nephesh, Hebrew; psuch?, Greek) also is used to denote the eternal and immaterial part of man. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell,” (Matthew 10:28). Revelation 20:4 clearly relates “soul” to the distinct and conscious personality of the human being that continues after death.
The soul is described as that part of man that reaches out to God, in Psalms 42:1,2, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” It seems to be the emotional center of man. It is the soul that is full of anxiety (Psalms 94:19) and trouble (Psalms 88:3), as well as joy (Psalms 94:19) and praise, (Psalms 103:1). The Scriptures connect the soul with being “downcast” and “disturbed” (Psalms 42:5,6,11; 43:5) and in need of finding rest in God (Psalms 62:1,5). The soul becomes weary (Psalms 119:28) and faints due to sorrow (Psalms 119:81; 126:6), yet it is the soul that gains hope as it waits on the Lord (Psalms 130:5).
The emotions of the soul can be affected by one’s choice, according to Psalm 131:2, “But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.” Lest one be tempted to use this verse as a proof-text for the “inner child” theory, note that this child is still, quiet, and satisfied, resting safely in the arms of God.
Spirit The term “spirit” also refers to the inner man. Proverbs 20:27 equates it with man’s “inmost being.” It is the “breath of life” that has come from God, for “the body without the spirit is dead,” (Jas.2:26; cf. Matthew 27:50), but is more than just animation, for it is connected with understanding: “it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding,” (Job.32:8), and thought, (1Corinthians 2:11). It is the immortal aspect of man, according to Ecclesiastes 12:7, “the spirit returns to God who gave it,” and Acts 7:59, “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, ?Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’” Like the soul, the spirit longs for God (Isaiah 26:9) andit, too, is connected with the concept of the heart (Isaiah 57:15; Ezekiel 11:19; 18:31). As the immaterial part of man, it is contrasted with the body when Jesus said, “the spirit is willing, but the body is weak,” (Matthew 26:41). The spirit communes with God, but the mind must also be involved, (1 Corinthians 14:15,16).
Interchangeable Terms Comparing numbers of passages on the terms heart, soul, and spirit, (Deuteronomy 4:29; Deuteronomy 6:5; Deuteronomy 10:12; Deuteronomy 11:13; Deuteronomy 13:3; Deuteronomy 26:16; Deuteronomy 30:2; 1S.14:7; 1K.2:4; Job.7:11; Isaiah26:9; 1Thess.5:23; etc.) indicates that they are used almost interchangeably. In many cases, the term mind can also be interchanged for heart, soul, and spirit. Since the descriptions and functions of these entities overlap at so many points, it would seem impossible to make a clear and absolute distinction between heart, soul, mind, and spirit. For that reason, many Biblical counselors prefer to define man as consisting of two parts, the material and the immaterial, or body and spirit (spirit meaning the totality of soul, heart and mind).
They support this dichotomy on philosophical grounds as well, to contrast their position with the integrationist argument for the three-fold nature of man, body, soul, and spirit. Integrationists emphasize the three-part division and have held that illnesses of the body should be treated by physicians, dysfunctions of the soul (and mind) should be handled by psychologists and psychiatrists, and problems of the spirit should be dealt with by the Church. More and more, however, since some integrationists define the soul as the combination of body and spirit, spiritual healing has also been taken over by the psychotherapeutic industry. A Different Trichotomist Argument Dichotomists (those who hold that man consists of only two parts, body and spirit/soul/heart/mind) have a good argument. The Scriptures do indeed use the terms interchangeably, from a functional point of view. But I would like to present the possibility of a different trichotomist position that man consists of three parts: body, life (spirit), and mind (heart, soul) while disputing the integrationist claim that therapy of the soul (mind and emotions) belongs to a separate priesthood of psychologists.
Proof texts can be found to support both positions. Psalm 63:1 presents a dichotomy: “my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you,” as does Matthew 10:28, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” 1Thessalonians 5:23, however, can be used to support the trichotomist position: “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” So, too, does Mark 12:33, “To love him with all your heart [the inner man], with all your understanding [the mind] and with all your strength [the body].” The problem is, Mark 12:30 presents a four part division: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” It would seem obvious, then, that the Bible is not trying to convey three distinct parts to be treated by three separate disciplines.
