Amen. Well, good evening church. If you would, go with me to Romans 15. Romans 15. It'll be up on the screen as well. We'll look at one verse. Romans 15. Verse 14. This is the Word of God. The Apostle says, 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. Let's pray. Father God, we pray that as we see what Your Word says about the ministry of biblical counseling, that You would grow this church in truth speaking, in instructing, in teaching, that Your church would be mature in Christ. That You would be glorified. Guard our hearts and our minds now and help us to receive the Word with gladness. In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. Well, as many of you know, we have spoken about biblical counseling quite often publicly, and it just seemed fitting for us to to preach on this topic and just sort of unpack what we mean when we say biblical counseling from a biblical standpoint and sort of clarify that a bit. I'm not sure if everybody knows this probably at this point, but we just launched a biblical counseling ministry or a biblical counseling center a few months ago. And we really have been able to offer free of charge biblical counsel to people in this city who have been able to come to us and receive the Word of God free of charge. And I and a few others have had the privilege of putting the Word of Christ before a lot of people for many hours. And there really is just no shortage of work. I mean, listen to this statistic from The Mental Health America. It says in 2019, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 19.86% of adults experienced a mental illness equivalent to nearly 50 million Americans. So think about that. That's one in five. One in every five adults in America in 2019. So that's before COVID. That's skyrocketed since COVID. had symptoms that would verify that they had a mental illness. Now, I, like many of you, am skeptical of what defines a mental illness and what it actually means to be classified as having one. But my point is simply that people in this country sense that something is wrong with them. They feel bad. They feel problems. And they want help. and counseling is desirable. And many of them simply do not want to get on psychotropic drugs. They want a more natural way to overcome their problems. However, in this sermon, I do not intend to simply argue that there is a need for a form of counseling called biblical counseling. though there is. And it is not my purpose to argue for the sufficiency of Scripture to diagnose problems and to treat problems and to lead people to be obedient to God, although that is true and we have argued for that many times before. But what I intend to argue for in this sermon is that the ministry of biblical counseling is necessary and commanded of the local church, and it's commanded for all the members of the church to partake in. John MacArthur says it this way. He says, ever since apostolic times, counseling has occurred in the church as a natural function of normal spiritual life. After all, the New Testament itself commands believers to admonish one another. And it goes on to cite Romans 15.14, our text for this evening. Now, some of you are already saying, now wait a minute, so you're telling me that to be obedient to Christ, I need to be able to sit down at a table with someone, one-on-one, and listen to their problems, and be able to figure out their problems, and then tell them how to get better? You're telling me I have to do that? Wait a minute, Pastor Kent. You've got to be confused on this one. And I would just say, no, that is not what I mean by counseling. Don't let the term counseling confuse you. What we mean when we say biblical counseling is the ministry wherein God's people are wisely and skillfully able to understand a brother or sister situation theologically. and then able to go into God's Word and draw out applicable truth from it, and then speak it to that brother or sister, that they would grow and be conformed into the image of Christ. That's what we mean. That is a regular function of a healthy church. And I do believe, as I will attempt to show in just a few minutes, that there is a type of counselor who is gifted and qualified to interact in more of a personal and more formal setting, to deal with more severe problems on a more severe scale, and that they have an unusual ability to diagnose problems theologically and then to speak God's Word into isolated places, to place God's truth in special ways. And so I'll talk about that a little bit later. But there is a distinction between the Christian who spends an hour to an hour and a half listening to people unpack their problems and then reinterprets those problems theologically. And then is able to go into the Word and give that person something from the Word to obey. And that if they do that, their lives will be changed. And there will be sanctification. The distinction is evident. And we should be thankful that God has equipped some to labor more intensely and effectively in this work. But there is a difference in that what I just described in just a regular brother or sister in the church at a city group prayer meeting saying something helpful from the Word to build up another brother or sister. But it all is falling under this