Preface
1. John F. MacArthur et al., Think Biblically! (Wheaton: Crossway, 2003).
Introduction
1. Paul Gray, “The Assault on Freud,” Time 29 November 1993: 47.
2. Cited in Frank B. Minirth, Christian Psychiatry (Old Tappan, NJ: Revell, 1977), 27.
3. Sigmund Freud, New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis, lecture 35 (New York: Norton, 1977).
4. Vergilius Ferm, A Dictionary of Pastoral Psychology (New York: Philosophical Library, 1955), 208 (emphasis added).
Chapter One—Rediscovering Biblical Counseling
1. Much of this chapter has been adapted and expanded from John MacArthur, Our Sufficiency in Christ (Dallas: Word, 1991), 55–72.
2. See Martin and Deidre Bobgan, PsychoHeresy (Santa Barbara: EastGate, 1987), 53–54. The Bobgans list eight evidences of the “psychologizing of the church.”
3. Jay Adams, Competent to Counsel (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1970), 17–18. Adams’s extraordinarily accurate analysis of the state of counseling in evangelicalism is now more than a quarter of a century old but is more apropos than ever. He has given the Church an indispensable corrective to several trends that are eating away at the Church’s spiritual vitality. Christian leaders would do well to heed his still-timely admonition.
4. Jay Adams, More Than Redemption (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1979), x–xi.
5. Sigmund Koch, “Psychology Cannot Be a Coherent Science,” Psychology Today (September, 1969): 66.
6. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Healing and Medicine (Eastbourne: Kingsway, 1987), 144–45.
7. Bobgan, PsychoHeresy, 5–6.
8. See the comments of a psychological counselor cited in Bobgan, PsychoHeresy, 5–6: “At the present time there is no acceptable Christian psychology that is markedly different from non-Christian psychology. It is difficult to imply that we function in a manner that is fundamentally distinct from our non-Christian colleagues.”
9. Larry Crabb, Understanding People (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987), 54–58.
10. Crabb, Understanding People, 129.
11. Ibid., 211.
12. Quoted in Bobgan, PsychoHeresy, 23.
13. See Gary R. Collins, Christian Counseling: A Comprehensive Guide (Dallas: Word, 1980), 19.
14. Arthur Janov, The Primal Scream (New York: Dell, 1970).
15. Daniel Casriel, A Scream Away from Happiness (New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1972).
16. Leo Steiner, “Are Psychoanalysis and Religious Counseling Compatible?” A paper read to the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Harvard, November 1958. Cited in Adams, Competent to Counsel, 18–19.
17. “Psychiatry on the Couch,” Time 2 (April 1979): 74.
18. Ibid., 79.
19. Ibid.
20. Ibid., 82.
21. Ann Japenga, “Great Minds on the Mind Assemble for Conference,” The Los Angeles Times (18 December 1985).
22. Ibid., 17.
23. “A Therapist in Every Corner,” Time 23 (December 1985): 59.
24. Ibid.
25. Japenga, “Great Minds.”
26. “Therapist,” 59.
27. Japenga, “Great Minds.”
28. Adams responded skillfully to this kind of thinking, citing O. Hobart Mowrer’s The Crisis in Psychiatry and Religion in Adams, Competent to Counsel, xvi–xvii.
29. Nicole Brodeur, “Center Aids Christian Sex Addicts,” Orange County Register (13 February 1989).
30. Ibid.
31. Ibid.
Chapter Two—Biblical Counseling in Recent Times
1. For a useful introduction to this heritage, see Timothy Keller, “Puritan Resources for Biblical Counseling,” The Journal of Pastoral Practice 9, no. 3 (1988): 11–44, and chapter 2 of this book.
2. Jay E. Adams, The Christian Counselor’s Manual (Phillipsburg, N.J: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1973), 130. The first volume of Ichabod Spencer’s A Pastor’s Sketches was published in 1850, the second in 1853. Sketch was Spencer’s word for a case study. For a more detailed historian’s look at Spencer, refer to chapter 4 in E. Brooks Holifield, A History of Pastoral Care in America: From Salvation to Self-Realization (Nashville: Abingdon, 1983).
3. Readers interested in the history of the eclipse of the pastorate by the mental health professions can find a provocative analysis by Andrew Abbott, The System of Professions: An Essay on the Division of Expert Labor, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988). Read chapter 10, “The Construction of the Personal Problems Jurisdiction,” 280–314, especially 294–314. Abbott wrote of how pastors had the inside track to address people’s personal problems in the late nineteenth century. “But clergy analysis remained primitive. The gradual recognition of personal problems as legitimate categories of professional work did not bring a serious clergy effort to conceptualize them. The clergy’s failure to provide any academic foundation for their practice with personal problems ultimately proved their undoing” (286). The newborn mental health professions seized the field. Abbott went on to speak of the subsequent “drift of pastoral counseling towards secular psychotherapy” and “the clergy’s willful desertion of its traditional work” (310, 313).
4. For example, compare R. A. Torrey’s turn-of-the-century Personal Work: A Book of Effective Methods (New York: Fleming H. Revell, n.d.) with the earlier writers cited above. Though it has some redeeming qualities, Torrey’s book is impoverished in its understanding of people, of Scripture, of pastoral ministry, and of the change process.
5. Jonathan Edwards’ method (and subject matter) in A Treatise on Religious Affections was taken over by William James in The Varieties of Religious Experience (n.p., 1902), one of the foundational monographs in modern psychology.
6. Philip Rieff, The Triumph of the Therapeutic: Uses of Faith After Freud (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987), 24.
7. Sociologist and apologist Os Guinness turned Rieff’s insight into a multileveled call to repentance. See “America’s Last Men and Their Magnificent Talking Cure,” in No God But God, ed. Os Guinness and John Seel (Chicago: Moody, 1992), 111–132.
8. “The words ‘secular pastoral worker’ might well serve as a general formula for describing the function which the analyst, whether he is a doctor or a layman, has to perform in his relation to the public.” Sigmund Freud, “The Question of Lay Analysis, Postscript,” in The Freud Reader, ed. Peter Gay (New York: W. W. Norton, 1989), 682.
9. Carl Jung, Modern Man in Search of a Soul (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1933), 241. The last two chapters of this book, “The Modern Spiritual Problem” and “Psychotherapists or Clergy,” are telling. Jung viewed “neurosis” as a crisis in spiritual meaning, not a medical issue. Psychotherapy sought to give meaning to life. Jung exhorted therapists: what will they do when they see that the patient’s problems arise “from his having no love, but only sexuality; no faith, because he is afraid to grope in the dark; no hope, because he is disillusioned by the world and by life; and no understanding, because he has failed to read the meaning of his own existence?” (225f). The psychotherapist needed to embrace the task of providing love, faith, hope, and understanding to a secular people.
10. B. F. Skinner, Walden Two (New York: MacMillan, 1948), 199.
11. Charles Rosenberg’s seminal article in the history of psychiatry, “The Crisis in Psychiatric Legitimacy,” deserves wider readership (in American Psychiatry Past, Present, and Future, ed. George Kriegman et al. [Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1975], 135–148; reprinted in Charles Rosenberg, Explaining Epidemics and Other Studies in the History of Medicine [New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992]). Rosenberg noted, first, that psychiatry has been assigned and has assumed a huge social role—the varied ills of the human soul—but it has little real knowledge or efficacy to offer. Second, psychiatry depends on its medical identity for legitimacy, yet it is unable to provide either understanding or relief consistent with its pretensions to be a truly medical specialty. Third, psychiatry’s most clearly medical activity—caring for patients with chronic organic syndromes in hospitals—is low status; high status psychiatry is precisely where it becomes the most philosophical, pastoral, and quasi-theological. “Much of our century’s most influential psychiatric writing has consisted of general statements about the human condition” (142). Rosenberg accepted psychiatry’s legitimacy almost by default; by and large there is no other framework of meaning because older religious values “seem no longer compelling to most Americans” (147). But for those who still find the older religious values compelling, who believe in the God and Father of Jesus Christ, the alternative to psychiatry is delightful!