My support for a trichotomy is based on a different foundation entirely— the Trinity. God has given us many illustrations of the Trinity in our natural universe: time (past, present, and future), three dimensions (length, width, and height), the three states of water (liquid, gas, and solid) and so on. Of course, these illustrations are limited, for no created thing can adequately explain the essence of God.
Genesis 1:27says that “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him.” Let me explain why it is possible for that image to be triune, consisting of the material (the physical body), life itself (called “the breath of life” or the spirit), and the soul (spoken of as heart, soul or mind).
There are different kinds of “life.” Plants are living organisms which, though carbon-based, are categorically different from lumps of coal. The plants are material and the coal is material, both having physical substance. But plants have a mysterious capacity for life (metabolism, growth, and reproduction) that inanimate objects do not. Scientists can analyze the chemical composition of plants and can mix the precise amounts of elements contained in a plant seed. They can mold those chemicals into the shape of a seed, placing them in the correct sequence and layer. They could even inject actual plant DNA into their formula. Yet, if they were to place their artificial seed in the ground, it would eventually dissolve into the soil without producing a plant. A living seed, however, will spring to life when provided with the proper conditions of soil, water, air, and sunlight. The plant has something rocks do not contain life itself.
Animals move beyond plant life in complexity. The Bible says that they have a spirit of sorts: “Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?” (Eccl.3:21). They are able to experience and express emotions such as fear, love, and compassion. They have limited mental processes which enable them to learn and respond. The Bible refers to the mind of animals:“Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal,” (Dan.4:16). It is clear from this passage that the minds of animals and men are different, quantitatively (in capacity) if not categorically.
God’s image in man would, therefore, be something in addition to material substance and life itself. I intentionally say, “in addition to material substance” even though God is a Spirit (John 4:24) and therefore immaterial (Luke 24:39). His image in man is not the physical, but the material aspects of man do reflect certain characteristics of God. Facial expressions, for example, may communicate compassion, love, anger, judgment, and other of God’s attributes. Hands, muscles and other work-related parts of man reflect the productivity of God. Sexual reproduction reflects the creative aspect of God. Though God is not material, all matter has come from God and is held together by the force of His will, (Colossians 1:17). Matter, then, is not antithetical to God, but reveals His creative power and imagination.
What is it that makes man different from animal life and evokes the image of God? The evolutionist would contend that the only difference between animals and humans is that man has developed further than his anthropoid cousins and since, according to their faith, there is no God, man is not reflective of the divine in any sense. Behavioral psychologists treat their patients on the assumption that man is just a more highly developed animal. But there is an emptiness in this philosophy that repels even the irreligious.
What is it that sets man apart? Most integrationists and Biblical counselors would agree on this point: the most important difference between human and animal life is man’s spiritual immortality — the eternal nature of his soul and his capacity to commune with God. So, then, man is composed of matter, life, and spiritual immortality. But, when it comes to functionality and counseling, there are only two distinguishable parts the material (body) and the immaterial (heart/soul/spirit/mind).
The Mind Because of the subject of this book, I have deliberately placed the mind as our final consideration. Counseling deals with every area of human life, material and immaterial. The portal to the immaterial part of man is the mind. It is vital, therefore, to understand major Bible teachings about the mind.
Not surprisingly, we are told that the mind is that part of man which seeks to understand by processing thoughts (Ezekiel 38:10) into a rational order (Job 38:36). The mind guides a person in his understanding and decisions (Eccl.2:3) by following a logical sequence of inquiry: “So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand...” (Eccl.7:25). Such learning is a result of conscious effort: “I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe...” (Eccl.8:16); “Daniel...you set your mind to gain understanding...” (Dan.10:12).
The “mind” encompasses both deliberate reasoning and involuntary thought, such as dreams. Daniel spoke to the king of the “dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you lay on your bed...”(Dan.2:28). It is recorded that “in the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed,” (Dan.7:1). Involuntary thought may be somewhat analogous to the psychological concepts of the unconscious and the subconscious. However, in contrast to psychological theory, there is no hint in Scripture that the individual is powerless over involuntary thought for the following reasons: (1) the mind, in partnership with the heart, is responsible for one’s attitudes and behavior: “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:10); and (2) man’s involuntary thoughts can be “programmed” or influenced by what one feeds his mind: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things,” (Philippians 4:8); “the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace,” (Romans 8:6).
