Biblical Basis for Counseling

Biblical Basis for Counseling – source:

What is Biblical Counseling?

•       Dr. Tow States, “As counselor, our job is simply to bring our patients to Christ the living word (Lord) it is He who prescribes to us the treatment or recipe.”

•       Pointing every client to the counselor of counselors even our savior Jesus Christ and to His Holy Spirit – Isaiah 9:6

•       Biblical counseling is committed to the position that "scripture provides the only authoritative guide for what we are to believe and how we are to live" – 2 Timothy 3:16-17

General Presuppositions

•       The Bible is sufficient as our textbook for counseling

•       The goal of counseling is change in conformity with God's revealed will, not necessarily the (selfish) desires of the counselee. – Col 1:28

•       Change according to God's standard can only take place by the power of the Holy Spirit. – Phil. 4:13

•       The counselor is qualified through personal holiness and a knowledge of the word of God

Biblical Counselor

•       The biblical counselor is trained in the use of scripture and principles of biblical counseling. He or she does not base his/her counsel on man's wisdom, opinions, experience or concepts of behavior – Isaiah 55:8-11 but seeks to bring the full range of the Biblical truth to focus on the counselor's need.

– Hebrews 4:12

Goals of Biblical counseling

•       Glorify God

•       Instill hope

•       Change

•       Practice

Pastoral Counseling

•       Limited primarily to the pastoral use of the word of God in restoring sick of distressed members of the flock of God.

•       It is the use of the word of God to bring about change in the person's thinking, feeling and actions, and to help him realize in his own experience the abundant life that Christ promised – John10:10

The Commitment to Pastoral Counseling

•       The Pastor will be committed because he is burdened

•       He/she is committed to bringing change

•       He/she is committed to Christian growth

Giving Biblical Counseling

•       Love is the goal, and the paramount need

•       Relying on the power of God

•       Counseling Carefully, prayerfully, not hastily

Helping Formula

Personality of The helper + Helping skills = Growth Facilitating Conditions

Personal Qualification of Effective Helpers

           

•       Encouraging

•       Emphatic and caring

•       Patience

•       Non Judgmental

•       Unconditional Positive Regard

•       Lessons from Job