Hand-to-Hand Combat in the Lord’s Army:Nouthetic Counseling in Christ’s Mediatorial Kingdoms

by

Joel Enoch Wood, M.Div; D.Min (candidate)

In partial fulfillment of:DM03: The Mediatorial Kingship of Christ

Dr. Richard Gamble

November 2012

Introduction: Rationale – Positing Nouthetic Counseling as the Work of Christ’s Mediatorial Kingship

Life is war. That's not all it is. But it is always that. But most people do not believe this in their heart. Most people show by their priorities and their casual approach to spiritual things that they believe we are in peacetime, not wartime.

– John Piper1

I may never march in the infantry, ride in the cavalry,

shoot the artillery. I may never zoom or the enemy,

but I’m in the Lord’s army.– Children’s Song

The topic of the Mediatorial Kingship of Christ elicits numerous responses. Many

will speak of Jesus being King, but, it seems, few have thought that trite sentiment

through to its logical conclusion. In any election year, the idea that one would not

exercise their right to vote, out of honor for Christ’s unrecognized kingship by any of the

candidates is unconscionable. Jesus’ Kingship over the nations is an unrealized and, in

some places, an unknown fact. Yet, Scripture teaches Christ’s Kingship over all

spheres of human life; so, not only government, but, also, family, education, business,

and social spheres are under his rule and reign. At present, we will examine Christ’s

Mediatioral Kingship over the therapeutic, and the therapeutic as the very work of that

Mediatorial Kingship.

Many little boys dream, at one time, or another, of serving in the military. For

some, this thought is a fleeting fancy. For others, their dreams and goals are refined

over time as they discover one specific avenue of military service that allows them to do

just what they have always dreamed. For Christians, we understand there is a certain

1 John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions, 2nd Ed. Revised and Expanded (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004), 45 & 47.

1

violence present as the Kingdom of God advances,2 and we are in the army, and we

must fight. While Jesus is our King, the world, the flesh, and the devil are our mortal

enemies. Weekly in worship, we see those enemies flushed out by the Word and

Sacraments of Jesus Christ. We mark our children with the mark of our King, we eat

the meal prepared for us by our general, and we are blessed, as the name of our is God

put on us again, as we enter back out into the mission/battle field. Military service is

more than a dream in the Kingdom of Christ. It bears itself out in our daily reality. True,

we may never know the unimaginable reality of military conflict at home or abroad. But,

life is war. And we all must fight. This is the motif for the idea of Nouthetic Counseling

as hand-to-hand combat. While the minister stands in the pulpit he launches a mass

offensive against our enemies; and, normally, in that moment, all in the room are aware

of it, most, even, praying for it. However, in the counselor’s office or pastor’s study, the

mass offensive turns to one-on-one, hand-to-hand combat, as the worker of the gospel

lays his spiritual hands on the enemy within the counselee, in a battle of personal wiles

and temptations to wickedness.

This trail of logic follows certain presuppositions, which must be given before

delving Exegetically, Historically, and Applicationally into a study of Nouthetic

Counseling in Christ’s Kingdoms.

The Presuppositions

1. Jesus is King. Revelation 19:16 says of Christ: “On his robe and on his thigh he has

a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.” From the first rumblings of the gospel

in Genesis 3:15, where Satan, the prince of this world (Eph 2:2) is promised that the

seed of the woman would crush him, through to the final triumph of the Lamb in John’s

2 Mt 11:12 ESV.

2

Revelation, it is clear that Jesus is King. He is the Son to be kissed in Psalm 2, the

Prince of Peace of whose government there will be no end in Isaiah 9, and the more

and better One begotten of the Father in Psalm 2 and Hebrews. The Westminster

shorter catechism asks: “What offices doth Christ execute as our Redeemer?”3 The

answer comes: “Christ, as our Redeemer, executeth the offices of a prophet, of a

priest, and of a king, both in his estate of humiliation and exaltation.” After addressing

how Christ executes the offices of prophet and priest, the reader is told: “Christ

executeth the office of a king, in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and

in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies.”4 The Larger Catechism expands

this:

Christ executeth the office of a king, in calling out of the world a people to himself, and giving them officers, laws, and censures, by which he visibly governs them; in bestowing saving grace upon his elect, rewarding their obedience, and correcting them for their sins, preserving and supporting them under all their temptations and sufferings, restraining and overcoming all their enemies, and powerfully ordering all things for his own glory and their good: and also in taking vengeance on the rest, who know not God, and obey not the gospel. (Emphasis added.)5

Laws and censures, as well as corrections, assistance in temptation, and working to

overcome all their enemies (the world, the flesh, and the devil) all fall under the work of

Christ as King.

2. Jesus’ Kingship is over the church, all nations, and all earthly institutions.

While most believers will admit that Jesus is King over the Church, this second

presupposition stretches His Kingdom beyond the bounds of the Church. Jesus’

Kingship spreads “from sea to shining sea,” as it were.

3 Westminster Shorter Catechism Question and Answer #23.4 Westminster Shorter Catechism Answer #26.5 Westminster Larger Catechism Answer #45.

3

I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.6

If Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords, he is the over-all ruler. There is no

authority that is not underneath his sovereign rule. Abraham Kuyper famously said:

"There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which

Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!'" 7 As one considers the work of

Nouthetic Counseling, this is important to understand. The basis or authority of the

work is not the World’s authority, but Christ’s. In the last, the application of Nouthetic

Counseling to the work of the Civil Magistrate will be explored briefly.

3. In the context of Jesus’ Kingship, we are called to do battle against the world,

the flesh, and the devil. This is progressive sanctification. Even in the political

applications of Christ’s Mediatorial reign, the battle still rages. Whether one is

developing tax code, pondering states’ rights, or pursuing a just verdict in a murder

case, the basis for all justice and righteousness in a nation is Jesus Christ. The laws

are only as just as much as they reflect his supreme law in the Word of God.8 And,

while this is often seen as only corporate, the individuals interacting with these topics

and discerning their outcomes can and should be confronted by the truth of God’s Word

and how it applies to their particular concern.

6 1 Tim 6:13–167 Address for the Dedication of the Free University of Amsterdam, October 20, 1880.8 William O. Einwechter, ed., Explicitly Christian Politics: The Vision of the National

Reform Association (Pittsburgh: The Christian Statesman Press, 1997) XXX.

4

In more personal and ecclesiastical applications of this doctrine, we understand

that while the war is won, the battle is not over. Christ conquered his enemies on the

cross, making a public spectacle of them, yet we are to be alert because our enemy

lurks in the shadows, seeking to devour us! We are to suit up with the full armor of

God.9 Life is war. And we are called to the fray.

4. This battle is waged not just by way of public proclamation of the Word, but

also through interpersonal confrontation of sin and struggle by the Word. Yes,

preachers should proclaim from the housetops, mountaintops, and pulpits of their

respective nation that Jesus is King of the Church and the State; but history and

Scripture bear out that gospel-proclamation is not just corporate but personal.

Centuries have shown a vital component of pastoral ministry being the one-on-one

counsel a pastor gives to the erring young man, the hopeless young woman, the

warring couple, the depressed senior saint, the local drunk–the list is virtually endless.

It is at this point that application of the Word sinks personally into the deepest, darkest

recesses of the heart. The pastor, elder, or fellow Christian is, at this moment, a

surgeon finely slicing the matters of the heart for repair and reformation.

Nouthetic Counseling: An Introductory Definition

As one considers Nouthetic Counseling as the applied ministry of Jesus Christ’s

Mediatorial Kingship, an introductory definition of “Nouthetic Counsel” should be given.

For this definition, one need turn not further than to the modern instigator of the

movement, Jay Adams, the man who brought a biblically based, pastorally focused

counseling ideal back to the Church, beginning with his seminal work in the field

Competent to Counsel, in 1970. In chapter 4, Dr. Adams defines Nouthetic Counseling

9 Eph 6.

5

is a loving, verbal, Christ-centered person-to person confrontation of a person’s sin or

problem in life, rooted in the authoritative Word of God, for the sanctifying good of the

one being counseled.10 As George Scipione, student of Jay Adams summarizes,

Nouthetic Counseling is “to verbally confront someone for their good, for their change.”11

With these presuppositions and definition in mind, this study seeks to show that

the work of Nouthetic Counselors in the Kingdom of God is that of frontline, hand-to-

hand combat, extending the boundaries of the Kingdom into the hearts of those being

evangelized and further into the recesses of the hearts of those being discipled.

The Historical & Confessional Context: Nouthetic Counseling in Light of Covenanter Faith & WLC #45

As we are seeking to couch the Nouthetic Counseling ministry within the larger

context of Christ’s Mediatorial Kingship, a helpful exercise is the examination of the

summary of Scriptural teaching within the Larger Catechism in Question and Answer

45. Here the Larger Catechism begins to unfold the spheres in which Christ operates

as King, as the Westminster divines understood and presented them: the visible

church, invisible church, and the world. (See the full answer to number 45 above.) The

chart below visualizes the content from Vos’ commentary on the Larger Catechism: 12

3 Spheres Visible Church Invisible Church The WorldMost Important Sphere

Christ operates Kingly office in the Visible Church for good of the Invisible Church

The Most Important Sphere is the Invisible Church

Christ operates Kingly office in the World for good of the Invisible Church

10 Jay E. Adams, Competent to Counsel: Introduction to Nouthetic Counseling (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970), 41-56..