category of biblical counseling. However, what we cannot ignore is that the vast amount of apostolic material on this subject is given to the entire body of Christ. It's not just given to teachers or pastors, but it's given to the entire body. And so, if what I'm arguing for is true, then there better be sufficient biblical warrant for these things. And so let's jump into this text and then look at a few others and see if these things are so. So the first question that we need to ask is, in this passage, who is Paul writing to? The answer, it says, I Myself am satisfied about you, My brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness. So he's not merely addressing leaders. He's not merely addressing the pastors of the churches. He's addressing the entire body. That's Paul's way of talking to everybody when he says, my brothers or brethren. That's the whole church, the whole body of Christ. In the context of chapter 14 and 15 of Romans, is that Paul is now unpacking the practical application of all the theology and all the glory of the Gospel of Christ that He taught in chapters 1-11, and now He's unpacking that practically for the believers. And He's saying because this is true, this is how you are to live. And He's giving them these practical instructions for how to treat each other in love. And He says that they are able to instruct one another. Another translation uses the word admonish, but it's the Greek word nouthateo. This is where we get the term nouthetic counseling. The idea is that of admonishing or exhorting, or as the ESV says, instructing one another. It's not merely confessing doctrinal truth. It's not merely agreeing with a type of theology on paper or affirming a series of truths. It's a type of one another ministry that marks the local church where believers instruct one another from the Word of God in the ways of God. David Pallison says concerning the word nuthateo, that it is a word linked with bringing specific truth to bear on the details of an individual's life. So this is not corporate reading of Scripture. This is not corporately professing a creed. Although those things are important. And we do those things, but there's something specific about this ministry. It's individualized. It's specific to the believer. and there's truth being spoken. And Paul is confident that the church, not just the pastors and teachers, but that the brothers are able to walk in this ministry, to function in this ministry of the Word. But it's not merely that they're able, as in, in theory, you could do this. Right? Like in theory, we could all go to the moon. but we really can't. That's not what he's saying. He's saying you are able. The word translated able is dunamai. It's where we get the word dynamite. It denotes a power, a capability, an ability, a competency. So he's saying there's power. You have power in you. You are able to walk in this truth speaking ministry toward one another. the NIV translates the word as competent. And J. Adams, who is the father of the resurgence of the biblical counseling movement, translates this verse competent to counsel, which is the title of his famous work that sparked the resurgence of the biblical counseling movement. And so Paul is satisfied that the entire church is able, competent, powerful to function within this ministry. And the second question we need to ask is why are they able? What does the church need to do and be in order to be able to instruct one another in this way? Well, it says, number one, that they are full of goodness. They're full of goodness. That's a fruit of the Holy Spirit. They're marked by the fruit of the Spirit. They're marked by the goodness of the Holy Spirit that He produces in the lives of a believer. They're abounding in what is good. He says that they're also filled with knowledge. They're abounding in knowledge of Christ and in knowledge of one another. They have Spirit-produced discernment to look into one another's lives. To see things that are wrong. to reinterpret problems theologically, and then to speak accurate truth into those situations to build up that brother or sister, that they would be conformed into the image of Christ and be sanctified. They have right doctrine, and they have the power to live out the implications of this doctrine. So how do Christians in the local church become able to operate in healthy biblical ministry? By being full of the goodness of the Spirit. And by being full of knowledge of Christ. And so what hinders a church from walking in this type of fruitful one another ministry? Well, it's a lack of goodness and a lack of knowledge. that the church would be marked not by the Spirit-produced fruit of goodness and kindness and gentleness and compassion and grace, but that they would be characterized by apathy and laziness and strife and caught up in all the secondary issues and all the tertiary issues and constantly bitter, constantly backbiting one another. or that they would be lacking in knowledge. As Hebrews 5.12 says, the Apostle writing says, many of you should be teachers by now. But you always need teachers to teach you the basic things about the faith. That can hinder a church from walking in truth-speaking ministry. Never growing. Never progressing in the things of