Biblical Counseling

            Any form of counseling that aims to benefit the man apart from Scripture is by best: secular psychology. Counseling aims to assist someone; however, does not counseling utterly fail if it does not have the proper means in giving someone a sound mind? In reality, secular psychology can never help one who has questions concerning spiritual matters because the finite man cannot understand that which is transcendent (hence, the Bible). Counseling�"that is without any biblical framework�"will always be subjective unless if one holds to an objective truth. In addition, that objective truth must always be truth; and if that truth is truth, we can state that there is no other. Moreover, what better truth is there than the actual Word of God, the Bible?

            Since the Bible is truth, we notice that by it we can be healed and grow (2 Tim. 3:16). Thus, when one resorts to counseling, how can he dare flee from the Bible in counseling matters? When one parts from the Bible, he is rejecting divine guidance for the help of a soul’s dire plea. Since God created all things, we can rightfully say that God is supreme to any problem the counselee may have (Gen. 1:1; Col. 2:16; 1 Tim. 4:4). Therefore, the counselor must make God known to the counselee by the use of Scripture. Why? Because the Bible reveals God, not man-centered counseling or any type of philosophy can reveal God.

            Every Christian is commanded by Scripture to “bear one another’s burdens” because that is how Christ’s law is fulfilled�"love (Gal. 1:2; Jn. 13:34-35). No doubt, many Christians try to fulfill this command; however, the biblical methodology of counseling remains lost due to the pursuit of 1) Reasoning man through kind means of logic or 2) A knowledge of Scripture has been totally forgotten. Fortunately, Galatians 6:1 gives us a quick answer to the problem, which we are now facing: “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.” So, we are to restore the counselee, but what are we to restore him towards?  We are called to restore the counselee to a right relationship with God. Why? Because his transgressions separated him from God (Gen. 3:23-24; Rom. 6:23). Instead of counseling through logic, the Christian counselor should kindly guide the counselee through Scripture. As a result, this gives every Christian a demand to know the Scripture. You cannot counsel without the Word of God.

            Counseling that is given without any adherence to the Bible produces saddened and hopeless people. Man alone can never offer hope, for his righteousness are as “filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6). He needs Christ. God offers hope and that is through the power of the Gospel: Jesus Christ. We are commanded to be “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith . . . “(Heb. 12:2). God has given His Son for a reason: when we look at Christ, the world grows strangely dim. As a Christian, you are called to be a counselor, and you can fulfill this role by resorting to the Gospel.