11 George Scipione, “Introduction to the Biblical Counseling Institute,” Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary Web site, Vimeo video file, 1:25, http:// player.vimeo.com/video/4534236 [accessed November 16, 2012].

12 J.G. Vos, The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary, edited by G.I. Williamson (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2002), 102-104.

6

Elements of Christ’s Rule

1. Calling out of the world a people who shall be members of the visible church2. Giving them officers, as appointed in the Scriptures, and as realized in actual life3. Giving them laws and censures, by which he visibly governs them, that is by means of the structure of church government and discipline

1. Bestowing saving grace upon his elect, by the work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts and lives, resulting in their being united to Christ in their effectual calling.2. Rewarding the obedience of his people, both now by his providence, and at the Judgment Day by his supernatural power; and correcting his people for their sins, in his providential discipline during the present life.3. Preserving and supporting his elect under all their temptations and sufferings, so that they are never overwhelmed with troubles, but are always kept from despair.

1. Restraining and overcoming all the enemies of the elect.2. Powerfully ordering all things ot his own glory and his people’s good, so that even the evil deeds of the wicked men are made to work out for the true benefit of the elect.3. Taking vengeance on the wicked, who know not God, nor obey the gospel. This vengeance is partly during the present life, by Christ’s providential dispensations; and chiefly at the Judgment Day at the end of the age.

Which Sphere includes Christ’s rule over the nations?

Christ’s rule over the World includes his rule over the nations.

The watershed text for the doctrine of the Mediatorial Kingship of Christ is

William Symington’s Messiah the Prince. While the reverberating emphasis from that

work has been “Christ’s Mediatorial Dominion Over Nations,” chapters 8 and 9 of the

text, Symington’s exegesis and application toward the Nations is preceded with his

applying it to the “Kingly Office of Christ in Relation to the Church.” This sphere of

7

Christ’s Mediatorial Dominion will be the starting point of this work, answering the

question: what relationship does the Mediatorial Rule and Reign of Christ have to do

with Nouthetic Counseling, if any?

Nouthetic Counseling is tied, inextricably, to the Church, and Symington helps his

readers understand the precise relationship and authority of Christ, the Mediatorial King,

to his Church. “Christ, as Mediator, secured his right of dominion over the church by

purchasing her with his blood.”13 In exegeting Acts 20:2814, Symington draws out from

Christ’s command to “feed” or to “pay careful attention to… all the flock”, which, while

rooted in the redemptive work which is applied to the elect of the invisible church, can

only be obeyed in the context of in the visible church containing both the redeemed

elect and unredeemed reprobate, the conclusion that Christ’s blood and, therefore,

redemption apply to the visible catholic church inasmuch as the invisible elect, which

are purchased and redeemed by Christ’s blood, and who are, normally, part of the

visible church. Consequently,

the privileges of the visible church catholic are purchased and secured to its members by the blood of Christ. The church has many privileges peculiar to herself as a covenant society; such as the word and sacraments, fellowship, discipline, and government.15

As a corollary to this point, Symington brings out the peculiar properties of the church,

the second of which is “independent.” While Reformed and Presbyterian folk would

13 William Symington, Messiah the Prince or, The Mediatorial Dominion of Jesus Christ (Pittsburgh: The Christian Statesman Press, 1999), 81.

14 Acts 20:28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

15 Symington, 83.

8

most likely bristle at this term, Symington clearly does not mean “autonomy.”16 As he

explains:

…meaning by this term to designate a feature of its character, and not the form of its government. It is independent alike of human wisdom, human, power, and human control. The Lord Jesus Christ alone is its judge, lawgiver, and king. “One is your master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. Call no man your father upon earth; for one is your Father, which is in heaven” (Matt. 23:8-9). No earthly power–be it king, pope, or prelate–has a right to domineer over the church. It is composed of Christ’s freemen, and is itself free from all outward control. The state may extend to it protection, and countenance, and pecuniary support, and friendly cooperation; but has no right to dictate its creed, to institute its laws, to appoint its ministers, or to interfere in any way with either its constitution or its administration.17

This fact is not just true–that Christ has afforded all of these blessings to the

invisible church and, consequently, to the visible manifestation of that church

worldwide–but Christ’s Mediatorial Dominion moves beyond that. Martin Bucer, the

leader of the Protestant Reformation in Strasborg for 25 years, then the Regius

Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University, defines “the Kingdom of our Savior Jesus

Christ” in strict terms as “that administration and care of the eternal life of God’s

elect…”18 We see this same type of narrow ideal in the Testimony of the RPCNA:

Jesus Christ, as Head over all things for the sake of the Church, rules in perfect wisdom and justice over all parts of His creation including wicked men and devils. He makes them, and all their counsels and efforts, serve God’s glory in the plan of redemption.19

16 Literally “Self-law.”17 Symington, 84. This is an important idea, as we turn to see the outside influence

of state-approved counselors which strive to impact the creed (what we believe about humanity and how we formulate that and present it in counseling) and the administration (whom we counsel and for what reasons) of the ministry of the church.

18 Martin Bucer, De Regno Christi, edited by Wilhelm Pauck and translated by Wilhelm Pauck and Paul Larkin (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1969), 225.

19 RPCNA, Testimony 8.2.

9

The Westminster Larger Catechism, as we have seen, also notes: “Christ executeth the

office of a king… powerfully ordering all things for his own glory and their good…”20

Whose good? He is operating in His Kingly office in such a way as to primarily bring

about good for those people whom Christ is calling out of the world unto himself, the

church or, more specifically, the elect. And, again, while this good is primarily for the

invisible church, it flows, secured by Christ bloody sacrifice, through the good

administrations of the church to the visible, catholic church. Symington separates this

point out as he expounds “The Kingly Office of Christ in Relation to the Church” in his

point IV: “Christ exercises mediatorial rule over the church for the accomplishment of

the most important ends.”21 The Church, then, is designed to accomplish these ends,

which are the glory of God, the exhibition and maintenance of divine truth, the public

celebration of Divine worship, and the salvation of people. Thinking holistically, one

should remember the fullness of the term “salvation” as not just the justifying act of God,

but also the ongoing, sanctifying work of God as he grants strength and grace to the

believer.

Bucer points up a reflexive reality within this administration of Christ. Some

might see Christ’s governance as an imposition. If it were merely human, that could,

quite possibly, be the case. However, Christ’s rule is also divine. He is able to work

within the hearts of his subjects so that those very hearts–dark, stone-cold, dead, and

rebellious22–are turned to desire this once hated imposition of kingship and authority.

This is the reality of Christ’s ability to “conquer all his and our enemies,”23 as, at times,

20 Westminster Larger Catechism: Question and Answer #45.21 Symington, 92.22 Ez 36 and 37.23 Westminster Shorter Catechism: Question and Answer #26.

10

those enemies are us, or, at least, those parts of us rebelling against his manifested

grace in our lives.

Bucer sees the desiring of submission to King Jesus as a mark of one who is in

Christ’s Kingdom:

A fifth property of the Kingdom of Christ is that all its true citizens offer themselves to Christ the King to be ruled and governed throughout life, i.e., to be purged from sins unto all piety and righteousness, i.e., to be instructed, trained, and perfected unto eternal life, and this through the sacred ministry of the Church. Hence it is necessary for every church of Christ to have this ministry duly constituted, i.e., to have priests24 and ministers who both can and will, with utmost zeal and perseverance, instruct and advance toward eternal salvation, each and every member of the congregation in their care, by the administration both of the doctrine and of the sacraments and discipline of Christ and make this attractive to them by holy examples of life, both on their own part and on the part of those of whom they have charge at home.25

He also touches on this in his Concerning the True Care of Souls. After briefly

expounding numerous passages regarding the relationship between teachers of the

word and members of the church, he says: “Anyone approaching these and similar

texts with a godly disposition would thoroughly understand how very essential complete

obedience in the church of Christ is, and would also desire with all his heart to offer it.”26

Bucer is careful to link the dominion of Christ in his Church with the ministry of the

Word. So, while Bucer firmly commands that ministers of the gospel be obeyed and

respected, it is for the Word that they minister under the authority of Christ. Christ is

vicariously honored by way of honor to the Word and those bringing it.

24 Bucer’s footnote on this term is “Presbyteros et curators” or “Presbyters and Curators”.)

25 Bucer, 230.26 Martin Bucer, Concerning the True Care of Souls, translated by Peter Beale

(Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 2009), 202.

