by Pastor James Noriega

Centrality of the Cross in Counseling | Christus Victor from Mars Hill Church | West Seattle on Vimeo.

This week, I am going to explain how Christus Victor flows from penal substitution in the atonement and how it applies in counseling. In the blog addressing penal substitution, I mentioned that the atonement is central to our faith and that penal substitution is central to the atonement, which flows right into Christus Victor. Christus Victor is the defeat of Satan and the cancellation of all of the Enemy’s legal rights against us, as well as lies leveled at us through Christ’s victory and authority demonstrated on the cross. The Enemy no long has a hold on us. One of the biggest lies the Enemy tells the believer is twofold. First, that they have no authority over him and, second, that they fall prey to him, that they are victimized by the lies he tells them. Believing this renders the Christian helpless.

In Colossians 2:12-15, we see that we were baptized into the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, making us alive together with Christ, cancelling the debt and legal demands and nailing it to the cross. He disarmed Satan and demons. It was through Christ paying the penalty of sin that the believer has authority and victory over Satan. We can also see in Hebrews 2:12-17 that through the blood of Christ, he destroyed the one who had the power of death and delivered all those who, through fear of death, were subject to lifelong slavery. Again, the victory over the enemy was made by Christ paying our penalty on the cross.

In counseling, we find in people’s stories that there is nothing more debilitating to a believer than if they believe they are subject to all the lies the enemy throws at them. The first lie is in convincing the believer that the penalty was not paid and that he (Satan) still has a legal right to them. The second is an attempt at undoing what Christ did on the cross in the believer, by trying to limit the reach of the cross in the believer’s life. This can look like, “Christ’s work on the cross wasn’t enough.” “It can be undone.” “It doesn’t apply to me, here.” For example, feeling like your sin was just too much for God, that you were just too dirty, too condemned. This produces hopelessness and despair, causing an inward self-absorption and a feeling of being unsavable. Although some say this openly, a subtler twist of this lie is the expression in the believer that says that Christ hasn’t paid for all the sin because they still feel a little bit guilty, a little bit dirty, and a little bit condemned.

The truth is, we have been completely acquitted, completely cleansed, completely declared innocent through Christ paying the penalty on the cross, giving the believer his authority and victory.

Pastor James is a Biblical Living Pastor at Mars Hill Church West Seattle. He currently oversees counseling for the campus, and is responsible for equipping and training volunteer biblical counselors and leaders at all levels.

If you are hurting and would like to speak with a counselor, please email westseattlecare@marshillchurch.org

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This was the fourth post in the series Bringing Counseling Back Into The Church
To read the other posts in the series click HERE.