What is behavior therapy, and is it biblical?
Christians have a variety of views concerning psychology. Some accept psychology as a
legitimate field of study useful in assisting people with the problems of life. Others reject it
outright. Scientists, too, vary in their acceptance of psychology as efficacious; psychology is, in
many ways, an art form not always based on measurable evidence. Behavior therapy stands out
in this regard. It is perhaps more easily accepted due to its emphasis on the scientific method.
Christians can use behavior therapy in a biblical manner if it is properly corrected by the Bible.
Explanation of Behavior Therapy
B. F. Skinner and Albert Bandura are the primary behavior theorists. In its purest form, behavior
therapy is rarely practiced, though certain of its concepts and techniques are used in conjunction
with other theories.
Behaviorists view humans as both products and producers of their environments. The goal of
behavior therapy is to increase a person’s ability to respond to his or her environment.
Behaviorism depends heavily on the scientific method and deals with present life problems
rather than with past sources of those problems. Clients are expected to be engaged in therapy in
order to actively change their maladaptive behaviors.
A behavior therapist functions much as a physical therapist would, identifying a problem and
suggesting ways for the problem to be solved. Using an ABC model, behavior therapists explain
that an “antecedent event” influences a “behavior,” and “consequences” follow. Through such
techniques as classical conditioning (a la Pavlov’s dogs), operant conditioning (reinforcement,
punishment, and shaping), exposure, and social learning, behavior therapists help clients modify
their behaviors.
Behavioral Therapy
Behavioral Therapy or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, to be more specific, has been used to treat
depression for a number of years now. What these types of therapists assume is that a person’s
mood can be directly related to his or her own patterns of thought, and that is true in the sense of
whatever we think, we tend to be like (Prov 23:7), but we are not helpless victims of our
emotions or minds, so any behavioral therapy is only as good as the source (or the therapist). The
idea behind2Behavioral Therapy2is to help a person learn to recognize negative patterns of
thought and then evaluate their validity. After that, they can replace them with healthier ways of
thinking, however that’s a lot like the proverbial train going up the hill: “I think I can, I think I
can.” In other words, it depends on the person and no outside source of help. That already dooms
its effectiveness because without the Spirit of God, our thinking is totally introverted and we
often end up “navel-gazing,” meaning, it’s entirely self-focused. It’s good to try and think of
good things because the Apostle Paul said2“whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is
just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if
there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things”(Phil 4:8), so to an extent, we are
what we think, but we’re not always what we think we are because the human heart is
desperately wicked and deceitful above all things and only God can know it (Jer 17:9), so we
might think that what we’re doing is good…but God’s standard is the gold-standard for us, not
psychologists.
Behavioral Therapy is intended to help the patient fight depression, but also anxiety, panic
disorders, anger issues, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive
disorders, ADHD and even substance abuse problems, but this type of therapy depends on
strategies of men and so it is doomed to fail before it even begins. Some people are helped in this
but a therapist or counselor that is detached from the Word of God can only come up with human
means to solve a spiritual problem. It’s like trying to put a band aid on a cancerous lesion. It
might seem like it’s gone…but underneath, it is still there and worsening. The person who has
these (above) issues needs the Spirit of God to break free of these because we are not capable of
doing this on our own. There are some reports of success using Behavioral Therapy, but most of
the time, there is a regression and they are back where they started. Without the Spirit of God,
any therapy is only as good as the source of that therapy, and if it’s not from God, it’s only a
temporary fix.
The Spirit of God
There is nothing more powerfully capable of changing the human mind or heart than the Holy
Spirit (2nd Cor 5:17). That’s why the Apostle Paul said,“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by
the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,
which is your spiritual worship”2(Rom 12:1), so2“Do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect”(Rom 12:2). There it is. We can renew our mind, only
by the Spirit of God, and not by Behavioral Therapy or human counseling. Of course, receiving
human counsel is not bad if the counsel is based upon the Word of God (Prov 12:15), but if it’s
not biblically-based counseling, it’s nothing more than human speculation and thinking, and that
only leads to death (Prov 14:12). That’s because our ways are not His ways and our thoughts are
not His thoughts. The best way to be able to discern truth from error is to be involved in daily
Bible reading, study, and Bible studies. FBI agents memorize what 100 dollar bills look like so
that they can spot a counterfeit a hundred yards away, but if they never looked at real money,
they’d never know the counterfeits, so to discern God’s will, we need our minds renewed, and
the Word of God will do a wonderful job of that if you’re in it every single day.