Christ. But always laying back in infancy. And I just want to say that I'm encouraged by you, church, that these things won't be so of us. Because I have seen the spiritual goodness at work in you. I have seen hospitality. I have seen grace. I have seen true concern for one another in this body. And I have seen a growth in the knowledge of Christ and in the knowledge of His Word. But we must lay hold of these things. And we see also Paul give very similar instructions to the church at Colossae. In Colossians 3, verse 16. It will be up there on the screen. He says, let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom. So much like the church at Rome, Paul is addressing the church at Colossae as a corporate body. And primarily giving them instructions for when they come together. And he says that phrase very similar to Romans 15-14. He says, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom. And so what is the content of the teaching? What is the church supposed to instruct each other in? What are we supposed to teach each other? Well, he says, let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. It's the Word of Christ. that our preaching should be marked by the Word of Christ, that our song should be marked by the Word of Christ, that our conversations should be marked by the words of Christ. And so what is the Word of Christ? Well, most specifically, it's the teaching of Christ in the Gospels, and it's the teaching of the apostles of Christ in the New Testament. The churches in the first century, they didn't have access to a fully canonized New Testament the way that we do. So they had the Old Testament, and then they would have you know, snippets and pieces of Gospels, and they would have letters, like the letter to the Romans, and they would have maybe little pieces of sermons and things like that, but they didn't have the fully canonized New Testament, but they had apostolic teaching, and they had tradition, they had oral tradition, and they were to speak this. They were to let this teaching dwell in them richly. They were to let it dwell among them richly. And we have all of this finalized and canonized in the New Testament. In church, if we are to have this type of effective and healthy one another truth speaking ministry of the Word, we have to be growing in knowledge and seeking to know the New Testament. It is the revelation of Jesus Christ. And we do that not to the neglect of the old, but we do it realizing that this is the material that shows us who our God is most fully. It shows us His teaching. It shows us His commands. It shows us how to be saved. It reveals the Gospel. And the apostles unpack the Gospel for the church. We should be striving to be experts in the New Testament despite our gifts and our callings. And the New Testament is not very much in terms of its length. So step one, how do we begin to walk in this one another truth speaking ministry? Well, we grow in our knowledge of the Word of Christ. We know Jesus' teaching. We know the Gospel. We know the Apostles' teaching about Christ under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And we're able to instruct one another in that teaching. to build one another up into Christ. This type of biblical counseling ministry presupposes a substantial grasp in all of the church on the Word of Christ. So brothers and sisters, give yourself to the study of the person and the work of Jesus Christ. Now, let me just kind of tie this to the bigger picture, because some of you may be saying, you know what, Kent, we get it, you're really fired up about this and it's a good thing, but you're treating it like it's necessary. Like we have to be walking in this. Like it's extremely important. And I would say it is, because this is how Paul teaches that the church is going to reach its maturity. Remember, in Ephesians 4, that central passage about how the church is to attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. To mature manhood. To the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Paul sees that as the goal of the body. That all the pieces working together would be built up into maturity. Growing in doctrinal purity. Growing in sanctification. And he says, Do not be tossed to and fro by the waves in every wind of doctrine." But he goes on to say, rather, in verse 16, speaking the truth in love. We are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head. Into Christ. We are to grow up into Christ. Into maturity through the ministry of truth speaking. through pure doctrinal truth speaking to one another. Building up the body of Christ. I mean, guys, this is discipleship. Discipleship is not merely that mature Christian, A, goes and gets two lesser mature Christians and reads a book with them. And spends some time with them until they get mature. And then they go get two disciples. The New Testament concept of discipleship is much more comprehensive than that. And it starts, as Paul says, with the testimony of the apostles and the prophets as revealed in this Word. And then shepherds and teachers faithfully teaching that Word and putting it before the saints. And then the saints receive that Word. And then they are subsequently equipped for the work of the ministry. And what is that work of the