Biblical Authority and Counseling

In the first part of the article, “Biblical Authority and Counseling: Some Advice for Counselors,” I shared three pieces of advice that counselors should keep in mind when helping those who suffer and struggle with their sins.

I would like to share three more pieces of advice so that those of us who desire to counsel or be counseled understand the nature of the spiritual battle we are in and have the tools to serve those who are suffering.

Beware of the Deception of So-Called Neutrality

A fourth piece of advice is to renounce any supposed neutral stance. Jesus said in Matthew 12:30, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” This shows us that we are in a spiritual war where there is no neutral ground. There is no middle zone between the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God. This leads to the clear conclusion that neutrality represents opposition to Christ. No one can remain undecided between choosing Satan, who scatters and destroys, and choosing Jesus Christ, who gathers and builds.

We must make a decision because if we don’t choose, we have already chosen. We are already in opposition to the Lord. Either we live according to the kingdom of light or according to the kingdom of darkness (Colossians 1:13). So spiritually speaking, there is no neutrality or indecision. Those who do not choose Christ, choose against him. John MacArthur comments on this, “It is not necessary to oppose Christ to be against Him; it is only necessary not to be with Him.”1

When I speak of choosing Christ, I do not mean merely in terms of salvation of the soul but also aligning ourselves to proclaim, counsel, and teach everything that belongs to the kingdom of Christ as revealed in the Word of God.

Psalm 1 reveals the same fundamental idea when it shows us that there are two types of counsel—not three or more: the counsel of the wicked (or evil) and the counsel of God.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1–2

The counsel of the wicked is impious because:

1. It competes with God’s counsel, seeking to tear it down.
2. It is inspired by Satan.
3. It is delivered by those who rebelliously side with the devil.

God’s Word is clearly opposed to the counsel of the wicked. This divergence not only concerns moral issues, such as whether stealing is right or wrong, but also with counsel that shapes the story of individuals, families, and even nations. The psalm leaves no room for considering a third kind of counsel.

The counsel of God and the counsel of the wicked compete for human acceptance. This means that human beings do not have a strictly “neutral” counsel. In one way or another, we are all receivers of counsel. If we do not take God’s counsel, any other counsel is, in fact, from Satan. We cannot rid ourselves of dependence, and that dependence is either on the counsel of God or on Satan. We know that the whole world is under the influence of the evil one (1 John 5:19), under the sway of that counsel which opposes God’s.

The secular world tries to make us believe that we should remain in a supposed neutrality, that we should not rely on God’s Word as a foundation or presupposition. But whether they see it or not, they want us to rely on their atheistic, materialistic, and naturalistic presuppositions, which are opposed to the truth of God. This began in Genesis, where, in contrast to God’s counsel—which was simple, clear, true, and beneficial—Satan introduced a counsel that complicated, confused, and twisted the truth of God. Ken Ham comments on this:

“God’s people must abandon this false idea of neutrality! It is causing believers to basically hand their children and the culture over to the secularists.”2

This conflict manifests in the debate between creation and evolution, which ultimately boils down to the same fundamental question: What is the starting point? Is God’s Word the starting point for interpreting the evidence and understanding reality? Or is the word of men—with their atheistic, materialistic, and naturalistic presuppositions—the starting point for interpreting the evidence and understanding reality? Never forget, there is no neutral ground.

In scientific disciplines, there are no “raw facts”; they are always connected with interpretation. Yet they want us to believe in a supposed neutrality in scientific reasoning, devoid of commitments or presuppositions when interpreting facts or evidence. John Frame puts it well:

The desire for a 'fact' completely devoid of human interpretation, which can serve as an authoritative criterion for all interpretations, is an un-Christian desire—a desire to replace the Word of God with another authority.3

In counseling, something similar happens. There is a common cause between creationists and biblical counselors.4 When interpreting observations, we try to make sense of the information we have according to the commitments or starting points on which we stand. We are not neutral.

The basic or fundamental starting point has to do with the belief in God. This divides us into children of God or children of wrath—those who are with God or those who are against him. Atheists and unbelievers, who have the same facts as the children of God, interpret the facts without trusting in God’s Word—they don’t accept it, they don’t want it. A child of God interprets the facts according to what God says because they love God and worship him.

