Counseling Begins in the Pew

Carl Trueman on why Luther thinks you should go to church.

"One could imagine a person seeking Luther's advice for, say, struggles with assurance. Luther's first question of him would almost certainly be, Are you going to church to hear the Word and receive the sacrament? If the answer came back in the negative, it is safe to assume that Luther would send the person away to attend church for a few weeks before he would consider giving him individual counsel. If the person had excluded himself from the objective means of grace, not only would spiritual problems be expected, but also Luther could really offer nothing else to help him."