General Principles of Biblical Counseling Slides

General Principles ofBiblical CounselingJim Newheiserwww.ibcd.orgINTRODUCTIONPsychology and Christian Counseling• Harmful errors of modern psychology.• Christian approaches to Counseling.The Biblical (Nouthetic) CounselingmovementSome fundamental assumptions• The Bible is sufficient as our textbook forcounseling.− II Pet. 1:3 – “…seeing that His divine power has granted tous everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the trueknowledge of Him who called us by His own glory andexcellence.”− II Tim. 3:16-17 – “All Scripture is inspired by God andprofitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training inrighteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate,equipped for every good work.”Some fundamental assumptions• The goal of counseling is change – in conformitywith God’s revealed will, not necessarily the(selfish) desires of the counselee.− Col. 1:28 – “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man andteaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may presentevery man complete in Christ.”1

Some fundamental assumptions• Change according to God’s standard can onlytake place by the power of the Holy Spirit.− Phil. 4:13 – “I can do all things through Him whostrengthens me.”Some fundamental assumptions• The counselor is qualified through personalholiness and a knowledge of the Word of God.− Gal. 6:1 – “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass,you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit ofgentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will notbe tempted.”− I Tim. 4:16-17 – “Pay close attention to yourself and to yourteaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you willensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”KEY ELEMENTS OF BIBLICALCOUNSELING(7 “I”s)Involvement• Gal. 6:1 – “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in anytrespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in aspirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so thatyou too will not be tempted.”Involvement• Avoid “professionalism”–being proud, aloof,distant, and mechanical.− II Cor. 2:4 – “For out of much affliction and anguish of heartI wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be madesorrowful, but that you might know the love which I haveespecially for you.”Involvement• Instead, be humble and brotherly – next time theroles may be reversed.− I Thess. 2:7-8 – “But we proved to be gentle among you, as anursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having sofond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to younot only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because youhad become very dear to us.”• Jesus felt compassion.− Matt. 9:36 – “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for thembecause they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without ashepherd.”2

Involvement• Treat the counselee with respect. I Cor. 13:7• Be honest about your qualifications and youragendaInvolvement• Be careful not to fall into their sin!− Gal. 6:1b – “…each one looking to yourself, so that you toowill not be tempted.”Involvement• What precautions should we take?− See “The Tenderness Trap”(page 19, Introduction toBiblical Counseling)− Never be alone with a counselee of the opposite sex.Involvement• What precautions should we take?− Ideally, women should counsel women.• Titus 2:3-5 Older women likewise are to be reverent in theirbehavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teachingwhat is good, so that they may encourage the young women to lovetheirhusbands, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible,pure, workers at home, kind being subject to their own husbansso thatthe word of God will not be dishonored.− Why shouldn’t women counsel men?• I Tim. 2:12 –“Ido not allow a woman to teach or exercise authorityover a man…”Involvement• Don’t become an emotional crutch –make themdependent upon God, not you!II Chron. 24:2 Joashdid what was right in the sight ofthe LORD all the days of Johoida the priest.Involvement• Pray with and for your counselee.Philippians 1:3-4 I thank God in all my remembranceof you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayerfor you.3

Involvement• Hope must be built from the earliest stages ofcounseling.− I Cor. 10:13 – “No temptation has overtaken you but suchas is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allowyou to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with thetemptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you willbe able to endure it.”− Phil. 1:6 – “For I am confident of this very thing, that Hewho began a good work in you will perfect it until the day ofChrist Jesus.”− II Cor. 5:17 – “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a newcreature; the old things passed away; behold, new things havecome. ”Involvement• Hope must be built from the earliest stages ofcounseling.− Matt. 11:28-30 – “Come to Me, all who are weary andheavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon youand learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, andyou will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and Myburden is light.”Involvement• Hope must be built from the earliest stages ofcounseling.− What is the basis of our hope? I Tim. 1:1− What is the nature of hope? Heb. 11:1− What can be done to build hope?Investigation• Prov. 18:15 – “The mind of the prudent acquiresknowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. ”Investigation• Begin with a plan. Prov. 21:5Investigation• Don’t jump to conclusions.− Prov. 18:13 – “He who gives an answer before he hears, it isfolly and shame to him.”− Prov. 14:15 – “The naive believes everything, but the sensibleman considers his steps.”4

