Jean came from a dysfunctional home where her biological father abandoned the family and her mother was physically abusive toward the children. As a result, Jean was removed from her home and placed in foster care. Eventually, she was placed in a loving Christian home. As a result of a more stable situation, she made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. However, Jean “looked” for love and became involved in an immoral relationship which resulted in a pregnancy.
Jean experienced tremendous guilt about her pregnancy and comes to you for counsel.
- How can the doctrines of Christ and the Holy Spirit minister to Jean?
- What doctrinal truths do you share with the foster parents concerning this situation with Jean?
Response
The doctrine of Christ explains why Jean engaged in an immoral relationship and how she can overcome her guilt. Specifically, Heath Lambert (2016) explains that, due to Christ’s death and resurrection, Jean was given the free gift of Christ’s righteousness (p. 146). When Jean appropriates Christ’s righteousness, the attempt to solidify her own righteousness or worth by having sex with another man would not be necessary. Instead of Jean thinking that she needed another man to make her feel loved, accepted, and valued the message of the gospel is that she is already completely loved, accepted, and valued because of Christ’s righteousness in her (2 Corinthians 5:21). The sin would have been overcome by the presence of Christ’s righteousness in her because she would not have needed the immoral relationship to fill a void that did not exist.
The same gospel that explains why Jean encountered an immoral relationship, simultaneously resolves her guilt. Jean’s immoral relationship does not negate the gift of righteousness (Romans 5:15-17). The Apostle Paul explains Jean’s declared righteousness does not come through achieving a certain level of morality, but through faith in Christ (Philippians 3:9). Accordingly, for Jean, it is because of faith, not morality, that there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1, English Standard Version). Paul explains that if Jean attempts to earn her righteousness to decrease her guilt, then Christ died unnecessarily (Galatians 2:21). It is because of the cross that Jean can live completely forgiven, empowered to overcome sin, and comforted by God’s acceptance (Lambert, 2016, pp. 150-154).
God’s Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul
The Holy Spirit’s role is no less amazing. Although the Spirit and Jesus are distinct, Gordon Fee (1994) explains that when Paul “speaks of Christ as living in him, he almost certainly means ‘Christ lives in me by His Spirit,’ referring to the ongoing work of Christ in his life that is being carried out by the indwelling Spirit” (p. 838). The Spirit helps believers appropriate the reality of Christ. The Spirit convicts Jean of her sin, so she knows her immoral relationship is wrong; teaches Jean by opening her eyes, so she experiences the love and acceptance of her Father; and reveals her righteousness and value in Christ, so she is empowered to overcome sin (Lambert, 2016, pp. 161-171).
The truths of the doctrine of Christ and the Holy Spirit are valuable to Jean’s foster parents. They may be experiencing guilt as failed parents, or they may attempt to pile more guilt on Jean in a futile attempt to modify behavior. Either way, the counselor has a wonderful opportunity to share the gospel message with Jean’s foster parents by teaching them that Jean’s sin did not come because she was not righteous enough, but because Jean did not realize just how righteous she was in Christ through His death and resurrection. The counselor can also explain the Holy Spirit’s role in convicting Jean, which led her to repentance and empowers her to overcome sin.
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References
- Fee, G. D. (1994). God’s empowering presence: The Holy Spirit in the letters of Paul. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.
- Lambert, H. (2016). A theology of biblical counseling: The doctrinal foundations of counseling ministry. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
