Gregory Kanyanta
Under the sun, it is a reality that from time-to-time
people experience loss, frustrated plans, broken
relationships, and trauma. As a result, they often
fall into anxiety, grief, fear, guilt, and depression. Some cases go unnoticed,
while others end up with counsellors of one kind or another in the hope of
resolving them. They “try to make the best of the situation.”
In this article, we present the God intended way of approaching life’s
challenges and the noble aims of challenge resolution. All who seek help
(counselees) ought to have a correct understanding of what to expect from
counselling.
What kind of counselling is available?
Without a doubt, there are many forms of counselling being offered to our
families, neighbours, friends, workmates, and even to those in the church. These
counselling alternatives are generally rooted in humanistic assumptions, as
though solutions to problems are to be found in human beings themselves.
Below are representative examples of secular approaches to counselling.
The humanistic approach: This approach, propagated by Carl Rogers,
focusses on bolstering self-esteem and self-confidence. It encourages the
counselee to “weigh issues, gain insights into self, and make decisions out of
the personal storehouse of resources that they themselves possess.”11
The psychodynamic approach: Based on Sigmund Freud’s ideas, this
approach involves “taking a trip” into the patient’s past to try and discover the
forces and influences that led to their present behaviour. Thus, their diagnosis
is that internal conflicts arising out of their experiences are the ones that result
in “disturbing attitudes and behaviour(s).” From this, treatment for the victim’s
situation is prescribed.
12 The aim is to balance these tensions by not letting
counselees to accept responsibility for their ways but assigning them to others
in their history.
The behavioural approach: This assumes that an individual’s behaviour
is determined by their environment and that how they conduct themselves under
certain conditions emanates from reinforced behaviour they learnt from the past.
Counsellors, as a result, focus on helping their clients modify behaviour,
unlearning what they learned in the past.13
Some methods have evolved into hybrid systems, with some embracing
some Christian principles of counselling. It is not uncommon for people to ask
the help of relatives and elders in the clan who use the cultural/traditional
worldview with its methods. These forms of therapy ultimately go on
indefinitely as people keep relapsing, remaining in perpetual need.
What is biblical counselling?
Biblical counselling, also known as nouthetic counselling, is an aspect of
discipleship in the church based on the instruction of the Bible. It recognises
that man has fallen from his original state of sinlessness and innocence at
creation, bringing upon himself death and other consequences of sin. However,
there is good news: God has intervened with redemption through the person and
work of his son Jesus Christ, which he applies to sinners by the power of the
Holy Spirit. Biblical counselling recognises these facts and is, therefore, said to
be a work of the Holy Spirit, “the Counsellor.”14
It is premised on the fact that “God has given us everything we need for
life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:4). The basis of counselling is solely the word of
God, in which Christ is both the “means” and the “end.”15 Clearly, the main
principles used in biblical counselling are different from the counselling forms
cited above. Because it focuses care for the whole person using the values taught
in the Bible, Christian counselling, unlike others, is able to help people regain a
sense of hope for their life that is found in Jesus Christ. The ultimate purpose is
to redirect the counselee’s muddled aspirations, cares, and behaviour toward a
God-intended understanding of humanity. The counsellor seeks to restore the
true worship of God and the right fellowship with others.
Biblical counselling aims for lasting change. This change comes as the
Holy Spirit applies the word of God to the hearts of sinners, convicting them of
sin, bringing them to the point of hating their sin and turning away from their
life of unbelief and disobedience. This is what is referred to as repentance in the
Bible and is critical to a proper understanding and application of biblical
counselling. It means “to turn around” or “to rethink or change the mind”
concerning a matter, leading to a change in one’s way of doing things so as to
go in the opposite direction. The resulting change in lifestyle confirms that the
repentance was genuine.
The case of believers
In the case of a believer who has lost his proper understanding of his standing
in Christ, he will need help and direction from a counsellor to bring about a
change in his lifestyle. In this case, something in his life would have disturbed
or threatened to disturb his relationship with God. This is the case especially
where the person views himself as a victim. It might be in a case of substance
abuse, infidelity, or violence by a spouse, or unfair dismissal from employment,
which might have upset him or her or created insecurity. Such a person expects
God to restore the relationship by changing the other person, which may become
manifest by people asking for prayer so that their husband comes back home.
They may also opt to act in sinful ways against the “injustice” they are suffering.
The biblical counsellor will help such people to shine the search light
of God’s word in their heart to help them see what God wants them to deal with
as a priority. In this way, their camouflaged idolatry would be dealt with so that
they become the kind of people God wants. Through the working of the Holy
Spirit, they begin to realise that their desire for change in their spouse or having
well behaved children was actually coming from heart idolatry. The counsellor
helps them to see their fears for what they really are and to recognise and
acknowledge their sin, which is often a sin of not trusting God to be faithful and
caring enough. The aim of counselling, therefore, is to get the counselee to
confess this sin, rethink his way, and take a turn in the right direction. He is
guided to recognise the bounty of resources found in Jesus Christ. It is like the
prodigal son in Luke chapter 15 who realised he could have a far better life if
he turned away from his destructive ways and returned to his father’s house.
