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Counseling & Sanctification

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3)

God wants to use His counsel to sanctify us as we walk through the battles of life. Sanctification has to do with being set apart for God’s glory, God’s purposes, and God’s use. Whenever Christian counseling is patterned after or integrated with the psychological theories of man, the purposes of God for people’s lives are being neglected.

Past Sanctification

Sanctification can be viewed from the three vantage points of past, present, and future. The sanctification that has already been accomplished in the past for the people of God is spoken of in 1 Corinthians 1:2. “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling…” (NASB)

When we came to Christ, God set us apart from the world for His purpose, His glory, and His use. In this sense, we already have been sanctified in the past. Sometimes, in sharing the counsel of the Lord with another believer, we need to share this very significant truth. This reminds us of one of the works of God on our behalf. It also reminds us of why we are here on this earth now.

Future Sanctification

The sanctification that is yet future is alluded to in Philippians 3:20-21. “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that is may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”

Some day in the future, when our Lord returns for His people, we will be fully set apart for His glory, His purposes, and His use. We will be glorified. We will have sin and carnality and selfishness completely removed. We will ultimately dwell in the new heaven and new earth wherein only righteousness dwells. We will be fully sanctified. At times, in counseling situations, future sanctification is an important truth upon which to expound. Such truth builds hope and comfort and assurance.

Present Sanctification

The sanctification that is to be an on-going process in the present is of special interest to us. It is the one that most commonly needs attention in our ministry of counseling one another. Present sanctification is all about growing in godliness now. It is about having our day by day lives made increasingly usable in the hands of the Lord, as we are set apart more and more for His purposes and His glory.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 speaks of this present process of sanctification. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to process his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God.”

Sexual Purity

The general issue here is sanctification. The particular area of concern is sexual purity. Past sanctification, which is accomplished by us being in Christ Jesus, does not automatically provide sexual purity every day thereafter. Future sanctification, which is ours in heaven, will never have to deal with sexual impurity, since only righteousness will prevail there. Clearly, our present sanctification is in view here.

This aspect of sanctification which has to do with sexual purity is becoming more and more critical in biblical counseling. As our culture goes deeper and deeper into sensualism and worships at the idol of sexual indulgence, more and more counseling needs to relate to sexual purity. The world walks in lustful passions. They do not know how to keep their bodies under honorable control. Temptation abounds, and sexual indulgence is commonplace. We who know God are to learn to walk in sexual purity. Many of God’s children today would profit from a word of counsel concerning sexual purity. Too many believers (especially, those recently saved) are in sexual bondage at the worst, or in compromise at the least. They are stumbling in habits or thoughts or words or attitudes. God desires to use His counsel to bring sanctification into these areas.

Comprehensive Sanctification

Note however, that sexual purity is only one specific example of the general will of God, which is our sanctification comprehensively. Even for the many children of God who do not struggle with sexual impurity, His will to sanctify us must constantly flavor the counsel that we offer or seek. The Lord wants to be setting our lives apart more and more in every way for His glory and purposes and use. 2 Timothy 2:21 speaks of this truth. “Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.”  This verse refers to a life being cleansed from things displeasing to the Lord, so that a person might be set apart or sanctified for greater use by the Lord.

Not Mere Coping Techniques

Now how does this issue of progressive sanctification contribute to our understanding of what counseling is? By letting us know that the counsel we give must be a part of the sanctification process. So many people go for counseling merely seeking after another coping technique. Their goal is to manage somehow to get through the struggles of living a bit more effectively.

The Lord aims much higher in the counsel He has for us. He wants to sanctify our lives increasingly, not just teach us how to survive each day. He wants to change our lives day by day, making us more and more like His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. If we are going to be in line with counseling God’s way, our counseling must be aiming at and praying toward lives being sanctified.

Psychological Obstruction

Psychological counseling cannot contribute to sanctification. Sanctification is a work of God, by His Spirit, using His truth. Psychological theory is a human system of wisdom aiming, in part, at increasing a person’s ability to change their own life through the use of their own human resources. Consequently, psychological theory cannot contribute to the sanctification process. In fact, it gets in the way, obstructing what God desires to do.

Umbrella Cliché:

“Well, at least people are getting some help out there.”

Another umbrella cliché is sometimes interposed at this point. It is applied to those seeking assistance in the so called Christian psychological counseling clinics. The cliché is usually stated something like this: “Well, at least people are getting some help out there.” Well, if they are getting valid biblical help, wonderful. However, an important issue to raise is whether they are getting God’s help God’s way. To the extent that a counseling service emphasizes the Lord and His word some of His answers for needy lives can be provided. On the other hand, if the counseling that is offered is based upon psychological theories, or generally attempts to integrate them, the damaging influence of humanistic thinking cannot be prevented, even by regular, period references to Scripture.

No Sweeping Condemnation

Now this is not said to condemn every counselor that ever studied psychology or has a psychological degree. Some have been able to lay aside all of their training in human wisdom and learn to rely wholly upon the word of God. Further, this line of reasoning does not mean that everyone who ever went to counseling in a Christian psychological clinic is condemned. Furthermore, this line of thought does not infer that no one ever got any real help from God out there in the counseling centers.

Some psychologically inclined counselors who do know the Lord might have respect for God’s word and for the power of prayer. They might have godly compassion for people. They might even have the spiritual gift of counseling (which will be dealt with later). Consequently, many spiritual realities are available for God to use in reaching lives. However, having some of these valid aspects of godly counsel functioning does not justify blending man’s psychological ways of counseling. God wants to offer help His way.

Summary of What Counseling Is

The Lord wants to give us an increasingly biblical perspective on what counseling is. Viewing the entire arena of counseling more and more the way that He does can impact our counseling ministry above everything else.

This perspective includes these three fundamental issues. First, the Lord is the Counselor, not man and his theories. So, may we look to the Lord when we seek counsel, and may we point to the Lord when we give counsel.

Second, the path of discipleship must permeate our approach to counseling. In other words, our counsel must deal with the independent self-life that people might follow after Jesus Christ. To put it another way, our counseling must not just aim at relief, but at discipleship.

Third, the process of sanctification should shape our understanding of counseling. Sanctification is the process of growing in godliness, in Christ’s likeness. As we counsel, we are not aiming at merely helping people cope or helping them indulge their own desires. We want to assist them in fulfilling the Lord’s desire that they be more fit for His use, set apart for His glory.

When the Lord uses us as an instrument to share His counsel, He will at times want us to help the person who is seeking counsel to come to a biblical understanding of what counseling is. Otherwise, they may tend to discount or reject what we are sharing from God’s word, mistakenly thinking that it is not “sufficiently psychological” to meet contemporary needs.

Let us be asking the Lord to work these truths deeply into our lives and throughout His church, making us those who counsel more and more His way.

(This article is adapted from the book How to Counsel God’s Way, by Bob Hoekstra.)