How Do I Know if I'm Counseling a Believer?
Updated: Sep 16
The Doubt of a Counselor
I’m sure you have experienced this pervading question while counseling. You are working with someone, seeking to help, all the while believing you are counseling a believer. But as the case continues to unfold and move forward, real doubt begins to grow in your mind as to whether their profession of the Lord Jesus is genuine—whether their lifestyle, the things they say, how they think, or how they live are actually calling into question whether they regenerately trust in Christ, know Him, and are walking with Him in a transformed way.
This nagging doubt in the counselor’s mind reveals we need a way to helpfully and biblically evaluate one’s standing before the Lord, more than simply a credible profession of faith.
More Than a Profession
I was raised in the 80s and 90s, when it was common practice to dedicate your life to Christ and then rededicate your life to Christ, well, repeatedly. As an only child, my family wanted to make sure I was safe and saved, and I believe I prayed the sinner’s prayer at least half a dozen times before I reached middle school. I’m thankful for my family and the church’s love for me.
There is an inherent weakness to conversionism, though—the notion that merely praying a prayer means you are saved and therefore know you are saved. Additionally, there is weakness in resting everything on a profession of faith alone. Of course, we know there are weak, smoldering wicks and bent reeds that the Lord Jesus does not snuff out or break. Some believers have much doubt and a very weak articulation of their faith, and yet that does not mean they are not genuine believers. It may simply mean that their profession of faith is weaker than that of others.
I trust you have also had the opposite experience—where the person is very confident they are saved, and yet, in working with them, you think they ought not be so confident. After all, the Lord Himself taught that many will say on that fateful day, “Lord, Lord, did we not…?” (Matt. 7:22-23). They will offer a credible profession of faith and even what appears to be a credible profession of faithful practice as evidence of that faith.
We do not want to push conversion again and again in the counseling room. We do not want to replicate the 80s and 90s pattern of raising your hand, walking the aisle, and closing with Christ multiple times. So, are there other considerations we should have in mind when asking whether we are counseling a believer?
The Place of a Good Church
I always want to be asking about their relationship to the church of Jesus Christ. After all, the Lord Jesus does not save people apart from His body, which He has established as His ark to bear people through the deluge of this life into the new creation. He works in, through, and with His church. This is why we should not be quick to forsake the assembly (Heb. 10:25), but instead submit ourselves to its lawful authority and, like the first-century Christians in the book of Acts, devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching and to one another (2:42).
Baptism
Therefore, I am always asking whether my counselee has engaged in the initiating rite that Jesus has given to His New Testament church: baptism. Are they baptized members? Not only that, I want to know whether they are baptized into a true church. Are they members of a branch of the visible church?
Membership
Of course, some churches have different views of membership practices, and some do not practice formal membership nor maintain a roll at all. That does not mean they are an illegitimate expression of the church of Jesus, or that these dear saints are not members of a true church. It may simply reflect a different style of practicing church membership, even if it is not formalized as in other assemblies.
Still, by asking whether they are baptized members in a branch of the visible church, what is meant is that they are not baptized into a cult or some illegitimate so-called Christian expression, as is the case in Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormon assemblies, or other errant bodies.
In Good Standing
I am also always assessing whether they are in good standing in their local church. It is one thing to say they are members or that they have been baptized, but what if they never attend and simply remain on the rolls? Nor is it enough to say they are members if they are actively under church discipline or have been disciplined. Still claiming to be a member of a church in such scenarios doesn’t exactly settle the matter.
Therefore, the number of things I am discerning or always evaluating, in addition to a profession of faith, as I meet with counselees are these: Are they baptized? Are they a member in a branch of the visible church? And are they in good standing in that body?
Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy
That last point leads us to the need for something more than mere orthodoxy to be rightly called a Christian. We need more than profession of the truth—not just orthodoxy, but orthopraxy. The church of Jesus Christ has lost a right understanding of both orthodoxy and orthopraxy, that is, living out the Christian life.
After all, the book of James says, “Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (2:18). So, how do I know if I am counseling a believer? I am looking for a faith accompanied by the outward demonstration of that faith in the form of a credible profession, a yoking of oneself to Christ in baptism, participation in Christ’s body—apart from which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation—and a life that is pursuing Christian obedience rather than living in an obviously defiant way.
I am therefore always looking to assess these factors: Do they have a credible profession of faith, coupled with a life that matches their claim? Are they a baptized member in a branch of the visible church, and are they walking faithfully in that body? These are things to look for when asking ourselves, “Am I counseling a believer?”
Questions for Reflection
Of these four factors (profession, baptized, member, in good standing), which do you find the most useful as you seek to help people discern their standing in Christ?
What data gathering questions or tools would you employ to seek to assess these four characteristics of the Christian?
If you are counseling someone who is doctrinally articulate and claims to love Christ, but is living in obvious, ongoing defiance of biblical obedience, how would the relationship between orthodoxy and orthopraxy help you approach counseling this person in love?
Article published at BCC: https://www.biblicalcounselingcoalition.org/2026/05/01/how-do-i-know-if-im-counseling-a-believer/
