All Christians are called to be discipled and to disciple others. The goal of Biblical Counseling is discipleship; it is one Christian discipling another to know and trust God more. Discipleship is a lifelong process and unfortunately, few Christians experience the joys of one-on-one discipleship. We attend weekly church services, have small group discussions, but rarely engage in weekly, personal discipleship to apply Scripture to our daily lives. It is looking at God’s true word and applying it to our lives in a personal and formative way in order to fulfil the Great Commission.
Great Commission
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
Matthew 28:19-20
Biblical Counseling is missional when unbelievers come for counseling. It is a privilege to share God’s story of redemption in a lost and dying world. As creator of the universe, God knows best how we are to live our lives. God is wisdom and gives that wisdom to us in the Bible. Whether you are a Christian or not, Biblical Counseling can help live in right relationship with others and, more importantly, with God. While relationships and mental health are important, ultimately, Biblical Counseling seeks to preach the Gospel to those who have are not saved.
Most often Biblical Counseling is between believing Christians that are fighting against sin in their lives. It is fulfilling the later half of the Great Commission. To disciple and teach right observation of all that Christ has commanded. This is a life-long pursuit and will come with various seasons. Some seasons will display great growth and maturity, while others may be difficult to even get out of bed.
Formative
Biblical Counseling is a piece of the church’s responsibility to grow and disciple its members. All Christians are given the commission to counsel, or to “admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all” (1 Thess. 5:14). We are to be formed into the image of Christ. To do so we must know God’s word and obey it. Jesus Christ must be our savior and Lord. It is a beautiful act of mercy and love that Christ has saved us from our sins, but faith in Christ’s work is empty if it does not include Christ as our Lord. As Lord of our lives, we listen and obey all that Christ commands us to. This involves formative practices such as Bible reading, study, interpreting, applying praying, meditation, fellowship, teaching, serving, equipping, and abiding.
Personal
Biblical Counseling seeks to make Scripture personal and applicable to our daily lives. It is one thing to hear that we are children of God, its another thing to make that personal. I am a child of God, I have been adopted into Christ’s family because he chose me and calls me his friend. God didn’t just save some people, he saved you. God is not far off, but he sent his son, Jesus Christ, to us. Jesus was born into poverty, lived most of his life in obscurity, suffered in every way, was tempted in every way, murdered for a crime he did not commit, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, sits at the right of God and intercedes on our behalf. Christ experienced all emotions; he experienced loss; he experienced betrayal; yet he did not sin. We can take our prayers to him because he experienced all the same things out of the great love he has for us. He did this for you and for me. Scripture has much to say about our lives and the day to day things we face, in good times and difficult times.
Definition
The working definition that we are using is:
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, and behaviors toward a God-designed anthropology in an effort to restore true worship of God and right fellowship with 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.
Truth in Love – ACBC Podcast
This is part 4 of a multi-week series on What is Biblical Counseling.