Bible Study and Counseling
Counseling sounds like something the professionals do, but how should a Christian think about the relationship between their daily Bible reading and how it is equipping them to counsel those in their life?
Right now, our church and others are doing what is called the Bible Reading Challenge. The purpose of this program is to help people get into the habit of reading their Bibles regularly and in large chunks. The point of this is that we believe that Christians should be focused and centered on God and his kingdom rather than focused on whatever task is sitting in front of them and screaming for their attention.
One of the things we notice, as we read, is that God is very much into blessing his people with joy as they live in their various situations. The Gospel is all about this blessing: Jesus died on the cross to make a living relationship with the father possible. As a result of the gift of the Gospel Christians love God and as Jesus said over and over again (check out John 14 and 15), if you love me you will keep my commandments. First among these was to love one another.
It is as we love one another that we begin to notice how others are doing around us. And as we notice these folks, we notice what is going on in their lives and how they are living out their salvation with God. So, if for example, they notice that their brother in Christ is struggling with anger, they might remember from their Bible reading that God is not pleased with anger (Eph. 4:31) and want to help. Then they remember that Matthew 7:5 and Galatians 6:1 tells them how to help someone caught in a sin and so they make sure they aren’t sinning themselves and then they gently go to their friend and in an effort to restore their friend to fellowship with God, they love them.
Bible reading is primarily meant for us to commune with God. We want to know God, we want to learn about our relationship with God, and to fellowship with God as he changes us into Jesus’ image. Then, when we put the book down, we go out and live out what we’ve read. Applying what we’ve learned in our own lives, but not doing it because we are trying to earn God’s favor, but we because we already have his pleasure and want to reflect that relationship back to him and to others.
The counseling comes in when we have met with God we interact with one another. Other words for counseling include: encourage, comfort, edify, exhort, build up, teach, bear with, even warn, rebuke, and chastise (depending on the context). Romans 15:14 says, “Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.” This means that as Christians study the word of God, God uses his word to transform us and that transformation is given to us to help others in their transformation.
Bible study is never alone. It is never, me and my Bible. Or me and God. Bible study is always about meeting with God, being transformed by God, and then taking it on the road as we interact with others. Bible study is meant to help us love one another as Christ loves us.