The Bible recognizes the fact that impaired thinking exists. Deuteronomy warns Israel of the consequences of unfaithfulness to God: “The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind,” (Deuteronomy 28:28). “Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things,” (Proverbs 23:33). Jesus’ family mistakenly believed Jesus had gone over the edge with a messianic complex: “When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, ?He is out of his mind,’” (Mk.3:21). Paul was accused of insanity because of his belief in Christ’s resurrection: “At this point Festus interrupted Paul's defense. ?You are out of your mind, Paul!’ he shouted. ?Your great learning is driving you insane,’” (Acts 26:24).
Demon possession was, and is, the most severe form of mental problem humans can suffer. It may be associated with violent behavior, (Matthew 8:28, “When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way.”); speech dysfunction, (Matthew 9:32, “While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus.”); other physical ailments, (Matthew 12:22, “Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see.”); seizures and self-destructive behavior, (Matthew 17:15); “?Lord, have mercy on my son,’ he said. ?He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.’”); and uncontrolled screaming, (Mk.1:23); “Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out,”). The power of God working through Christ was more than sufficient to heal those who were suffering from demon possession. “Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed,” (Acts 5:16). “When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind,” (Mk.5:15).
The Natural Mind The Bible describes three conditions of the human mind: the natural mind (also described as “depraved”), the carnal mind, and the spiritual mind. The natural mind is the human without God: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned,” (1Co 2:14). Though he is aware of the existence of God and His moral laws, he chooses to ignore God, hoping that He will go away.
The Bible explains some of the ways human minds can become impaired. A primary cause is the deliberate turning away from God. Romans 1:28 says, “Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.”
Having given man freedom of choice, God allows us to choose our mindset. The contrast between sinful thinking and spiritual thinking is explained in Romans 8:5: “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” Paul goes on to picture the inevitable results of the two ways of thinking: “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace,” (Romans 8:6).
Paul describes natural thinking as “the sinful mind” that “is hostile to God,” (Romans 8:7). Man is not passively ignorant about God; he is actively antagonistic toward Him. The human mind is, by nature, rebellious toward God’s precepts. “It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so,” (Romans 8:7).
Biblical pathology reveals that unregenerate man has a mind that is willfully blind and distorted. It is incapable of perceiving and understanding spiritual truths without the direct aid of God (John 6:44). As a result, man is plunged into a cycle of sin and destruction such as described in Romans 1:18-32:
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. 28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
This is such an important passage in developing a Biblical psychology, that we need to study it thought by thought. Verse 18 plainly declares that man has willfully “suppressed the truth.” I believe it can be demonstrated that a large percentage of “mental problems” are self-generated by people who are unwilling to face the truth about themselves, their choices, their actions, and the consequences that inevitably result. Psychology calls this process “denial.”
According to verse 19, God has made the truth about Himself obvious to human beings. He explains in verse 20 that the world around us clearly reveals God’s existence, His power, and even His personal nature, such as His provision for all mankind (Matthew 5:45, “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous,”). Man is even aware of the difference between right and wrong. According to Romans 2:15, “they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.” As a result of this universal information, “men are without excuse.”
The result of man’s willful rejection of God is that “their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened,” (Romans 1:21). The increasingly dysfunctional mindset of modern man is no mystery. It does not require years of psychological training to understand why people are having so many problems of living. It is the natural consequence of turning one’s back on God. “Their foolish hearts were darkened.” Confusion, depression, sadness and suffering they are inevitable without the healing work of Christ.
The ultimate example of denial is found in verse 22: “Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.” The incredible arrogance of evolutionary scientists, psychologists, sociologists, and historians is revealed in their confident statements of error. Regardless of what form it takes — “Man is the product of billions of years of evolution,” or “Man’s problems can be solved through education,” or “We need the scientific findings of psychological research to solve man’s deepest problems, the root of their foolishness is rejection of God and His Word. “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator,” (v.25).
In His place, man has set up a variety of idols (v.23). Man’s favorite idol in our day is man, himself. Listen to God’s response in verse 24: “Therefore God gave them over....” What a terrifying phrase — “God gave them over.” Does it appear to you that our world has gone mad? That society is crumbling in front of your very eyes? There is a reason: “God gave them over.”