12. See Holifield, A History of Pastoral Care: From Salvation to Self-Realization. The book, as the subtitle reveals, is essentially the story of how a psychologized liberalism replaced orthodoxy. Holfield did not tip his own hand, but did make some provocative statements. For example, “When Harry Emerson Fosdick referred to the sermon as counseling on a large scale, he forgot that Protestant sermons, at their best, have interpreted an ancient text that resists reduction to the psychological” (356).
13. I have written at greater length elsewhere on the relationship between modern psychology and conservative Christianity. See David Powlison, “Integration or Inundation?” in Power Religion, ed. Michael Horton (Chicago: Moody, 1992), 191–218.
14. Betty Jane Adams, interview by the author, 4 December 1990.
15. Jay Adams wrote about this experience in The Power of Error, (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1978).
16. Jay E. Adams’ notes from a talk given by the chaplain at Marlboro State Hospital (New Jersey) in the mid-1960s.
17. Jay E. Adams, interview by the author, 4 December 1990.
18. Jay E. Adams, interview.
19. From the Greek word noutheteō, literally “place in mind,” which means reproof or admonishment or pointedly personal teaching. It is a word linked with bringing specific truth to bear on the details of an individual’s life. It is associated with intense love: for example, Paul’s “admonishing with tears” in Acts 20:31 and his “as my beloved sons I admonish you” in 1 Corinthians 4:14. It serves as a summary word for verbal edification: whether to one another (“competent to counsel one another,” Rom. 15:14), or under pastoral authority (1 Thess. 5:12). It also summarizes the verbal aspects of a parent raising children (e.g., “bring them up in the admonition of the Lord,” Eph. 6:4). Noutheteō “holds hands” with both teaching and worship in Colossians 3:16, reinforcing the sense of the word as involving a personal application of God’s truth, expressed in humility and tenderness and submission to God. Adams has been criticized for not picking parakaleō, which is more frequently used in the New Testament and is also a summary word for verbal edification (e.g., Heb. 3:13; 10:25). But as Adams has noted, the choice of words is indifferent—they can cover the same semantic field. Both words involve God’s truth applied to lives, both words communicate love and concern, and both words communicate an appropriate directness and toughness.
20. Jay E. Adams, Ready to Restore (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1981), 9–12.
21. Jay E. Adams, Insight and Creativity in Christian Counseling: An Antidote to Rigid and Mechanical Approaches (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982).
22. Westminster Theological Seminary, P.O. Box 27009, Philadelphia, PA 19118.
23. Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation, 1803 East Willow Grove Avenue, Glenside, PA 19038.
24. National Association of Nouthetic Counselors, 3600 W. 96th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46268–2905.
25. Jay E. Adams, Journal of Pastoral Practice 1, no. 1 (1977): 1.
26. The Journal of Biblical Counseling, 1803 East Willow Grove Avenue, Glenside, PA 19038.
27. Biblical Counseling Foundation, P.O. Box 925, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270.
28. Faith Baptist Counseling Ministry, 5526 State Road 26 East, Lafayette, IN 47905.
29. The Master’s College, 21726 Placerita Canyon Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91321. The Master’s Seminary, 13248 Roscoe Blvd., Sun Valley, CA 91352.
30. See D. Powlison, “Crucial Issues in Contemporary Biblical Counseling,” Journal of Pastoral Practice 9, no. 3 (1988): 53–78, for specific areas with a growing edge.
Chapter Three—Why Biblical Counseling and Not Psychology?
1. For a historical discussion of this jurisdictional dispute of who is qualified to give counsel, the psychiatrist or the pastor, see Andrew Abbott, The System of Professions: An Essay on the Division of Expert Labor (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1988) and David A. Powlison, “Competent to Counsel? The History of a Conservative Protestant Anti-psychiatry Movement” Ph.D. diss., University of Pennsylvania, 1996.
2. See Psalm 1:1–2; 119:50, 92; 2 Timothy 3:15–17; 2 Peter 1:3, 19–21.
3. See Luke 2:35; Hebrews 4:12–13.
4. See Psalm 73:25–28; Romans 11:36; 1 Corinthians 10:31; 1 John 1:3–4.
5. German for a comprehensive worldview.
6. One universal axiom taught to pastoral students regardless of the psychological tradition of the seminary illustrates the jurisdictional encroachment of the therapeutic agenda: “Pastoral counseling is only for the most basic problems of life (e.g. interpersonal struggles, pre-marital counseling). The pastor should never assume the counseling of the weightier issues of “mental diseases” (e.g. manic depression, the suicidal, panic attacks, schizophrenia, sadomasochism, multiple personalities, attention deficient, etc.) for which only a trained psychotherapist is qualified.” This reasoning is based upon the fundamental presupposition that the Word of God does not speak to the substance of these problems and referral needs to be made to a trained “professional” in the matters of the psychē (i.e. humanistic psychology).
7. Few realize Ladd was appointed the second president of the American Psychological Association before the more well-known William James.
8. Sigmund Koch, “Psychology Cannot be a Coherent Science,” Psychology Today: (September 1969), 66.
9. The more common are the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI/MMPI-2) and the Taylor-Johnson Temperament Analysis (T-JTA).
10. John F. MacArthur and Wayne A. Mack, Introduction to Biblical Counseling (Dallas, TX: Word, 1994), 7.
11. Occurs 101 times in the New Testament and over 900 in the Septuagint, most often translating the Hebrew nepeš (soul, breath), but occasionally lêb (heart, inner man, 25x), ḥayyâh (life, 5x), rûaḥ (spirit, 2x), and ’îš (man, 1x, Lev. 17:4).
12. Biblical usage of the term logos meant “word” or “law” while the Classical stressed the human discipline or study—ology. Also see an early distinction of psychē (unconscious soul) and thymos (conscious soul) in Homer, Iliad, 11, 334.
13. Matthew 25:15; Mark 5:30; Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 4:19–20; Philippians 3:10.
14. D. A. Carson, Exegetical Fallacies (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1984), 32–33.
15. In practice, it is the Bible that ends up supplementing psychotherapeutic theory in Christian psychology, not vice versa.
16. Frank B. Minirth, Christian Psychiatry (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell, 1977), 64–65.
17. Jay E. Adams, A Theology of Christian Counseling (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1979), 116.
18. Proverbs 30:5–6; see Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32; Matthew 5:18–20; Revelation 22:18–19.
19. Robert C. Roberts, “A Christian Psychology View,” Psychology & Christianity: Four Views ed. Eric L. Johnson and Stanton L. Jones (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2000), 159.
20. Ibid.
21. Ibid, 110. The Bible does not claim to be a textbook on biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy or business administration; but when it speaks in these areas, it speaks infallibly and authoritatively. However, the Bible does claim to be the counsel of God for man.
22. This is Dr. Dave Powlison’s term (instructor at the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation and professor at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia).
23. Robert S. Feldman, Essentials of Understanding Psychology, 4th ed. (Boston, MA: McGraw Hill, 2000), 4.
24. Karl Popper, “Science Theory and Falsifiability,” Perspectives in Philosophy, Robert N. Beck, ed. (New York, NY: Holt, Richart, Winston, 1975), 343.
25. Scott O. Lilienfeld, “The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice: Our Raison d’ Être,” The Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice (Spring-Summer 2002): 5.
26. See psychologist Harry Harlow’s classic study; H. F. Harlow and R. R. Zimmerman, “Affectional Responses in the Infant Monkey,” Science (1959): 130, 421–32.