Biblical Commentary on Behavior Therapy
Many psychologists found behaviorism to be overly reductionist, and Christians should have
problems with it as well. A focus on environmental influences on behavior minimizes the
complexity of personhood. People are more than mechanisms responding to stimuli, after all.
Human behavior is multifaceted, and behaviorism oversimplifies the issue. Also of concern for
Christians, behaviorism is founded in naturalism and therefore leaves little, if any, room for
God’s existence or any concept of spirituality.
Even with all its problems, behaviorism hits upon a truth. The Bible does demonstrate that we
are influenced by our environments. “Bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians
15:33). One reason God instructed the Israelites to destroy the nations they conquered was that
He knew the pagan culture would be a negative influence. Paul provides warnings against
associating with those who would draw believers away from God and against doing things that
might harm another believer’s faith (1 Corinthians 5:6-13; 10:14; 1Timothy 4:7, 14-16; Romans
14:13).
The Bible is certainly not opposed to behavior modification or increased choice (1 Timothy 4:7,
10; Romans 12:1-2; Galatians 5:1). However, following God is not about cleaning up our act.
Jesus did not come to save us from poor behaviors but from the death of sin. Behavioral
techniques can help Christians who are struggling against their sinful natures, but for complete
victory nothing can replace the power of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16; John 15:5).
Is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy the Same as Biblical Mind/Heart Renewal? (Romans
12:1-2; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:1-10).
My short answer is, “Absolutely not.”2
I’ll develop my longer answer in a moment.2
In the last three days, I’ve shared three posts on depression, medicine, and counseling:2here,2here,
and2here.22
These have been part of my interactions with my friend, David Murray.2
In one of David’s posts, he stated regarding cognitive-behavioral therapy that:2
“It’s actually one of the ways way the Bible describes and portrays how we work as well (Psalm
42; 73, 77; Proverbs 23:7; Romans 12:12; Philippians 4:8-9). If CBT is guilty of anything, it’s of
unwittingly plagiarizing the Bible’s insights!”2
Now, David doesn’t specifically mention Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 4:22-24; or Colossians 3:1-
10). (I’m not sure if his reference to Romans 12:12 was meant to be Romans 12:2?)2
However, many Christians who equate CBT with the Bible’s thinking on mind/heart renewal,
attempt to link CBT with the three major passages where Paul discusses the biblical concept of
putting off and putting on a whole way of life—Romans 12;1-2; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians
3:1-10.2
Let’s think about that attempted linkage.2
The Christo-Centric Context Foundational to All 3 Passages..
All three passages follow Paul’s extended discussions of Christ alone—Christ alone for
salvation, Christ alone for sanctification, Christ alone for all of life. We can’t read Romans 1-11,
Ephesians 1-4, and Colossians 1-2, and miss the gospel-foundation of everything!2
Before Paul ever talks about renewed minds in Romans 12, he has spent eleven chapters
discussing works, the law, and self-effort versus grace, the gospel, and redemption in Christ
alone.2
Before Paul ever talks about putting off the old unregenerate way of life in Ephesians 4:22-24, he
spends Ephesians 1:1-4:21 grounding the Ephesians in their gospel identity in Christ.2
Before Paul ever talks about putting on the new self in Christ, he spends two chapters building
the foundation that wisdom for living is found in Christ alone2andin warning believers not to be
taken captive by shallow, hollow, and deceptive human philosophies about how to live a healthy,
holy, whole life in Christ.2
So…for secular cognitive-behavioral therapy to be correlated to biblical mind/heart renewal and
putting off/putting on, it would need to build on a Christ-centric foundation. Of course, it does
not, and that makes all the difference in the world.2
We must be incredibly careful not to “baptize” a secular concept as a Christian concept simply
because they both appear to cover similar terrain: cognitions and behaviors. Yes, they both
address beliefs and behaviors, but from diametrically opposed worldviews—one that is Christo-
centric and the other that is self-centric.2
The Unregenerate/Regenerate and the Folly/Wisdom Focus in All 3 Passages2
In all three passages, Paul’s central theme is an eternal contrast between the unregenerate and the
regenerate way of thinking and living. Paul develops the same theme we find in Psalm 1—the
eternal contrast between folly and wisdom.2
Paul is not simply saying, “Change some thoughts which will then change behavior which will
then positively impact your feelings.”2
Paul is clearly saying, “Put off the worldly way of thinking/living/being and put on in Christ the
scriptural, biblical, Christ-focused, redeemed way of thinking/living/being.”2
Romans 12:2: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind.” CBT is2not2saying that. It is2not2addressing foolishness versus wisdom.