The results are described in ugly detail: sexual impurity (v.25), degradation (v.25), shameful lusts (v.26), lesbianism (v.26), male homosexuality (v.27), and the personal suffering that such perversions bring. Venereal diseases, AIDS, loneliness, abuse, suicide, and a host of other self-destructive consequences have flooded our society because man turned from God and God “gave them over to a depraved mind,” (v.28). The media provide ample illustrations of this depravity as pornography oozes its slimy stench by way of movies, television, rock music, magazines, and video tapes. The term “indecency” has become meaningless to the pornographically desensitized modern mind.
The accurate Biblical term for non-organic “mental illness” is mental depravity. It infects every areas of human existence. This condition produces “every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful,” (vs.29,30). This is not a picture of basically good people who are just dysfunctional, as psychology insists. Humans are willful rebels, intent on disobeying God at every opportunity. Humans actually look for new ways to offend God. “They invent ways of doing evil,” (v.30).
Mental depravity poisons the basic social unit of the family: “they disobey their parents,” (v.30). It impairs the ability to make wise choices: “they are senseless,” (v.31). Mental depravity destroys belief systems and personal integrity: they are “faithless,” (v.31). It produces brutal violence and all kinds of abuses: they are “heartless,” (v.31). It convinces individuals and nations that survival of the fittest is an appropriate sociological tool: they are “ruthless,” (v.31).
To underscore the truth that man consciously rejects God’s principles for living, verse 32 says, “Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” Part of the approval comes because psychology has convinced a willing public that morality is relative and guilt is nonexistent. No one is responsible for anything. Everyone is a victim back through every generation, until ultimately, the finger of blame points to God.
By the way, believers have no cause for pride when comparing ourselves to unbelievers. Paul reminds us that “All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath,” (Ephesians 2:3). He repeats, “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior,” (Colossians 1:21). As forgiven sinners, we need to reach out our hands in humility, compassion, and love. The Carnal Mind The second type of mind described in the Scriptures is the carnal mind. This describes a person who has a knowledge of God but is still living in obedience to his old nature. Paul describes such people as “those who live according to the sinful nature [and] have their minds set on what that nature desires,” (Romans 8:5). This is a condition similar to Solomon’s: “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God,” (1Kings 11:4).
Jesus used a parable to describe carnal mindedness: “Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away,” (Luke 8:13). Their hearts become hard through the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13) and the worries of life (Matthew 13:22). They fall back into former patterns of sin and, as a result, “both their minds and consciences are corrupted,” (Titus 1:15). Paul pleads with the Galatians, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery,” (Galatians 5:1).
In his letter to Timothy, Paul writes that the carnal mind has been corrupted and “robbed of the truth,” (I Tim.6:5). Peter says the carnal mind is like a dog returning to its vomit or a sow to the mud, (2Peter 2:22). He writes about the carnal mind, saying that, “If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning,” (2Peter 2:20). It hardly seems possible that one could be worse off than having never known about Christ, but that is what the passage says. “It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them,” (v.21). How can this be? Because, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked,” (Luke 12:48).
Most severe counseling problems are caused by natural thinking (the depraved mind) or carnal thinking (the hardened, backslidden mind). The natural mind is characterized by a person who openly rejects God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the written Word of God. The Biblical counselor will seek to evangelize the natural mind by presenting the claims of Christ, praying that the Holy Spirit will open his eyes to see the truth. One who rejects the authority of the Scriptures can only hope for temporary mental relief found in the shifting psychological theories of the world. But his mind will still be depraved, confused, and dark.
The carnal mind is characterized by one who has “a form of godliness but [denies] its power,”(2Timothy 3:5). When a Biblical counselor detects a carnal mind, he must appeal from the platform of scriptural authority. Though the counselee may have returned to his muddy wallow, it is possible that he still has a dim reverence for God and a residual bit of faith in the Word. Psychological therapy will only pull the carnal mind further away from God. While the integrationist counselor seeks to understand the carnal mind through the use of psychological tests, the Biblical counselor will apply the Scriptures, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart,” (Hebrews 4:12).
