During the recent NANC conference, one of the speakers made the comment that over the past few years, he’s conducted a personal experiment of randomly asking professing Christians: “When you get to heaven, who do you look most forward to seeing?”

This is something I’ve thought about as well, based on some previous conversations with people over the years, especially as a pastor. One of the things for us to think about is that when many of us are asked that question of who we want to see when we get to heaven is that many of us immediately think of family and friends who have passed on ahead of us. This is not necessarily bad, but the more I think about it, family and friends, no matter how close they were, should never be our first answer.

The more I think about it, the more I’m becoming convinced that our “off the cuff” answers reveal much about our hearts’ desires. It’s true, after all, that what comes from the mouth is an overflow of the heart (Matthew 15:18). So what does it reveal when our first answer is not that we can’t wait to see Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2)? Consider how Scripture describes Christ (Colossians 1:15-20):

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Hebrews 1:3 says: “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” Jesus Christ is the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:44-47) and “He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men (John 1:2-4).

Without Christ there is no salvation and yet our first thought is often that we’d like to see family. I don’t think it’s that most of us would say that we’d rather see our family than Christ, it’s just that we think of our family before we think of Christ which reveals more than I think we’d like it to.

Our churches need to do a better job at cultivating true spiritual affections and appreciation for Christ. Christ is not an add-on to our sermons, He is not the key to our “better lives,” he is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega (Revelation 22:13) in whom all things hold together. Christ is our treasure, Christ is our hope, our cornerstone, yet we are so easily distracted and we so readily believe that there are other treasures to be had and other foundations upon which we can stand. Though it might seem like a simple question, our answer to “Who do you most want to see when you get to heaven” carries quite a bit of weight with it.

When you get to heaven, who do you most look forward to seeing?

• Read The Incomparable Christ by John Stott
• Read A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards
• Read The Glory of Christ by John Owen

As a Pastor (as a committed Christian for that matter), I see people in a wide variety of situations. Some are doing well, some are not. A lot of my time is spent trying to understand and communicate how the Truths of Scripture and the Gospel in particular relate to people, no matter their situation.

I worry that as Christians, many of us have tried methods of helping people that actually might do more harm than good. In response to people hurting, for whatever reason, it’s not uncommon for us to immediately say “God works in mysterious ways . . . ” While this is certainly true, it might not be what somebody needs to hear in the midst of their hurt. This is a hindsight reflection rather than a present help. Another common approach is the “Memorize three Scriptures and call me next week” attitude. While Scripture is absolutely sufficient and we need to turn there, this approach is often accompanied with an air of insensitivity.

As Christians, quite often, we know the “right” answers from Scripture. But I wonder if we don’t sometimes fail to realize that those “right” answers were the result of the process of the Holy Spirit’s work in that author’s life, through many circumstances, sometimes over a period of years. While forgetting this process, we sometimes try to force the hurting person to the right conclusion before they are ready. In other words, we forget the process that it takes to get to the right conclusion. As Christians, we’re not comfortable with sorrow and hurt. This is not necessarily a bad thing, no one likes to be in the pit of despair, but in our squeamishness, I worry that we sometimes end up short-circuiting the necessary healing process of people emerging from the pit?

It shouldn’t take long, for example, in the Psalms, to find language that makes our modern comfortable sensibilities quite uncomfortable. For example, Psalm 28 opens: “To you, O LORD, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary” (28:1-2). Or consider Psalm 88:

O LORD, God of my salvation;
I cry out day and night before you.
2 Let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry!
Psalms 88:3 For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am a man who has no strength,
5 like one set loose among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
for they are cut off from your hand.
6 You have put me in the depths of the pit,
in the regions dark and deep.
7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah
Psalms 88:8 You have caused my companions to shun me;
you have made me a horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
9 my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O LORD;
I spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Are your wonders known in the darkness,
or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But I, O LORD, cry to you;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 O LORD, why do you cast my soul away?
Why do you hide your face from me?
15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
your dreadful assaults destroy me.
17 They surround me like a flood all day long;
they close in on me together.
18 You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;
my companions have become darkness.

Many of the Psalms are not about the conclusion but about the process of getting to that conclusion, of not understanding God’s ways in the dark night of despair, about crying out to Him in the midst of trials. I worry that in our push toward the “right” answer we are actually robbing God’s people of this process and in the end, leaving many with a shallow faith. After all, as “uncomfortable” as it often truly is, our faith is often most strengthened in the midst of trial. Dross is not melted away in the mild Spring sun, it must be put through the refiner’s fire (Isaiah 48:9-11, etc.). If we are always pushing people to the conclusion without allowing them the process are we in fact short-circuiting the process itself?