Investigation• Learn to ask good questions and to listen.− Prov. 20:5 – “A plan in the heart of a man is like deepwater, but a man of understanding draws it out.”• Characteristics of appropriate questions:thoughtful, gracious, relevant, produce facts, andopen ended.Investigation• The PREACH principle for investigation:− Physical− Resources− Emotional− Action− Conceptual− HistoricalInvestigation• Where possible, hear from all parties involved.− Prov. 18:17 – “The first to plead his case seems right, untilanother comes and examines him.”Investigation• Not all problems are caused by personal sin.• Organic problems should be referred to atrustworthy physician.• You may need to get the counselee stabilizedphysically before you can have a meaningfulsession.Investigation• One of the most important issues to determine iswhether the counselee is a believer.− I John 5:1 –“Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ hasbeen born of God.”− I John 2:3-4 – “By this we know that we have come to knowHim, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘Ihave come to know Him,’and does not keep Hiscommandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;”− I John 4:7-8 – “Beloved, let us love one another, for love isfrom God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knowsGod. 8The one who does not love does not know God, for Godis love.”Investigation• One of the most important issues to determine iswhether the counselee is a believer.− Matt. 7:21-23 – “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord,Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does thewill of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say toMe on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Yourname, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your nameperform many miracles?’And then I will declare to them, ‘Inever knew you; depart from Me, you who practicelawlessness.’”5

Investigation• A tool –The Personal Data Inventory.Investigation• Also gather non-verbal data− Prov. 6:13 – “Who winks with his eyes, who signals with hisfeet, who points with his fingers;”Interpretation• Rom. 12:2 – “And do not be conformed to this world,but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so thatyou may prove what the will of God is, that which is goodand acceptable and perfect.”Interpretation• After you have gathered adequate data, you needto draw some conclusions.• You need to evaluate your counselee’s spiritualcondition. I Thess. 5:14Interpretation• Often the counselee will not know what his problem is,or he will have incorrectly identified it.− Prov. 14:12 – “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end isthe way of death.”− Prov. 3:5-7 – “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not leanon your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, andHewill make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear theLORD and turn away from evil.”• You want to give biblical labels to the counselee’ssituation.Interpretation• Distinguish between the symptoms and thecauses of the problems.6

Interpretation• Problems stem from the heart.− Jer. 17:5-10 – “Thus says the LORD, ‘Cursed is the man whotrusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heartturns away from the LORD. For he will be like a bush in the desertand will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastesin the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant. Blessed is theman who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD. Forhe will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by astream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will begreen, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor ceasetoyield fruit. The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperatelysick; who can understand it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I testthe mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according tothe results of his deeds.’”Interpretation• Problems stem from the heart.− Mark 7:18-23 – “And He said to them, ‘Are you so lackingin understanding also? Do you not understand that whatevergoes into the man from outside cannot defile him, because it doesnot go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?’(Thus He declared all foods clean.) And He was saying, ‘Thatwhich proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evilthoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds ofcoveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy,slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed fromwithin and defile the man.’”Instruction• Base your instruction upon the inerrant andpowerful Word of God.− II Tim. 3:16-17 – “All Scripture is inspired by God andprofitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for trainingin righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate,equipped for every good work.”Instruction• Base your instruction upon the inerrant andpowerful Word of God.− Handle the Word of God accurately, using biblicaltexts for the purpose for which God revealed them.Js. 3:1f II Tim. 2:15− Don’t just quote verses. Expound the scriptures usingprepared teaching outlines.− Teach interactively and creatively− Teach redemptively: The answers are in Christ.Instruction• You must deal firmly with sin.− Eph. 4:17-22 – “So this I say, and affirm together with theLord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk,in the futility of their mind, being darkened in theirunderstanding, excluded from the life of God because of theignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;and they, having become callous, have given themselves over tosensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity withgreediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeedyou have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just astruth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life,you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordancewith the lusts of deceit.”Instruction• You must deal firmly with sin.− Acts 20:31 – “Therefore be on the alert, remembering thatnight and day for a period of three years I did not cease toadmonish each one with tears.”7

