In our contemporary society, there needs to be a clear distinction between
Biblical counseling and secular psychology counseling. c 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. c 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. c These stated issues are all vitally important, but selected
item is number one, “the foundational issue” to continue to be biblical. c 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). c The
basis of Biblical-nouthetic counseling is to counteract the infiltration of secularism and
bring counseling back into the church. c The church provides soul care for sufferers and
sinners. c Scripture is sufficient and counseling is a theological task. c 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. c 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.” c c The Scriptures are
sufficient to be skillfully applied to any presenting problem. c c Based on Scripture, we
can counsel each other. c 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.” c
Secular psychologies tend to discredit the Bible for meeting the needs of the
human condition. c c 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. c 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. c Ezekial
36:26-27 reads: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within
you. c And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of
flesh. c And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and
be careful to obey my rules.” Further, c
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. c 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. c 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. c 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). c c 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). 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. c c
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. c
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). c 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). c Care for the soul: exploring the intersection of
Psychology & theory. c 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.
