Counseling

Syncretism Anyone? Counseling from the WCF

Posted on by Dan Dodds

WCFContinuing in our look at the Westminster Confession of Faith and Counseling, we come to Chapter 1 Paragraph 6 – which is chocked full of helpful information:

WCF 1.6  The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men. Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the word; and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the word, which are always to be observed.

Paragraph 6 of Chapter 1 of the WCF is a great reminder that all we need regarding life and godliness (and counseling to that end) is contained in God’s Word. Does that mean we cannot use outside sources for help? Of course we can! If the outside sources (books, lectures, sermons) agree with Scripture they can be a great help. What are the limitations? The WCF rightly asserts that unless counsel is directly supported by Scripture or from the necessary deductions which may be drawn from Scripture, we should not treat the counsel as authoritative.  We should be particularly careful not to try to ‘blend’ any forms of pagan counsel or counseling techniques that attempt to synchronize opposing authorities or presuppositions. Whole books have been written on this subject (such as Malachi!) so there is much more to say, but suffice it to say for now that God’s Word is sufficient!

Secondly, note a reaffirmation of what we learned from paragraph 5: the inward illumination of the Spirit is necessary for the understanding of God’s Word. So if the counselee is not a believer – all counseling must be ‘pre’ counseling to direct him or her to Christ – then the real counseling can begin.

 

Dan Dodds
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Dan Dodds
Dan is a native of Detroit, Michigan; a graduate of Hillsdale College in Michigan and Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Dan has worked in the financial area as a CPA and controller as well as in international business and sales. In 1995 Dan entered into the ministry in a Florida church as Sr. High and Singles Pastor. In 2001 he was brought on staff at Woodruff Road. Dan and his wife Christy have two daughters, Anna and Jenna and two sons, Will and Wyatt.