Years ago, my wife and I had the opportunity to counsel a Roman Catholic couple. It was very unusual to see Catholics, and this couple was aware that we had significant doctrinal differences. Yet they were coming for marriage counseling at the church where I served as a staff elder.

It was the wife who prompted them to come for counsel. She had heard a message on Christian radio about Ephesians 5:25 and husbands loving their wives. I am not sure exactly what she had heard, but her interpretation meant that her husband if he loved her, would do things her way.

The counseling didn’t work out primarily because of the great gulf between us in doctrine. The couple did not understand the gospel of grace and were stuck in the false gospel of grace plus works.

The episode did remind me that my wife and I were born into Roman Catholic homes and spent a good part of our lives as, admittedly, nominal Catholics.

When we got married in the Catholic Church, we had zero biblical instruction as to what marriage was or what it meant to be. The Canaan Conference we attended was useless in any kind of practical way. Perhaps it is different now, but the Catholic Church did not teach Scripture in a way that applied to marriage- hence the reason the woman ended up at a Reformed Protestant church for practical advice.

My purpose here is not to bash Roman Catholicism for the neglect of teaching the practical application of Scripture. That is because, after many years of experience, I’ve come to realize that many so-called evangelical churches do not teach it either. They may have the “you must be born again” part right, but when it comes to following the Word of God and applying it to marriage, they are far more influenced by pop psychology than the Word.

How do I know this? I know this because I’ve been part of a church plant that has taken in many young people who have been disillusioned by the evangelical churches they have been to. They tell us that their former churches do not teach like we do, generally, verse by verse in an exegetical format.

God’s Word makes essential claims about itself:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Tim 3:16-17, ESV

The passage clearly states that God’s Word for the saved person is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. The ramifications for marriage are enormous, so the teaching of pop psychology with vague application is an affront to God and His Word. Evangelicals should know better, but they either do not or do not care.

The work of Reigning Grace Counseling Center is critically needed. Reigning Grace Counseling Center does the job that many evangelical churches do not.

If your church will not counsel you using God’s Word alone, you should consider finding one who will. In the meantime, consider Reigning Grace Counseling Center, which is doing the job that many churches will not.

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