COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, THEOLOGY, HUMANITIES AND

EDUCATION

INSTITUTE OF THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES

STUDENT DETAILS: Nelly Okongo 170753

COURSE TITLE: PASTORAL CARE IN THE PARISH
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Chadzadi Ndlovu
QUESTION: Discuss the use of the Bible in pastoral counselling in the Parish. In your

presentation, also show clearly how you use the authority of scripture to address the issue of

guilt among your counselees. (100%)

Due date: 27 September 2023.

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In this world full of up and down, a lot of people are living in questionable live that they seek

for ways in which they could come out of these situations, among which lives full of guilt

become an issue that need attention. However the church is in the world to represent Christ

and help His people come out of their challenges, by the authority of scripture from which

today we have Biblical counselling to be offered to the society. The Biblical Counselling

makes it foundation in the Bible. Thus to say when people face different challenges in life the

Biblical counsellor uses the Bible as mean to help people come out of their situations such as

guilt of sin, and the Bible says when God forgives He forgets, the counsellors are there now to

help the counselee reason in that line to forget their wrongs they have done which make them

guilt or that they are affected from the wrong doing of others. Therefore, the aim of this paper

is to discuss why we should have the Bible in pastoral counselling in the Parish. Along way

the presentation of this paper, I will be showing how one can use the authority of scripture to

address the issue of guilt among your counselees. However, the definition of the key words in

the topic will open the discussion followed by the development and conclusion.

The Bible is a holy book that is filled with God's word. The Holy Bible reveals that God never

ceases to love His children throughout its pages. It is a collection of holy texts that were

composed by prophets and historians from antiquity. Over 4,000 years of interactions between

God and His people were chronicled by these writers. What we now refer to as the Holy Bible

was written by them and was inspired. The Bible also teach that God's Son, Jesus Christ, came

to earth to deliver us from a number of things, including sin, sadness, isolation, and pain.

Jesus worked many miracles while He was on earth and taught lovely lessons about giving

and love. We can read about these events in the Bible and learn how Jesus can help us

overcome challenges. It exists to assist individuals in knowing who God is, learning from

wonderful people who have loved Him, and better comprehending how He wants us to live.

(Reserve, 2021)

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When it comes to the therapeutic process, pastoral counselling is a professional practice that

incorporates both psychological and theological themes into its framework, is similar to other

forms of therapy. The manner that the approach incorporates theology, spirituality, and faith

makes it unique. The infusion of spiritual support and exploration, according to pastoral

counsellors, can encourage wholeness, healing, and progress in persons who are seeking

assistance. Pastoral counsellors support people on their path to transcendence, change, and

better connection to others by using tools including prayer, scriptures, and involvement in the

congregation community in addition to psychotherapy. (Pastoral Counselling, 2021)

Local church community known as a parish has one main church and one pastor. Parish

members do more than just attend church. On Sunday mornings, they plan social gatherings,

community events. The pastoral care of a parish is given to a pastor who serves as its own

shepherd under the supervision of the bishop. A parish is a specific community of the

Christian faithful that has been created on a stable basis inside a particular Church. (Saunders,

20215)

According to 2 Timothy 3:16 all Scripture is breathed out by God, and is profitable for

teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. The source of the Bible

is revealed in this passage: it is from God. God speaks when we encounter Him in His written

Word, and He communicates, and understanding what He says is crucial for everyone.

Through trust in Jesus Christ, His Word gives us everything we need to know Him correctly

and to live a life that pleases Him. Biblical counsellors work hard to encourage their clients or

counselees to embrace such truth so that their lives may ultimately bring glory to God.

However, there are different uses of the scripture or the Bible in counselling among which

this paper present four. (Bagby, 1997)

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Firstly, as stated in the first verse, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for

teaching." The entire scope of realities concerning God, humans, sin and its repercussions,

and the hope that is found in Jesus Christ are revealed in the Bible. Scripture describes God's

attributes of love, grace, and character as well as the enduring joy that comes from following

Jesus through life's challenges while His followers wait for His return. All of what God's

Word says is accurate and authoritative, thus it should be accepted, treasured, and obeyed.

Scripture provides people with an accurate and comprehensive foundation for correctly

comprehending all aspects of human life before God, even in areas that are not directly

addressed. Biblical counsellors train their counselees using God's Word so that they might

know and trust what is true in a world that is rife with conflicting truth claims and alternative

narratives for interpreting our lives. (Formoso, 2023)

Secondly, the Bible is helpful for revealing false views in one's life because it is all inspired

by God and beneficial for reproof. God shows areas in our life where we have held false

beliefs about Him, about ourselves, and about how the gospel hope is applied to our lives for

salvation and sanctification when we study and meditate on Scripture. In 2 Timothy 3:16,

Paul refers to the employment of Scripture "for reproof," and he is referring to the process of

someone being persecuted for holding untrue views in order to have those beliefs align with

the truth. Biblical counsellors use Scripture to encourage their counselees through loving and

gentle reprimand in order to help them repent of believing what is untrue and accept what is

true about God and His gospel. This is done in reaction to the trap of erroneously held beliefs

in one's life. (Bagby, 1997)

Thirdly, the Bible is helpful in addressing the sin in our life since it was inspired by God and

is effective for correction. While the previous goal dealt with false beliefs that we hold in our

inner person, "to correct" refers to addressing and changing bad behaviour that is displayed in

one's life on the outside. In this sense, reproof and correction are complementary applications
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of Scripture: while God exposes false views in our life through His Word, He also addresses

the sin that is the outward manifestation of those false beliefs. Biblical counsellors want to use

Scripture in this way as well, not only to save their clients from false beliefs but also to show

how our deeds are a reflection of our actual intentions. (Formoso, 2023)

Fourthly and last point, the Bible is helpful for training in virtuous life, all Scripture is

breathed out by God and is profitable for training in righteousness. Each of the other three

comes after this goal of Scripture. God challenges us with our sin, teaches us what is true, and

reveals our false views through His Word. But the relevance of the Bible doesn't end there; it

also speaks to the pursuit of godliness and a transformed life in addition to expanding one

understands of God. In order for us to learn to obey what He has instructed, God utilizes His

Word to train us and show us what it is like to live for Jesus on a daily basis (Matt. 28:20).

