SERMON: “Competent to Counsel One Another” (Rom. 15:14)
“Competent
to Counsel One Another”
(Rom. 15:14)
Series: “Together in Discipleship” #4 Text: Romans 15:14
By: Shaun Marksbury Date: August
17, 2025
Venue: Living Water Baptist Church Occasion: AM Service
I.
Introduction
As we continue our series “Together in Discipleship,” we've
been exploring how we grow together as followers of Christ.
One of the things that the church must have to properly bear
burdens together is counseling. It’s sad
that people don’t always think about this, but historically, the church used to
be that refuge. For instance, the
Puritans wrote extensively on what we now label as mental or emotional issues,
drawing from Scripture to address the soul’s needs.
Yet, in the mid-nineteenth century, a shift occurred. Society began placing trust in secular
science to answer all life’s questions, including those of the mind and heart. From Sigmond Freud to Skinner and beyond, a
whole field developed called “psychology,” from the Greek word psuche for
“soul.” This field claimed scientific “expertise”
in areas the church had long addressed. The
broader church, seeing some good observations in secular psychology, responded
by attempting to integrate it into Christian counseling.
Yet, by the late 1960s, though, some discerning Christians
noticed that this integration often subordinated biblical truth to unbiblical
philosophies. So, they called the church
back to the Bible. For instance, Dr. Jay
Adams spearheaded the return to biblical counseling. He urged pastors — who were increasingly
outsourcing counseling to secular professionals — to reclaim their pastoral role
in soul care.
Adams originally called biblical counseling “nouthetic
counseling.” He was drawing from the Greek word noutheteo, meaning “to
admonish” or “to confront” the mind in a friendly, instructive way. He and others emphasized that the Bible, as
God's Word, is fully sufficient to address all human needs. Their counseling prioritizes biblical
solutions over prolonged therapy, relying on the Holy Spirit to empower change
in the counselee.
By the 1980s, the biblical counseling movement was
distinctive from other methods of Christian counseling. It was represented in three key
organizations: the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (now the
Association of Certified Biblical Counselors, or ACBC), the Biblical Counseling
Foundation (BCF), and the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation
(CCEF).[1] While these groups vary in their openness to
psychological insights, they all uphold Scripture as the foundation for
counseling. At Living Water Baptist
Church, we've drawn from resources across these strands.
We affirm the divine Word of our Creator as sufficient. So did the Apostle Paul; he expresses
confidence in the Roman church’s ability to “admonish” (noutheteo) one
another. Christians in the church can confront
sin, encourage repentance, and renew their minds through God’s Word.
We believe that every believer, empowered by the Spirit and
Scripture, is competent to counsel (admonish) others biblically; we need not fear
inadequacy. We’ll see today that we can
be filled with goodness and knowledge (Rom. 15:14a), can be able to admonish
one another (Rom. 15:14b), and can bear burdens together though counseling (Gal.
6:1–2). Let’s be encouraged together:
II.
First, We Can Be Filled with Goodness and
Knowledge (Rom. 15:14a)
And concerning
you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of
goodness, filled with all knowledge…
This is obviously toward the end of the letter, as Paul
turns more personal, meaning that these are words he wants to leave them
pondering. Paul starts this verse to the
Romans by encouraging them. He addresses
them warmly as “my brethren,” and speaks of his confidence in them. Paul said at the beginning of the letter that
he had reports of their faith (1:8), so he trusts the work of God among them. Now, he wants to assure them about their maturity.
He declares that they are “full of goodness.” This term refers to moral excellence,
generosity, and uprightness of heart. It’s
not a human trait that arises naturally from the flesh, as it is tainted by
sin. Rather, it’s the fruit of the
Spirit's work in believers.
Paul echoes this in a passage we have recently
considered. In Galatians 5:22–23, we
read that the fruit of the Spirit includes goodness, and it’s the same word. This means that the goodness of Roman
Christians came from the indwelling Holy Spirit, who transforms every believe as
we abide in Christ. Those who once
struggled with fleshly failings can testify to how the Lord has filled them
with this goodness, enabling them to live righteously.
Paul doesn't stop there; he adds that they are “filled with
all knowledge.” Now, don’t think that
this is referring to having a head full of encyclopedic facts or even mystical
insights. Rather, this is something that
all Christians can have: a thorough understanding of God’s Word and
understanding in how to apply it. This
means knowing the truth about salvation, sanctification, and Christian doctrine,
equipping them for every good work.