Too often, our approach to helping people teaches them that the process of hurting itself is bad, but I’m not sure that Scripture actually supports this claim. Hurting draws into a deeper dependence on God and yet if we simply rush people to the conclusion that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28) without allowing them to reach for His hand in the middle of their trial, are they really going to believe that truth the next time struggles rise up to greet them?

Hurting people need to know that we hurt too and they need to know that God’s people, portrayed for us in God’s Word hurt too. While we still need to point them to the conclusions, we also need to walk alongside them to those conclusions rather than leading them to believe that just by telling them the truth, their hurting should suddenly end. I don’t know about you, but I find it incredibly important that David’s struggles as well as David’s victories are recorded for us in the Psalms. While we can’t leave people in the midst of the struggle, I’m not convinced that we can rush people out of it either.

• Read God’s Prayer Program: Passionately Using the Psalms in Prayer by T.M. Moore

David Powlison was charged with the task of trying to tie everything together. One of the things that we’ve examined throughout these days together is avoiding pitfalls. We must try to avoid the pitfalls and Powlison listed several: not getting lost in endless introspection, do not read another’s motives, don’t think that analysis equates to solution, don’t mistake pietism for the faith that works through love, don’t substitute cognitive rehearsal for the relationship of faith and don’t become formulaic.

The greater part of theology rests in understanding the relationship between different truths. Seeing how they work together is different from understanding separate truths. The greater part of wisdom in ministry is holding in balance, complimentary truths. Error is usually the exaggeration of one truth disconnected from all of the other truths that help that one truth make sense.

We must strive to understand people, having an accurate description of human life: 1) what does a person love (issues of the heart), 2) how does a person live, and 3) what a person faces (their life circumstances). All of these things work together to form a person. But there is also another “package” of truths, not about man but about God who speaks to our self-understanding. All of this is meant to be put into action. There is always a response being called for.

For many people, true biblical counseling will be the first time in years, maybe even ever, that someone really dealt with them as a whole person. We must never underestimate the power of biblical love. The simple act of truly listening to people is often quite powerful. It’s interesting that we must often listen before we can truly speak.

True biblical counseling stands in stark contrast to the methods and understandings of the world. Quite often, the world would have us believe that we are simply passive; we are victims of our genes, our history or other things. Biblical counseling, however, reminds us that we are responsible, culpable creatures. Yes, things might be done to us, but we are nonetheless responsible for our reaction to those things. Hebrews 4 reminds us that the Word of God judges the intentions of the thoughts of our hearts. Curbing or changing external behavior is never enough.

But the question of how we do this practically and powerfully often remains fraught with pitfalls. Martin Luther spoke of a drunken peasant who couldn’t make it home because he kept leading his horse off of one side of the road or another. This is a helpful reminder as so much of what passes for “biblical” counseling is sometimes either nothing more than merely changing behavior or legalism, or both. It’s common that many people are often felt judged by those who claim to trying to help them. We must beware of a false piety. We must not believe the myth that there are no more Pharisees. They might no longer wear robes, but the Pharisaical spirit is still alive and well.

Pietism is certainly a danger. It is living as though the only thing that matters is spiritual life. How often have you met someone who makes you feel as though you are not “spiritual” enough. Chances are, that person is clothed in the robe of false piety rather than true biblical maturity. When we come in contact with those who are truly biblical maturity, we may recognize that we are not where they are in the Christian walk, but we are spurred on to more growth. When we deal with the falsely pious, we feel condemned.

False piety is often accompanied by a formula of actions. At heart, this is nothing more than legalism. We must not only be able to recognize this in others but in ourselves, especially in counseling situations. The bible never falls into mere rote actions. We must instead strive to understand the words, not just repeat them. People live their lives concretely. There are few people who are actually helped by hearing the word “Gospel,” they need the content and the Person. They need Christ and Christ meets many different people in many different ways.

In keeping in line with avoiding pitfalls, we need to realize that not every desire is wrong. This is Buddhism, not Christianity. We all have natural affections. This is not necessarily wrong. What’s wrong is when our natural desires become monsters, they become inordinate affections, cravings and lusts. In asking why we fight and quarrel, James says that it is our desires! We must strive for redeemed affections. These might be the same: we like to eat food, this is not in and of itself bad, but we must be aware of our desires taking over and losing perspective.