The Spiritual Mind The Biblical solution for the natural mind and the carnal mind is found in 2Corinthians 10:5, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Paul describes yet a third type of mental condition: the spiritual mind. He says that the spiritual man has “the mind of Christ,” (1Corinthians2:15,16). It is “the mind controlled by the Spirit,” (Romans 8:6).
According to Paul, the spiritual mind will have several characteristics: “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control,” (Galatians 5:22,23)). These qualities are a result of conscious choices to submit to the Holy Spirit. “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit,” (Galatians 5:24-25).
Peter touches on this process of sanctification when he says that God’s grace (His provision for our needs) and peace (a serenity of mind) are available through “the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,” (2Peter 1:2). This is a mental, as well as a spiritual, process. Peter lists a sequence of qualities the spiritual mind should have: faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love, (2Peter 1:5-7). Paul summarizes the descriptions of a spiritual mind: “the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth,” (Ephesians 5:9).
God's Word Is More Than Sufficient for Every Need in This Life!
from: Why Christians Can't Trust Psychology by Dr. Ed Bulkley
How Do We Overcome Our Personal Problems?
There is growing confusion in today's Christian community about the best way to help people overcome their personal problems of living. Some believe that Christians should submit only to biblical counseling, while others passionately support psychological counseling so long as it is integrated with the Scriptures.
Integrating Psychology into Christian Counseling
Fully persuaded that psychological training is necessary to counsel effectively, most pastors today refer their parishioners to psychologists and psychiatrists for treatment of serious emotional and behavioral disorders. Christian publishing houses pour out an endless stream of books written by psychologists to help believers solve their problems of living. These experts appear on Christian radio and television and produce film series to communicate their belief that pastors and churches can help parishioners with minor problems, but serious disorders must be entrusted to "professional counselors."
Denver Seminary. Talbot Seminary, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Liberty University, Moody Bible Institute, Fuller Theological Seminary, and a host of other Christian schools are convinced that psychology and the Bible must be integrated in counseling if the church is to remain relevant to our contemporary culture. Dallas Seminar employs one of the nation's best-known Christian psychiatrists on its teaching faculty. Colorado Christian University offers a counseling degree built on the theories of a prominent Christian psychologist.
The president of one Bible college believes that "there are many helpful insights to be gleaned from this field [of secular counseling]." [all footnotes are documented in the book.] He states the common integrationist position: We live in a season when life is increasingly complex and the fragility of precious souls is demonstrated by growing brokenness and complicated conflicts. We dare not waste their sorrows on the battlefield of careless counsel that violates biblical parameters or with simplistic, unqualified solutions that plunge them ultimately into deeper despair.
As much as I respect this man of God and believe that he is fully committed to the Lord and to the Scriptures, I am convinced that he has not adequately researched the issue. In trying to strike a balance between psychology and biblical counseling, he insists that secular counseling has much to offer the church and he implies that biblical counseling produces "simplistic, unqualified solutions. " It appears that he is in agreement with the prevailing view that is sweeping the evangelical church -- that without the insights of secular psychology, pastors and churches are simply inadequate to deal with the deepest hurts of modern man.
Is Psychology Needed Today?
How did the apostle Paul counsel people in his day? Paul himself answers that in Colossians 1:28: "We proclaim him, admonishing (noutheteo) and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ." He then warns us in Colossians 2:8, "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."
Am I misreading Paul? Is he in error to suggest that we can find all wisdom in Christ? Do we in fact need the insights of psychology to provide for the deepest needs of Christians? Is modern life truly more complex than it was in the days of Paul? Those who believe we desperately need the insights of psychology seem to think so.
A professor of counseling psychology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School is committed to the concept of integrating secular psychology with biblical counseling. He argues that psychological truths fall under the category of general revelation and that new insights can be accepted if they are true and do not contradict the Bible. He offers this example: I think all Christians would agree that when you bury negative feelings, you bury them alive, and that can cause ulcers, even heart attacks. This process is undeniably true, but you can't find it specifically in the Bible. If it's true, then we embrace it and use it; if it isn't true, then we don't.
One could argue with the professor whether "this process is undeniably true" and what it means to "bury negative feelings. " But a greater problem is how one determines whether a psychological discovery is true. He implies that the Bible is as silent about the human condition as it is about modern technologies: It isn't a textbook on how to tune up our automobiles, or on physics, chemistry, or psychology, It does contain statements that relate to geology, anthropology, and psychology that must be integrated into those disciplines, but the Bible's primary purpose is to tell us how to be right with God, not what to do when someone has a nervous breakdown.
