Biblical Counseling – part 2

By: Dr. Tori Ferrari

In the previous article, we discussed what Biblical Counseling was in a general sense and the discipleship process involving rehabituation.  This article will look more closely at the focus of Biblical Counseling, greatly differing from traditional secular therapeutic models.

Biblical Counseling focuses on replacing unrighteous habits with righteous ones.

How does this change happen?  Ephesians 4:22-24 gives us the model.

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; and to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

The unrighteous habits that our students have learned can be replaced with righteous ones but they need to be taught.

Consider the student who came in because he/she drank.  They developed that habit from a young age.  It was how they responded to life when it got difficult.  They drank when there was too much stress, not enough money, marriage was difficult… the list goes on and on.  When they leave Teen Challenge, those stressful situations may still be there.  Our life circumstances will always provide challenges, but how we respond to them – righteously or unrighteously is critical.

Scripture is full of ‘put off’ and ‘put on’ scenarios.  For example, Ephesians 4:25 – ‘put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor’.  For the person prone to lying, they must begin to put off the lies and put on the truth.  It is not enough for the person who lies to tell God they are ‘sorry’ every time they lie.  In doing so, he is only acknowledging that he has sinned.  They must do more than that.  They must become a habitual teller of truth. They must change their habits and it is our responsibility to help them see the area that needs to change and hold them accountable in the process.  This process takes discipline.  They have developed some of these unrighteous habits over years and it will take some time for them to begin living righteously.  This alone however is not enough.  They must also begin to renew their mind.  Without this, they have merely abstained from a behavior instead of overcome a sin.

Biblical counseling focuses on renewing the mind.

Transformation and rehabituation happens through the renewing of the mind.  It is impossible to put off the old successfully for any length of time and put on the new if our minds are not renewed.

While our students are walking through the ‘putting off’ and ‘putting on’ in their actions, they must also be putting off their old thinking and putting on the mind of Christ.  But they must be doing this with what Scripture really says – not what we have culturally grown to believe it says as influenced by other counseling methods.

Frequently, Scripture has been misinterpreted to support non-biblical principles.  For example, we have heard it said that we need to love ourselves before we can love others or before others will love us.This is taken from Matthew 22:30 but this interpretation is anti-Biblical.   

“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Proper interpretation of this passage shows us that we are already lovers of ourselves.  We should love others as much as we already love ourselves! Modern psychology has successfully reinterpreted this and as a result, our minds are being transformed with the wrong information.
Likewise, we hear that we must have self-esteem, self-confidence and self-worth.  Scripture tells us that we are not to esteem ourselves more highly than we ought (Romans 12:3), that our value is in Christ alone and we are to have confidence in nothing but Christ Himself.  We can do nothing apart from Him (John 15:5). Over 100 times in the New Testament, Paul urges us to place ourselves ‘in Christ’… not ourselves.

Biblical counseling peels back the lies of our culture and replaces it with the Truth of God’s Word.  That is the renewing of the mind.

Think about it

• Why is simply ‘putting off’ a behavior dangerous for those that we are ministering to at Teen Challenge?
• Can you think of ways that Scripture has been used incorrectly to enforce a non-biblical teaching (i.e. self-esteem, etc)?

Dr. Ferrari is the director of Teen Challenge Springboard Home for Girls in Tucson, AZ.