In so much of the Christian life, not to mention counseling, we are striving for balance. There’s a reason so many of the competitive reality shows feature feats of balance; it’s because we’re so bad at it. We naturally tend to extremes but Christ will not allow this. For example, while it is certainly wrong to spend an inordinate amount of time and energy seeking to please people other than God, it is also wrong to not care at all aobut other people. We must find the biblical balance.

Through all of this, we must strive to find the way of wisdom that nourishes healthy Christian living: we must foster an accurate self-knowledge, minister God’s timely self-revelation and help people move into both transaction and action. Underneath all of this is the truth that we are whole and holistic creatures. We cannot segment or separate our lives, beliefs or actions.

At the end of the day, we must remember that much of biblical counseling is nothing more than calling others and ourselves to a proper biblical balance. Not just an understanding, but a practice. The Gospel is not just precious truth, it is a call to action. Christ calls us to obedience both in hands and heart; our counseling should do no less.

• Read books by David Powlison

Steve Viars opened the day’s sessions with the topic Reaching For the Hearts in Counseling, focusing on the idea of union with Christ, particularly drawing from Romans 6:1-7:13, 8:1-39. As you might see, there is certainly a theme to the conference of the centrality of Christ, asking how the doctrine of our union with Christ should affect the counseling process. This doesn’t mean simply “dispensing” bible verses, but it does mean avoiding some of the extremes of a merely behavioral model. This also considers that counseling can often fall dangerously close (or into) legalism.

Much of the counseling model is taking the theological truth and having it result in action. Action steps without foundational truth is empty, but foundational truth without action steps is purposeless. We must avoid an essentially passive model. This is often what we might call the “application” section of most sermons. I had one professor say “SO WHAT” about every sermon. What does the theological truth being imparted require of me? What changes ought to result in my life? Viars sought to walk us through this task of making theological truth practical by dealing with the Romans section. Whatever your position on baptism, Romans 6 describes what happens positionally with the believer at the moment of justification.

In Romans 6:1-10, Paul lays out some of the theological truth while, beginning in verse 11, he moves to the action that ought to result because of that truth. While this connection between orthodoxy and orhopraxy is clear throughout Scripture, sadly, it is nearly absent in many of our lives. We have come to believe that we can somehow separate our beliefs from our actions. We see this clearly in Presidential campaigns in which candidates claim that their “religious” beliefs will not affect their policy decisions. The Bible says that this is truth, no faith at all.

Viars shared a counseling story (with permission) of a woman named Jill who suffered from depression. She went to church, had been hospitalized and was on many medications but sought biblical counseling as a “last resort” because her depression had begun to scare her. Viars argued that even here, the doctrine of union with Christ was one of, if not the key consideration. The obvious question becomes: what does the doctrine of union with Christ mean, practically for someone like “Jill” (not her real name).

Viars recounted that as part of her counseling, he asked her to write out a history of her depression. What were some of the key people and factors that had led her to this point. Some of the things she noted were: her parents divorced when she was 7 months old, her biological father rarely spent time with her, her mother remarried and her stepfather sexually abused her while her mother didn’t believer her, her mother signed her over to state care at age 15 while her stepfather continued to molest her, she ended up in a state home when her mother moved away with the stepfather. As horrendous as Jill’s story is, sadly, it is not uncommon. Immediately, the themes of rejection and loneliness arose.

He then asked her to recount some present issues. At this point, her both her biological parents were back in her life but she was devastated that her biological father didn’t give her the attention she so earnestly craved. Rejection and abuse in the past led to craving approval in the present. Again, such situations are sadly common. From all of this, Viars observed that in the entire story, Jill never mentioned Christ, Jill told the story as if she wasn’t there or involved and, simply addressing depression like this as merely “biological” would be irresponsible.

It would not have been appropriate or effective to simply push Jill immediately to Romans 12 and urge her to return good for evil. She was not ready for this truth, though it is certainly true. She needed to hear the theological truths that lead up to that command. Too often, biblical counseling jumps merely to the behavioral aspects without first addressing to the heart. Once again we are confronted with the supremacy, the sufficiency and the centrality of Christ.  There is no Christian life apart from Christ. Christ alone is the source of the true fundamental changes that we so desperately need.

