BIBLICAL COUNSELING 

Biblical counseling is as different from psychological counseling as light is from darkness.
Genuine biblical counseling doesn’t simply sprinkle in a few Bible verses to make the counseling appear Bible-centered. Unlike psychologically integrated systems, biblical counseling carefully seeks to identify areas where a Christian may be disobedient to the principles and commands of Scripture—and to help them learn how to lovingly submit to God’s will.

​

That is what psychological counseling produces: spiritual nearsightedness, blindness, and a return to the very sins from which God has already set us free. As Scripture says, “they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning” (2 Peter 2:20).

Counseling God’s Way is entirely different. It relies on the wisdom of God—not on the false precepts of humanistic philosophies and theories.

Would you like to know more about counseling God’s way? We invite you to order a copy of How to Counsel God’s Way by Bob Hoekstra. It could be a turning point in your counseling ministry as we seek to encourage one another in the truth.

​

Biblical counselors take Colossians 1:28 seriously—presenting Christ without shame, lovingly confronting sin, and teaching biblical principles in order to produce maturity in the life of the counselee.

In contrast, psychological counseling is based on what Scripture calls “hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ” (Colossians 2:8). That’s why Paul warns, “See to it that no one takes you captive” through such empty ideas.

Biblical counselors truly believe that God “has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3). When we apply God’s principles and grow in Christlike character, Peter promises “they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive” (v. 8). But if we neglect this, Peter says we become “nearsighted and blind,” forgetting that we have “been cleansed from [our] past sins” (v. 9).

​

In contrast to common misconceptions about biblical counseling, effective biblical counselors do not automatically diagnose a counselee’s struggles as flagrant, willful rebellion—nor do they simply prescribe a few verses with the promise of instant healing.

At the same time, a genuine biblical counselor does not assume that every problem is biologically based, requiring years of intensive psychotherapy or the use of psychotropic drugs.

While recognizing that some issues in thinking and behavior may have physical causes, biblical counselors also understand that many physical symptoms can result from unbiblical patterns of thought and behavior.

​​​​