A few years ago, a pastor asked me why I advocate so strongly for biblical counseling. I asked him to help me understand his question, and he explained, “Scott, if all truth is God’s truth, then there is more than just the Bible that we can use to help people who are struggling, suffering, and in need of help.”
Defining Truth
I agree that all truth is God’s truth. However, not everything presented as truth is true, and not every explanation of human behavior accurately identifies man’s true problem or what needs to change. All truth that is truly true is God’s truth. This truth stems from Him and corresponds to His view of things. Whatever is accepted as true and valid for biblical reasons must be considered wholly true. If it is not, it cannot be considered God’s truth.
The Effects of Sin on Human Understanding
Because of Adam's Fall, sin has affected human thinking and understanding (the noetic effects of sin). Sin has corrupted all thinking. We cannot assume that human reasoning is complete or always true, especially when it addresses the motivations of the human heart and attempts to explain why people think and act as they do. Furthermore, most secular theories of counseling consider people apart from their creation in God’s image, omitting a crucial component of the counseling equation.
We need God’s special revelation, the Bible, to understand who God is, who people are, what our fundamental problems are, and how He says we should address them. The only truth that can rightly be called God’s truth about people, their problems, and their solutions is what He has revealed in His Word.
Scripture's Sufficiency for Counseling
God’s Word tells us that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). God has provided Scripture to help us live lives that honor and glorify Him. Jesus identifies the greatest commandments as loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and loving our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). God does not command us to live this way without also showing us how.
Hebrews 4:12 explains that the Word of God “is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” God knows the human heart completely. His Word addresses the inner person, including thoughts, motives, desires, and intentions. We should be cautious about adopting theories that claim to explain the heart in ways that conflict with God's revelation in the Bible.
Throughout Scripture, God guides our relationships with Him and with others. His Word addresses anger, anxiety, pride, spiritual discouragement, depression, fear, guilt, shame, unforgiveness, and suffering. It guides moral choices, exposes sinful behavior, and leads us to repentance and God-honoring change.
Of course, Scripture does not tell us how to perform heart surgery or explain every aspect of brain function. But it does tell us how to respond to suffering, understand the human condition, and change our patterns of thought and behavior.
Scripture is more than sufficient for counseling Christ-followers who, with the Holy Spirit’s help, seek to make God-honoring changes in their lives. God’s Word provides the truth and guidance needed to address relational problems and life-enslaving struggles, including addiction and depression.
A Reliable Standard for Counseling
Not everything presented as true is actually true. This is why we need a reliable standard for evaluating what we accept as true. That standard is God’s Word.
If you are still not convinced that Scripture is sufficient for counseling the problems mankind faces, seriously consider the following:
· If Scripture is insufficient for counseling, what else do we need?
· Does that additional material address the nature of God, man as a created being, man's problems, and a valid solution to those problems?
· If you rely on additional material apart from Scripture, how do you evaluate whether it is trustworthy and true?
One final question… What additional source of truth did Jesus, the Wonderful Counselor, need to counsel those who were suffering and in need?