11

As Symington lists his “variety of most interesting and distinguishing properties

the Mediator has conferred on the Church, thus redeemed by his own blood,”27 he also

makes a point that seems to be like-minded with Bucer’s:

Though independent of man, the church is under subjection to Christ. He is the Head of the body, the church. The doctrines which it is the duty of the church to believe and profess, are such as he taught… The laws to be obeyed are his laws... The ministers of religion, neither individually nor collectively, possess any legislative power. Their authority is wholly ministerial, and is subordinate to that of Christ. They are at best but servants, and whatever they do they are required to do in the name of their divine Lord and Master… Do they inculcate28 duty? They must teach men to “observe all things whatsoever Christ has commanded” (Matt. 28:20)… To Christ, and to Christ alone, then, is the church in a state of subjection; and for the church to acknowledge any other authority were to act unfaithfully toward her Lord, as for any other claim authority over her were daringly to invade the prerogatives of Jesus.” (Emphasis by Symington.)29

What comes into focus, then, is a ministry where Christ rules as Mediatorial King over

the Kingdoms of the earth for the good of the invisible church, flowing through the

visible church catholic, wherein ministers of the gospel do the work of ministry by

discipling and instructing believers all that Christ had commanded, even as it applies to

the specific struggles and duties of the individual believer, mediating discipline where

necessary, restoring when appropriate, all the while pointing believers to the one who is

the source of all authority in the church: Jesus Christ. It also appears that if any of this

work is done under the authority of another, Christ’s authority is being undermined.

Consequently, Christ’s authority is appropriately kept in view even as a minister helps to

dissect the problems of life for those within the fold of the church, working through the

circumstances the leaven of the gospel, until all is seen in the proper gospel light.

27 Symington, 83. Rewording of Section III title.28 instill (an attitude, idea, or habit) by persistent instruction29 Symington, 85.

12

Nouthetic Counseling in Scripture–Exegetical Perspective

νουθετέω (noutheteō)

All of this is well and good, as long as the ministry of Nouthetic Counseling can

be seen as a biblically appropriate portion of the minister’s charge. To see this, one

must examine the texts in which the word and related ideas are found. The word

νουθετέω (noutheteō) is found in the New Testament eight times and nine times in the

Septuigant,30 the Greek version of the Old Testament. Eight of the Old Testament

references are in Job, and one is in 1 Samuel. Adams, who coined the term “Nouthetic”

to describe his counseling, was ambiguous in its precise meaning, thinking that just one

word could not adequately cover the broad range of meaning found in νουθετέω.31

Some examination of the term, within its contexts, both Scripturally and in it use in

history and extra-biblical literature does seem to bear this out. To impart understanding

(a mind for something), to set right, to have a corrective influence on someone, to lay on

the heart of someone, to impart understanding, to teach32–all of these meanings can

flow from the various forms of νουθετέω. “The basic idea is that of the well-meaning

earnestness with which one seeks to influence the mind and disposition by appropriate

instruction, exhortation, warning and correction.”33 This general understanding of

νουθετέω’s meaning should seem fitting after summarizing and synthesizing its usage in

various forms in various passages throughout Scripture. We will begin with its New

Testament usage, then examine its presence in the Old Testament.

30 Since νουθετέω is Greek, the Septuigant is referenced for Old Testament citations.31 Jay Adams, Competent to Counsel: Introduction to Nouthetic Counseling (Grand

Rapids: Zondervan, 1970), 41-50.32 Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley and Gerhard Friedrich, Theological

Dictionary of the New Testament, Volume 4 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964), 1019.33 Ibid., 1019.

13

New Testament

Romans 15:14

, Πέπεισμαι δέ ἀ , δελφοί μου καὶ αὐτὸ ς ἐγὼ περὶ ὑμῶ ν ὅ τι καὶ αὐτοὶ μεστοί ἐ στε ἀ , [γαθωσύνης πεπληρωμένοι πάσης τῆ ] , ς γνώσεως

δυνάμενοι καὶ ἀ λλήλους νουθετεῖν.

I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.

Paul, in this section of Romans has been working through how believers should

interrelate in light of their sinfulness. He has encouraged them to “bear with the failings

of the weak,” to “please their neighbor,” and to “welcome one another as Christ has

welcomed you, for the glory of God.” He moves into reaffirming the hope of the gospel

for gentiles and asking “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,

so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” In this context of

calling the Roman believers to confront sin and exude gospel hopefulness, he states his

15:14 satisfaction that they have what it takes to relate the knowledge of God to one

another’s lives. The ESV here translates νουθετέω as “instruct.” Here is the “one

another” aspect of Nouthetic Counsel. It is personal, life-on-life. Also present in

Nouthetic Counseling is the continual adjusting of relationship. There is no perpetual

counselor/counselee relationship. In loving, confrontational “one-anothering,” the one

confronted on Tuesday may be the one confronting on Wednesday, as God uses one

another to confront and build up. Some might bristle at the words “full of goodness.”

Moo points up that this term shows a general uprightness that may revolve around a

kindness and generosity.34 Origen makes this point: “This fullness is relative. Paul and

34 Douglas Moo, NICNT: The Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), 887-888.

14

those like him are full of goodness, etc., in comparison with their fellow believers, but

naturally they are still vastly inferior to the perfection of God.”35

However, as Dunn points up, Paul seems to expect from his congregations the maturity

necessary to “exercise this crucial ministry among themselves.”36

So, with a combined qualification of an in-depth understanding of Christian knowledge

and a reputation for Christian uprightness, one is qualified to instruct another.

Acts 20:31

διὸ γρηγορεῖ τε μνημονεύοντες ὅ τι τριετίαν νύκτα καὶ ἡ μέραν οὐ κἐ παυσάμην μετὰ δακρύων νουθετῶν ἕ να ἕ . καστον

Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.

In the therapeutic world, emotional involvement with a counselee is the cardinal

sin. While any moral lapses are, indeed, improper and sinful, the Apostle Paul shows

here that in Nouthetic work, emotion and personal involvement are not only allowable,

but seems to bring a qualifying tone to his ministry. Paul here is saying goodbye to the

elders at the Church in Ephesus. Verse 31 shows Paul intending them to take seriously

the teaching he gave them, due to the intensity of the Nouthetic work among them:

length of time (three years), constant (day and night), and emotionally engaged (with

tears). An encouraging ministerial note is that, while Ephesus did stray from Paul’s

teaching for a time, history bears out that they did eventually return to their gospel

roots.37

1 Corinthians 4:14

35 Origen, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, 5:208.36 James D. G., Word Biblical Commentary 38b Romans 9-16 (Dallas: Word, 1988),

858.37 F. F. Bruce, NICNT: The Book of the Acts (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), 393.

15

Οὐ κ ἐ ντρέπων ὑμᾶ ς γράφω ταῦ τα ἀλλʼ ὡ ς τέκνα μου ἀγαπητὰ νουθετῶ[ ]ν .

I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children.

The Corinthians had called Paul’s apostolic authority into question. In the fourth

chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul takes up this matter with a quite serious tone. He warns

the Corinthians to not abandon their spiritual heritage, indeed, even their spiritual father,

by judging Paul unworthy and forsaking his spiritual leadership over them. Verse 14

shows his father’s heart, but also his father’s passion. He is admonishing (warning)38

them not to simply abuse them but to build them, showing them “the danger of their

course” and wanting them “to be more faithful in their Christian duty.”39 It is also in

Paul’s appeal here that we see one of the desired outcomes of Nouthetic Counseling:

What becomes transparent in this final appeal is that for Paul right thinking simply is not enough. The gospel must result in appropriate behavior as well. Thus he exhorts them to “imitate” him (v. 16), which means to return to his “way of life in Christ Jesus” (v.17).40

Nouthetic Counseling, at times, sounds a warning alarm. Those denying the biblical

priorities of living must be called out and considered destined for a bitter end, if change

does not come.

Colossians 1:28

ὃ ν ἡμεῖ ς καταγγέλλομεν νουθετοῦντες πάντα ἄ νθρωπον καὶ διδάσκοντες πάντα ἄ νθρωπον ἐ ν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ, ἵ να παραστήσωμεν

πάντα ἄ νθρωπον τέλειον ἐ ν Χριστῷ∑

38 Gordon D. Fee, NICNT: The First Epistle to the Corinthians, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), 182. Footnote 1 Addresses the textual variants at work in the choice between admonish/warn.

39 RPCNA Book of Discipline (5.2, p. E-8). Here we find a faithful treatment of “Admonition: This is the lightest degree of censure and is commonly used by the court in cases of neglect of duty. It consists of reproving the offender, warning him of the danger of his course, and charging him to be more faithful in his Christian life. “

40 Fee, 183.

16

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

While there is debate regarding why Paul is writing to the Colossian church, he is

tackling the issues in that congregation by clearly proclaiming “Christ is Lord over all of

creation, including the invisible realm. He has secured redemption for his people,

enabling them to participate with him in his death, resurrection, and fullness.”41 This

verse, clearly helping to frame his intention to preach Christ, ties together the ideas of

“public” and “private” proclamation of God’s word, inextricably linking the evangelistic

proclamation with the pastoral task.42 This is nothing more than Nouthetic Counseling,

in the contemporary understanding of it. Yes, we evangelize. Yes, we proclaim Christ,

but discipleship must follow. Pastoral situations lead to the counsel necessary to lead

others on the path of life. Indeed,

they have not learned all there is to know once they have come to Christ; that is only the beginning. He is indeed the embodiment of divine wisdom, but the exploration of the wisdom that resides in him is the task of a lifetime… It is necessary, then, not only to preach the gospel but also, when people have believed the gospel, to “instruct everyone and teach everyone in all wisdom.43

As our very first parents needed the counsel of God in their living, we indeed need the

wisdom of Christ applied to every facet of our life. This is a life-long endeavor of aiding

one another along the path, using the entirety of Christ’s wisdom, but ONLY Christ’s

wisdom to accomplish the work.