Are we to assume that there is no connection between one's standing with God and a nervous breakdown? Is the Bible really silent on the issues of psychological health? Are mental/emotional problems the same as tuning one's car or mixing chemicals? Integrationists see a categorical difference between psychological and spiritual problems and how to solve those problems. They say that the medical doctor should treat the body, the psychologist or psychiatrist should treat the mind, and the pastor should deal with the spirit.
Those who insist that we must use psychology along with biblical counseling argue that "even though the Bible is all true, it does not follow that all truth is in the Bible." They give examples: "In mathematics, medicine, physics, geography, marine biology and a host of other areas, there is much truth that is not mentioned in the Bible. God in his wisdom has allowed human beings to discover truths about the universe that are not discussed in Scripture."
While it is true that the Bible does not list mathematical formulae, modern medical procedure, every physical law, every geographic location, or every species of marine life, one must remember that none of those areas deal with essential spiritual truths.
In reply, integrationists say: Some critics of psychology seem to argue ... that God has not allowed human beings to discover any truths about interpersonal relations, mental health, counseling techniques, mental disorders, personal decision making or any other issues related to stress management and daily living. Such a view maintains that God has allowed human beings to discover truth in almost every field of human study except psychology.
The problem is that many integrationists seem unable to discern the significant difference between the physical sciences and the so-called "social sciences." We will deal with that subject at length later on.
The question remains: Is psychology necessary today? Integrationists seem to think so because "some human problems are not mentioned in the Scriptures." They believe that "the Bible was not written as a self-help, question-and-answer book covering every possible human problem. It does not claim to be a textbook of counseling techniques or personal problem solving."
No, the Bible claims to be far more -- the very Word of God that "is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16,17).
Of course, the Bible does not tell a student which specific college to choose, nor does it name the precise person a Christian is to marry. God does not remove from the individual the privilege and responsibility to use his mind, experience, and common sense, as well as the advice of godly counselors, to make important decisions. But those kinds of decisions involve specific applications of biblical truths, not universal principles. Contrary to integrationist reasoning, the Bible does present the principles which, if followed, will provide the answers for every human problem.
The Bible provides the principles necessary to deal with eating disorders, nonbiogenic depressions, scholastic failure, child abuse, bitter memories, anxiety, and a host of other modern problems. Thus integrationists are grossly mistaken when they say that "many, perhaps most, of the problems people bring to modern counselors are never discussed in the Bible."
Though they admit that "often principles of behavior can be inferred from the Bible and applied to modern problems," integrationists believe that psychological training is necessary to help Christians with deep problems: Surely there are times, many times, when a sensitive, psychologically trained, committed Christian counselor can help people through psychological techniques and with psychological insights that God has allowed us to discover, but that he has not chosen to reveal in the Bible .... The Word of God never claims to have all the answers to all of life's problems.
Twentieth-Century Complexities
Why do integrationists insist that the problems we face today are so different from those which humans have suffered in centuries past? Depression is not a recent discovery of psychology. People have had to cope with disease, disappointments, frustrations, unhappy marriages, confusion, lethargy, and bizarre behavior since the fall of man into sin.
Psychological studies have not shown that mankind is mentally healthier since the introduction of psychological theories and therapies. To the contrary, there is evidence that society has become more psychotic rather than better adjusted. The increase of "mental illness" may someday be found to be in direct proportion to the number of psychologists and psychiatrists who set up practice.
Has psychology really added to our essential knowledge about human behavior, needs, and solutions? Is the Bible lacking the information needed to understand why man acts as he does and how he can be changed? If so, we must pity all the saints of God who struggled with problems of living from the times of Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, Daniel, Jesus, and Paul. How fortunate we are to not be living in the days of the early church, when the only therapeutic resources were the writings of the prophets and apostles, along with the ministry of fellow saints and the Holy Spirit. How miserable believers must have been from the first century until the latter part of the nineteenth century, when psychology was finally "discovered."
