Biblical Counseling Training For Lay Counselors

Session 03 - Identifying, Exposing, And Treating Ungodly Or Sinful Habits, Behavior Patterns, Thinking, Speaking, Etc. (NIV based)

Biblical definition of enslaved to or in bondage to sin:
- - John 8:34 "Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin."

- - 2 Corinthians 10:4 “strongholds” = Strong’s # 3794 “to fortify, through the idea of holding safely; a castle (figuratively, argument)”.

- - Sin desires to master us.  (example of Cain - Genesis 4:6-7)

- - We all experience enslavement to sin.  (Romans 6:14,16-18)

- - Strongholds of sin may exert medical or physical symptoms.  (John 5:1-14)

Goals: 
- - To put off sinfulness and put on righteousness -- Ephesians 4:22. "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23. to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24. and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

- - To demolish strongholds (not just manage or subdue) -- 2 Corinthians 10:3. "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  4. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  5. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

Identify and expose strongholds:
- - Make notes (mental and/or written) of sin areas during counseling sessions.

- - Prioritize which sin areas to deal with first in conjunction with the counselee's stated purpose for coming to counseling (usually the first priority is to stabilize the person or relationship).

- - Select a sin area and then explore to find its depth, complexities, off-shoots, related nuances, etc.; ask God to help expose them. - Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

- - Dig out the origins, root cause, or source of how this sin area got started; (example: weed in garden will grow back unless you dig out all of its roots).

Treatment steps:
- - Truth encounter (vs. lies, falsehoods, half-truths) - John 8:31-34 -- v.32 ""Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.""

- - Reality check (vs. erroneous or faulty conclusions, assumptions, mis-information, perceptions, etc.) - 2 Corinthians 10:5 "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,...".

- - Obedience to God (vs. rebellion) - John 8:31-34 -- v.31 "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.""

- - Take a stand against the stronghold (vs. surrendering to it) - Ephesians 6:11 "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes."

- - Learn and accept what God thinks (vs. what humans naturally think); present verses that apply directly to the stronghold and its philosophy - James 4:7 "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

- - Confessing and acknowledging to God - 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

- - Learning to self-monitor their thought life - 2 Corinthians 10:5 "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

- - Memorize verses that counter the stronghold - Jesus tempted in the desert "It is written...".

- - In prayer, ask for removal of the stronghold (vs. not asking at all, or asking for help with, or asking to help manage it); establish an ongoing prayer list against the strongholds.

- - Learn how to stay on guard against the stronghold - 1 Peter 5:8. "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9. Resist him, standing firm in the faith,...".

- - Learn about their ongoing propensity and weakness in each of their stronghold of sin areas.

Distinctives and additional specialized treatment specific to the particular type of origin(s) for that bondage - i.e. 3 ways to pick up bondages or strongholds:

1. ABUSE from others
- - You need to take the counselee back in the past and uncover / deal with the original first abuse event related to the particular stronghold you are working on.

- - For identifying the original abuse event, the type and intensity of the original abuse event needs to match the type and intensity of the symptoms.

- - The person MUST FORGIVE THE ABUSER COMPLETELY in order for God to be willing to remove the stronghold - Matthew 18:21-35 - v.34. ""In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.""

- - Any personal involvement in the bondage after the original abuse event must be dealt with adequately in order for God to be willing to remove the bondage.

2. PERSONAL SINFUL INDULGENCE
- - For identifying the original sinful indulgence event, it is important to know that observing and/or participating in a sinful indulgence can become a bondage on the very first occasion.

- - Personal indulgence can open the door to giving the devil a foothold.  (Ephesians 4:27)

- - Abstinence, 'cleaning house', and detesting (vs. loving) the sin are required by God for deliverance from the bondage.

3. INHERITED or ANCESTRAL
- - Gross sin or bondages engaged in by ancestors can be passed on to subsequent generations - Exodus 20:1-6 "And God spoke all these words:  2. "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  3. "You shall have no other gods before me.  4. "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  5. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6. but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments."

- - From counseling observations and experience, some kinds of ancestral bondages can be quite tenacious and highly resistant to quick removal, thus requiring long-term prayer against and standing against.  (Mark 9:14-29)

- - Tracing the ancestral bondage back through their ancestral line can be very enlightening to the counselee.

- - Successful breaking / removal of an ancestral bondage for a parent does not apply to their biological children that are already born nor to adopted or foster children.

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Works Cited:
Bible. “The Holy Bible: New International Version.” The Bible Library CD‑ROM. Oklahoma City, OK: Ellis Enterprises, 1988.

“Strong's Greek Dictionary”. The Bible Library CD‑ROM. Oklahoma City, OK: Ellis Enterprises, 1988.
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Scriptures taken from Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
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File name: BiblicalCounselingTraining-Session03.___ (.htm, .doc, .pdf)
Translation used: NIV, quoted or referred to in various places within the lesson
Source: www.BelieverAssist.com
Updated: January 29, 2016