Colossians 3:16

41 ESV Study Bible, s.v. “Introduction to The Letter of Paul to the Colossians.”42 Peter T. O’Brien, Word Biblical Commentary, 44: Colossians, Philemon (Waco,

TX: Word, 1982), 87-88.43 F. F. Bruce, NICNT: The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the

Ephesians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984), 86-87.

17

ὁ λόγος τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐ νοικείτω ἐ ν ὑμῖ , ν πλουσίως ἐ ν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ διδάσκοντες καὶ νουθετοῦ ντες ἑ , αυτούς ψαλμοῖ ς ὕ μνοιςᾠδαῖ ς

πνευματικαῖ ς ἐ [ν τῇ] χάριτι ᾄ δοντες ἐ ν ταῖ ς καρδίαις ὑμῶ ν τῷ θεῷ∑

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Two facets of this text drive our understanding of its practical use in the life of the

Christian. First is the conversational application. The Colossians were being called

upon to teach and admonish one another, as Paul had encouraged those in Rome.44

However, the second, worshipful application is just as important. “‘[T]eaching and

instructing…’ and ‘singing…,’45 suggests that the singing might be a means of mutual

edification as well as a vehicle of praise to God.” While the Covenanter faith sees this

text as driving the content of our song, one should also see it as a provoking command

of not just WHAT one sings, but THAT our singing accomplish a Nouthetic work

amongst our brothers and sisters in Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:12

Ἐρωτῶ μεν δὲ ὑμᾶ , ς ἀ , δελφοί εἰ δέναι τοὺ ς κοπιῶ ντας ἐ ν ὑμῖ ν καὶ προϊσταμένους ὑμῶ ν ἐ ν κυρίῳ καὶ νουθετοῦντας ὑμᾶ ς

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,

1 Thessalonians 5:12 brings the authority of Nouthetic Counseling into the fray.

The one admonishing is now over the admonished. The “in the Lord” clarifying would,

however, would drive toward, not a superiority of person, but, merely, a superiority of

position. Laboring and admonishing are not official terms of position, but speak to the

44 Bruce, 158.45 Bruce’s footnote: “The participles may have imperatival force, as in v. 13 (p. 155,

n. 134).”

18

work of the ones over those admonished.46 While it is clear that there was interpersonal

strife in Thessalonica,47

it will make for the effective life and witness of the church and for peaceful relations among its members if its leaders are recognized and honored and their directions followed. The corollary of this is that the leaders should be the kind of people who deserve to be recognized and honored by their fellow Christians.”48

Rumblings of Romans 15 are heard here. Those “full of goodness” will want the best for

those whom they counsel. The Nouthetic Counselor has the good of the counselee in

mind, not “lording it over them”49 but exercising oversight in such a way that the people

know they are loved and respect, and hearing, are won.

1 Thessalonians 5:14

παρακαλοῦ μεν δὲ ὑμᾶ , ς ἀ , δελφοί νουθετεῖ τε τοὺ ς ἀ , τάκτουςπαραμυθεῖ σθε τοὺ ς ὀ , λιγοψύχους ἀ ντέχεσθε τῶ ν ἀσθενῶ , νμακροθυμεῖ τε πρὸ . ς πάντας

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.

Verse 14 introduces the diversity of the Nouthetic task. While νουθετε here is

applied to only the idle, when one considers a general ecclesiastical definition of

admonition–50

Admonition—This is the lightest degree of censure and is commonly used by the court in cases of neglect of duty. It consists of reproving the offender, warning him of the danger of his course, and charging him to be more faithful in his Christian life.

46 F. F. Bruce, Word Biblical Commentary, 45: 1 & 2 Thessalonians (Waco, TX: Word, 1982), 118.

47 Leon Morris, NICNT: The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 163.

48 Bruce, 120.49 1 Pt 5:2.50 RPCNA Book of Discipline 4.1.a.

19

–and sees its more broad application in ministry, i.e. Nouthetically, a loving

admonishment is seen in the ministry with the fainthearted and the weak. Of course, all

of this work, as is any ministry of the Word, is linked vitally to the Holy Spirit, which

brings the true comfort and cure of the soul. As Augustine said of this passage:

It is in this way that citizens of the City of God are healed while they are pilgrims on this earth, ass they sigh for the peace of their heavenly country. Bu the Holy Spirit works inwardly to give effect to the remedy which is applied outwardly. Otherwise, even if God makes use of a creature subject to Him to speak to the human senses in some human form–whether to the corporeal senses or to those very similar ones which we possess when asleep–and does not rule and direct our minds with His inward grace, no preaching of the truth is of profit to a man.51

The Nouthetic Counselor must bathe every moment of counseling in prayer.

2 Thessalonians 3:15

καὶ μὴ ὡ ς ἐχθρὸ ν ἡγεῖ , σθε ἀλλὰ νουθετεῖ τεὡ ς ἀ . δελφόν

Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

An even more dire tone is heard in 2 Thessalonians 3:15. Who is this one who is

not an enemy, but deserves the warning of those who love him? Verse 14 answers this:

“If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have

nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed.” The apostle here is taking to task

those who would ignore the Word of God. But, notice the love that comes to the fore.

Augustine also commented on this passage:

Here it is as though doves are quarreling together. The apostle said, “If anyone fails to obey our word by this letter, mark that person and do not mix with him.” There’s the quarrel. But notice how it’s a quarrel of doves, not of wolves. He immediately added, “And do not regard him as an enemy, but rebuke him as a brother.” A dove is loving even when it is beating; a wolf hates even when it is being charming.52

51 Augustine, City of God, 15.6.52 Augustine, Sermons, 64:3.

20

Old Testament/Septuigant Summary

Eight instances of νουθετέω in the Old Testament (Septuigant) occur in the book

of Job (4:3; 23:15; 30:1; 34:16; 36:12; 37:14; 38:18; 40:4) alone and one is in 1 Samuel

(3:13). We will examine all the passages together, commenting on them in one section.

The uses in Job all reflect the mind: understanding, comprehension, thought, etc.

Which pushes again the cognitive interaction of the counselee with their sin and how

their thinking (i.e. theology) drives their practice. The lone use in 1 Samuel deals with

Eli’s sons, whom he would not Nouthetically confront. Ironically, this single use points

up what happens when we fail to practice biblical, Nouthetic Counseling.

Summary Definition

Above, we saw Jay Adams’ own definition of Nouthetic Counseling: a loving,

verbal, Christ-centered person-to person confrontation of a person’s sin or problem in

life, rooted in the authoritative Word of God, for the sanctifying good of the one being

counseled.53 Distilled more simply, we turned to George Scipione: to verbally confront

someone for their good, for their change.”54 Examining the “νουθετέω Scriptures” we

see these definitions present, if not expanded on slightly. Nouthetic Counsling would

then be:

“one anothering” which is rooted in both the believer’s righteousness (given by Christ) and his knowledge of the Word.

characterized by passionate interpersonal communication. understood to intend the building up the one being counseled. evangelical, even evangelistic, but not faddish and flimsy, working itself out in

firm pastoral practice. doxologically concerned and practiced in the context of the Church’s worship. built on biblical authority, not philosophical strength and human understanding. admonishment that reaches all matters of life, grounding them in the Scriptures.

53 Adams, 41-56.54 Scipione, Vimeo video file, 1:25, http:// player.vimeo.com/video/4534236

[accessed November 16, 2012].

21

warning of those neglecting the Word of God, not for shame’s sake, but love’s. an activity which seeks to renew the mind, for the purpose of right thinking

regarding God and right living unto him.

And all of this would be for the purpose of Christ’s Mediatorial Kingship to be furthered

by the precise battling of sin in the lives of his subjects, that his rule and reign might be

specifically applied to all matters of the heart and life of those who have been

conquered by him.

Nouthetic Counseling in History–Historical Perspective

While the term “Nouthetic Counseling” is rooted in and extracted from Scripture,

as we have seen, the term and its working definition are a 20th Century addition to

ministerial language. But, how, then, does Nouthetic Counseling, as a 20th Century

term and philosophy, set within the broader context of Church History. Is this Nouthetic

approach a truly new idea or is it merely a rediscovery of the Ancient Paths55 of the

Church? If this is a timeless way of ministry, especially being tied to Christ’s work as

Mediatorial King, then one should expect to discover traces of the Nouthetic way–

deeply biblical confrontation of sin out of love for the counselee–in each age of the

Church. Anyone who understands Church History knows that various ages of the

Church see surges in understanding and practice in some portion of the Christian

ministry. The Old & New Testaments with the early Church and Patristic Age through

Medieval times, the Reformation, and on into the Modern Era and 20th Century will be

briefly examined to see, within their history, samples of how the Counseling portion of

the ministry was viewed and practiced, finding then the context into which the

contemporary Nouthetic Counseling movement was born.

