One of the mostly gifted Christian counselors of our time is Jay Adams. His books are treasure of biblical wisdom for Counselors and Counselees alike. I was reading his book "Solving Marriage Problems" the other day and came across a section that is so true and so well-written, that I want to just share it "as-is" from Jay Adams! You can find this on pgs. 13-14. Also note that this was written in 1983!

When identifying causes of marriage problems, it is just as important to call a true sickness (e.g., a brain tumor that is adversely affecting one spouse’s behavior) "sickness" as it is to call sin "sin." Biblical counselors are not interested in gumming the label "sin" on everything in sight as some wrongly and carelessly accuse us of doing. No, it is just because we wish to be responsible before God and man that we use the label "sin" when it is biblically appropriate. And, it is for the same reason that we use other labels when they are accurate. Our zeal for ripping off modern labels and replacing them with "sin" is due to persistent efforts by others to substitute some modern misleading term for that biblical label. The new jargon is usually a sampling of a "psychological" system totally out of accord with scriptural principles.

Those who busily replace the word "sin" with modern labels may think they are kind in doing so. Calling drunkenness a "disease" or a "sickness" rather than a "sin" may seem to them to be a gracious act, but it is just the opposite. You cannot be more gracious than God. To call drunkenness a "sickness" is to take away hope; there is no pill that will cure such a "disease." But if, as the Bible says, drunkenness is a sin, then there is real hope, because Christ Jesus came not only to free us from the penalty but also from the power of sin. Drunkenness is

included in the list of sins in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, from which Paul assured the Corinthians they had been delivered (v.11). When Alcoholics Anonymous tells someone he will have to remind himself every day for the rest of his life that he is an alcoholic, is that kinder than the Bible? Paul assures homosexuals and drunkards that "these are what some of you were." You can get beyond being a drunkard, Paul says.

The difference in labeling leads to a difference in thinking about the problem, which, in turn, leads to a different solution and ultimately to a different outcome. What beings by sounding kind ends up destroying hope."

Thank-you Jay Adams!

God bless,

Bill