While many of us acknowledge that at some point in the past, Christ saved us, and some point in the future, Christ will bring us home, sadly, we practically leave Christ out of the center of that equation. But what is the center of that equation other than our current struggles, dark though they might be? Christ not only saved us, Christ not only will save us, Christ is save us. We, even now, in the midst of our struggles, if we are believers, are united with Christ! Shouldn’t this have deep, lasting impact, not just on our past, not just on our future, but on our now? Surely He who promised that He would never leave nor forsake meant it!

Jill did not abstract theological truths. Nor did she need commands without the power to fulfill them. Jill needed the hope of Christ for her present, for her now. Jill needed to understand that changed identity that comes only through Christ and adoption through Him and union with Him. She needed to understand what it means to no longer have condemnation, to no longer mine the things of the flesh but of the spirit! Jill needed to understand and apply the practical, real aspects of the Gospel for all of life, including the evil that had been done to her and her response to that evil.

Once we establish the theological truth, we must emphasize the union between heart and hands. We must take specific actions because of our union with Christ. Paul says in verse 11 that because of our union with Christ, we can consider ourselves dead to sin! What an overwhelming, empowering truth that we all need to hear and apply! For Jill, this meant dealing with the “idol of approval.” What does it mean for you?

We must learn to not just fight but hate sin because we have been washed in the blood of the Lamb! We stand washed in the imputed righteousness of Christ. Surely this has practically implications and applications for all of life! This approach can make us secure, not in our actions but in our Savior! This is the core of perseverance; not us but Christ. He is our security and He is our fountain of joy!

In Christ Jesus, we are not only dead to sin, but alive to Him! There is indeed new hope, hope which many have never had previously. This can also give us new authenticity. Many are amazed that even a mature believer might speak so candidly in Romans 7 of the many ways in which he continued to fail. But if we understand the necessity of our union with Christ, it will come as no surprise when we fail. This certainly doesn’t excuse our failings but it puts them into our perspective. It means we no longer have to put on appearances of perfection, it means we trust in Christ. This is one of the many facets of the joy of repentance. It’s interesting that Christians, true Christians are often able to admit their own failures when many others are not.

Throughout the text, Paul uses the term “present.” We must learn to present ourselves to a new master. The idea here is of reporting for duty. We no longer belong to ourselves but to Christ. Our agenda must then become His.  Salvation is to be an utter, drastic change, presenting our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God (Romans 12:2). We now report to duty before God through Christ! Our lives, our choices and our responses to suffering reveal our allegiances.

One of the upshots in putting off self-righteousness is that we will become much more forgiving. Love for God will always result in love for others. Our love for others does not stand alone but grows out of God’s love for us and our responding love to Him. Love for others is one of the most practical demonstrations of presenting ourselves for duty to God.

Romans 8 says that we are to “let God’s spirit produce a humble and joyful confidence.” We must never underemphasize the power of the Spirit in the counseling room and in all of life. The Christian life cannot be lived apart from Christ and it is the Spirit who points God’s people to God’s Son. Just as Elisha prayed that God would open his servants eyes to see the spiritual realites, we too pray that God would open the eyes, not just of our counselees but us, to see, understand and stand in the spiritual realities of union with Christ.

• Visit the official NANC website

Paul Tripp is a minister in many contexts, including author and minister. He closed today’s sessions. While scheduled to speak on the subject of “The Gospel for Believers,” he laughingly said to put an “X” through those notes, turn the page over and title today’s notes: “God is Sovereign/Paul Tripp has trouble making decisions.” Admittedly, submitting notes ahead of time means that God will lay something else on your heart. With that in mind, Tripp turned us to Jonah’s prayer in Jonah 2 as a model, not only of redemption in Christ but as a model prayer for all believers.

Jonah’s prayer is one of the most surreal moments of prayer in all of Scripture. This is not your typical “prayer closets.” Jonah is praying from the belly of a fish! Yet it is because of the surreal nature of the situation that it is easy to miss the beauty and grace present in Jonah’s prayer. He was one of God’s servants, yet a man running from God. His running was so filled with intentionality that he acknowledges that he is trying to escape God’s presence, going to, what for him, would have been the end of the world.

The very fact that a prophet would do this shatters many of the elements we try to attribute to followers of God. Don’t think that believers aren’t capable of deliberately turning and going in another direction! As long as indwelling sin remains, we are under temptation to turn our backs and go in another direction. Because of that, our work has to be at a deeper level than just principles and information. We are not free from sin until glorification!

