In our contemporary society, there needs to be a clear distinction between Biblical
counseling and secular psychology counseling. b Powlison (2010, pp. 241-259) lists Six
Crucial Issues in Contemporary Biblical Counseling including: 1. The “same old issues”
still face us, 2. The questions touching on human motivation must be explored and
integrated more firmly within both our theory and practice, 3. b The relationship between
human responsibility and human suffering needs a great deal of clarification, 4. We need
to press much further in understanding the biblical data about the counselor-counselee
relationship, 5. Biblical counseling must be contextualized to new audiences and 6. The
relationship of biblical counseling to secular psychology needs to be publicly clarified. b
These stated issues are all vitally important, but selected item is number one, “the
foundational issue” to continue to be biblical. b b Issues two through six are newer and build
on this foundation.
“Counseling in the Christian church continues to be significantly compromised by
the secular assumptions and practices of our culture’s reigning psychologies and
psychologies” (p. 241). The purpose of nouthetic counseling is “to correct sinful behavior
patterns by personal confrontation and repentance” (Adams 1970, p. 49). b The basis of
Biblical-nouthetic counseling is to counteract the infiltration of secularism and bring
counseling back into the church. b The church provides soul care for sufferers and sinners. b
Scripture is sufficient and counseling is a theological task. b The concern about
encroachment of secularism in the church is the possibility of diminishing the authority of
the Word of God and its power to transform hearts and lives. b Hebrews 4:12 reads: “For
the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow and is a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” b b The Scriptures are sufficient to be
skillfully applied to any presenting problem. b b Based on Scripture, we can counsel each
other. b Romans 15:14 reads: “And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye
also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.” b
Secular psychologies tend to discredit the Bible for meeting the needs of the human
condition. b b The claim is that Biblical counseling is too authoritative, and behavior may
change due to will power and personal resolve, but our inner heart and life may still be
unchanged. b We may be the compliant counselee and adhere to the biblical teachings of
the counselor but still be in sin and this undermines the Gospel (Willard, 1997, pp. 41–42).
On the other hand, Powlison (2010) asserts that when an individual understands grace, “the
necessary behavioral changes will make sense from the inside” (p. 246).
The new birth does give a new heart that desires to obey the Word. b Ezekial 36:26-
27 reads: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. b And I
will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. b And I will
put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my
rules.” Further, b
I John 2:3 reads “And by this we know that we have come to know him if we keep his
commandments. “When we experience the new birth, we are granted saving faith and
begin to walk in “the obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5). Our first act of obedience is
repentance. b Jesus said, “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14-15). When we are
converted, we are no longer under bondage to sin and our new allegiance is to Christ and
we live in obedience to Him. b Romans 6:17-18 reads “But God be thanked, that ye were
the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that from of doctrine which was
delivered you. b Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”
When a preeminent view of Scriptures is taken and recognized as being
foundational, this stance sufficiently and holistically addresses the remaining issues
addressed by Powlison (2010, p. 241). b b These issues have a common thread concerning
the heart condition and why we do what we do. The relationship between responsibility
and suffering is clarified (pp. 246-249). b When the client’s inner life is responsible for
behavior change, the fear of blame shifting to external circumstances resolves (p. 249).
The risk of confrontation is mitigated when the client’s identity as a child is declared
righteous (Rom 3:22) and loved by God (Rom 8:39-39), rather than criticizing behavior,
risking defensiveness (pp. 249-252). The issue of contextualization to new audiences is
curtailed when human motivation is addressed because it undermines the accusation that
biblical counseling lacks “even the rudiments of inner life and motivation” (pp. 253-254).
The distinctive relationship between biblical counseling and secular psychology is clarified
when identity formation is prominent because secular psychology has no real solution to
individuation other than leaning on the sinful self (pp. 255-258). Another milestone is the
“same old” distinctives between biblical counseling, such as a critique of secularism and a
biblical alternative to counseling, are reconciled when the issue of human motivation is
appropriately settled (Powlison, 2010, pp. 241-243).
In reference to Powlisons Appendix 4 and the “Cure of Souls” (p. 269), I agree that
it is preferable for counselors with theological knowledge who will speak the truth in love
to help bring Biblical solutions for the problems people face, to counsel. b b Adams asserts
that counseling is primarily pastoral work performed in conjunction with the local church,
although lay persons may counsel fellow Christians (Powlison, pp. 130-131). Since Adams
presupposes that people do not inherently have the answers to their problems, counseling
must speak “frankly and authoritatively when communicating the promises and commands
of God” (Powlison, p. 138).
The Biblical counselor is to offer counselees God’s grace through a relationship
with Jesus Christ and lead them to repentance of sin so they may experience
transformation and hope and become more like Christ. When a counselor brings grace to
sin, which provides the psychological air necessary for the client to face sin, the client can
recognize their inner completeness in Christ (Col 3:3) through faith that renders sin
impotent. b
References
Adams, J. E. (1970). Competent to counsel (pp. 45–49). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Adams, J.E. (1986). A Theology of Christian Counseling: Introduction to Nouthetic
Counseling. Grand Rapids, MI: Ministry Resource Library.
Crabb, L.J. (1977). b Effetive Biblical Counseling. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Entwistle, D.N. (2010). Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity: An
Introduction to Worldview Issues, Philosophical Foundations, and Models of
Integration. Eugene, OR: Cascade.
McMinn, M.R., & Phillips, T.R. (2001). b Care for the soul: exploring the intersection of
Psychology & theory. b Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.
Powlison, D. (2010). The Biblical counseling movement: History and context. Greensboro,
NC:
New Growth.
The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2011). Hendrickson. (Original work published 1611)
Willard, D. (1997). The divine conspiracy: Rediscovering our hidden life in God. New
York:
Harper One.