Again, this is something every Christian in here can have
and might already have without knowing it.
To understand this, consider how 2 Timothy 3:16–17 describes
Scripture. We read there, “All Scripture
is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped
for every good work.” In other word, Paul
says that Scripture is complete and sufficient for our lives.
Let’s break down each part of that. First, he says it’s “inspired by God”
(literally “God-breathed”), meaning that it comes from our Creator. Second, he lists four uses for Scripture — teaching
(doctrine), reproof (convicting sin), correction (setting right), and training
in righteousness; these mirror the elements of nouthetic counseling:
instructing in truth, confronting error, restoring behavior, and building godly
habits. In other words, the Bible is the
best text from which we can address the problems of our mind and heart.
Paul wrote those words to Timothy, a young pastor in Ephesus
who struggled with a timid nature. This
would encourage him that he has all he needed to fulfill his ministry. Consider the word "adequate" — it
means “complete” or “fully equipped,” like a ship ready for voyage. This was true for him, and it’s true for all
those who wish to serve the Lord.
Sadly, Christians affirm this doctrine without practicing
it. In counseling, for instance, some
pastors send people to secular psychology first rather than Scripture. But Paul's words challenge us: Those filled
with goodness (empowerment through the Spirit) and knowledge (capability in the
inspired Word) can engage in burden-bearing confidently. We are all adequate with Scripture; we don't
need extra-biblical tools or secular therapies to address soul issues;
Scripture equips us fully.
In our care groups, for example, a leader might find someone
struggling with anxiety. So, he may
gentle reprove him using Philippians 4:6-7: “Be anxious for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known to God. And the peace of God,
which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus.” He might then help him
think through the reasons for his anxiety so he can think more biblically about
them. This isn't professional therapy;
it’s Spirit-empowered, Word-centered counsel.
We only need to be full of the Spirit and the Word. I’m not saying that there aren’t more
difficult cases, but care groups can help identify them and escalate them, if
need be. The point here is to see that
the Holy Spirit empowers everyday members to counsel biblically and to help foster
a church where discipleship happens organically. In other words, we can all mutually edify one
another. If this isn't clear yet, let's
move to the rest of the verse.
III.
Second, We Can Be Able to Admonish One Another
(Rom. 15:14b)
…and able also to
admonish one another.
Paul is building on what he’s already said. The key word here is “admonish” (noutheteo),
which carries the nuance of instructing, warning, or confronting in a loving,
mind-engaging way. We might wrongly
think about it as a harsh rebuke; instead, it’s loving, brotherly counsel aimed
at renewal. As Jay Adams explains in Competent
to Counsel, this term encapsulates the Christian’s role in confronting sin
and encouraging change through the Holy Spirit's power. Paul ties this ability directly to the
goodness and knowledge he just mentioned — they enable effective admonition.
Look at the mutuality in this verse: “one another.” Counseling isn't reserved for experts, or even
pastors; it's a communal ministry. Paul illustrates
this in Colossians 3:16, saying, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within
you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” There, we see that it’s not always counseling
that takes place in a formal setting — it may even include uplifting music,
depending on the situation. Yet, it also
includes “teaching and admonishing” paralleling giving instruction from the
Word and giving admonishment. These Scripture-saturated
lives lead to mutual counsel, with every member contributes to the body’s
growth.
Again, admonition isn’t harsh, and it must include patient
encouragement. This is in 1
Thessalonians 5:14: “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the
fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” Paul uses noutheteō here, too, for “admonish
the unruly” (those disorderly or idle).
Yet, he tailors care in this verse: encouraging the timid with hope,
supporting the struggling with strength, and doing everything (including
admonishment) with all with patience. We
are to admonish in the way that God does, and He is longsuffering toward our
sin.
When we looked at Galatians 6:1, we saw that we had to
confront with gentleness. In Ephesians
4:16, we see that the goal is to protect the body’s unity. And, in Galatians 6:10, we see that we are
all part of the “household of faith.” We
can be united through our conformity to Scripture by renewing our minds; as Romans
12:2 says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that
which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Any counsel we give one another should reflect God’s opinions rather
than our own, His kindness, His patience, and His love for His people.