27. Edward T. Welch, Blame it on the Brain? (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1998), 91.
28. David Powilson, “Critiquing Modern Integrationists,” The Journal of Biblical Counseling, XI (Spring 1993): 32.
29. Ibid., 33.
30. 1 Samuel 18:1; Matthew 22:37–40; Mark 12:30–31; Ephesians 5:28–29; see also Jay E. Adams, The Biblical View of Self-Esteem, Self-Love, Self-Image (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1986) and Paul Brownback, The Danger of Self Love: Re-examining a Popular Myth (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1982).
31. Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Melancholic, and Choleric have Latin roots that refer to the four bodily humors respectively—blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. It was believed by the ancient Greeks that an abundance of any of these humors in body determined personality characteristics.
32. National Association of Nouthetic Counselors, 3600 W. 96th St., Indianapolis, IN 46268–2905, www.NANC.org.
33. Lawrence J. Crabb Jr., Effective Biblical Counseling, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1977), 36–37.
34. A phrase coined by Jay Adams and heard personally by this author.
35. John H. Coe, “Why Biblical Counseling is Unbiblical?,” CAPS 1991 position paper presentation, 7, www-students.biola.edu~jay/bcresponse.html.
36. Ronald Barclay Allen, Praise! A Matter of Life and Breath (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1980), 140.
37. Ernst Jenni, Claus Westermann, Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament Vol. 3, Mark E. Biddle, trans. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1997), 1312–1317.
38. An excellent treatise for instructing counselees enduring unjust suffering is 1 Peter 2:13—4:19.
39. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, vol. 1, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, (Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press, rpt. 1960), 72.
Chapter Four—The Godward Focus of Biblical Counseling
1. John N. Oswalt, “Chabod,” in Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, ed. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer, Jr., B. K. Waltke (Chicago: Moody, 1980), 1:426. With all of its derivatives the term occurs 376 times in the Old Testament. Its most concrete usage is as the title for the theophanic glory-cloud that appeared as Israel departed Egypt (Ex. 13:22) and that indwelt the tabernacle (Ex. 40:34); chabod is used at least 45 times in the Old Testament of this visible manifestation of God.
2. Gerhard von Rad, “Chabod in the Old Testament,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. G. Kittel (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964), 2:235.
3. Two times in the Old Testament it is used of literal weightiness: Eli the priest is described as “heavy” in 1 Samuel 4:18, and the hair of Absalom is portrayed as “heavy on him” in 2 Samuel 14:26. Again, the term may be used of “slowness or dullness” as in a heavy (or hardened) heart (Ex. 7:14; 8:15, 18; 9:7); or of ears (Is. 6:10), a tongue (Ex. 4:10), or eyes (Gen. 48:10) that are dull and insensitive. Again, it may signify severity, as when used of work (Ex. 5:9), slavery (1 Kin. 12:10), warfare (Judg. 20:34), or a yoke (2 Chr. 10:4, 11).
4. Oswalt, “Chabod,” 426.
5. Note, such material wealth is referred to by the noun chabod, not because the term has a primary sense of riches, but because the riches were conceived of as giving the individual some distinctive honor. Thus the basic concept is that of weightiness, or that which distinguishes an individual, setting him or her apart from others.
6. Notice that the word “glory” in these verses is chabod.
7. Payne said of the glory-cloud, “[A] man of kavodh carries weight in the eyes of his fellows (Gen. 45:13). God’s Kavodh is, therefore, the visible extension of His divine perfection.” J. B. Payne, The Theology of the Older Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1962), 46. The term is transliterated in the Old Testament name Ichabod, which was given to a child born just after his mother learned that the ark of the covenant had been captured by the Philistines and that the glory-cloud had departed from Israel (1 Sam. 4:21); the term ichabod involves a rare usage of the Hebrew particle, but is best understood as meaning “no glory.”
8. These two aspects of the concept of God’s glory are sometimes distinguished as intrinsic glory (that which is inherent to God) and ascribed glory (the conscious acknowledgement of God’s glory by rational creatures). See, for instance, John F. MacArthur, Jr., The Ultimate Priority (Chicago: Moody, 1983), 128–30.
9. Notice that the word translated “honored” in both verses 17 and 18 by the NASB is the verb form of chabod in the Hebrew.
10. Notice that it was precisely this captivity in Babylon and the subsequent deliverance effected through the Persian, Cyrus, that was in view when YHWH declared in Isaiah 48:11, “For my own sake . . . I will act . . . and My glory I will not give to another.”
11. There is much discussion today as to whether the fall of Lucifer is referenced in Isaiah 14 (and/or in Ezekiel 28). I am persuaded that in those passages conscious reference is made to that primordial insurrection, but the point being made in the text here will stand even if the characterization of Isaiah 14 is in context restricted only to the wickedness of the king of Babylon.
12. A. H. Strong, Systematic Theology (Valley Forge, PA.: Judson, 1907), 572. This occurs in a section in which Strong was arguing “the essential principle of sin to be selfishness.” He insisted that selfishness is “not simply the exaggerated self-love which constitutes the antithesis of benevolence, but that choice of self as the supreme end which constitutes the antithesis of supreme love to God” (567). Although there are various suggestions as to what constitutes the essence of sin in Scripture (unbelief, hardness of heart, pride, sensuality, fear, self-pity, jealousy, greed, etc.), Strong’s point is well taken: given that love of God and man together constitute the whole law (Matt. 22:37–39; Rom. 13:8–10; Gal. 5:14; James 2:8), it is reasonable to conclude that love of self, which thus exalts self above God and above others, constitutes the fundamental violation of God’s law (2 Thess. 2:3–4). For other biblical arguments in defense of thus defining the essence of sin, see Strong, 572.
13. S. C. Burn, The Prophet Jonah (London: Houghter and Stoughton, 1880; reprint, Minneapolis: Klock and Klock, 1981), 130. Compare Pusey’s representation of the verb as meaning “to diligently watch, pay deference to, court” in E. B. Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1950), 1:410.
14. The verb is shamar, “to keep, guard, observe, give heed.” Austel stated that the basic idea of the root is “to exercise great care over and that this meaning “can be seen to underlie the various semantic modifications seen in the verb” in H. J. Austel, “Shamar,” Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody, 1980), 2:939. Pusey emphasized the fact that the verb means more than just to do vanities; it has to do with “they who observe, guard vanities, or lies, they, into the affections of whose hearts those vanities have entered; who not only do vanities, but who guard them, as loving them, deeming that they have found a treasure.” Pusey, Minor Prophets, 1:410.
15. Pusey, Minor Prophets,1:410. To understand something of the cruelty and greed of Assyria is to begin to comprehend Jonah’s anxiety to see that country destroyed, but none of that reduces the guiltworthiness of Jonah’s rebellion and flight.
16. C. F. Keil, “The Twelve Minor Prophets,” in Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, ed. C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1949), 1:403. There is some debate as to whether Jonah was criticizing the idolatrous religion of the pagans who had cast him overboard or his own wickedness in resisting YHWH. That the noun translated “vanities” is sometimes used with reference to idols is employed as an argument in favor of the contention that Jonah’s focus is upon the pagan rituals of the sailors. But the spirit of his prayer demonstrates that the prophet was speaking here of his own sin. Perhaps the reference to “lying vanities” included the admission that in resisting God he was treating his own desire for the destruction of Nineveh as an idol to be worshiped.
17. G. T. Coster, “Jonah,” in The Pulpit Commentary, ed. H. D. M. Spence and J. S. Exell, 22 vols. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1958), 55.
18. J. R. Thomson, “Jonah,” in The Pulpit Commentary, ed. H. D. M. Spence and J. S. Exell, 22 vols. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1958), 47.