Biblical counsellors assist their clients in moving toward the goal of being more like Christ so

that they not only know what is true but that their lives also reflect this truth despite the

temptation toward passivity or apathy. (Goodwin, 2019)

The combination of these four functions of the Bible leads to the desired outcome: All

Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and

training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good

work (2 Timothy 3:16–17, emphasis added). God's Word is intended to be effective in

producing godliness and maturity in the lives of those we counsel, as well as a developing

capacity for ministry in our own lives. Those we advise will one day counsel, disciple, or care

for others, with God's grace and help. This outcome is consistent with what Paul himself

wrote to Timothy earlier in the letter: What you have heard from me...entrust to faithful men,

who will be able to teach others as well (2:2). In order for those we counsel to produce fruit

that results in additional disciple-making and for the glory of God, God communicates via His

Word to instruct, rebuke, confront, and train. (The Goals of Biblical Counseling, 2022)
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Everyone make mistake, undependable of who are the Bible clearly state that we all have

sinned and are short of God’s glory. God has the answer available, regardless of how one

ended themself in their predicament or how long they have carried that agonizing burden of

guilt. Because, as stated in John 3:17, "God did not send His Son into the world to condemn

the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. God doesn't want to condemn you;

He wants to forgive you of your sins, keep you from sinning, and bring you to salvation

through His Son, Jesus. (The Goals of Biblical Counseling, 2022)Thus to say the Biblical

counsellors can use the scripture to save the person suffering of guilt than to condemn them.

However most Biblical counsellors have the tendency of using the Scripture to condemn the

person in guilt, one may say why and how could you have than that you as a child of God

don’t you know that the Bible say so and so, I am disappointed in you, whilst they pass the

judgement they forgot that even they are or they were guilt at some point in life and it’s the

unconditional love and grace of God through His word they managed to come out of the

situation.

Nevertheless, on my side I would use the authority of scripture in different ways to deal with

the issue of guilt among my counselees. One of the first steps would be to listen attentively to

the counselee in order to be able to draw a line what could be the cause of one’s guilt and

what are the appropriate verses that can help the person. For example if the situation of guilt

is as a result of sin then after hearing the counselee, I would check the level of believe of the

counselee does he/she believe in redemption and the forgiveness of sin. I yes then I would tell

the person in order for us to become the righteousness of God in Him, He made Him who

knew no sin to be sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). (Formoso, 2023) Along with dying for your

sins, Jesus also took them upon Himself in order to grant you His righteousness His rightful

place before God. According to the depths of His grace, in Him we have redemption through

His blood, the forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7). You get pardon and redemption as a free

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gift through the atoning death of Christ. According to 1 John 1:9, the Bible says if we confess

our sins, He is faithful and righteous to pardon our transgressions and to purify us from all

unrighteousness. All you have to do is express your regret and tell God where you went

wrong; He will take care of the rest, wash it away, and create a new you. Therefore, those

who are in Christ Jesus and who walk in the Spirit rather than the flesh are no longer under

condemnation (Romans 8:1). (Bagby, 1997) You won't have to be concerned about the

judgement if you follow Jesus and remain committed to Him; your guilt has been erased.

According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old

things have passed away; behold all things have become new. God gives you a brand-new

life a new heart that will assist prevent you from sinning again in addition to washing away all

of your sins through the blood of the Lamb. This way clearly demonstrates the authority of the

Scripture in dealing with the issue of guilt in the life of counselees.

Having said that, this paper can be concluded that Biblical counsellors are called to lead

people help them to experience transformation that results in new life, reconciling them to

God through Jesus Christ knowing that they are Christ’s ambassadors, and He is making His

appeal through the pastor to a lost and needy world. The entire Bible is inspired by God and

useful for teaching righteousness. God challenges us with our sin, teaches us what is true, and

reveals our false views through His Word. But the relevance of the Bible doesn't end there; it

also speaks to the pursuit of godliness and a transformed life in addition to expanding a

person understanding of God. In order for us to learn to obey what He has instructed, God

utilizes His Word to train us and show us what it is like to live for Jesus on a daily basis. As a

Biblical counsellor I would assist my counselees in moving toward the goal of being more

like Christ in the face of the temptation to be passive or apathetic so that they will not only

know what is true but that their actions will also demonstrate this truth. And before

concluding the counselling I will make sure the counselee is involved in a local church.

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Bibliography
Bagby, D. G. (1997, December). Pastoral Counseling in a Parish Context. Consulté le September 18,
2023, sur Sages Journals:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/003463739709400407?journalCode=raeb

Formoso, T. (2023, July 13). Church Membership and Biblical Counseling . Consulté le September 15,
2023, sur Association of Certified Bibblica Counselors:
https://biblicalcounseling.com/resource-library/articles/church-membership-biblical-
counseling/

Goodwin, B. (2019, July 12). Four Purposes of Scripture When Counseling Others. Consulté le
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Pastoral Counselling. (2021, Febuary 17). Consulté le September 19, 2023, sur GoodTherapy:
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Saunders, W. (20215). What is a Parish. Consulté le Septemer 19, 2023, sur Diocese of Superior:
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The Goals of Biblical Counseling. (2022). Consulté le September 20, 2023, sur Biblical Counseling
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