The implications of incorrect interpretations undoubtedly differ depending on the area of challenges we face. If the interpretation of facts is wrong in the work of a geologist trying to define the age of a rock layer based on materialistic commitments, it is not as impactful as when a psychologist attempts an intervention to help a person in tragic circumstances resulting from the sinful rebellion of their life, guilt, pride, and selfishness, or the bitter effects of chaos and destruction in the world we live in, as well as in the hearts of men.5

A fifth piece of advice is to be alert when observing interventions proposed by secular or integrationist counselors because they may be in opposition to the revelation of God and Christ himself. Let us not forget that the interventions by atheists are the result of interpreting observations through the lens of an unbelieving worldview, which does not recognize God and his Word. They also fail to consider the noetic effects of sin on the hearts of all men, including themselves, as they try to help others.

We must be cautious even when things are presented under the banner of “all truth is God’s truth” because we may be attributing errors to God that are not his and his revelation. While we acknowledge that all truth is God’s, the question arises: What is the foundation upon which we will determine if something is true or not? Be careful because we could be introducing errors into the framework upon which we build our Christian worldview, based on commitments that oppose the truth of God, even calling it “common grace.”

Some have suggested that the manifestation of common grace is found in the writings of Freud, Skinner, Rogers, and others. But be careful because although God allows us to know his creation, he will not establish systems that compete with his Word—remember that his Word tells us that we are either with him or against him. There is no neutrality.

For example, in terms of the revelation that God has determined to give, theologians have recognized that there is general revelation (through creation) and special revelation (the Word of God). Psalm 19 states that “the heavens declare the glory of God,” implying that certain aspects of God are revealed in what we call general revelation. Likewise, Romans 1:20 affirms this doctrine, stating that certain divine attributes are clearly seen through creation:

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. Romans 1:20

This general revelation is not duplicated in special revelation (the Scriptures). Rather, special revelation expands on more aspects of who God is, his plans and purposes, and his redemptive plan, among other things. It also gives key revelation regarding human beings, their anthropology in both material and immaterial terms, and their relationship with the Creator and creation, especially concerning their souls and spirituality.

So when we examine the starting points of the beliefs underlying secular counseling models, we find clear rivalry and opposition to the Word of the Lord. Once we understand this, we can be sure that God in his “common grace” is not providing rival counseling models that compete with biblical counseling. God does not contradict himself in this way.

Under the umbrella of common grace, we cannot shelter false teachings such as:

• Freud, who claims man is not responsible for his sin.
• Rogers, who claims man is inherently good and doesn’t need external help.
• Skinner, who claims man is just an animal, without value, freedom, or dignity.

These (among others) cannot be elevated to the level of being products of God’s common grace because they are systems filled with errors, falsehoods, and anti-Christian teachings. Can you imagine God proclaiming that problems can be solved without Christ or in a mix that opposes Christ?

We must reject those models that claim to have the ability to do (without or against the Scriptures) what the Scriptures proclaim can only be done for the glory of God and the good of men.

As advice, the clear invitation is to not focus on studying secular models (although we should understand what they propose) but to know the Word of the Lord abundantly and deeply.

Let Us Seek God and His Word.

Psalm 1, as a counterpart to the danger of following the advice of the wicked, urges us to actively follow the advice of God:

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:2

A sixth piece of advice is to walk each day in greater dependence on God and abandon the tendency toward autonomy.

Those who seek God as the Psalm indicates undoubtedly have clarity about the dependence that humans have on God. They recognize the degree of their need and appreciate the source of their true life and freedom—God and his Word. Let us remember that from the very beginning, man required counsel. Humanity was created to be dependent on its Creator, created to know God and gain wisdom from him. This helps us understand that the purpose and meaning of life, as well as the reality of our existence, are fruits of God’s grace and power. We are dependent on God, and we do not find in ourselves what we need but in the right relationship with the Lord.

In Genesis, God spoke to man even before the fall, so the Word of God is the source of the knowledge of God, self-knowledge, knowledge of relationships with others, and knowledge of creation. It is the source of knowledge of our functions but also defines the limitations that humans have. Man, male and female, was made to be the image of God (Revelation 4:11) and to be a dependent being on him (Acts 17:28).

Any attempt at autonomy and independence is destined to fail and manifests a direct rebellion against the Creator. Every time we try to live on our own, whether due to the sinful inclinations of our heart or the wrong counsel of men, we will inevitably reap failure in due time (Galatians 6:7).

“It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4). Without it, life is absurd; it loses its meaning, purpose, and function. General revelation will not provide this sustenance, and we will end up falling into relativism, which makes no sense and drains our energy. That is why the Christian counselor must radically dedicate themselves to the study of the Scriptures and prayer, or they, too, will be deceived. Thinking theologically from God’s truth allows us to reject pagan thinking and practices when counseling others.

Let us not forget that we depend on the Creator and Sustainer for everything we are, have, and know. Let us live thankful for the revelation he provides for our lives and to help others—from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21.