19. Keil, “Minor Prophets,” 403.
20. Compare the observation of Eliphaz that man “drinks iniquity like water” (Job 15:16); Solomon’s observation, “Like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool who repeats his folly” (Prov. 26:11, quoted by Peter in 2 Pet. 2:22); Jeremiah’s rebuke of his contemporaries because their feet “loved to wander” (Jer. 14:10); Hosea’s application of his own unhappy domestic experience, as he rebuked his countrymen because they “direct their desire toward their iniquity” (Hos. 4:8); Jesus’ condemnation upon people because they “loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19); and Paul’s statement that people will be deceived by the man of sin because they “did not receive the love of the truth” but took “pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thess. 2:10, 12). The univocal testimony of Scripture is that the root cause of sin is not confusion but rebellion, that people obey wicked impulses not because those desires seem morally noble or spiritually credible but because their hearts long to do evil (Rom. 1:18–25).
21. In every one of these passages the word translated “life” (NASB) is psuche, the Greek term most often translated “soul.” The reference is not to the soul/spirit (i.e., the immaterial aspect of man) as opposed to the body (the material aspect); rather, Jesus was making reference to the “principle of life generally.” F. J. A. Hort, Expository and Exegetical Studies (Minneapolis: Klock and Klock, 1980; Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1987), 122.
22. Hort, Expository and Exegetical Studies,122.
23. J. Morison, A Practical Commentary on the Gospel According to St. Matthew (Boston: Bartlett, 1884; reprint, Minneapolis: Klock and Klock, 1981), 291.
24. J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (Greenwood, SC: Attic Press, 1965), 2:333.
25. A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God (Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 1982), 104.
Chapter Five—Counseling and the Sinfulness of Humanity
1. Adapted and abridged from The Vanishing Conscience (Dallas: Word, 1994).
2. Jerry Adler et al., “Hey I’m Terrific,” Newsweek (17 February 1992): 50.
3. Charles Krauthammer, “Education: Doing Bad and Feeling Good,” Time (5 February 1990): 70.
4. Cheryl Russell, “Predictions for the Baby Boom,” The Boomer Report (15 September 1993): 4.
5. Adler et al., “Terrific,” 50.
6. Ibid., “Terrific,” 50.
7. Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1952).
8. Ibid., viii.
9. Ibid., ix.
10. Adler et al., “Terrific,” 50.
11. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Plight of Man and the Power of God (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1945), 87.
12. George F. Will, “A Trickle-Down Culture,” Newsweek (13 December 1993): 84.
13. Dennis Prager, “The Belief that People Are Basically Good,” Ultimate Issues (January–March 1990): 15.
14. Prager, “People Are Basically Good,” 15.
15. J. C. Ryle, Holiness (1879; reprint, Durham, England: Evangelical Press, 1991), 9–10.
Chapter Six—The Work of the Spirit and Biblical Counseling
1. Wendy Kaminer, I’m Dysfunctional, You’re Dysfunctional (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1992).
2. Ibid., 121.
3. Ibid., 124.
4. Kaminer, I’m Dysfunctional, You’re Dysfunctional, 124–125.
5. John Murray, Redemption—Accomplished and Applied (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955), 161.
Chapter Seven—Spiritual Discipline and the Biblical Counselor
1. Jay Adams, What to Do On Thursday (Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1982), 31–49.
2. Jay Adams, The War Within (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1989), 87–88.
3. Jay Adams, A Theology of Counseling (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979), 309–325.
4. Jerry Bridges, Trusting God (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1989), 25–26.
Chapter Eight—Developing a Helping Relationship with Counselees
1. We could discuss at length the necessity of the counselor’s involvement with Christ for only when he or she has a vital, intimate relationship with the Lord can counseling be truly effective (see Matt. 7:3–5; Acts 4:13; 1 Cor. 11:1). But this chapter will primarily discuss the counselor’s involvement with the counselee, an involvement intended to develop and maintain a facilitative relationship between the two. Ultimately and preeminently the purpose for that involvement is to enhance the counselee’s involvement with Christ. This vertical dimension is what makes biblical counseling different from all other forms of counseling.
2. Adapted from Jay Adams, The Christian Counselor’s Casebook (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1974), 186.
3. Unfortunately, the counselor who does this lends validity to the criticism that biblical counselors merely “throw out Bible verses” or “shove Scripture down people’s throats.” As we will see later in this chapter, that kind of “biblical” counseling is patently not biblical.
4. Clara’s sin in the situation was of utmost importance and needed to be dealt with as the counseling continued. But by taking the approach he did, the counselor gave Clara the impression that he did not consider her husband’s sin to be very serious, which immediately created a wall between them because of her preoccupation with her husband’s hurtful actions.
5. Of course the counselor cannot make the counselee view him or her as a friend or ally. Some people we work with may be so predisposed against us that nothing we do will reverse this attitude. Our responsibility is simply to do whatever we can to be the kind of person that deserves their respect and trust.
6. See Matthew 14:14; Luke 10:33; 15:20.
7. Of course not every counselee will respond with the proper respect for us even if we do all we can to respect them. In some cases, we may deal with people who simply respect no one. But we still must exemplify a godly honor for them and trust that God will use our example to convict them of their own pride.
8. Adapted from Gerard Egan, The Skilled Helper: Model Skills and Methods for Effective Helping (Monterey: Brooks/Cole, 1986), 76–77.
9. Gerald Corey, Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy (Monterey: Brooks/Cole, 1977), 179.
10. Jay Adams, Handbook of Church Discipline (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986), 30–32. See also George Scipione, “The Limits of Confidentiality in Counseling,” Journal of Pastoral Practice 7, no. 2.
11. Philip E. Hughes, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, in The New International Commentary on the New Testament, ed. G. D. Fee (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962), 124.
12. This, of course, does not mean that we should tell our counselees everything about ourselves or volunteer everything we are thinking at any given time. Nevertheless, a willingness to share our thoughts and experiences with them is a good indicator of the godliness of our attitudes toward them, toward ourselves, and toward God. Reluctance to be open and transparent, even when appropriate and helpful, may indicate pride and a fear of man.
13. Vincent D. Foley, An Introduction to Family Therapy (New York: Grune and Stratton, 1974), 84–85.
Chapter Nine—Instilling Hope in the Counselee
1. See sample of Personal Data Inventory form on page 265.
2. Two classic examples of this are people who open a Bible and read whatever verse their eyes first notice, or those who swing a finger over a page with their eyes closed and let it fall on the verse God wants them to read that day. People who do this often end up trying several times because they first happen upon an inappropriate verse such as Exodus 16:36: “Now an omer is a tenth of an ephah.”
3. For a discussion of the contextual meaning of this verse, see John MacArthur, Jr. Matthew 16—23 (Chicago: Moody, 1988); or William Hendriksen, The Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1973).
4. Colin Brown, ed., The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976), 240.
5. Paul’s attitude is especially meaningful in light of the integral part he played in the foundation of the Church. It would have been easy for him to focus on avoiding prison or death, with the idea in mind that God had called him to apostleship and therefore needed Him to complete the divine plan. But even Paul was expendable, and he knew it. Like him, we should never compromise the truth because we think we are too important to suffer the consequences of standing for it.
6. This includes even the most wicked intents and actions of mankind. See Acts 2:22–23 where Peter says that the crucifixion of Christ was foreordained by God—certainly that was the vilest, most sinful event in world history, yet it produced more good than any other event ever will.
7. Christian Science and the Word/Faith movement essentially deny the reality of bad circumstances (such as sickness). For more information on Christian Science, see Walter Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults (Minneapolis: Bethany, 1985). For more information on the Word/ Faith error, see D. R. McConnell, A Different Gospel (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1988); and John F. MacArthur, Jr., Charismatic Chaos (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992).