We might wonder why the book is in the Bible at all. It’s not really prophecy. In fact, it only captures one event in one man’s life. Tripp argues that it is included because it is an astonishing portrait of the coming grace of Christ. Jonah prayed from the belly of the fish and paints for us a beautiful portrait of redemption. What we have in the prayer of Jonah (Jonah 2) is the process of the transforming of the heart.

What should jump off the page at us is that Jonah is only praying because the amazing grace of God has already begun to operate. If we had been his god and he had run from us that way, we would most likely send him on his way or possibly even destroy him. But God did neither. God pursued Jonah. God certainly didn’t have a shortage of prophets, but He is a God of grace and will often pursue His people. When asked whom Jonah served, he gave an accurate description of God and yet still ran. Accurate theology is not enough. Here was a man who ran from the grace of God. We know that he knew God’s grace because he didn’t want it to come to Nineveh.

At a key moment, when the sailors come to Jonah after casting lots and ask him what to do, Jonah should have told them they couldn’t do anything, he had to do it; get on his knees and ask for forgiveness. Instead, he said “throw me over.” He would rather take his chances in the tempest than follow God at that moment. We must receive this warning. There are still vestiges of Jonah in all of us. There are times when we all know what God wants us to do and yet we don’t do it. We must never think that we are beyond Jonah. That’s why counseling is needed; we, none of us, have yet defeated sin. There are moments for all of us when we would rather be the messiah than serve the Messiah.

In a moment of sovereign grace and discipline, God sends one fish to swallow one man in a swirling sea. Jonah has the men throw him overboard and God still does not let him run or die. This is not about Jonah getting his act together and realizing things need to be different, he is running from God and in sovereign mercy, Jonah is rescued from Jonah! The true rescue was not from either the storm or the fish but from himself. The tempest and the fish are but instruments. There might be times when we, too are being swallowed up by something and we refuse to see this as grace. We too, seek control of our own lives, trying to wrestle it from God.

It’s a sweet grace that Jonah is praying at all. He probably has wrinkled skin, he smells and is not comfortable, yet he says: “I called out to the LORD, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice” (Jonah 2:1). Notice that Jonah doesn’t here acknowledge that he is the cause of his own distress! How often we do the same! Jonah did not somehow, some way fall into distress, it was his own doing! This whole experience is about God capturing the heart of Jonah and He’s willing to harness the powers of nature to pursue it. God settles for nothing less than our hearts. God is not pleased when we play self-pleasing games.

Then in Jonah 2:3, Jonah says: “For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me.” In doing so, He is beginning to realize that God did this to Him but wouldn’t have done so had God not been after something; had God not been seeking to capture Him. God will sometimes send distress upon us to draw us to Him Jonah is beginning to understand this concept. Once God sets His grace upon us, He will not turn from that Grace! His grace is unrelenting and will not let go, often in spite of us.

In verse 4, Jonah says that he was banished when in fact he was running from God and yet now becomes terrified at the separation between himself and God. He now recognizes in verse 4 that he wants to be back in the presence of God, in the temple, where God’s glory dwelt. The turnaround for Jonah was a desire to come back to his Lord, a desire for communion with his redeemer. The problem in counseling situations, most of the time is that people (we) don’t love God enough. Jonah here points out that fact for us. John in 1 John asks how we say we can love God whom we cannot see when we don’t love those we do see. The quality of our closest relationships often point out for us the quality of our relationship with God. For Jonah, and for us, it became and must become, no longer about our agendas but about the agenda of God. So many our difficulties are about what we want; we often want the creation more than the Creator. But Jonah begins to repent of this. Have we? This is not finally Jonah just begrudgingly saying that he would do what God wanted, it was a man who admitted that he ran, not from a job from a person, from God. Jonah wanted to be again with God because in God alone is true life.

We can only imagine the brokenness of God’s heart. He doesn’t know that he’s being rescued, he thinks he’s being digested! We will not see true transformation without some measure of this same amount of grief. Grief that we have tried to live apart from our Creator. It is communion with Him that must drive us. In verses 5-6, Jonah finally admits that he was in a dire place, unable to help himself. We too must confess our helplessness. Jonah says that he was sinking to the bottom and the weeds were around his neck! He could not rescue himself. Counseling is not just about manipulating circumstances so they look better but bringing us all to this point of helplessness, when we acknowledge that we cannot rescue ourselves. Sin can only be broken by divine rescue. Sin won’t be broken until we come to the point of no longer relying on self

Job then says: “When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love” (Jonah 2:7-8). Remember the context, the mariners were pantheists and each prayed “to their own god.” This was as futile as raking smoke with a rake. Distress reveals our hearts allegiances. That idol has eyes that can’t see and cannot help us but it is often our moments of deepest distress that reveal that we’ve been living for idols. This is in fact grace, even though we don’t always initially see it that way. The sailors did homage to their idols and yet the storm thickened!