Old Testament

55 Jer 6:16.

22

While only nine references to νουθετέω are found in the Septuigant, plenty of

loving, confrontational wisdom is found being doled out by the leaders of church, state,

and family. Two examples from the life of Israel stand out, as they have particular

connection to the State, particularly men who sat upon the throne now taken by Christ

himself: Nathan’s confrontation of David (2 Samuel 11-12) and the Queen of Sheba’s

trek to meet Solomon (1 Kings 10). Both involved counsel given (Nathan to David for

his repentance and Solomon to Sheba’s Queen for her own benefit as leader). Could

the queen give any more fitting response to being in Solomon’s presence than: Blessed

be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel!

Because the LORD loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute

justice and righteousness.”56 And it was this very lack of justice and righteousness that

had Nathan calling David out for his sins. Could David have any more fitting response

than And a fruit of his repentance is Psalm 51. A text which the Church now uses to

admonish one another as we worship Christ, the offspring of David who rules in perfect

justice and righteousness.

New Testament, Early Church & Church Fathers

David Powlison and Tim Lane write: “Through the centuries there have been

high points and low points in the church’s understanding and practice of good pastoral

care. High points include the early church fathers, the Reformation, the Puritans and

Jonathan Edwards.”57 Indeed the very high points, early on, are found in the text of

Scripture itself.

56 1 Kings 10:957 David Powlison and Tim Lane. “CCEF History, Theological Foundations and

Counseling Model.” Christian Counseling and Education Foundation. http://www.ccef.org/ccef-history-theological-foundations-and-counseling-model [accessed November 16, 2012].

23

Paul’s Epistles are fraught with a high view of pastoral care. In addition to the

actual use of νουθετέω, Paul also shows, by example, how a minister of the gospel

should counsel those under and around him. As McNeill notes:

In his study of Paul as a missionary Martin Schlunk states that the greatness of the Apostle derives from the fact that “he possessed the gift of the cure of souls (Seelsorge) in outstanding measure and employed the art with wonderful mastery.” Paul was very conscious of his responsibility for the rising Christian communities. While filled with eagerness, he is also weighted down by what he calls “the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the churches” (2 Cor. 11:28). His letters show him alertly and imaginatively concerned for local church situations and the individuals associated with them.58

Even as he trains Timothy, he reminds him to confront those in various stages of life,

the rich (1 Timothy 6:17), those who persist in sin 9 (1 Timothy 5:20), etc., and to

generally do the work he’s called to (2 Timothy 4:1-2).

The second and third centuries saw a growing diversity in understanding of how sin

should be dealt with in the life of the believer, or how the soul should be cured. In a

modern age of moral laxity, even within the church, it might be hard to imagine a time

when “…the Christian right of baptism required earnest repentance and renunciation of

sin, and baptismal repentance seemed decisive and final…”59 Some were even

reluctant to permit re-admittance to the Church after moral failure, whether it be idolatry

or adultery. The Shepherd of Hermas spoke to this matter, as “The Angel of

Repentance… permits the restoration of an adulterous wife or husband, with the explicit

statement: ‘There is but one repentance to the servants of God’ (i.e. to be baptized).

58 John T. McNeill A History of the Cure of Souls (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1951), 80-81.

59 McNeill, 89

24

He explains that God, knowing the weakness of men and the wiles of the devil, has

mercifully permitted this.60

The debate regarding metanoia (repentance) and exomologesis (confession)

raged as we see divergent views of confession, repentance, and restoration develop in

the Church, in both the Eastern and Western branches. Men like Tertullian and Origen

refuse to extend even the one opportunity for post-baptismal repentance to apply to the

capital sins of idolatry, unchastity, and homicide. Pope Calixtus I, Hermas, as we have

seen, and Cyprian, via his Letters, were more gracious, allowing those sins to be

repented of and the sinner restored. These issues, as well as how public and sever the

repentance and penance should be continued on into the Medieval Era. What we begin

to see developing is assignments of penance for specific sins committed.61

Transitioning out of the patristic age, we find one work which is still a hallmark of

pastoral theology: Gregory the Great’s The Book of Pastoral Rule. Part III of his work

is devoted to the art of differentiation. He begins his introductory remarks this way:

Indeed, long before us, Gregory Nazianzus of blessed memory taught that one and the same exhortation is not suited for everyone, because not everyone shares the same quality of character… Therefore, the discourse of the teacher should be adapted to the character of his audience so that it can address the specific needs of each individual and yet never shrink from the art of communal edification.”62

Clearly, Gregory the Great has the public proclamation of the Word in mind. However,

the same, at least, is true in the private work of Nouthetic Counseling. The counselor

must know his counselee, even as the preacher must know his audience. Indeed, if we

60 Ibid., 89.61 Ibid., 90-94.62 St. Gregory the Great, The Book of Pastoral Rule, (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s

Seminary Press, 2007), 87.

25

are “to verbally confront someone for their good, for their change,”63 we must be able to

clearly distinguish and communicate to:

Men and women; young and old; poor and rich; joyful and sad; subordinates and leaders; servants and masters; the wise of the world and the dull; the bold and the modest the forward and the timid; the impatient and the patient; the well disposed and the envious; the sincere and the insincere; the healthy and the sick; those who fear punishment and therefore live innocently, and those who have become so hardened in iniquity that they cannot be corrected by punishment; those who do not speak enough and those who speak too much; the lazy and the hasty; the meek and the easily provoked; the humble and he proud; the obstinate and the fickle; the gluttonous and the abstinent; those who give mercifully and those who steal from others; those who do not steal from others but do not give of their own, and those who both give generously and persist in taking from others; those who live in discord and those who are peaceful; those who sow strife and those who are peacemakers. Also to be advised differently are: those who misinterpret the words of sacred Scripture, and those who understand them but do not speak about them with humility; those who are able to preach with dignity but fear to do so out of humility and those whose lack of skill or age prevents from preaching but who nevertheless rush into preaching; those who are successful in worldly pursuits and those who desire the things of the world but are [unsuccessful]; those who are bound by wedlock and those who are free of the ties of marriage; those who have experienced sins of the flesh and those who are ignorant of them; those who deplore sins of action and those who deplore sins of thought; those who bewail their sins but do not cease in committing them, and those who cease but do not bewail past sins; thos who boast about their sinful behavior and those who confess their sins but do not put an end to them; those who are overcome by unexpected desires and those who bind themselves deliberately in sin; those whose sins are minor but commit them frequently, and those who avoid small sins but occasionally fall into grave ones; those who do not begin good works and those who begin but complete few of them; those who do evil secretly and good publicly, and those who conceal the good works they do yet allow for a bad opinion of themselves because of some of the things they do publicly.64

With Gregory the Great’s going on to address each of these individually, it is no wonder

that his text is still used to train pastors and that his work was done in an era seen as a

high water mark for pastoral care, the cure of souls, Nouthetic Counseling.

63 Scipione, Vimeo video file, 1:25, http:// player.vimeo.com/video/4534236 [accessed November 16, 2012].

64 Gregory the Great, 88-89.

26

Medieval Ages

The issue of confession and repentance was beginning to be addressed and

fought passionately over in the era of the Church. The Medieval or Middle Ages saw

this matter morph from an extremely public activity on the part of the Christian, being

done before the entire congregation with sins listed in detail to an activity very private

with only the sinner and priest involved, with proper activities being assigned to pay for

the sin. Popes Leo the Great, Siricius, and Innocent I all helped develop the practice of

private confession.65 Along with this practice developed the penitential practice of

assigning works to pay for the sin confessed. In some parts of the Christian Kingdom,

entire manuals were written, particularly by the Celtic scholars, which developed the

confessional ministry along the lines of the ancient soul guides.66 So, from the 2nd and

3rd centuries to the 14th, we see confession moving from a part of the public worship

service to a private matter between parishioner and priest, with the consequences of the

confessed sin moving from impossible to a near scientific system of works to be done,

with manuals that helped ministers “deal with all sorts of persons in all moral and

spiritual predicaments.”67

Extremism in this matter led to non-biblical practice. Both extremes of every sin

being out in the open and no sin being out in the open are against Scriptural practice.

Horton notes: “Certainly, confession of sins and absolution have biblical precedent, and

in Lutheran and Reformed churches these elements of penance were part of the public

service rather than a private sacrament, and the sole basis was Christ’s satisfaction

65 McNeill, 98-9966 Ibid., 112-135.67 McNeill, 118.

27

rather than the believer’s.”68 In Nouthetic Counseling, a faithful application of Matthew

18 is sought after. Scripture gives a modicum of privacy for the purpose of working

through matters of sin and confession; however, absolute privacy, as in the private

protection of an attorney and client, is never guaranteed. Consequentially, the

confession is as public as the sin, as those impacted by the sin are made aware of it.

When corrective church discipline is applied to an erring member, the entire

congregation is made aware of the sins of those being suspended, deposed, or

excommunicated,69 because it impacts the broader body. However, on useful facet of

the malpractice is helpful in the good practice of Nouthetic Counseling. While there is

no one-to-one correlation between every sin in every person and the deeds needed to

overcome that sin, we do, combining the helpful categories of Gregory the Great above

and the desire to see sin overcome in those assigning penance, see one aspect of

Nouthetic Counsel: Homework. While the assignments given do not pay for sin, the

counselor should be creative and insightful70 in giving work to the counselee that

exposes the heart behind their sin and gives them hope in renewing their minds and,

consequentially, their habits to see sin, the world, the flesh, and the devil overcome.