Instruction• Sin must be repented of –put off.− I John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful andrighteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from allunrighteousness.”− Ps. 32:3-5 – “When I kept silent about my sin, my bodywasted away through my groaning all day long. For day andnight Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drainedaway as with the fever heat of summer. I acknowledged my sinto You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confessmy transgressions to the LORD’; and You forgave the guilt ofmy sin.”− Prov. 28:13 – “He who conceals his transgressions will notprosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will findcompassion.”Instruction• New life patterns must be established – put on.− Eph. 4:22-28 – “that, in reference to your former manner oflife, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted inaccordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed inthe spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in thelikeness of God has been created in righteousness and holinessof the truth. Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth eachone of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on youranger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. He who stealsmust steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing withhis own hands what is good, so that he will have something toshare with one who has need.”Instruction• Be careful not to be legalistic: commandingbeyond what the Bible says.Instruction• Resources− The Christian Counselor’s Manual.− Helps for Counselors.− Repentance and the 21 st Century Man, MillerIntention• Counseling is more than instruction.− Prov. 14:23 – “In all labor there is profit, but mere talkleads only to poverty.”Intention• The counselee is responsible to commit toobedience to God.• Motives are crucial. Rom. 14:23 Col. 3:178

Intention• What does real repentance look like?− II Cor. 7:8-11 – “For though I caused you sorrow by myletter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it--for I see that thatletter caused you sorrow, though only for a while—I now rejoice,not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were madesorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were madesorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might notsuffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that isaccording to the will of God produces a repentance withoutregret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world producesdeath. For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godlysorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves,what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, whatavenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves tobe innocent in the matter.”Intention• Deal with behavior, not mere feelings.• Be prepared to meet some resistance.− A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son,go work today in the vineyard.’And he answered, ‘I will not’;but afterward he regretted it and went. The man came to thesecond and said the same thing; and he answewred, ‘I will sir’;but he did not go. Matthew 21:28-30Intention• Continue to offer hope: faith in Christ works.− II Cor. 5:17 – “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a newcreature; the old things passed away; behold, new things havecome.”− Phil. 4:13 – “I can do all things through Him whostrengthens me.”− Mark 9:23b – “All things are possible to him who believes.”Intention• If a counselee refuses to commit to do God’swill, you may need to end the counselingrelationship.− Prov. 29:1 – “A man who hardens his neck after muchreproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy.”− Matt. 7:6 – “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do notthrow your pearls before swine, or they will trample them undertheir feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”Implementation• The counselee cannot expect the counselor tochange him.− Phil. 2:12-13 – “So then, my beloved, just as you have alwaysobeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in myabsence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for itis God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for Hisgood pleasure.”Implementation• The counseling sessions are not ends in and ofthemselves.• The greatest progress in counseling is made inbetween sessions.9

Implementation• Explain to your counselee how progressivesanctification works.− Rom. 6:11 – “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin,but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”− Eph. 4:22-24 – “that, in reference to your former manner oflife, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted inaccordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed inthe spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in thelikeness of God has been created in righteousness and holinessof the truth.”− Phil. 1:6 – “For I am confident of this very thing, that Hewho began a good work in you will perfect it until the day ofChrist Jesus.”Implementation• The greatest progress in counseling is made inbetween sessions.• Prepare your counselee for temptations.• Plan how to respond to failure.• Expect growth. II Cor. 3:17Implementation• Concrete homework assignments should begiven.− Actions and behavior. I Cor. 15:33 Mt. 5:29-30 Phil.2:3-4 Eph. 4:28− Scripture reading and memory (see my gotolist).− Books, pamphlets, and audios. (See my resource list)− Journals− Other assignments (i.e. forms)Implementation• Resources:− A Homework Manual for Biblical Counseling I & II,by Wayne Mack.− “Introduction to Biblical Counseling”, Part IV.Integration• The structure of the local church should be usedin maintaining accountability.− Sometimes church discipline may be necessary.Matt. 18:15f I Cor. 5:1f• How much confidentiality can you offer acounselee?• See “Introduction to Biblical Counseling”-Consent to Counseling”pg. 121Integration• You are not seeking merely a solution of oneproblem, but a total restructuring of a life overthe period of time.10

Integration• New godly habits are built over time.− Eph. 4:13-14 – “until we all attain to the unity of the faith,and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, tothe measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness ofChrist. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed hereand there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine,by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;”Integration• The goal is that the counselee will be able tocounsel himself and others.− Gal. 6:6 – “The one who is taught the word is to share allgood things with the one who teaches him.”CONCLUSION11