Jeremiah 10 says that our idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber patch! We have to nail them up or they’ll fall over and yet we put our faith in them all the time! When we get angry and discouraged, it’s often because our idols cannot give us what we’re asking. The idols of our own creation are just that; of our own creation and Jonah’s prayer helps us to see this truth.

When we get to the final verse of this prayer, we ought to hear the crescendo: “But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!” (verse 10). Remember again the context. When a person in the Old Testament vowed to sacrifice, it was because they were thankful and they had acknowledged their sin before God. Jonah, even in this prayer, had turned from, to God. No matter how outrageous the rebellion, we serve a God of forgiveness! We proclaim a message of fresh starts and new beginnings! Do we pray for deliverance from ourselves? Our hope is God’s forgiveness!

The prayer of one man in one, little 48-verse book of the bible is a portrait of what every believer needs. But there is more: Matthew 12:40 says: “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” But this second Jonah did not go because of His disobedience but obedience. He came to be the sacrificial lamb, to suffer, to face rejection so that we might have life and hope and acceptance. Jonah and Jonah’s prayer point us to Christ. What we need, even as believers, is the continuing presence and power of an active redeemer who will continue His work of delivering us from us.

• Read books by Paul Tripp

Randy Patten is the Executive Director of NANC and started the afternoon sessions, immediately after lunch; never an easy spot. He even remarked that he wasn’t sure how he agreed to be “sandwiched” between Mark Dever and Paul Tripp as speakers, no small feat indeed.

Patten preached on the topic of considering “true biblical change.” He reminded us that counseling assumes the need for change. The very process itself assumes the need for change; this is true beyond basic philosophic assumptions. However, beyond those basic assumptions, there is not agreement on what true change really looks like. While the world gives one set of criteria, that set does not actually or often match the set of criteria laid out by Scripture. Much of the world’s focus is actually self, but as Patten pointed out, “the solution to Randy’s problems is not more of Randy.” We must consider that true change is possible through (and only through) Christ. In pointing this out, we examined Ephesians 4 (which he noted might be called “the change chapter of the Bible”).

In Ephesians 1,2 and 3, we have the explanation of what it means to have the blessings of being “in Christ.” There are 14-17 distinct blessings that are ours in Christ (1:3; 2:4-7). The key, though is that our blessings are found in Christ. Once again we are faced with the fact that the basis for any true, lasting change must be Christ.

Ephesians 4 is a key passage to understanding that we can indeed be different. Not only does it promise us that change is possible but the chapter shows us how and it is ever and always centered on Christ, His person and His work. We are to grow up into the full stature of the likeness of Christ, into Him who is the Head. Change is consistently related to the Lord Jesus Christ. Seeking change anywhere other than Christ, might result in a surface-level shift, but it will not result in true, lasting change.

2 Corinthians 5:17 reminds us that for those who are “in Christ,” we are made into new creations. Change is possible and it comes in and through Christ. The text says that this is serious change; the old has literally passed away, the new has come and we are changed! New things have come! But all of this happens only through Christ. One of the reasons this verse is so significant to us is that it says in just a few words what is so powerful to and for us; Christ changes us!

At a minimum, Paul here is reminding us that true change is indeed possible through Christ. O, how we need to hear this precious truth when so many of us are trapped in the hopeless thoughts “is this as good as it gets?,” is there any hope for change? Indeed there is.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 goes on to remind us that there are many who will in fact, not inherit the kingdom of God. Patten here made two observations, first, an individual cannot be known for practicing a sinful, wicked lifestyle and expect to go to heaven. The underlying truth here is that, even if you once practiced these things, change is possible! The second observation is that these verses list habitual actions. A person does not become known as a homosexual after one encounter or as a drunkard because he got drunk after his team won the Superbowl. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 talks about people who have committed these sins so many times that they have become known by their sin. This is what the world might call “addictive behavior.”

The very best that the world’s solutions can do in challenging addictive behaviors is “rearrange” the flesh. But 1 Corinthians 6:11 says: “such were some of you!” Real change is possible through Christ! Such were some of you! Were! No more! We can be delivered from our slavery to sin through Christ!