ministry? To speak the truth and love to one another. And as this happens in all of the body, the church grows up into maturity, into the head, which is Christ. And it starts right here in the pulpit. And it starts with those who speak and teach publicly, and it trickles down to the city groups, and then it trickles down into every member of the church. And this is an organic, normal, year-in, year-out, decade-in, decade-out way that God grows up His church into the conformity of Christ. And so I am jealous for this church, for all of us, to be walking in this, to thrive in a healthy and fruitful Word ministry. You know, we've prayed, and I have prayed, that the Lord would raise up counselors. And we've asked the Lord to give us a biblical counseling center, and He has. And He's given us counselors. And I pray that we could put the Word of Christ before thousands of sinners and sufferers as an act, as an obedience to the Great Commission. But more than that, more than I want the counseling center in all its formal capacity to be successful, I want every member in this church to be faithfully walking in this speaking the truth in love to one another ministry in a healthy way that we would all be built up into Christ, into the head, that we would be sanctified in truth, and that we would be conformed to the image of Christ. And I believe that He will do it. And I pray that our corporate gatherings, and our city groups, and our fellowship times, and our men's workdays, and our mom's playdates, and our lunch breaks at work, and all the things that we do, I pray that they would be marked by Christ-centered instruction to one another. That we would be confident that we can go to any brother or sister with an issue, with a problem, and receive wise counsel, and that we would be confident that we have the ability, because of the power of the Holy Spirit working through the Word, not because we're experts, but because we have the Counselor within us, that we can speak the truth in love and help each other for eternity. Now, let me give a caution. This is not only for extroverts. Okay? It's not only for extroverts. Let me just say, those are not biblical categories. We know that, right? Those terms were coined by a secular psychologist around a hundred years ago. So let's be careful not to allow secular man to identify us at the sake of obeying Christ. You know, if anybody's not an extrovert, it's me. Right? My idea of joy and happiness is send me up to eastern Kentucky somewhere in a cabin, give me my Bible, take my phone, and come back and get me in about two weeks, and that will make me happy. But that is not what Jesus calls me to. He calls me to speak the truth and love to my brother. And you say, well, obeying Jesus, is this really about obeying Jesus? And I would say yes. And I say that because of the 59 one another commands in the New Testament. We talk about those regularly, that Jesus gives us at least 59 one another commands that teach the church how to function in love toward one another. And I went through those, and at least 10 of them, we did this at the men's internship, the last internship meeting we had, at least 10 of them cannot even be obeyed unless we speak. So at least 10 of the 59 of Jesus' one another commands cannot even be obeyed unless we speak. So let me just rattle these off for you. Instruct one another. Romans 15, 14. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Ephesians 5.19. Teach and admonish one another. Colossians 3.16. Encourage each other. 1 Thessalonians 4.18. Encourage each other and build each other up. 1 Thessalonians 5.11. Exhort one another daily. Hebrews 3.13. Stir up one another to love and good works. Hebrews 10.24. encouraging one another all the more as you see the day drawing near." Hebrews 10.25. Confess your sins to one another. James 5.16. Pray for one another. James 5.16. And many of the others imply a type of truth speaking when it is necessary and when called for. So guys, there is a lot at stake in whether or not we lay hold of this and walk in it. Again, I think MacArthur is helpful. He speaks of the necessity of biblical counseling in the church. And this is very sobering. Especially when you consider that Pastor MacArthur doesn't speak like this very often. But he says, I am convinced that far more is at stake than the average Christian realizes. If evangelicals do not rediscover biblical counseling and reinstate God's Word to its rightful place as the supreme discerner and mender of thoughts and intents of the heart, we will lose our testimony to the world. And the church itself will die. These matters are critical. Why? Why is this so serious? Because if Christians in the church do not counsel each other with God's wisdom, the world will counsel the church with its wisdom. And the world's wisdom is almost always opposed to God's rule and reign. You know, everybody looks at the American church and says, where's the conviction? Where is the authenticity? Where is the demonstration of the Spirit and power? And we could say a lot of things, but I think one reason it's lacking is that because so many churches have tried to live in God's world, the world's way, with the world's tools. And we wonder, Why? We're watching a culture self-destruct right