I do not dispute the fact that biblical counselors can glean from psychology some helpful ideas, observations, illustrations, and generic methods with which to communicate God's solutions for man's problems. But these are not the same as accepting psychological "findings" as essential truths about man's nature, problems, needs, and solutions.
Integrationists often refer to the "psychological truths about human behavior" not mentioned in the Scriptures. However, we will see in the chapters ahead that the Bible addresses every "dysfunction" and presents the essential truths required to bring humans to full maturity.
Secular Criticisms of Psychology
Generally speaking, Christians have great confidence in psychology. With so many respected Christian leaders expressing the view that the church needs the insights of secular counseling systems, it is no wonder that Christian laity hold psychology in such high esteem. Most Christians, however, are unaware that while the church's confidence in psychological counseling is growing, secular critics of psychology are increasing in number, and research is raising additional doubts about psychological claims, therapies, scientific status, and success rates.
Gary Collins begins his first chapter of Can You Trust Psychology? with this statement: Bernie Zilbergeld doesn't trust psychology. Despite his Ph.D. from Berkeley, his twelve years' experience as a practicing therapist, and his acclaim as a psychological researcher and author, Dr. Zilbergeld has written a whole book to criticize his own profession. Many psychological conclusions are really myths, he writes. Professional therapy is "overpromoted, overused, and overvalued." These criticisms could be dismissed had they come from a journalist or theologian writing as an outsider. But they come instead from a member of the psychological guild who has gone through all the prescribed training in clinical psychology, has been in therapy himself, has taken the time to interview 140 former patients, and has met for lengthy discussions with a cross-range of fourteen professional colleagues.
What About Bible-Based Psychology?
One might justify trusting a psychologist if his theory and practice were based on biblical principles rather than theories of human behavior originated by men. And to the casual observer, there seem to be many Christian psychologists who meet that test. But as one prominent Christian therapist confesses: When 1 received my Ph.D. in clinical psychology, I assumed that I knew how to counsel people with problems.... As I restudied what I had learned in graduate school, it became clearly and frighteningly apparent that most of what I was believing and doing as a professional psychologist was built upon the swaying foundation of humanism, a fervent belief in the self-sufficiency of man. As a Christian committed to a biblical view of man, I could not make the psychological thinking in which I had been trained dovetail with basic biblical beliefs.... The truths of Christianity seemed to have little bearing on the activities in my counseling office and were at many points flatly contradicted by my professionally orthodox behavior.
1 applaud him for further stating that "every concept of biblical counseling must build upon the fundamental premise that there really is an infinite and personal God who has revealed Himself propositionally in the written word, the Bible, and in the living word, Jesus Christ. "
Why then do I believe that a Christian should seriously question the counseling systems of such men? I do not question their sincerity or personal integrity. I do, however, disagree with many of their counseling theories, which, I believe, are still deeply influenced by unproven psychological precepts of man. By their own admission, they are intent upon integrating psychology and Christianity in order to form a better counseling system. One Christian psychologist calls this approach "spoiling the Egyptians." He compares this adaptation of secular concepts to the Israelites "taking of Egyptian goods as they made their exodus."
The problem with this comparison is that the Israelites were taking gold, silver, and other material objects, while integration is appropriating concepts, philosophies, and worldviews that are hostile to God's plan for man. It is more akin to the adoption of Canaanite practices than spoiling the Egyptians. I appreciate this psychologist for admitting: The job of careful screening is no easy matter. In spite of the best intentions to remain biblical, it is frighteningly easy to admit concepts into our thinking which compromise biblical content. Because psychologists have spent up to nine years studying psychology in school and are pressed to spend much of their reading time in their field in order to stay current, it is inevitable that we develop a certain "mind-set." The all-too-common but disastrous result is that we tend to look at Scripture through the eyeglasses of psychology when the critical need is to look at psychology through the glasses of Scripture.
Psychological Thinking
It is inevitable that psychologists will think psychologically, he says. Christians might well suspect that Christian psychologists have admitted concepts into their thinking which compromise biblical content. Anyone familiar with psychological theories should recognize that secular concepts underlie much of their systems, especially in the area of unconscious drives and the need to return to the past to achieve healing in the present.
William Glasser writes that "conventional psychiatry holds that an essential part of treatment is probing into the patient's past life-searching for the psychological roots of his problem." Psychiatry holds that a patient must understand his unconscious drives if he is going to change his way of thinking and acting.