While the Bible clearly teaches this, many churches have adopted means to try to help people that don’t focus on Christ. The most common example of this is Alcoholic Anonymous. In AA, every time you go to a meeting (which you plan to attend indefinitely), you identify yourself as an alcoholic because at the core of the belief system behind AA, true change is not possible. Hence, the phrase “Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic,” yet the Bible says “such were some of you.” Were! True change is indeed possible through Christ!

Patten then discussed some “characteristics of true change.” Here, he suggested two primary characteristics. First, a transformed heart continuing to be transformed in Christ-likeness. In other terms, we might say that justification leads to sanctification and neither can be separated from one another. Sanctification only arises after justification and justification always produces sanctification (Ephesians 4:22-24).

Ephesians promises that we can be “renewed in the spirit” of our minds! There is hope. Here, the term “mind” is synonymous with “heart,” “soul,” and “spirit,” in the New Testament and is to be viewed as the center of thought, understanding, belief, motives and actions. In other words, the “inner person.” Paul says that we are to be “renewed,” meaning “rejuvenated; made youthful; to be renovated.” Renovation refers to significant change: removing the old and replacing with the new. God calls us to be renewed!

We tend to allow our thinking to be remodeled rather than renovated. The two are not the same. When you remodel, it’s just the old made to look better. But this is not true change. We are called to replace the old with the new! Put off the old, put on the new! We must have our hearts renovated! True change is possible through Christ.

The phrase “Spirit of the Mind” might be understood as that “which gives the mind both its bend and its material of thought.” The Scriptures refer to this as repentance. We must change our thinking. Naturally, we are all bent in the nature of sinning because of our depravity. But there is hope. God calls us to, through justification and sanctification, change this “bent!” The Scriptures call us to bend and keep bending toward Christ.

The second characteristic of true change is a transformed lifestyle continuing to be transformed into Christ-likeness. Biblical repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of behavior. We repent and keep repenting. This might manifest itself in dozens of ways, but we might look for at least three things 1) living by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), 2) we will be focused on knowing and pleasing Christ (2 Corinthians 5:9, 10, 14, 15), 3) we will have a demonstrated love for others (2 Corinthians 5:11-13, 20). Notice that this breaks down to love of God and love of others!

Patten then ended by comparing/contrasting this model of true, lasting and biblical change with other counseling models, including 1) cognitive behavior therapy, in which people are taught to be philosophical, manifesting self-trust, therefore changing our reactions (which points to self, not Christ), 2) what Patten called “Put Off/Put On” counseling which focuses merely on the outward, but this still only changes behaviors without addressing the heart and this just helps us to be better Pharisees. The type of counseling we are after is putting off/putting as a result of a changed heart.

How can we help people do this? First, carefully evaluating whether the counselee is truly “in Christ.” Second, we must make much of Jesus Christ throughout the counseling process. Third, help the counselee to know Him. Fourth, make sure to address not only outward but “inner” man issues, making sure that the homework addresses both.

In Matthew 11:28-30, Christ urges us, all who are “weary and heavy-laden,” to come to Him for His “yoke is easy” and load light. In Revelation 22:13, Jesus admonishes that He is the beginning and the end. He is also the center and the goal. True, biblical change comes only through Him. To the artist, He is the altogether lovely One, to the builder, He is the cornerstone, to the chef, He is the bread of life, to the florist, He is the Rose of Sharon, to the King, He is the Prince of Peace, to the lawyer, He is the judge of all the earth, to the newsman, He is the Great Good News and on and on!

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Dr. Mark Dever opened today’s session by lamenting the proliferation of choice in today’s culture. We have choice in everything from salad dressing to rental cars. Under government regulation, we come to believe that every choice that is available to us is safe, because those things that are somehow unsafe are not open to choice, we are protected from those. In turn, we begin to feel that every choice is not only safe, but equal. With all things being equal, we sink into a sea of cynicism. With so many equal and unimportant choices, we begin to feel as though nothing is worth dying for. But if nothing is worth dying for, is anything worth living for?

In response to this, Dever took us to the book of Hebrews. The entire book. Dever has become known for his “overview” approach, looking at the arguments of entire books of the Bible. While it is good that we might read John Piper, J.I. Packer and others, are we as well versed with the book of Joel and James?