before our eyes. I mean, guys, we don't even comprehend how much secular humanism in the form of secular psychology has infiltrated the church and we don't even realize it. We don't even know it. It's permeated people and it's thinking. You know, we often talk about how 2020 was this tragic time, right? You've heard this. And we just really need to stop saying that. As if the church was just going full head of steam, fully unified, fully healthy, full of power. And then 2020 and all its events happen and we just unraveled. That's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. I agree that it exposed a lot of things. It clarified a lot of things. But 2020 is not the time when the church just fell apart. This has been a slow leak since Sigmund Freud rose up in the 19th century. And the church allowed him to discredit the pastor as counselor. And discredit the Scriptures as being sufficient to deal with the problems of the soul. And not only that, but it embraced his teachings that were built not on the foundations of God's truth. Not even close. But on the ideas of evolutionary theory and Darwinism. And it embraced them. And welcomed it into the church. And we wonder. Guys, we wonder why we see the things we see today, and we shouldn't really be shocked. We wonder when we see churches in their membership meetings, not talking about the biblical commands for church membership, but doing the Enneagram and personality tests. And we wonder how we get to the point where we offer online church to people who just don't feel comfortable around others. And we wonder how we swerve so far from what is given to us in the New Testament. It's because this leaven has permeated the church for over 100 years. But God has given us His sufficient Word. And He calls His people to think about ourselves. To think about life. To think about His world the way that He thinks about it. and then to teach that, to instruct one another in that revelation. And whether we call that biblical counseling, or euthetic counseling, or soul care, or one another ministry, it matters not what we call it. What matters is that we lay hold of it and step in to it. Now, as I said earlier, while all Christians are called to speak the truth in love to one another, there is a kind of counselor that God has called that He does not necessarily call every Christian to be. And there is a kind of counseling that God has gifted and equipped people to walk in, in His church. And I want to just speak about that for a moment, because what I want to make clear is that when we talk about biblical counseling, again, there is a distinction between the commands that we all must obey as Christians and the set-apart sort of gift as a teacher that God calls some people to be. So let me just unpack that for a little bit. There is biblical warrant, although there's no term, counselor, in the Bible in terms of a gift. The Bible uses the term teacher. And it speaks of a gift of teachings. Romans 12.6-7 says, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them. If prophecy in proportion to our faith. If service in our serving. The one who teaches in His teaching. James 3.1, not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness." So these counselors are to walk in this teaching ministry. They're to be able to, as Paul says to Timothy, rightly handle the Word of Truth. They're to have a sufficient understanding of the Word of God. They're to be exemplary with their lifestyles. They're to have a peculiar ability to discern people's problems, to listen, and to discern the root of those problems, and to reinterpret those problems, and to give solutions from the Word of God. To walk people who are struggling in sin and through suffering, to walk them toward maturity. and to walk them back into the healthy place in the local church. And as you can imagine, this is somewhat authoritative. Just by means of the ministry itself, it's going to be authoritative. Which is why we would not want women to counsel men in this type of formal biblical counseling ministry that would not be necessarily necessary for the one another ministry that I talked about a minute ago. So there is a type of one another speaking in a place like Citigroup that is different, although sort of the same, it's different than this counseling ministry whereby God would raise up someone to operate in this teaching setting. These counselors should not be brand new converts. They should demonstrate a level of maturity in the faith. They should be able to be looked at and exemplified and followed toward maturity. And when done well, this type of counseling ministry operates under the head of the local church. It doesn't exist out here on its own. It's not like, well, do I want this type of counseling? No, biblical counseling. That's not what it is. It's operating under the church. Under the authority of its pastors and leaders. And so I've been asking the Lord consistently to raise up these formal counselors and teachers for the sake of the health of the body, but also for the sake of reaching this city with the Gospel. And I believe that this is this church's niche. I have been amazed at how many people come to us, they pray to prayer, they've got some concept of Christianity, but they're