This means you, as individuals transformed by His grace, can
work through vehicles like our care groups to address issues like
discouragement in the body. Even
children can even learn this alongside the rest of us in worship, learning
Scripture's sufficiency. Kids might
overhear struggles with their friends that adults never do, and they can apply
Bible truths to admonish friends lovingly.
This is how discipleship happens in the church; in fact, discipleship
may be a less intimidating word for you than counseling, but we’re talking
about the same thing!
I hope you’re seeing how applying the Bible this way
strengthens our church. Now, I know there’s
more we could say about biblical counseling, but I want to consider how this
can be applied to our series of discipling together. It confronts sin gently, restores unity, and
fulfills our call to love. This empowers
us all — no one is sidelined. To
understand this a bit more before closing, let’s tie this back to the beginning
with familiar verses.
IV.
Third, We Can Bear Burdens Together though
Counseling (Gal. 6:1–2)
Brethren, even if
anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in
a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not
be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens,
and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.
Biblical counseling is integral to discipleship. We saw it in these commands, which we
discussed a couple weeks ago. Remember
that Paul urges Spirit-led living here (v. 1) as well as self-examination (v. 3–5).
This can only be done prayerfully in
comparison to the Scripture that makes us adequate or complete for the task.
Paul then talks about restoration, the ultimate goal of any
counseling. This is connected to that
command to “bear one another’s burdens.”
We’re helping each other with heavy loads like sin, trials, or emotional
weights. We’re striving to help and to
restore — this is the goal of godly counseling as well as Christian
discipleship.
In doing this, we’re fulfilling “the law of Christ,” which refers
to the law of love He commanded of us (5:14; cf. John 13:34). There is nothing more loving that applying
God’s Word to God’s people in God’s way.
Biblical counseling fulfills this love, upholding Scripture’s
sufficiency while avoiding secular methods that undermine it. It confronts root issues (sin, unbelief) with
gospel hope, not the symptoms alone.
Parents and children’s workers will also find that they are
better able to handle behavioral issues biblically. Instead of focusing on a simple discipline
system for bad behavior, or medicating children into submission, adults can
help kids think through why they are doing wrong from a biblical
perspective. That way, as one good book
title says, we can be Shepherding a Child’s Heart. This way, adults in our congregation are modeling
the Christian life and admonishing children lovingly, and our children may even
be discipled in the basic ideas of biblical conflict resolution. This will help them when they are by
themselves, and they will grow in their faith in God and the sufficiency of His
Word.
We’re also working toward education for several men to be
able to work through issues theologically, something that will prepare them for
potential future leadership positions. This
includes pursuing certification for certain individuals to counsel the hard
cases through ACBC and similar trainings for both men and women. We’ll also hold periodic training days for
anyone interested, and we’ll recommend and offer resources that will help keep
everyone sharp. Those who need
counseling can feel safe talking to their care group leaders and, if need be,
those leaders can escalate the counseling to a pastor or another individual.
This will ultimately make our church stronger. We want everyone equipped, not just the
pastors. As Colin Marshall and Tony
Payne recommend in their book, The Trellis and the Vine, we are
duplicating ministry and discipling together.
As such, we’re striving to better fulfill the Great Commission (Matt.
28:19–20): We’re making disciples who make disciples!
Counseling God’s way will help us get there. Let’s strive to live by the Spirit, restoring
the ensnared gently. Let’s bear each other’s burdens in everyday discipleship.
V.
Conclusion
Remember that we can all be competent to counsel. In fact, you probably already are if you’re filled
with goodness and knowledge. That’s why
I’ve been talking to so many of you over the past few weeks about a few next
steps, and there are others here I haven’t talked to yet.
Now, as we get to the end of this, you may still not feel able
to admonish one another. Perhaps you
feel ill-equipped because you’re a new believer or don’t know much Scripture, and
that’s okay, you can learn. Maybe you’ve
been a Christian for a while, but you haven’t considered that there is Scripture-centered
care available for believers, and we can talk about that. This is what discipleship is for, and we can
all grow and learn together.
If you have an interest in contributing in some way to our
care group ministry, let me know.
Continue to reach out to one another, as well. Let's commit to this as a church — growing in
biblical counseling for God's glory and our mutual edification.
May the Lord empower us to disciple together faithfully.
[1] D.
Powlison and J. H. Coe, “Biblical Counseling,” in Baker
Encyclopedia of Psychology & Counseling, ed. David G. Benner and Peter
C. Hill (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999), 134.