The book of Hebrews forces us to examine two fundamental questions: 1) Who is Jesus, and 2) What has He done? There were other leaders the Hebrew believers were tempted to follow. These other leaders were not necessarily false teachers, but they did represent “choice,” but we must focus, not on teachers but on Christ. These other teachers were servants. Jesus, however, is not a servant, but the Son of God (Hebrews 1:2, etc.). Therefore, Jesus stands over and above our choice of teachers. Our teachers must point us to Him, for He is superior, He is supreme, He is sufficient; He alone. While these other servants, these other teachers were passing, temporal and sinful, Jesus alone is the Eternal, Sinless Son of God. He over-rides our “choice” for He alone is God. It was the ministry of these other servants to point to Him. We must not believe that our “freedom of choice” somehow applies to Christ.

The Person and Work of Christ are of supreme consideration. We cannot divorce Christ from Christianity, yet that’s exactly what so many of our pursuits of choice strive to do, perhaps subconsciously, but as we pursue choice, we will invariably purse choices that please us, made in our own likeness. Christ’s supremacy forces to lay aside our choice because He alone is the Christ. He continues to intercede while the servants are passing. I wonder how many of us are satisfied to lay aside our self-pursuits in order to pursue Christ as our supreme choice? How many of us are truly convinced, to the core of our being, of the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ, especially in such a pluralistic, “choice-based” age as ours? Are we content to be constrained, controlled by the love of Christ (both His love for us and our love for Him as we saw last night)?

Jesus alone was tempted and yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). We must find comfort here because Jesus alone has experienced temptation to the fullest because He alone resisted. We give in where Christ persevered. Jesus experienced temptation beyond what we will ever face. Oh, what comfort to know that our High Priest not only relates but offers victory where we only find defeat.

This brings us from Who Jesus Is to What Jesus Did. These other leaders were often quite impressive. They offered sacrifices required by the Law, well-ordered ceremonies. The early Christians were regarded as Atheists, we had no idols like the Romans or temples like the Jews, but these priests had their well-ordered ceremonies. But the writer to the Hebrews forces us to consider what these sacrifices were: repeated offerings of bulls and goats. Repeated because these imperfect leaders offered imperfect sacrifices. Yet it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (10:4), but Jesus was the perfect sacrifice (7:26ff). Christ Himself is not only sufficient, but so is His sacrifice. He is perfect forever, so this is the hope that we have in Christ.

It is our sin which separates us from God. This separation is only brought together, repaired in and through Christ. This is what Christ did and any approach to any problem that neglects the centrality of Christ and His Cross will fall short, leaving only more problems, though they may have been band-aided over for the short-term.

The sacrifice of Jesus is perfect in itself, unlike the Old Covenant offerings and is perfect in its effect. His sacrifice is complete because it is effective. He is making the faithful people that were predicted in the Old Testament (8:7ff).  Again we see that one of the fundamental aspects of counseling, indeed of all the Christian life, is pointing people to Christ alone. While this seems like such a fundamental truth, we so easily and quickly forget it. Jesus is the New and Unbreakable covenant and He is our surety and security. Christ’s sacrifice makes His people clean (Hebrews 9:13)! Only the sacrifice of Christ! All other approaches leave us still unclean before a Perfect, Just and Holy God.

The Old Testament sacrifices were not a mistake. No, they did what they were meant to do, point to Christ (10:1, etc.). We must not replace Christ with the things that were meant merely to point us to Him. Christ alone can make us truly clean and holy (10:12). Never take your eyes, your heart , its affects and obedience away from Christ! Christ is indeed the cornerstone and on His foundation alone can we ever truly stand.

Dever closed by pointing out seven dangers pointed out in the book of Hebrews: Ignorance (2:1), having heard, there is still the danger of unbelief (3:12), having believed there is still the danger of stopping (5:12; 6:1, 11-12), having stopped growing, almost inevitably you will not persevere in holiness (10:22, 26, 35-36), there is, then, in the midst of all of this, the danger of losing faith: persevering means having faith (11:1), there is also the danger of rejecting God’s discipline when we do stop: persevering means accepting discipline (12:10-11), finally, there is the danger of refusing this warning (12:25, 28-29). The book of Hebrews, in part, convinces us of the true severity of sin.

Along with Adams, Dever pointed us to the central role of Christ in the Christian life and in counseling. While this was not a practical, “here’s how you answer this problem,” this was a fundamental lecture pointing us to the fundamentals. It is true that ministry can often be its own worst enemy, but it is not only ministers who are in danger. In our age of choice, it is easy to come to believe that this applies to Christ as well. We must lovingly but boldly first believe and then preach (and practice) devotion and obedience to Christ alone and this will not come until we have first come to see who Christ is and what He has done.

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