not believers. and how many people have come to us struggling with certain difficulties, certain sins, and we're able to help them and put the Word before them. Walking people through the most difficult things you could think of. Not because we're experts, but because this book is sufficient for all things pertaining to life and godliness. And because the power, the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit works through this Word. to help people, to change people, to save people, to set people free from sin and destruction, and to get them back on the path of wisdom. And we want to do this free of charge. putting the Gospel before the lost and before struggling Christians in this city, so that we can follow Jesus' ministry, as it says in 1 John 3.8, that the Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the evil one. That's what biblical counseling does. It destroys the works of the evil one. It frees people from oppression. It breaks the chains of sin. And it enables people to walk in a way that would honor God. So you may be asking, well, how do I know if God's calling me to that? I mean, I haven't been to school. I'm not trained. I don't know the first thing about psychology or the brain or therapy. Don't you need to go to school for that? Don't you need a degree? Don't you need this, that, and the other? And again, don't let the term counseling trip you up. You're thinking in wrong terms if you're thinking that way. This is a ministry of the Word of God carried out by the Spirit of God. This is a ministry of the Word of God carried out by the Spirit of God. So let me, in conclusion here, lay before you a few questions to ponder that may cause some reflections in consideration. They'll be up on the screen as well. These are just maybe some helpful things that may just get a conversation started or cause you to begin to think and pray. But do you have a track record of helping people deal with their problems biblically? And do people other than yourself acknowledge that? Do you see that pattern in your life that you have the ability, you have in your past shared the Word of God with people, and they've been helped? and others recognize that you have that gift. And again, we should all be walking in this to some degree, but is it peculiar? Is it maybe above and beyond? Number two, do others purposefully come to you and seek you out for biblical wisdom because they are confident that you will give it to them? Are you one that people when dealing with specific sins, specific struggles, specific darknesses, they come to you? Because they are confident in you. Do you have an unusual compassion for those who are struggling with sin or suffering under the effects of sin? And do you want to see them freed and helped and blessed? To walk in a place of health? to be free from the chains of sin, to think rightly about suffering, to overcome the turmoil and the trials of life to the obedience of Christ. Do you have compassion? And do you want to help those types of people? Do you pray for God to give you opportunities to share the Gospel? And do you desire, are you eager to put the Word of Christ before others despite their situation? Is this a longing that you have in your soul? And lastly, do you believe that the Word of God is sufficient to deal with all things regarding how to be saved and how to honor God in this life? Do you believe that the Bible itself speaks to the matters of the soul? Speaks to the matters of the inner man? And has the answers? to help brothers and sisters in Christ, and to help lost people know Christ, that they would be obedient to the faith. We could talk about many more, but I would just encourage you to take some time and to pray into this, if so. And think about this. Ask the Lord to guide you and clarify whether He may be leading you to get trained in this ministry. That you could faithfully put the Word of God before people, and I would love to have a conversation with you. And if not, praise God. He has given gifts to each one according to His gracious will. And so let us use those gifts to build up the body of Christ, to edify one another. Let's lay hold of this truth-speaking ministry to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Let's grow in the knowledge of Christ that we, like the church at Rome, would be able who instruct one another in wisdom. And may God continue to grow this church in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ for His glory. Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we just submit this time to You and we pray, Lord, that You would clarify, that You would make clear Your will And Lord, we pray that this church would grow in this ministry. Lord, that we would be confidently and boldly and wisely and lovingly building one another up in truth, speaking the truth in love, that we as a church would be built up into Christ Who is the Head. And we pray that it would be all for the glory and honor of Your Son. And Lord, I pray that You would raise up some to operate in this formal counseling ministry. And I ask that this church could put the Word of Christ before thousands and that we could see thousands of people helped and saved for the glory of Christ in this city. And I pray it all in Jesus' name, Amen.