III. The Presuppositions as They Relate to the COUNSEL GIVEN
Jay E. Adams, A Theology of Christian Counseling: More Than Redemption, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979), pp. xiii-xiv.
B. We must possess a conviction concerning the reality, function, and indispensability of GENERAL REVELATION AND COMMON GRACE in Pastoral Counseling.
Everett F. Harrison, Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1973), p. 131.
Thomas Brooks, The Works of Thomas Brooks, vol. 3, (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1980), p. 296.
C. We must possess a conviction respecting the difference between AUTHORITATIVE COUNSEL based on the Word of God and general revelation, and wise PERSONAL ADVICE based upon a combination of other factors.
London Baptist Confession of Faith – Chapter 21, paragraph 2: “God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in any thing contrary to his word, or not contained in it. So that to believe such doctrines, or obey such commands out of conscience, is to betray true liberty of conscience; and the requiring of an implicit faith, an absolute and blind obedience, is to destroy liberty of conscience and reason also. (Jas. 4:12; Rom. 14:4; Acts 4:19, 29; 1 Cor. 7:23; Mt. 15:9; Col. 2:20, 22, 23; 1Cor. 3:5; 2 Cor. 1:24)”
Prov. 12:15
Letter from Pastor Achille Blaize
IV. The Overarching Presupposition: We must have a biblically based and constantly active conviction regarding the PLACE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT’S MINISTRY in effective Pastoral Counseling.
A. The necessity of the Spirit’s ministry
Edward. J. Young, The Book of Isaiah, vol. 1, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1968), p. 382.
C. The sovereignty of the Spirit’s ministry