8. Tim Stafford, “The Therapeutic Revolution,” Christianity Today 37, no. 6 (1993): 24–32.
9. The practical implications of that quote are frightening. It implies that a person with problems must have the help of another person (besides God) to choose what is right, and also that the only person who can help is someone who has knowledge beyond that revealed in Scripture. Counselors who persuade people of such helplessness will only succeed in making them dependent upon their counsel.
10. For more information on this issue, see Jay Adams, “What To Do When You Counsel An Unbeliever,” in A Theology of Christian Counseling (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979), 309–326.
11. For an excellent discussion of both the nature of true faith and the danger of false profession, read John F. MacArthur, Jr., The Gospel According to Jesus (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988); and Faith Works: The Gospel According to the Apostles (Dallas: Word, 1993).
12. This is not to say that if a person falters in faith during trials we can automatically conclude that he or she is not a Christian. Proverbs 24:10 says, “If you are slack in the day of distress, / Your strength is limited.” There could be several reasons for the limit on someone’s strength. It could be that the person has true faith but has let it become weak (like the disciples at times in the gospels). On occasion, Jesus spoke of their “little faith.” Sometimes weakness in faith is due to the fact that the individual is a young believer, or it could be that the person has neglected the spiritual disciplines that strengthen faith (Rom. 10:17; Eph. 3:16–19; Heb. 3:12–13; 10:24–25; 2 Pet. 1:5–9). Weakness in faith also happens when people take their focus off the Lord and allow themselves to become spiritually dull (Dan. 11:32; Heb. 12:2; Rev. 2:1–7). Or, in some instances, a person is weak because he or she has no true faith and therefore no power to stand during hard times. Because weak faith can be symptomatic of various things, biblical counselors must seek to discover what it signifies and address that particular need.
13. John MacArthur et al., Think Biblically! (Wheaton: Crossway, 2003).
14. Psalm 3:1–6; 4:1–8; 127:2; Proverbs 3:13–16; 19:23; Ecclesiastes 5:12.
15. Jerry Bridges, Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1988), 175.
16. For an excellent discussion of the sufficiency of our spiritual resources, see John F. MacArthur, Jr. Our Sufficiency in Christ (Dallas: Word, 1991).
17. Not only proactive sin, but reactive sin, that is, unbiblical responses to the manifestations, expressions, or results of sin in our world; not necessarily nor primarily sinful actions but unbiblical attitudes, desires, thoughts, concepts, ideas (Prov. 4:23; James 1:13–16); not necessarily presumptuous or deliberate sins but also sins of ignorance, or secret sins (Ps. 19:12–14; Luke 12:46–47; 1 Tim. 1:13); not merely sins of commission but sins of omission (Rom. 3:23; 1 John 3:4); not merely behavioral sins but motivational sins or idolatrous sins where the primary focus of life is to please and serve self or other people, where the main concern, confidence, and desire of life is something or someone other than God, where as Romans 1:25 puts it: “They worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator” (Jer. 17:5–10; Ezek. 14:1–9; Rom. 1:18–32; 1 Cor. 10:1–13; Heb. 4:12). Sin may be defined as any thought, action, reaction, response, attitude, ruling desire, motive, choice, feeling, or habit pattern that is contrary to the revealed moral will of God in the Bible, whether known by the person or not, and whether deliberately and consciously chosen or committed as a habitual pattern of response. (See also Ex. 20:1–17; Ps. 51:5; 58:3; Matt. 5:17—7:28; Mark 7:21–23; Rom. 7:21–25; 14:23; Gal. 5:19–21; Eph. 2:1–3; 4:17–22; Heb. 4:12–13; James 4:17.)
Chapter Ten—Taking Counselee Inventory: Collecting Data
1. Pastors, in particular, may find it difficult to listen to counselees. Gifted in teaching and accustomed to speaking from the pulpit, a pastor tends to take a one-sided approach in counseling. Pastors need to be aware of the differences between preaching and counseling and take care not to approach them in the same way.
2. Jay Adams, The Christian Counselor’s Casebook (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1974), 16. Used by permission.
3. This process is usually related to the development of the facilitative relationship we discussed in chapter 8. Counselees with walls built around themselves want to know that they can trust the counselor before they will share the concerns that are central to their problems.
4. Robert Smith, M.D., “Sleep,” The Journal of Pastoral Practice 4, no. 2 (1980): 36–43, citing Julius Segal, Ph.D., “Missing Sleep Dangerous,” Family Practice News 2, no. 17 (1972).
5. Following is an excerpt from an article written by Arnold Fox, M.D. called “Caffeine—Unexpected Cause of Fatigue”: “Simply put, caffeine is nothing more than a cruel hoax you play on yourself. You take in caffeine to give yourself a ‘lift.’ You get the lift—but you also set yourself up for fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Fatigue, followed closely by anxiety and depression, is the most common complaint we physicians hear from our patients. Although there are many causes of fatigue, one of the most common, and most often overlooked cause is ‘caffeinism’—the consumption of caffeine” (Let’s Live [April 1982]: 19–20). For other information on the effects of caffeine, see Bob Smith, “Caffeine,” The Journal of Pastoral Practice 1, no. 1 (1977): 95–96.
6. When you do advise counselees to exercise, however, suggest that they be involved in a form of exercise that is noncompetitive, otherwise they may compound their stress rather than release it. Some people are so competitive they cannot participate in sports without being obsessed with winning. It is important to understand the individual’s tendencies in this area in order to design an exercise plan that will be helpful.
7. For some helpful discussions of this truth, see S. I. McMillen, None of These Diseases (Old Tappan, NJ: Revell, 1973); Smith, “Caffeine,” 79–92; and Jay Adams, Competent to Counsel (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970), chapter 7.
8. Many times a counselor who suspects this will not be able to confirm it alone but will need to advise the counselee to ask a physician about a possible connection.
9. Doctors are issued a new book each year by the drug companies and often will pass along the previous year’s book to a counselor who asks for it.
10. For further reading on this issue, see Bob Smith, “The Use of Drugs in Counseling,” The Biblical Counselor (May 1992): 1, 4.
11. Romans 8:7–8 says that “the mind set on the flesh [the mind of the unsaved person] is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” And 1 Corinthians 2:14 says that “a natural man [again, someone who is unsaved] does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”
12. It is not our place to pronounce judgment upon the spiritual state of those who profess to know Christ (1 Cor. 4:5; James 4:11–12), so we must treat them as believers unless they ascribe to doctrinal heresy, are guilty of continuing, flagrant, ungodly conduct (2 John 9–11), or are placed under discipline by the church (Matt. 18:17). But if their responses and conduct cause us to question the validity of their profession, we certainly can and should challenge them to examine their spiritual condition (2 Cor. 13:5). Some materials that are helpful in this process are John MacArthur, Jr.’s tape series Examine Yourself (Grace to You) and chapter 5 in his book Saved Without A Doubt (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1992).
13. Social resources are particularly important because there may be people in the counselees’ environment (such as church or family) who can be enlisted to help with their problems. Many counselors miss such opportunities simply because they fail to gather the appropriate data.
14. The Bible speaks not only of sins of commission but also sins of omission. God is concerned that we exert a positive influence on those around us through good deeds (Matt. 5:13–16; Eph. 4:22–32; James 4:17).
15. Second Corinthians 10:4–5 contains another often overlooked reference to the mind. Here Paul talked about the intense spiritual warfare we are involved in, and then said we fight it by “taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” And in James 4:1–6, describing why people do the ungodly things they do, James said that the source of these problems is in our “pleasures (desires) that wage war in [our] members” (v. 1), in our lusts (v. 2), in our idolatry or spiritual adultery (v. 4), and in our pride (v. 6).
16. Issues that need to be addressed include family of origin, marital history, other significant relationships, problems in school or family, and possible physical or sexual abuse. We need to be concerned about any shaping experience from the past, especially those that the counselee believes are important.