Just because CBT talks about cognitions, does not mean its worldview about cognitions has
anything to do with Paul’s discussion in Romans 12:2.2
In Ephesians 4:17-21, Paul’s entire point is to insist that we must no longer think like and live
like the unsaved do in the futility of their thinking about the source of life. They are darkened in
their understanding and separated from the life of God. Paul is saying:2
“Don’t go to those who are separated from the life of God to find out how to live wisely for and
through God!”2
In Colossians 3:1-11, Paul highlights that since we have been raised with Christ, we are to “set
our hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, and set our minds on
things above, not on earthly things.” He goes on to say that “we have to put on the new person
we already are in Christ—the new self, being renewed in Christ-centered knowledge and wisdom
in the image of the Creator.”2
Paul’s entire point in these passages is that the Christian must eschew the old unregenerate,
foolish, self-effort, non-Christ, works-based way of thinking about life. That is2notthe message
of CBT.2
So, if someone wants to practice CBT, fine, but please, let’s not make a simplistic equation
between CBT and Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 4:22-24; and Colossians 3:1-10. They are not
covering the same terrain in any similar foundational way.2
The Richer, More Robust, More Relational Emphasis Embedded in All 3 Passages.
Someone might say, “Well, then, are you suggesting we ignore cognitions and behaviors just
because CBT may handle them in a non-Christian way?”
Not at all.2
Instead, with Paul, I am suggesting that we address beliefs and behaviors in the much richer,
more robust, much deeper way Paul does in these three passages.2
Why take the shallow scraps from secular thinking when we have the full feast in Christlike
thinking?2
Ephesians 4:17-24 is just one example that is illustrative of all three of these rich passages. In
this passage, Paul dissects our thinking, our understanding, our relationship to Christ, our hearts,
our volitions, our motivations, our emotions, our longings and our lusts, and much more.2
In in each case, Paul talks not simply about individual beliefs, actions, or emotions to put on or
off. Instead, he talks about2deep-seated patternsof relational affections, rational mindsets,
volitional motivations, and emotional mood states that we put off and put on. Paul talks about
“the attitude of your mind”—the very spirit, core, or center of the depths of the heart—Paul goes
deep.2
And Paul does all of this in the context of holiness versus sinfulness. Our relationships, thoughts,
beliefs, motivations, actions, and emotions2are not neutral. We do all that we do2in relationship
to God as coram Deo beings.2
Additionally, Paul does all of this in the context of the believer2already having been changed by
Christ. “Since you2are already2a new creation in Christ, no longer live like the old you. Instead,
live like the new person you already are2in and through Christ.”2
The question is not so much,2“How do people change?”2The question is,2“How has Christ
changed people?”2Then we ask, “How do we, through the Spirit of God, Word of God, and
people of God live out the changed life that we already have in Christ?”
So, I am2not2saying and Paul is2not2saying to avoid cognitions and behaviors. Instead,
Paul2is2saying to address the depths of the full human personality with Christo-centric richness.
That is2not2CBT.2
The Body Life Context Embedded in All 3 Passages2
Others might say, “Well, this is all the domain of the ‘professionals’ and the ‘experts,” and
certainly not something a lowly pastor, or heaven forbid, a lay person, should get involved in!”2
Well, let’s use Colossians 3 as one example of how all three passages are embedded in a body
life context.2
Throughout Colossians, Paul is talking about the very matters that send people today to a
psychologist. Read Colossians 1-4, and we quickly see that Paul is talking about relational
problems, anger, addictive behavior, family matters, lust, poor parenting, emotions, habitual
behavior problems, suffering, etc., etc., etc. And he’s always talking about how to handle these
significant life issues in a Christlike way.2
And who does Paul send the Colossians to in order to address these significant life issues?2
To one another!2
It is right in the context of all these matters that we need to put off and put on that Paul writes:2
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as2members of one body2you were called to
peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and
admonish2one another2with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with
gratitude in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:15-16).2
Paul is saying to the Church:2
“Don’t take a back seat to anyone in addressing your significant life issues!”
