What is Biblical Counseling?
Biblical counselors and secular psychologists approach counseling from very different perspectives. At CPR, it is our belief that secular psychologists hold to unbiblical views which disable it from making correct diagnoses and providing helpful solutions to man’s problems. They do so in three critical areas. First, secular psychologists hold to an inaccurate view of man. While the Bible declares that human beings are made in the image of God to worship and serve Him with their lives, psychology presupposes that man is merely an advanced animal (Genesis 1:26–27, Psalm 100:2–3; Ecclesiastes 12:13–14; Psalm 8:4–6; Matthew 22:37–38; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Proverbs 3:5–6). This leads to a solely materialistic view of man, which denies the biblical reality that man is composed of both body and soul (2 Corinthians 5:1–10). Due to this materialistic view, secular psychologists neglect the spiritual issues of the heart in counseling. Biblical counselors, however, understand man as God defines him in Scripture. Therefore, they seek to address man as a whole person, both body and soul. This is done through the loving explanation and application of the Bible to the counselee’s life.
Second, secular psychologists generally hold that man is good by nature, or at worst, is a blank slate. This directly contradicts the biblical teaching that man is sinful by nature (Romans 3:10–18, 23; 5:12; Isaiah 53:6; Ecclesiastes 7:20; 1 John 1:8; Psalm 51:5; 58:3; Ephesians 2:1–3). Rather than recognizing the sinfulness of man and his need to repent of sin and trust in Christ for forgiveness, psychology often blames one’s circumstances or environment for sinful behavior. This leads people away from the only solution which will provide them with the ultimate help they need. It leads people away from the gospel because it eliminates personal responsibility for sin, thus removing man’s need for a savior. Biblical counselors ensure that the gospel remains at the center of all counseling, however. They seek to help people identify sin in their lives, seek forgiveness from God through faith in Christ, then live by God’s enabling power for His glory for the remainder of their lives.
Finally, secular psychologists generally believe that man is autonomous, is able to solve his problems apart from God, and that moral values are relative. Again, this contradicts Scripture which clearly declares that man needs the Triune God to guide his life through the study and application of His clear, authoritative, and sufficient word (John 15:5; Philippians 2:12–13; Ephesians 5:18–21; 2 Timothy 3:16–17). In biblical counseling, the Bible is the ultimate source of authority, because it comes from God Himself. Therefore, biblical counselors simply seek to point people to God’s word in counseling, so that counselees ultimately trust and obey God, rather than trusting in the insufficient and errant moral standards of fallen man.
This is why, at CPR, we believe that biblical counseling is desperately needed. Unlike those who hold to counseling perspectives advanced by secular psychologists, biblical counseling is not man-centered. Rather, biblical counseling begins with the gospel. It begins with what Jesus Christ has done on our behalf, not what we can do for ourselves. In other words, biblical counseling is not about following rules or simply living a morally upright life. Nor is it about self-improvement so that counselees might be happy. Rather, biblical counseling is about glorifying our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect life on the sinner’s behalf, died a sacrificial death in the sinner’s place, and rose from the dead as the triumphant King Who conquered sin and death. For those who have repented of their sins and trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation, it is our belief that God uses both His word and His Spirit as the agents of change to help them grow in godliness (Galatians 2:20; Romans 8:6–14; Philippians 2:12–13; 2 Timothy 3:16–17). The Bible is sufficient for the counseling task, for it is only there that we discover who God is, who we are, what our problem is, and how this problem can be cured. The Bible alone is the God-breathed authoritative source to guide our lives. If you’d like to know more about biblical counseling and how CPR can serve you, please contact us today!
For Personal Study:
A Theology of Biblical Counseling by Heath Lambert Counseling: How to Counsel Biblically by John MacArthur