What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “biblical counseling”? It’s a phrase that’s been used for over half-a-century now. And in that time, it’s come to mean different things to different people.
Some people consider biblical counseling to be a codeword that signals biblical fidelity against the influence of modern secular psychology. Others think of it a codeword that signals an anti-intellectual and fundamentalist worldview.
Some people are intrigued by it, wanting a biblical alternative to the unhelpful and misleading psychological therapies they’ve been exposed to. Others are skeptical of it, having experienced growth or help through some other form of therapy.
Some people have been richly helped by it, experiencing their most profound seasons of spiritual growth come through time with a biblical counselor. And some people have been hurt by it, experiencing a particularly unloving, uncaring, or even abusive pastor or leader who called themselves a “biblical counselor.”
All this leaves the term biblical counseling in a difficult position. What is it? Who gets to define it? And how is it popularly understood in the larger evangelical church?
Throughout the history of the biblical counseling movement there have been various attempts to define biblical counseling. The Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) tries to provide an answer to these questions in their almost 5,000-word Standards of Conduct. Similarly, the Biblical Counseling Coalition does the same in their over 3,000 word Confessional Statement.
On the other end of the spectrum (length-wise) John Piper provided a 21-word definition in Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling. And I tried my own hand at a concise summary in Loving Messy People (32 words).
But, what might be helpful for those who are intrigued by biblical counseling—but unsure about it—is something a little more robust than 20-30 words, but not quite so lengthy as thousands of words. So, I want to provide you with eight key components of biblical counseling (almost all derived from Ephesians 4). I’m sure they’re not perfect, but I hope they’ll give you a better understanding of what biblical counseling is, how it differs from secular therapies, and why it’s so necessary for every Christian and every church.
1.) Biblical Counseling has a Unique Worldview: God
Biblical counseling is born out of a worldview that understands God as the ultimate creator and authority over the entire universe. God is over all, and through all, and in all (Eph 4:6) and that shapes the way we understand the world, ourselves, and our problems. Our hope is his hope. Our solutions are his solutions. Our goals are his goals.
2.) Biblical Counseling has a Unique Center: Christ
To be faithfully God-centered is to be Christ-centered (Eph 4:11-13). Therefore, biblical counseling always comes back to the redemptive work of Christ. The cross is the place we find redemption both of our suffering and of our sin. And we believe that what every person needs in every struggle and situation is Him.
3.) Biblical Counseling has a Unique Authority: The Bible
Everything we need to know about God, Christ, ourselves, and our world has been revealed through God’s word. The shortest summary of biblical counseling I know of is provided by the Apostle Paul (5 words – 3 words in Greek): “speaking the truth in love” (Eph 4:15) And the only trustworthy source of the truth we are called to speak is the Bible.
4.) Biblical Counseling has a Unique Understanding of People’s Problems: Suffering and Sin
Created in God’s image, we are each embodied souls. Our immaterial souls are inseparably connected (in this life) to our material bodies. And what effects one effects the other. When we suffer (whether physically or emotionally), it impacts us internally (Eph 4:14). When we sin (whether in thought, word, or deed), it has all sorts of external consequences (Eph 4:17-24). Biblical counseling understands peoples’ problems as a combination of both suffering and sin. And it recognizes that the hope for both is only found in Christ.
5.) Biblical Counseling has a Unique Goal: Knowing Christ and Growing in Christlikeness
All counseling has a goal. But the goal of biblical counseling is God-defined, Scripture-saturated, and Christ-centered. In short, the goal of biblical counseling is that we might know Christ better and (as a result of that knowledge) become more and more like him (Eph 4:12-13). Helping one another know and reflect Jesus is the singular goal of biblical counseling.
6.) Biblical Counseling has a Unique Means: Loving Care, Aimed at the Heart
Biblical counseling isn’t just “speaking the truth,” it’s “speaking the truth in love” (Eph 4:15). Biblical counseling, by its very nature then, is humble, gentle, patient, bearing, and eager to maintain unity (Eph 4:1-3). If it’s not motivated and shaped by love, it’s not faithful biblical counseling. And the same is true about the target of all loving counsel: the heart. Biblical counseling isn’t just about behavior or thought change, it’s about the spiritual renewal of our minds which transforms us from the inside out (Eph 4:20-24).
7.) Biblical Counseling has a Unique Context: Every Member, in the Local Church
Biblical counseling is not a solo endeavor. No biblical counselor should ever be ministering alone, because every Christian is called to this one-another ministry. Every Christian is called to speak the truth in love to those around them. And when every Christian (including pastors) is living out their call to care for those around them, it creates a culture of care in the church. Or, as Paul puts it: “when each part is working properly, [it] makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Eph 4:16).
8.) Biblical Counseling has a Unique Power: The Holy Spirit, and Prayer
Not only is no biblical counselor ever alone, being a part of the local church, but no biblical counselor is ever alone because they have the Spirit of God working in and through them. Jesus called the Spirit “the Counselor” (John 14:26), and he is the one who is ultimately doing the work of spiritual transformation. This is why, before Paul encourages the church to care for one another in this way, he prays for them. He prays that they may be strengthened by the Spirit to comprehend the immense love of Christ and “be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph 3:14-19).
Again, it might not be perfect, but I hope this summary helps clarify what we (particularly at IBCD) mean when we use the term “biblical counseling.” And I assume the distinctions between biblical counseling and the modern secular psychotherapies are bit clearer as well.
Even when a different form of counseling or therapy proves helpful in alleviating various symptoms, the reality is that every modern secular theory and therapy has:
- A different worldview
- A different center
- A different authority
- A different understanding of people’s problems
- A different goal
- A different means
- A different context
- A different power
That doesn’t mean various theories and therapies can’t observe things that are true, or even provide temporary relief to various forms of suffering. But it does mean that secular psychology and biblical counseling are fundamentally different.
We believe that our lives are from God and for God. We believe that his Word is God’s perfect revelation of truth. And we believe that our ultimate hope (in both our suffering and sin) is only Christ. Therefore, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Col 1:28).
This article is a brief summary of the first session of the upcoming Care and Discipleship – Los Angeles training. If you’d like to learn more, or are interested in exploring biblical counseling, we’d love for you to join us! Learn more and register here.