As seen above, secular systems of counselling will unfortunately not
address the true issues of the heart. The biblical counsellor on the other hand
aims at addressing the two aspects of repentance, which Jay Adams16 refers to
as the necessary aspects of repentance. These are “change of mind” (thought)
and “moving to obedience” (action), because “their thoughts are not like God’s
thoughts and their ways are not like God’s ways” (Isa. 55:8, 9). Consequently,
the counsellor will now help the counselee to understand what God says about
their personal life going forward. Indeed, it is God’s will that his people
especially grow in their confidence in him, in patience, perseverance, selfcontrol, joy, etc. For instance, Jesus himself prayed for their growth in
sanctification in John 17. These are the resources the counsellor draws out from
the word of God to help the counselee.
After a change of mind and direction of life is achieved, the counsellor’s
focus will be to ensure that the counselee perseveres in the process of entire
sanctification to the end.17 Biblical change is a change of the entire person and
not merely ceasing from “some objectionable actions.” Paul calls for a change
in the “manner of life” so “that you walk no longer as the Gentiles walk” (Eph.
4:17). Because God expects his children to change, change is possible. He
provides “ways and means” for sustainable change.18 God himself is the one
“who makes the declaration of war.” So, our confidence is not misplaced.19
The other tool the Christian counsellor would employ in guiding the
counselee is, “speaking the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15), while applying Scripture
to the need of the moment. In this way, on one hand, they comfort the suffering
and help them mature as they abide in Jesus Christ, on the other hand, they
admonish sinners to repentance.20
From the above arguments, it becomes clear that it is not the aim of
biblical counselling to make people feel better, though they may feel better if
they get things right. It is also important to observe that a counselee may be
helped with secondary problems they may present, such as getting them to
safety in a case of physical abuse or seeking medical attention if they are unwell.
What is clear here is that biblical counselling is a God-centred approach
that aims to glorify God. The counsellor aims to help the counselee to a point
where they grow a deeper relationship with God and can independently start
applying the principles of God’s word to their lives. Counselling also aims to
eventually get the counselee back into normal church life.
What if counselling does not result in the desired change in the
counselee, is that not a failure and a reason to seek other types of therapy? Not
really. It may actually be successful in exposing the true heart of the counselee
whose profession falls short of true saving faith. Scripture addresses the
frightful realities surrounding false professions in Matt. 7:21–23, Heb. 6:4–5
and 1 John 2:19. The case of a Christian counselee guilty of stubborn moral
failure may sadly open the route of church discipline, which has the same aim
of bringing glory to God.
The case of unbelievers
It should be emphasised that counselling is ideally intended to help the
counselee make use of the resources available in the atoning work of Christ.
This is where Jesus saves his people from death to life, and it is where the work
of the Holy Spirit would be more prominent in their lives. A non-believer cannot
grow in sanctification as there would be no spiritual life to induce them in that
process. Anything they do is of an outward nature and does not flow from a
changed heart at all. For they do it in their own strength with absolutely no sight
of the glory of God. Moreover, if they were to be provided with strategies of
change, these would end in failure for they would just produce a good pharisee,
who depends on himself and not the work of Christ.
So, if non-believers come seeking counselling, they should first be
introduced to the gospel and be shown that all their difficulties emanate from
the fact that they do not have the right relationship with Christ. Even then, the
counselees may be rendered help in alleviating their immediate need, at the precounselling stage. For example, if they are bereaved, they will be supported as
they mourn. However, efforts to make them get right with God remain a priority.
Conclusion
Biblical counselling aims at the glory of God, which is the chief end of man, as
the Westminster Confession of Faith states. The Bible, by the working of the
Holy Spirit, is adequate to lead the counselee from their disadvantaged or needy
situation in life. The counselee should be helped to trust God so that he can help
them bear with the challenges of life (1 Cor. 10:13). Ultimately, counselling
should create a right frame of mind in the counselee, for it is not necessarily
designed to make anyone happy but rather to lead them into becoming the kind
of people who would stand strong in the midst of unpleasant experiences of life
while trusting in God and enjoying his loving care.
Bibliography
Adams, J., E., Competent to Counsel, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1970.
Adams, J. E., Pastoral Counselling – Shepherding God’s flock, Grand Rapids:
Baker Book House, 1975.
Adams, J. E., “Repentance,” The Practical Encyclopaedia of Christian
Counseling, Cordova: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020.
Adams, J. E. “Sanctification,” The Practical Encyclopaedia of Christian
Counselling, Cordova: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020.
Adams, J. E., The Christian Counsellor’s Manual, Phillipsburg: Presbyterian
and Reformed Publishing Company, 1973.
Pierre, J., & Reju D., The Pastor and Counselling: The Basics of Shepherding
Members in need, Wheaton: Crossway, 2015.
The Goal of Biblical Counselling – https://biblicalcounseling.com/resourcelibrary/podcast-episodes/the-goal-of-biblical-counseling/
Welch, E. T., Addictions A Banquet in the Grave: Finding Hope in the Power
of the Gospel, Greensboro: New Growth Press, 2011.
