There is no shortage of advice-givers in today’s society. Actually, it seems no matter where you turn, you hear someone giving advice or counsel on one issue or another. Frequently it’s hard to try and avoid those wanting to give advice. To prove my point, simply express to others a dilemma you have, and watch folks stumble over themselves to give their opinion. Some counsel you hear is good, little is from a biblical worldview, and much counsel is simply bad and ungodly. With that in mind, who are capable to provide counsel or give advice? Are Christians competent to counsel people with problems? What actually constitutes competency? What are the qualifications for a counselor?
Biblical counselors frequently quote Romans 15:14 to support the position that Christians possess adequate ability (competency) to counsel: “I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.” Colossians 3:16 is considered the comparable verse to Romans 15:14, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom,….” Continuing in Romans, Paul makes the case for boldness: Romans 15:15, “I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me.” Each of these verses contains the necessary characteristics or prerequisites required of a competent counselor. Counselors are to be, “full of goodness,” “complete in knowledge,” the word of Christ should dwell in them richly, they should be full of wisdom, and they should speak boldly.
First, counselors should be full of goodness. This is not goodness that is natural within us, but is from the Spirit of God whose fruit is goodness, Galatians 5:22. Being full of goodness denotes an abundance of grace consisting of benevolence, humaneness, and an understanding to fellow Christians in the spirit of Galatians 6:1, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.”
Second, counselors should be complete in knowledge. This is spiritual knowledge relating to: 1. God, His nature
and perfections, His mind and will, 2. Christ and the work of redemption, 3. The Holy Spirit and how He operates, 4. The Gospel knowledge necessary to salvation. If a counselor is to have an understanding of the biblical issues relating to human nature and behavior, the study of the scriptures will be fundamental to his or her qualifications and effectiveness. It would be paradoxical for someone to say they counsel biblically, yet lack the wherewithal or inclination to provide biblical explanations to issues and problems. 2 Timothy 2:15, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
Third, the word of Christ should dwell richly in the counselor. The counselor should understand the scriptures, especially those which speak of Christ and testify of Him, teach pardon by His blood, justification by faith, and salvation. He must know the Bible thoroughly and how to use it practically. I would seriously question the motives and presuppositions of a biblical counselor who lacked the willingness or desire to study and learn the doctrines central to the work of a true biblical counselor. If a counselor believes “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path,” Psalm 119:105, how can that truth be applied without having more than a Sunday school knowledge and understanding of God’s word? How can the counselor provide the lamp and light if he doesn’t know its whereabouts? Richly implies he should not only possess the word, but it should have a significant place in the counselor’s life. The counselor should be engaged in frequent reading, hearing, and meditation on the word.
Next, the counselor should possess wisdom. James Strong defines wisdom as “devout and proper prudence in relations with men including the skill and discretion in imparting Christian truth.” The counselor must learn how to discover the facts about the problems to which he must find bibli
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About the Author:
Dr. Jay B Stockman is a contributing editor for VisionUpdate.net, and a practicing doctor for New York Vision Associates, http://newyorkvisionassociates.com,
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