17. For further reading about errors concerning the past, see John Bettler, “Toward A Confession of Faith on the Past,” and Steve Viars, “Handling the Past Biblically,” both in The Biblical Counselor (July 1993): 1–4.
18. Some passages that refer to the effect of our past on our current lives are Genesis 25:27–28; 26:1–5; 2 Chronicles 22:1–4; Proverbs 5:22–23; 22:6; Jeremiah 13:23; Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21; 2 Timothy 1:5; 3:15; and 1 Peter 1:18.
19. We should be willing to listen to the history of those we counsel, if for no other reason than it is important to them. If we conclude from the start that their past is irrelevant and show no concern about it, it will be extremely difficult to establish the necessary facilitative relationship between counselor and counselee (see ch. 10).
20. See Numbers 11—23; Deuteronomy 24:16; Proverbs 6:30–31; Luke 6:27–38; Romans 12:17–21; 14:10–12; Galatians 6:5; James 1:2–5; and 1 Peter 1—5.
21. See Genesis 3:1–4; 4:1–14; 12:10–20; 14:14–23; 22:1–14; 26:1–7; 2 Kings 19:1–28; Psalm 3:1–2; 73:1–28; Proverbs 1:10–19; 13:20; 22:24–25; 30:7–9; 1 Corinthians 15:33; 16:10; 2 Corinthians 1:8–9; Galatians 2:11–12; 1 Timothy 2:1–2; 2 Timothy 2:16–18; Hebrews 10:24–25; Revelation 2 (vv. 2–3, 9, 13, 15, 19–20, 24); 3:8–9, 15–17.
22. An exception to this rule would be when the counselor senses that the discussion is getting too heavy and decides to lighten it up by allowing the counselee to respond to something different for a few moments.
23. Adams, Casebook, 90.
24. A study of the questions Jesus asked in the gospels reveals that He asked what questions much more often than why questions. For instance, in Mark 8—10 Jesus asks twenty questions; seventeen of them are what questions.
25. This kind of question is helpful in certain circumstances, such as when you want to get a commitment from a counselee, when you need to clarify what you think he or she has been saying, and when the counselee is getting uncomfortable (because closed-ended questions are usually less threatening than open-ended questions).
26. Those questions followed by an asterisk are adapted from David Powlison’s class notes.
27. Halo data can also provide material for questions: “When I asked you that question you seemed upset. Could you help me to understand what bothered you about the question?” “You seem angry with me today. Is there something I have done to upset you?” “You seem a little preoccupied. What are you thinking about?” In many cases the questions inspired by halo data yield key information.
28. For examples of data-gathering homework, see Wayne A. Mack, A Homework Manual for Biblical Living, 2 vols. (Phillipsburg, PA: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1979); Wayne A. Mack, Your Family God’s Way (Phillipsburg, PA: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1991); and Wayne A. Mack, Preparing for Marriage God’s Way (Tulsa, OK: Hensley, 1987).
29. I suggest that this be done during the session in a limited way—write down important phrases, statements, or ideas for future recollection, reflection, and development. After the session is concluded, the counselor may want to take a few minutes to reflect, evaluate, and record any other significant information. That would also be a good time to plan tentatively what will be done in the next session.
Chapter Eleven—Interpreting Counselee Data
1. Jay Adams, The Christian Counselor’s Casebook (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1974), 162.
2. Perhaps Gus is evaluating himself wrongly in light of what other people can do physically, instead of recognizing that they may have different constitutions. He may think he cannot be useful or successful because he does not have the physical strength that others have.
3. Their involvement may be helpful, even crucial, for Gus to repair the broken relationship with his father.
4. If Gus has accomplished some tasks in his life, and especially if he is successfully carrying out responsibilities in other areas, we can challenge his claim that he lacks “ego strength.” We can build on his successful completion of past and present tasks to challenge and encourage him.
5. The reason for questioning Gus about what he thinks God would say is to encourage him subtly to think through his presuppositions rather than blasting him with the truth (see Eph. 4:15). We would need to encourage Gus to think on his own and help him to come to the conclusion that he is seeing things differently than God sees them.
6. See pages 134–135.
7. See 1 Corinthians 3:1–2; Hebrews 5:12–14.
8. Other passages in Proverbs that speak of the fool are 9:7; 13:20; 14:7; 17:10, 12; 22:10; 23:9; 26:3–5, 12; and 27:22.
9. Paul used the term to refer to those who are considered deficient in 1 Corinthians 1:27: “God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong.”
10. Proverbs 1:33 also reveals something about fear (and instability and insecurity). It says that those things are often the result of not listening to or obeying God’s Word.
11. Paranoia, a Greek word found in 2 Peter 2:16, is translated “madness” or “foolishness.” It is a combination of two Greek words: one means “to be at or by the side of” and the other refers to the mind. So, literally, a person experiencing paranoia is a person who is “by the side of his or her mind” or “out of his or her mind.” That person is not viewing things realistically, rationally, accurately, and is not in touch with reality. As a result, the individual may experience panic attacks and delusions and act in other bizarre ways.
12. See Proverbs 5:22; Jeremiah 13:23; 22:21; and Ephesians 4:22.
13. Another example of bizarre behavior resulting from sin and the judgment of God is found in Deuteronomy 28:28–29.
14. For an excellent discussion of the role of personal discipline in the process of spiritual growth, see John MacArthur, Jr., “A Balance of Faith and Effort,” in Our Sufficiency in Christ (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1991).
15. For instance, Proverbs 22:24–25 says, “Do not associate with a man given to anger; / Or go with a hot-tempered man, / Lest you learn his ways, / And find a snare for yourself.” You may encounter a counselee struggling with anger who is surrounded by a lot of angry people. A change in environment and companions may be an important part of the solution.
16. See H. R. Lewis and M. E. Lewis, Psychosomatics (New York: Viking, 1972).
17. Drugs can be very misleading in this area. If medication seems to be helping someone, that does not necessarily mean the problem is organic. The medication may alleviate some of the symptoms but still not solve the root problem. So the fact that drugs are helping does not necessarily prove that the cause is organic.
18. There are seventy-two references to the heart in the book of Proverbs.
19. Other representative passages indicating the crucial significance of the heart are Genesis 6:5; 8:21; Deuteronomy 5:29; 6:5; 10:12; 11:13; 26:16; 30:6; 1 Samuel 16:7; 2 Chronicles 19:3; 30:19; Ezra 7:10; Psalm 27:3; 28:3; 76:5; 101:4; 140:2; Proverbs 3:1–6; 6:14, 18, 25; 7:24; 11:20; 12:2; 15:13–15; 16:23; 20:9; 21:2; Matthew 5:8; 9:4; 12:33; 23:26; Luke 16:15; Acts 5:3; 16:14; Romans 1:21, 24; 2:5; 8:7; 10:9–10; Ephesians 3:17; 4:17; Hebrews 3:8–15; 8:10; 10:16, 22; and James 3:8.
20. When Moses described the incident Paul was referring to (Numbers 11), he focused on the hearts of the people as well. Verses 4 and 34 both mention “greedy desires” as the source of their sin.