This emphasis on the unconscious is an essential premise of psychological counseling. The prevailing psychological doctrine is that "to really understand your daughter's anorexia or your own lack of self-confidence, you must go outside the Church, or at least to a pastor with psychological training."
I readily admit that some of what integrationists write is helpful and biblically solid. The danger is found in the integrationist foundation, which rests upon the psychological concepts of man rather than on the scriptural precepts of God. Prevailing psychological theory says that if you want to be changed from the inside out, you must "explore the imperfections of key relationships until you experience deep disappointment. " Counselors who follow this doctrine believe that "keenly felt disappointment in the present supplies the energy for passionate hope for the future."
Most Christians will agree that for genuine change to occur, the Holy Spirit must act on a person's heart as He makes him a "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). But many integrationists believe that all human relationships lead inevitably to disappointment and pain, and that most problems stem from "hidden internal causes." Sin itself is defined in terms of disappointment: "Most habits that we seem powerless to control grow out of our attempts to relieve the unbearable tension that results from our failure to deal with the disappointment of our deepest longings for relationship, " a Christian psychologist writes.
Integrationists theorize that the most devastating sin is the "sin of self- protection." and that we need to embrace our hurts. "The more deeply we enter our disappointment, the more thoroughly we can face our sin," one psychologist states authoritatively as though it is a biblical truth.
But one should ask, Why must we embrace our hurts and enter our disappointment all over again? Where in the Bible do integrationists find this concept of reliving the painful past in order to be healed in the present?
My purpose here is not to critique integrationist counseling systems point by point. It is important, however, to understand that as committed to Christ as many integrationists are, their theories of counseling appear to be strongly influenced by unproven psychological concepts. Want to order the book? You can purchase Pastor Ed's books at the church, online at the Return to the Word website or directly from the publisher.
Do you have a Relationship with Christ?
Would you like to know for certain that you have peace with God and will one day go to Heaven to be with Him?
Then answer these simple questions:
Do you admit that you are a sinner unable to save yourself from the penalty of sin?
Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to earth, lived a sinless life, and died in your place to pay the debt of sin?
Do you believe that no amount fo good works can get you to heaven?
Do you believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, displaying His power over death?
As a result of the death Jesus died for you, are you willing to place Him in charge of your life?
If you answered "yes" to all of these questions, then you can pray this prayer to ask Jesus to be your Savior: Dear Jesus, thank You for coming to this world and dying for my sin. I confess that I am a sinner. I ask you to come into my heart, save me from my sin, and be the Lord of my life. Fill me with your Holy Spirit to cnvict me of sin and guide me in ways that are pleasing to You. Thank you fro saving me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer with a heart of repentance, the angels in heaven are rejoicing as a result of your decision to follow Jesus!
"In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." - Luke 15:10
"What happens now?"
Please call the church office at 303.451.5433 to let someone know and to be set up with someone for discipleship
Statement of Faith - What We Believe
The Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, to be the inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men and the Divine and final authority for Christian faith and life.
In one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
That Jesus Christ is true God and true man, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He died on the cross, a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. Further, He arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He is now our High Priest and Advocate.
That the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and, during this age, to convict men, regenerate the believing sinner, and indwell, guide, instruct and empower the believer for godly living and service.
That man was created in the image of God but fell into sin and is, therefore, lost, and only through regeneration by the Holy Spirit can salvation and spiritual life be obtained.
That the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection provide the only ground for justification and salvation for all who believe, and only such as receive Jesus Christ are born of the Holy Spirit and, thus become children of God.
That water baptism and the Lord's Supper are ordinances to be observed by the Church during the present age. They are, however, not to be regarded as means of salvation.
That the true Church is composed of all such persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and are united together in the Body of Christ of which He is the Head.
That only those who are, thus, members of the true Church shall be eligible for membership in the local church.
That Jesus Christ is the Lord and Head of the Church and that every local church has the right, under Christ, to decide and govern its own affairs.
In the personal premillennial and imminent coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and that this "Blessed Hope" has a vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer.
In the bodily resurrection of the dead; of the believer to everlasting blessedness and joy with the Lord; of the unbeliever to judgment and everlasting conscious punishment.