Reformation & Post-Reformation

While the Reformers and Puritans would not have used the words Nouthetic or

Nouthetic Counsling, gravitating to the terms like the Cure and Care of Souls, one need

only perform a brief survey of Reformation, Post-Reformation, and Puritan literature to

68 Michael Horton, The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 774.

69 RPCNA Book of Discipline.70 Jay E. Adams, Insight and Creativity in Christian Counseling: A Study of the Usual

and the Unique (Woodruff, SC: Timeless Texts, 2008), 56.

28

see that the ideas within the work of Nouthetic Counseling were alive and well during

this vital time of Church History.

Bucer himself, known for his application of Christ’s Kingship to all facets of life

and the human kingdoms of this earth71 composed Concerning the True Care of Souls,

in which he expounds Scripture after Scripture, applying it to the work of the Church and

her ministers in ministering to humanity. Richard Baxter, who not only wrote The

Manual of Pastoral Discipline, a manual like unto the Celtic manuals, above, in which

every spiritual problem is given a definite antidote, but also gave the Church his classic

work, The Reformed Pastor, considered preeminent in its generation of such texts.72 In

his section on the oversight of the flock, where he, like Gregory the Great, categorizes

the types of folk to whom the Christian pastor ministers, he says about the disconsolate:

…our work among the converted is to comfort the disconsolate. Giving a basis for peace in our people’s souls that is sure and lasting is a vital ministry. To this end we need to know the character of the complainants and the course of their lives. For all people need the same consolations that have similar complaints.73

As has been said above, does the Nouthetic Counselor not need to know the person to

which he is ministering? Do we not need to learn the contours of this life and the types

of persons living it? Should we not seek to give hope and peace to those feeling

hopeless in their struggle against sin? Should we not go to battle for them?

Modern Era & Early 20th Century

Pressing into the 19th Century, the very century that saw so much scientific

discovery that helped develop the psychologized view of humanity into the 20th century,

71 See Bucer’s De Regno Christi.72 David J. Atkinson and David H. Field, eds., New Dictionary of Christian Ethics and

Pastoral Theology (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1995), 80.73 Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor: A Pattern for Personal Growth and Ministry

(Portland: Multnomah Press, 1982), 77.

29

we still see a strong, biblical understanding of pastoral care and counseling coming from

he likes of Bishop J. C. Ryle, with his work on Holiness, helping folk to identify sin and

and seek true, biblical holiness in their lives:

I have had a deep conviction for many years that practical holiness and entire self-consecration to god are not sufficiently attended to by modern Christians in this country… Satan knows well the power of true holiness… [and] just as in time past he has succeeded in mystifying and confusing men’s minds about justification, so he is labouring in the present day to make men ‘darken counsel by words without knowledge’ about sanctification.’74

Little did he know how much worse it would get in the decades which came.

Ichabod Spencer, the “Bunyan of Brooklyn,” pastor of 2nd Presbyterian Church

there,75 in his work A Pastor’s Sketches: Conversations with Anxious Souls Concerning

the Way of Salvation, gave pastors and seminarians a gold-mine of examples of how to

apply the gospel to the many facets of human experience. Indeed his own hope was

that “these Sketches might be useful, not on the ground of their marvelousness, so

much as on the ground of their applicability, as they refer to common experiences and

common difficulties, which have occurred under the ordinary ministration of a very

humble individual…” The Church has been blessed for 162 years now with these

Sketches that are both applicable and marvelous as one can read of the young

struggling with repentance, the old struggling to give up drunkenness, those falsely

desiring “believer’s baptism,” and a host of other “problems” in between those. Spencer

is a true example of “verbally confront[ing] someone for their good, for their change.”76

74 J. C. Ryle, Holiness (Grand Rapids: Associated Publishers and Authors, 1971), iii.

75 Ichabod Spencer, A Pastor’s Sketches: Conversations with Anxious Souls Concerning the Way of Salvation (Vestavia, AL: Solid Ground Christian Books, 2001), Introduction to the New Edition.

76 Scipione, Vimeo video file, 1:25, http:// player.vimeo.com/video/4534236 [accessed November 16, 2012].

30

Thomas Murphy, who pastored Frankford Church, in Philadelphia, authored

another great work, Pastoral Theology: The Pastor in the Various Duties of His Office.

In Chapter 5, “The Pastor in His Personal Parochial Work,” Murphy points up a common

problem, even among today’s ministers:

It is an elementary principle of his office as a pastor that he is to watch over the flock committed to his care. Most solemn is he obligation resting upon ministers to watch for souls as those who must give account. These less conspicuous duties of the ministerial office are indispensable. Without due attention to them no man can be either faithful or successful in the sacred calling. Great preaching-power will not do without this. A man may be a great preacher, but through neglect of the other pastoral duties come far short of the good he might otherwise have accomplished.77

But with this problem, Murphy also, faithfully, gives the remedy:

On the other hand, it is often the case that a minister of but moderate power it he pulpit will do much for the cause of Christ by his tact and industry and fidelity in the other parochial duties. This is a holy art which should be carefully studied and diligently practiced by every ordained workman in the vineyard of the Lord.78

He goes on to break down the various visiting duties of the pastor and how to handle

each one. Again, in the Nouthetic Counseling work of the pastor, knowing the people,

their particular issues, besetting sins, and how to best minister grace and peace to

those, are all helpful, even and especially when the time of visiting is not an official

counseling session, but, rather, off the cuff. Many times, folk are more open to the input

of the gospel when they are not expecting it.

Toward the end of this era in the church, however, a reversal began to happen.

Scripture was being substituted with human reason and understanding. McNeill deals

curtly with this paradigm shift in his A History of the Cure of Souls:

77 Thomas Murphy, Pastoral Theology: The Pastor in the Various Duties of His Office (Willow Street, PA: Old Paths Publications, 2001), 223.

78 Murphy, 223-224.

31

The pursuit of holiness took the form of ascetic discipline, wherein a few attained a high spirituality but the majority were earnestly engaged in a perpetual warfare with their besetting sins. The simple lists in the New Testament gave place ot a detailed catalogue of sins which must be systematically checked and overcome. That reflection upon the soul’s diseases which we observed in Cicero and Seneca appears here in new systematized psychology. The “disorders” of the souls are now “sins”’ the guide, or physician of souls diagnoses the patient’s case in terms of sin, and applies the remedies in rebuke, counsel and penance.79

The 20th Century & the Adamsian Revolution

As the world traveled into the 20th century, church, culture, and society had

begun to give in to the zeitgeist80 of the gospel minister as limited in his clinical skills

and resources. Increasingly, everything from the counseling of marriage problems to

the more difficult cases of personality was handed over to the “professional,” a para-

church counselor, at best, or a secular humanist at worst, both of which would have

been trained for such a “ministry” at a secular university. This handing over came to be

expected, not only by the academics of society, but also by the sheep and shepherds

within the Christian fold. As the century matured, men like Clyde Narramore & H.

Norman Wright, and Gary Collins were doing their part to integrate Christian religion

and modern psychological theory; but, while many in the church were adopting either

the liberal mode of pastoral counseling or the conservative mode of Christian

Psychotherapy, the middle of the 20th Century saw a revolution come. While culture

and society were shaken up by the deconstructionists, Christian counseling was being

shaken down and set back up on the bedrock of God’s Word as the source of wisdom

for handling all of life’s problems.

This wasn’t just a Christian “problem.” Even secular theorizers, psychologists,

and psychiatrists were developing their own conclusions about the presuppositions and

79 McNeill, 111.80 German: “Spirit of the Age”

32

practices within the psychiatric & therapeutic world. The entire process of counsel and

care was failing to uphold the dignity of humanity, especially as men and women

struggled with their inorganic problems–problems caused by the stresses and strains of

life, not the bio-chemical make-up of their bodies. David Powlison, faculty member at

the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation81 in Glenside, PA and Senior Editor

of the Journal of Biblical Counseling has written an extensive volume, primarily his

Ph.D. dissertation for the University of Pennsylvania, which points up:

…numerous overtly directive-interventive psychotherapies were created midcentury: rational-emotive therapy (Albert Ellis), transactional analysis (Eric Berne), integrity therapy (O. Hobart Mowrer), reality therapy (William Glasser), structural family therapy (Salvador Minuchin), and other marriage and family therapies.82

Textually, one might say that the two epicenters of the earthquake were the atheistic

Thomas Szasz’ The Myth of Mental Illness and the Christian Jay Adams’ Competent to

Counsel. While others had certainly developed their anti-Freudian systems, Szasz and

Adams shook up their respective camps by calling into question the authority of the

psychological and psychiatric systems presently in place and there approach to helping

people handle life, labeling that which has no physical manifestation as sick and

diseased. In other words, they started a turf war. Szasz , a non-practicing Jew called

Freudianism “the clever and cynical destruction of the spirituality of man, and its

replacement by a positivistic ‘science of mind…’ not merely a religion that pretends to

be a science [but] a face religion that seeks to destroy true religion.”83 Another

psychiatrist, E. Fuller Torrey was not as kind: “The techniques used by Western

81 More information at www.ccef.org.82 David Powlison, The Biblical Counseling Movement: History and Context

(Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2010), 23.83 Thomas Szasz, The Myth of Psychotherapy (New York: Doubleday, 1978), 28,

139, 146.

