Seeking and Giving Counsel Biblically
Life is hard. While trusting in Christ certainly makes the struggles of life more bearable by giving them a greater purpose, it does not remove those struggles entirely. In fact, if we are honest, walking with Christ often brings more struggles. The sins within us that we used to tolerate or even celebrate we now must fight. Plus, we have a new enemy who is like a ravenous lion seeking to devour us every chance he gets. And that is on top of the normal struggles of life. As wonderful as it is to trust in Christ, it is not a key to instant bliss. Christians still struggle with debilitating diseases, financial uncertainty, marital conflict, grief, depression, anxiety, shame, and a myriad of other persistent problems. While the Holy Spirit does empower us to face these struggles, He never intended for us to face them alone. More mature believers are called to help less mature believers to face these struggles:
“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
-Galatians 6:1-2, ESV
“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”
-1 Timothy 4:1-2, ESV
This is counseling, which in the church is the private ministry of the Word to help hurting Christians.
Why Biblical Counseling?
In our day and culture, counseling is typically confined to formal therapy in which someone seeks out a professional to help with various problems. However, counseling is actually much broader:
“Counseling is a conversation where one party with questions, problems, and trouble seeks assistance from someone they believe has answers, solutions, and help.”
-Heath Lambert, A Theology of Biblical Counseling, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan: 2016: 13.
Based on that definition, we all give and receive counsel in many ways all the time. And since the Bible is the ultimate source of truth and our lens, filter, and standard for all of life, the counsel we give and receive should be based on the Bible. Thus, biblical counseling is how we apply Scripture to help people through their struggles to the glory of God. A former pastor of mine defined it this way:
“Biblical Counseling is a conversation where one party with questions, problems, and trouble seeks assistance from someone they believe has answers, solutions, and help from the Bible for the glory of God.”
-Jim Koerber, Biblical Counseling Course, Grace Covenant Church
Dr. T. Dale Johnson, Jr. and Samuel Stephens give a more detailed definition of biblical counseling:
“Biblical counseling is the personal discipleship ministry of God’s people to others under the oversight of God’s church, dependent upon the authority and sufficiency of God’s Word through the work of the Holy Spirit. Biblical counseling seeks to reorient disordered desires, affections, thoughts, behaviors, and worship toward a God-designed anthropology in an effort to restore people to a right fellowship with God and others. This is accomplished by speaking the truth in love and applying Scripture to the need of the moment by comforting the suffering and calling sinners to repentance, thus working to make them mature as they abide in Jesus Christ.”
-Samuel Stephens, A Call to Counsel and Care: The Distinguishing Qualities of Biblical Counseling, booklet by the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors, 2021, 14-15.
Informally, this is a part of everyday discipleship, but it can also be done formally in a manner similar to what we typically think of with counseling. Like therapy, someone meets with a counselor, who helps them work through their problems. But unlike therapy, the counselor uses Scripture as the primary and authoritative source to both understand the counselee’s struggles and address them in a manner that is pleasing to God. Biblical counselors use Scripture and rely on the Holy Spirit to reveal and correct improper desires and behaviors in order to help the counselee to obey Christ. Whether informally through normal discipleship or in formal counseling, this is done under the authority of the local church, where God had ordained that both Christian life and ministry are to happen. All of this differentiates biblical counseling from Christian counseling that tries to integrate Scripture with the secular teachings of psychology and psychiatry. While the latter can provide helpful information about the human condition, the biblical counselor views them as unnecessary to providing counsel. Only God knows us fully, and He has revealed through Scripture and reveals by the power of the Holy Spirit far more about our condition than any form of science could ever discover. That which is most vital to soul care can only be found in Scripture. Thus, biblical counseling applies Scripture to the various challenges of life and depends on the power of the Holy Spirit to transform lives. For more information, you can check out this blog post.
Seeking Counsel
I am a biblical counselor under the authority of The Shepherd’s Church in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. I am currently pursuing certification by the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors. I am not a professional counselor or therapist but am ready to help people address their challenges biblically. The certification process requires formal classes, reading, observation of counseling sessions, exams on theology and counseling concepts, reviews and blessing by the local church, and counseling supervised by a very experienced biblical counselor. If you are in the area surrounding Lowell, Massachusetts, and would like to request counseling, you can contact me directly or visit The Shepherd’s Church’s biblical counseling page (coming soon) or email here and I will get back to you shortly with next steps. Since Christians are to freely give of the gifts they have received from the overabundance of God’s grace (Matthew 10:8), this counseling is free of charge. You do not have to be a member or attend The Shepherd’s Church to be counseled by me, but understand that my counseling is a ministry of The Shepherd’s Church. There are also a few certified biblical counselors in the area (see link below).
If you are in the Dayton, Ohio area, Grace Covenant Church has a cadre of wonderful biblical counselors ready to help.
For everyone else, you can find a counselor near you using the search tool from the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors. Only counselors certified by them are listed there, so those pursuing certification (like me) and those certified by other similar organizations aren’t shown. This means that there may be a biblical counselor nearby who isn’t listed there, so talk to your pastor.
Becoming a Biblical Counselor
The church is in dire need of men and women who are trained to counsel biblically. I would love to see every church (or at least every region) have a cadre of trained and able biblical counselors, both men and women. This requires a robust knowledge of Scripture and the ability to apply that to various situations in a loving and patient manner. If that describes you (or if you desire for that to describe you) talk to your pastor about pursuing training or certification. See the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors’ process here.
Dan Hult 