21. First John 2:14–16 provides some clear and helpful direction to biblical counselors for interpreting the motivations of counselees. This passage identifies the three primary areas of heart idolatry: the lust of the flesh (inordinate, controlling desires for sensual pleasure, for ease and comfort, for physical gratification; see Gen.3:6; 19:33, 35; Num. 11:1–34; Prov. 21:17; 23:20–21, 29–35; Eccl. 10:16–17; Luke 21:34; Rom. 13:11–14); the lust of the eyes (covetousness and greed, a controlling desire for profit or for material things: see Deut. 15:19; 1 Sam. 25:11; 1 Kings 21; Joshua 7; Prov. 28:22–23; Eccl. 4:8; 5:9–11; Matt. 6:18–34; Col. 3:5; 1 Tim. 6:9–10); and the pride of life (inordinate ruling desires to be great in one’s self and for self, to be accepted and approved, to have power and be in control, to be recognized and respected, to be regarded as successful; Gen. 3:16; Judg. 9:1–21; 1 Sam. 25:36; Ps. 10:3–4; Prov. 13:10; 16:5; 25:27; 27:2; 28:25; 29:25; 30:13; Is. 10:7–11; 37:12–13; Jer. 45:5; Dan. 4:20–27; Amos 6:1–6; Matt. 23:5; 6:1–6; 21:15; Luke 18:11; Acts 12:23; Rom. 12:3; 3 John 9–10). It is often profitable to determine whether a counselee is falling prey to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life. For a helpful exposition of those areas of sin, see J. Cotton, An Exposition of 1 John (Evansville: Sovereign Grace Publishers), 190–205.
22. See T. Keller, “Puritan Resources for Biblical Counseling,” The Journal of Pastoral Practice 9, no. 3 (1988): 11–41 for an excellent treatment of idolatrous desires.
23. Always inform the counselee that you are doing this. In most cases it is best to ask for the counselee’s permission.
Chapter Twelve—Providing Instruction Through Biblical Counseling
1. See Proverbs 6:23; Matthew 22:29; Ephesians 4:11–12; 1 Thessalonians 4:13; 1 Timothy 4:6, 11, 16; 2 Timothy 2:16–18; Titus 1:10–11.
2. Quoted in F. S. Mead, ed., The Encyclopedia of Religious Quotations (Westwood, NJ: Revell, 1965), 24.
3. Second Timothy 3:16–17 teaches the same truth when it says that Scripture is able to make us “adequate, equipped for every good work.”
4. Epistemology is the area of philosophy commonly called “the science of knowing,” which seeks to answer the questions “How do we know?” and “What can we know?”
5. R. Pratt, Jr. wrote, “All that can properly be called truth, not just so called ‘religious truth’ resides first in God and men know truly only as they come to God’s revelation of Himself as the source of truth, for it is God who teaches man knowledge (Ps. 94:10). . . . This dependence of man on God in the area of knowledge does not mean that men are without true ability to think and reason nor that they are ‘programmed’ by God in analogy to the way computers ‘know.’ Men do actually think, yet, true knowledge is dependent on and derived from God’s knowledge as it has been revealed to man.” Every Thought Captive (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, 1979), 17.
6. See chapter 3 for more information about epistemological issues.
7. This certainly applies to anything written by an unsaved person, such as a secular psychologist, because even when an unsaved person makes a basic observation about the world or reiterates an idea taught by Scripture, there is still a dangerous tinge of falsehood to what that person says. Richard Pratt, Jr. wrote, “We may speak of such statements as false because they are not the result of voluntary obedience to God’s revelation. . . . Beyond this, the statements are falsified by the non-Christian framework of meaning and therefore lead away from the worship of God. If nothing else, the mere commitment to human independence falsifies the non-Christian’s statements” (ibid.).
8. J. C. Ryle, Practical Religion (Cambridge: James Clark, 1959), 81.
9. A contemporary book that contains helpful discussions of these attributes of Scripture is Noel Weeks, The Sufficiency of Scripture (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1988). See also John MacArthur, Jr., Our Sufficiency in Christ (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1991).
10. Two other verses that emphasize the danger of using the Scriptures inaccurately in our ministry to others are 1 Timothy 1:8 where Paul said that “the Law is good if one uses it lawfully” and Mark 7:13 where Jesus spoke of those who make void the Word of God by adding to it their own traditions.
11. See chapter 9, pages 115–122 for a further discussion of this concept.
12. Two other tools that would be helpful are A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, 6 vols. (Nashville: Broadman, 1930); and The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 3 vols. ed. Colin Brown (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975).
13. This is a pertinent example because the book of Proverbs is one of the few books in Scripture where we normally do not have to worry about context (because it is made up of mostly short, unrelated sayings). But this example proves that even when we are quoting a proverb, we need to examine the context to see if we are using it correctly.
14. When we approach a passage, we need to ask the questions “What is the Holy Spirit trying to communicate in this passage?” and “What does He want to accomplish through it?” And rather than just launching into our study of a passage assuming we are able to ascertain its meaning, we ought to pray, “Holy Spirit, this is Your book, You gave it to us. Please help me to understand this part of it correctly. Help me to learn what You meant to say in it.”
15. Governmental authority is similar to a husband’s. First Peter 2:13 says, “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man” (KJV), but it was the author of that book who led the stand against the authorities in Acts 5. For a thorough discussion of the submission required of a wife, see Rediscovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, ed. John Piper and Wayne Grudem (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1991); and Wayne A. Mack, Strengthening Your Marriage (Harmony, PA: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1977).
16. From Luther’s Works, vol. 54 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1967), 45.
17. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1971), 76.
18. See chapter 14, endnote 21.
19. This is such an important method of instruction that it is really not optional. Scripture teaches that we cannot truly learn without doing (see James 1:22–25), and so it is never enough for us to simply heap information on our counselees. We need to give them opportunities (in the sessions and through homework assignments) to put the knowledge that they are acquiring into practice.
20. The following verses would be helpful for a further study of the biblical manner of instruction: Proverbs 15:1, 4; 16:21, 24; Acts 20:31; Galatians 6:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:9–10; 1 Timothy 3:3; 4:6; 5:1–2; 6:2, 13; 2 Timothy 1:6; 2:16–17, 23–24; 4:1; Titus 2:6–9, 15; 3:1.
21. It is helpful to accumulate ideas for homework assignments in a similar fashion. Place a list of assignments that relate to a particular problem in a notebook next to biblical information on that problem so those ideas will be easily accessible in the counseling session.
22. NANC’s address is 3600 W. 96th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46268. CCEF’s address is 1803 East Willow Grove Avenue, Glenside, PA 19118.
23. NANC publishes The Biblical Counselor (monthly), and CCEF publishes The Journal of Biblical Counseling (quarterly; formerly known as The Journal of Pastoral Practice).
24. See chapter 18 for a more complete listing of resources for counselor development as well as resources for counselees.
Chapter Thirteen—Biblical Counseling and Inducement
1. See Psalm 139:13; 51:17; Jeremiah 3:10; 4:4; 29:13; Ezekiel 14:1–9; Joel 2:13; Matthew 5:8; 15:8–9; Acts 8:21; Romans 2:5, 29; 2 Timothy 1:5; Hebrews 4:12; James 4:8.
2. Matthew 19:26; John 15:1–16; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 7:1; 9:8; Ephesians 4:22–24; Philippians 4:13; Colossians 3:1–14; Hebrews 12:1–4; Jude 24–25.
3. See 2 Chronicles 20:13; Psalm 57:7; Matthew 25:24–28; Luke 15:11–18; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20; Galatians 5:1; Ephesians 4:1–3; 1 Peter 4:1–2.
4. Indicative refers to statements of fact, as opposed to imperative (commands), or interrogative (questions).
5. John Murray writes, “The future tense, ‘we shall live’ does not refer exclusively to the future resurrection state but, as found above (see v. 5), points to the certainty of participation in the resurrection life of Christ here and now; it is the life of Spiritual, mystical union.” The New International Commentary on the New Testament—Romans, ed. G. D. Fee (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), 223.
6. John MacArthur, Jr., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Romans 1–8 (Chicago: Moody, 1991), 336–337.
7. Another helpful illustration of biblical motivation is found in the book of Hebrews. The audience of that book included people who were thinking of entering the Christian life and those who were about ready to give up on it, so the author was trying to motivate them to commit themselves to Christ or to persevere in that commitment. Throughout the book the author exhorted the reader by saying, “Let us . . .” (4:1, 11, 14, 16; 6:1; 10:22–24; 12:1, 28; 13:13, 15). Each of those verses yields additional insights about biblical principles of motivation.