33

psychiatrists are, with few exceptions, on exactly the same scientific plane as the

techniques used by witchdoctors.”84 One more optimistic might hope, as Richard K.

Young that, in “Spiritual Therapy,” a physician, psychiatrist, and minister might all work

alongside one another in the labor of bringing healing.85 But the fact of the matter is that

two often the secular psychologist and psychiatrist believe the minister to be an archaic

practitioner that brings greater hurt, along with his guilt.

Pragmatism is the watchword of the day. Psychological theory has appeared to

work in our autonomous, narcissistic generation, while firm biblical counsel has not

appeared to work. Unfortunately, a common understanding of the place of psychology

and counseling within the church, rather than a biblical and Nouthetic approach, could

be summarized by one pastor who said:

Whether it’s transcendental meditation, reality therapy, nouthetic counseling, Freudian, Rogerian–no matter what it’s called–any method that really works has already been outlined in God’s Word. A method is not shunned simply because a non-believing scholar used it first. Scriptural principles are the basis of Christian counseling. Thos methods taken fro the secular setting, which are not in conflict with God’s Word, are adaptable. Those which deviate are avoided, not because they are contaminated by man’s wisdom, but because they will not work.86

This pragmatism is a far cry from the words of Psalm 1:1-2: “Blessed is the man who

walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the

seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates

day and night.”

84 Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (Intervarsity Press, 1982), 49.

85 Young, Richard K. and Albert L. Meiburg. Spiritual Therapy: How the Physician, Psychiatrist and Minister Collaborate in Healing. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1960.

86 George H. Bearden and Ruby Bertsch, The Christian Counselor’s Manual: How to Apply God’s Word to Everyday Living–Minimizing Pressures Maintaining Positive Attitudes (Peterborough, N.H.: Inspirational Publishing Co., 1985), 9.

34

This pragmatism sets the stage for the renewal of Nouthetic Counseling, which

was, actually, a rediscovery of the ancient tradition of lovingly confronting the counselee

for their good. Jay Adams threw a monkey-wrench into the works of those who had fully

adopted Freudian and other psychological theories, or were seeking to integrated those

theories into theological frameworks, with such ideas as Clinical Pastoral Education.87

In 1970, Jay Adams published Competent to Counsel: Introduction to Nouthetic

Counseling. In this simple book, Adams worked through his basic outline: exposing the

sin and dangers in modern psychological, especially Freudian, theories; relating

Nouthetic Counseling with the Counselor, the Holy Spirit; working through what might

truly be wrong with the “mentally ill”; defining Nouthetic Counseling; introducing the

pastor’s role in Nouthetic Counseling; contrasting the Nouthetic approach with secular

approaches that might be like it; confession of sin; solving humanity’s problems;

techniques; communication; how Christian school teachers should approach the work of

Nouthetic Counseling; then basic tools to help the process.88 It was simple, basic, but

powerful. It undercut the secular mindset and the Christian mindset that said the

underlying philosophies of a counseling theory meant nothing, as long as it worked. In

Adams’ Nouthetic approach, the counselee was not a morally neutral upon whom the

system worked, he was one of God’s image-bearers, called upon to enter into the

process of putting off sin and putting on Christ, confessing his sins, and walking in

newness of life.89

Today

87 See Wayne E. Oates, ed., An Introduction to Pastoral Counseling (Nashville: Broadman Press,1959).

88 Adams, Competent to Counsel, iii-vi.89 Rom 13:4; Eph 4; Rom 6:4.

35

The Nouthetic Counseling movement has now seen the arrival of her third and

fourth generations. David Powlison, George Scipione, and John Bettler have all trained

men and women who are now training men and women. The movement, as a

movement, continues to struggle with itself such issues as the nature of Nouthetic

Counseling, the place of Nouthetic Counseling in the local church over against centers

that operate on a payment basis. How much should drug therapies be encouraged?

How do the organic and inorganic problems of life interrelate? These issues and

questions continue to burn in the minds of Nouthetic practitioners and will for coming

generations, it seems.

Despite the questions, despite the conflict, Nouthetic Counseling, thanks in no

small part to organizations like CCEF in Pennsylvania and the Institue for Biblical

Counseling and Discipleship90 in Sand Diego, CA, as well as The Master’s College and

Seminary91, of John MacArthur fame, and the National Association of Nouthetic

Counselors92 that Nouthetic Counseling has seen a surge in popularity, not becaue it

seeks to be popular, or even claim to work, but because it seeks to be faithful to the

Word of God, its basis for counsel.93 These new generations of pastoral, Nouthetic

counselors seek to live up to the challenge put forth by Jay Adams in the introduction to

Competent to Counsel: “All concepts, terms and methods used in counseling need to

90 More information at www.ibcd.org.91 More information at www.masters.edu. See John MacArthur, Counseling: How to

Counsel Biblically (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2005) for the account of Grace Community Church’s and The Master’s College’s stand for Nouthetic Counseling over against psychology.

92 More information at www.nance.org.93 David Powlison and Tim Lane, Christian Counseling and Education Foundation.

http://www.ccef.org/ccef-history-theological-foundations-and-counseling-model [accessed November 16, 2012].

36

be re-examined biblically. Not one thing can be accepted from the past (or the present)

without biblical warrant.”94 Heath Lambert notes well:

Adams’s work was not perfect. Understood in his historical context, however, there is no way that it could have been. Adams brought the force of a founder–and the flaws that come with it. Adams was a Luther. What should be expected is theological reflection and development that makes wise and loving Christians increasingly competent to counsel. This effort has been the work of the second generation of biblical counselors. It will continue to be the work of successive generations.95

Nouthetic Counseling in 21st Century Church & Society–Applicational Perspective

So what? The church has more or less, from age to age, maintained or

recovered a biblical, Nouthetic approach. As we press into the 21st Century, the Church

should examine just how the Nouthetic Counseling ideal, Scripturally rooted, can be

applied more deeply in both Christ’s Churchly Kingdom, but also in his Stately Kingdom.

In what ways is it proper, in Church and State “to verbally confront someone for their

good, for their change.”96

Nouthetic Counseling in Christ’s Churchly Kingdom

The motto of the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation says it best:

“Restoring Christ to Counseling and Counseling to the Church.”97 The historical survey,

above, points up that over time, the Church began to abdicate her role of discipleship to

the secular motifs of psychological theory and their practitioners. Pastors were seen as

inept bulls in the delicate China shops of the human heart, in no way competent to

counsel those suffering under their own mistakes, brokenness, and the problems of life.

94 Adams, Competent to Counsel, xviii.95 Heath Lambert, The Biblical Counseling Movement after Adams (Wheaton, IL:

Crossway, 2012), 163.96 Scipione, Vimeo video file, 1:25, http:// player.vimeo.com/video/4534236

[accessed November 16, 2012].97 www.ccef.org

37

However, exegetical analysis of Scripture, also above, shows clearly that the work of

confronting those in sin and building up those struggling in the problems of life, helping

them to glorify God through it, is the work, generally, of believers, and specifically and

more regularly, of ministers of the gospel, or pastors and elders. One finds at least two

specific applications regarding the work of Nouthetic Counseling in the church:

1. Nouthetic Counseling belongs in every church. In an age of specialization,

Churches tend to find the niche they feel they can accomplish well and focus on that.

History and Exegesis bear out that every congregation, pastor and people, should seek

to excel in the work of Nouthetic Counseling. The internet offers unlimited resources

and training98 to anyone seeking to better their skills as a Nouthetic Counselor. Each

congregation should labor to do this work among themselves and encourage their

pastor(s) to do this work over and above the labors of the people. This demands

training, time, and, in most cases, funding, as it will add to the ongoing work of the local

body.

2. Nouthetic Counseling belongs in every home. It is striking to reflect on the

difference between Acts 8:3 and Acts 20:20. Both involve the labors of Paul. Both take

place in every house of the land. But the focus and fruit are polar opposite. In Acts 8:3,

we discover Paul (as, then, young Saul) “ravaging the church, and entering house after

house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.” Consider,

though, Acts 20:20, where Paul, now older and converted and given the apostolic

ministry reflects on his time in Ephesus saying “…how I did not shrink from declaring to

you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house…”

98 The Institute of Biblical Counseling and Discipleship in San Diego, CA is an excellent example.

38

Be aware that the enemy, by the world, the flesh, and the devil, seeks to enter every

home. The gospel must also seek the same entrance. Elders and pastors must

consider the work of visitation important enough to go house-to-house declaring the

Word, applying it directly to the problems of the people and calling them to faith and

repentance. If the Kingdom of King Jesus is to advance, it must advance intimately,

becoming close to all its subjects. If holiness is to grow in the home, in the family, if

These conclusions, it might be said, are nothing new, perhaps even simplistic.

However, these two applications are not being practiced consistently by all gospel-

preaching churches. Many of those same congregations are detracting from the power

of Christ’s Kingdom by submitting themselves to another priesthood, one that offers only

Prozac, rather than power, and merely Ritalin, rather than redemption.

Nouthetic Counseling in Christ’s Stately Kingdom

How should Nouthetic Counseling, seen as the hand-to-hand combat of Christ’s

Kingly army, be applied to the Church? Easy. The State? More difficult. Firstly, one

should recall that Christ is not merely the King of the Church, but also of the State and

every human institution. Secondly, one would be wise to focus on limited ways in which

Christ’s Kingship can be imaginatively introduced to the ministries of the state. For the

purposes here, two applications will be given to Nouthetic Counseling in the work of the

State: justice department and political officials.

Justice Department

At what point are the problems of life more clear or distinct than when a crime is

committed, a jury of peers declares the accused guilty, and the sentence is handed

down. Incarcerating guilty criminals is well-within the bounds of the states

39

responsibilities.99 However, in our modern prison system “rehabilitation” becomes the

goal, when, perhaps, reformation should be paramount. What would the prisons of

America look like if chaplains were trained in Nouthetic Counseling? What if, rather

than helping dismiss their guilt, or suffer victimization at the hands of their parents or

teachers, prisoners were confronted with God’s Word, for their good, for their change?

Political Officials

If we desire our government to honor Christ, a large part will be when the officials

of that government honor Christ. There are two ways to get to this goal:

1.) Put forth men already Christ-honoring in the Sphere of the State.

2.) “Evangelize” those already in positions of authority to an understanding of

Christ’s Mediatorial Kingship over the State.

Which is easier? The first might be, but considering the capital it takes to formulate

campaigns, garner the name-recognition to win an election in the current climate, and to

maintain a “faithful base” might consider the second option easier. The second

however is like answering “Can a rich man enter the Kingdom?”100 Is there a man or

woman who, once tasting the riches of Egypt would not prefer an onion sandwich to the

sands of following Christ.101 Clearly, both are challenging. And both are necessary.

But how?

The first work, raising up candidates for public office who understand their place

under Christ is a work of many generations. Teaching young people that desiring civic,

political leadership is not bad, if desiring it for the good of their fellow humanity and the

99 David W. Hall, Savior or Servant? Putting Government in Its Place (Oak Ridge, TN: The Kuyper Institute, 1996), 125-126.

100 Mt 19:24.101 Nu 11:5: a picture of Israelites desiring delicacies of Egypt over against the

wanderings caused by their sin.

40

glory of Christ. Teaching them at a young age to understand the civil magistrates public

position in light of Psalm 2 will lead to coming generations of Christ-honoring civil

servants.102 This is where Nouthetic Counseling in the Political sphere begins. Driving

home the truth of the gospel, as it applies to Christ’s Kingship over the Nations, building

relationships with those moving toward public service, so that the counsel might be

ongoing, continuing to apply and work through God’s Word in the midst of political

storms.

The second work, faithfully declaring Christ’s Kingship to those already in political

office for the purpose of winning them to the biblical view, presents its own challenges.

How do you lovingly communicate the:

tremendous… declaration that “the smoke of torment” of those who espouse the cause of the beast, and yield to him their support, “ascendeth for ever and ever,” from “the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone!” But it is “deserved punishment,” for how can the lovers of the blessed Redeemer, degrade him by ascribing to him the abominations of the beast, and yield their homage to him who is characterized by blasphemy, who makes war upon the woman–the church of which Jesus is the head–the church which our Lord has purchased with his own precious blood?103

It seems the answer to this challenge might be found in the simple Scriptural admonition

to the church regarding their civil magistrates:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 104

A simple strategy for this second option would be to consider all the ways one might

pray for a civil magistrate, someone already holding public office. Privately, in worship,

102 Einwechter, 88-113.103 James R. Willson, Civil Government: An Exposition of Romans 13:1-7.104 1 Tim 2:1-4.

41

publically at civic meetings–each of these are valid ways to apply the command to pray.

Another approach may be all the more effective to accomplish the command,

Nouthetically counsel the civil magistrate, and find them sympathetic to Christ’s rightful

place over government: pray privately WITH the civil magistrate. Pastors seeking to

meet with government officials to hear, first-hand, what they are facing and deciding,

praying with and for them in their judgment and wisdom, knowing that “judgment is

God’s,”105 might just find civil and political leaders becoming convinced that they are

servants, not of “We the people,” but of Christ, Zion’s only King and Head.

105 Dt 1 17.

42

Bibliography

Adams, Jay E. Competent to Counsel: Introduction to Nouthetic Counseling. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970.

–––. Insight and Creativity in Christian Counseling: A Study of the Usual and the Unique. Woodruff, SC: Timeless Texts, 2008.

Atkinson, David J. and David H. Field, eds. New Dictionary of Christian Ethics and Pastoral Theology. Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1995.

Augustine. The City of God Against the Pagans. Edited and translated by R. W. Dyson. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

–––. Sermons 64:3 Quoted in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament, Volume IX. Edited by Peter Gorday. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2000.

Baxter, Richard. The Reformed Pastor: A Pattern for Personal Growth and Ministry. Abridged and edited by James M. Houston. Portland: Multnomah Press, 1982.

Bearden, George H. and Ruby Bertsch. The Christian Counselor’s Manual: How to Apply God’s Word to Everyday Living–Minimizing Pressures Maintaining Positive Attitudes. Peterborough, N.H.: Inspirational Publishing Co., 1985.

Bruce, F.F. Word Biblical Commentary, 45: 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Waco, TX: Word, 1982.

–––. NICNT: The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984.

–––. NICNT: The Book of the Acts. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988.

Bucer, Martin. Concerning the True Care of Souls. Translated by Peter Beale. Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 2009.

–––. De Regno Christi. Edited by Wilhelm Pauck. Translated by Wilhelm Pauck and Paul Larkin. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1969.

Dunn, James D. G. Word Biblical Commentary, 38b: Romans 9-16. Dallas: Word Publishers, 1988.

Einwechter, William O., ed. Explicitly Christian Politics: The Vision of the National Reform Association. Pittsburgh: The Christian Statesman Press, 1997.

ESV Study Bible, s.v. “Introduction to The Letter of Paul to the Colossians.”

1

Fee, Gordon D. NICNT: The First Epistle to the Corinthians. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987.

St. Gregory the Great. The Book of Pastoral Rule. Translated by George E. Demacopoulos. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2007.

Hall, David W. Savior or Servant? Putting Government in Its Place. Oak Ridge, TN: The Kuyper Institute, 1996.

Hermas. The Shepherd of Hermas. In The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden. Cleveland: The World Publishing Co., 1950.

Hunt, Dave and T. A. McMahon. Psychology and the Church: Critical Questions Crucial Answers. Bend, OR: The Berean Call, 2008.

Horton, Michael. The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011.

Kittel, Gerhard, Geoffrey W. Bromiley and Gerhard Friedrich. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Volume 4. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964.

Kuyper, Abraham. “Address for the Dedication of the Free University of Amsterdam,” October 20, 1880.

Lambert, Heath. The Biblical Counseling Movement after Adams. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012.

MacArthur, John, et. al. Counseling: How to Counsel Biblically. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2005.

McNeill, John T. A History of the Cure of Souls. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1951.

Moo, Douglas. NICNT: The Epistle to the Romans. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.

Morris, Leon. NICNT: The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991.

Murphy, Thomas. Pastoral Theology: The Pastor in the Various Duties of His Office. Willow Street, PA: Old Paths Publications, 2001.

Oates, Wayne E., ed. An Introduction to Pastoral Counseling. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1959.

O’Brien, Peter T. Word Biblical Commentary, 44: Colossians, Philemon. Waco, TX: Word, 1982.

2

Origen. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, 5:208. Quoted in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament, Volume VI. Edited by Gerald Bray. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1998.

Piper, John. Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions, 2nd Ed. Revised and Expanded. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004.

Powlison, David. The Biblical Counseling Movement: History and Context. Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2010.

Powlison, David and Tim Lane. “CCEF History, Theological Foundations and Counseling Model.” Christian Counseling and Education Foundation. http://www.ccef.org/ccef-history-theological-foundations-and-counseling-model [accessed November 16, 2012].

Ryle, J.C. Holiness. Grand Rapids: Associated Publishers and Authors, 1971.

Scipione, George. “Introduction to the Biblical Counseling Institute.” Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary Web site. Vimeo video file. http://player.vimeo.com/video/4534236 [accessed November 16, 2012].

Spencer, Ichabod. A Pastor’s Sketches: Conversations with Anxious Souls Concerning the Way of Salvation. Vestavia, AL: Solid Ground Christian Books, 2001.

Symington, William. Messiah the Prince or, The Mediatorial Dominion of Jesus Christ. Pittsburgh: The Christian Statesman Press, 1999.

Szasz, Thomas. The Myth of Psychotherapy. New York: Doubleday, 1978.

Van Leeuwen, Mary Stewart. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Intervarsity Press, 1982.

Vos, Johannes G. The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary. Edited by G.I. Williamson. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2002.

Willson, James R. Civil Government: An Exposition of Romans 13:1-7. Philadelphia: William Young, 1853.

Young, Richard K. and Albert L. Meiburg. Spiritual Therapy: How the Physician, Psychiatrist and Minister Collaborate in Healing. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1960.

3