8. Those who exhibit such behavior have probably used this technique many times in the past and have found that it kept them safe from having to be honest and admit their sin.
9. For further details see Chapter 9.
10. For a helpful discussion of this issue, see the chapter entitled “A Balance of Faith and Effort” in John MacArthur, Jr. Our Sufficiency in Christ (Dallas: Word, 1991).
11. Consider Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, for example (Matt. 26:36–44). At that time He certainly did not feel like obeying God and facing the agonies of the cross (vv. 37–38), but despite His feelings He prayed, “Not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”
12. Tom Carter, Spurgeon At His Best (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1988), 263.
13. This is the reason for most marriage counseling. Many couples try without success to solve their problems by themselves and then need to find help outside their relationship. They should not be hesitant or feel ashamed to share their problems with a godly counselor, because in doing so they will be following the command Jesus gave in Matthew 18:16.
14. This is an important reason why biblical counseling is best done in the context of the local church (or at least in cooperation with it). Counseling outside of that context lacks a certain measure of authority that resides only in the leadership of the church (Matt. 18:18; Heb. 13:17). See Chapter 17 of this book for a discussion of the role of the church in counseling.
15. Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1989), 105.
16. Baxter, The Reformed Pastor, 106.
Chapter Fourteen—Implementing Biblical Instruction
1. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959), 243 and 249–250.
2. Many times people struggle with feelings of guilt for sins they committed long ago because they recognize that the inner change God wants to accomplish has not occurred. They have ceased the sinful action, but their heart still longs for it from time to time. They have not yet learned to view it, as God does, with a holy aversion.
3. Romans 13:1–4.
4. Acts 19:17–19.
5. Acts 2:41–47; Hebrews 13:17. For more information on the role of the church in counseling, see chapter 17.
6. John 5:39; Luke 24:44–48; Hebrews 10:7. See Wayne A. Mack, A Homework Manual for Biblical Living, vol. 1 (Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1979), 63–71 for helpful suggestions and plans for making devotions meaningful.
7. Romans 12:10, 16; 15:14; 1 Corinthians 12:25; Galatians 5:13; 6:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:18; 5:11, 14; Hebrews 3:13–14.
8. 1 Corinthians 10:31.
9. Psalm 4:8; Psalm 127:2 NKJV; Proverbs 3:21, 23–24; Ecclesiastes 5:12; Matthew 4:1–4; Mark 4:38; 11:19; Luke 6:12.
10. Mark 10:45; John 13:13–17.
11. Romans 12:3–8; Ephesians 4:10–16; 1 Corinthians 12:1–7; 1 Peter 4:10, 11. For more information about spiritual gifts and the way they should be used, see chapter 16 of this book; see also Mack, A Homework Manual, 93–99, 161–163, 183–199.
12. John 2:4; 7:6, 8, 30; 8:20, 29; 12:23; 17:3–4.
13. See Mack, Homework Manual, vol. 1, 132–43, for a helpful study on planning the godly use of time.
14. Psalm 50:15; 34:4–6; Isaiah 40:31.
15. 1 John 2:15–17. Is the person tempted by the lust of the flesh—a desire for pleasure; the lust of the eyes—a desire for possessions; or the pride of life—a desire for power and/or prestige? Identify the particular idolatrous desire the person is tempted to worship and serve. See also chapter 13 of this book for more details on this issue.
16. Genesis 39:8–9; Deuteronomy 31:6; Psalm 55:21; Isaiah 41:10; 43:1–3; 1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Ephesians 3:20–21; 2 Peter 1:3–4; Jude 24–25.
17. 2 Corinthians 5:14–15; Galatians 1:4; Titus 2:11–13; 1 Peter 2:24.
18. Proverbs 15:15–16; 24:16.
19. For a helpful discussion of what it means to confess, see Ken Sande, The Peacemaker (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1991), chapter 6. In this chapter Sande referred to what he calls “The Seven A’s of Confession”: (1) address everyone involved; (2) avoid if, but, or maybe; (3) admit specifically; (4) apologize for offending or hurting the other person(s); (5) accept the consequences; (6) alter your behavior; and (7) ask for forgiveness.
20. Psalm 32; 103:12; Proverbs 28:13; Isaiah 43:25; 44:22; Micah 7:19; Ephesians 1:7; Philippians 3:10–14; 1 John 1:9.
21. See Mack, Homework Manual vol. 1, for other examples of homework assignments that facilitate the practice of biblical principles. Many of these assignments were developed to fulfill the seven key elements of the counseling process presented in Part Three of this book. For example, different parts of the anger study on pages 1 through 11 will be useful in accomplishing all seven phases or elements of the counseling process. Pages 1 through 6 will focus mainly on elements 1 through 5, and pages 7 through 11 will be most helpful in the inducement and implementation phases. Pages 7 through 9 relate mainly to the planning aspect of implementation, whereas pages 10 and 11 highlight the practice phase. Other homework assignments that encourage the practice aspect of the implementation phase of counseling are found in Mack, Homework Manual vol. 2; Mack, Strengthening Your Marriage; Mack, Preparing for Marriage; and Mack, Your Family God’s Way.
22. Luke 9:23.
23. S. MacMillan, ed., Complete Works of the Late Rev. Thomas Boston, 12 vols. (Wheaton: Richard Owen Roberts, 1980), 285.
24. MacMillan, Complete Works., 287.
25. To me, the purposes of counseling are fulfilled and implemented when I observe the following things happen: (1) the counselee understands what caused his/her problems and the biblical way of handling them; (2) the counselee becomes comfortable with the new response pattern; (3) the counselee begins to practice the new pattern automatically; (4) the counselee has failed and can diagnose the reason for the failure and make plans for correcting the problem; (5) the counselee can state specifically how he/she has changed; (6) the counselee has been tested and has been victorious in the test; (7) others have verified the changes in the counselee; (8) the counselee starts to share with others what he or she is learning in counseling; the counselee becomes an informal and spontaneous counselor to others.
26. Matthew 12:38–45; 2 Peter 2:20–22.
Chapter Sixteen—Spirit-Giftedness and Biblical Counseling
1. Cited in Jay Adams, Competent to Counsel (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980), xvi.
2. John Calvin, The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Romans and to the Thessalonians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1960), 269.
3. Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1979), 68.
4. Baxter, The Reformed Pastor, 68.
5. Adams, Competent to Counsel, 51.
6. Martin and Deidre Bobgan, How to Counsel from Scripture (Chicago: Moody, 1985), 54–55.
Chapter Nineteen—Frequently Asked Questions about Biblical Counseling
1. Jay Adams, Competent to Counsel, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970), xxi.
2. Jay Adams, What About Nouthetic Counseling? (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979), 3–4.
3. Wherever Scripture speaks on any of these matters, however, its revelation is true, reliable, and without error: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching” (2 Tim. 3:16).
4. Adams, Nouthetic Counseling, 31.
5. Harvey E. Dana and Julius R. Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament (New York: MacMillan, 1957), 164–65.
6. David G. Benner, ed. Baker Encyclopedia of Psychology, (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1985), 38.
7. William L. Playfair, and George Bryson, The Useful Lie, (Wheaton: Good News/Crossway, 1991), 45–47.
8. The quotation was presented in a form letter sent out by Focus on the Family, 9 November 1989. The letter was signed by David Tompkins, a personal assistant to Dr. James Dobson.
Appendix
1. This material is taken from Jay Adams, The Christian Counselor’s Manual: The Practice of Nouthetic Counseling (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986) and is used by permission.