Counseling FAQ's

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Frequently Asked Questions About Biblical Counseling - A helpful Extract from a Tremendous Resource 

Compiled and Edited by Dennis M. Swanson

From the Book:

From Introduction to Biblical Counseling, John F. MacArthur, Wayne Mack, and The Master’s College Faculty, Word Publishing, © 1994

The purpose of this book is to help both pastors and lay people become familiar with the principles of biblical counseling and to apply them in the life of the Church. Because the concept of integration has held sway for so many decades and the psychological model for counseling has been virtually unchallenged in the Church, Christians have raised many questions regarding the entire concept of biblical counseling. Jay Adams, in his book What About Nouthetic Counseling (Baker, 1976), dealt with many questions about this subject, but there have been additional and more pointed questions posed of biblical counseling since then. The questions presented here represent a sample of questions that are most frequently asked. The answers to these questions have been prepared by various members of the staff and faculty of The Master’s College, Grace Community Church, and others who contributed to this book.

Please download the PDF below to find a comprehensive extract that addresses the following questions regarding Biblical Counseling or link to the book here.

• Is there any difference between biblical counseling and Christian psychology or Christian counseling?
• I have heard that those who practice biblical counseling are unsympathetic, mean-spirited, and callous. Is this true?
• Do secular disciplines have absolutely nothing to offer to biblical counseling methodology?
• Isn’t biblical counseling overly simplistic?
• Since the Bible is not a textbook on psychology, don’t we need to supplement it with other disciplines to understand and help people with deep psychological needs?
• Is biblical counseling really necessary? Isn’t discipleship sufficient?
• How do God’s grace and the gospel fit into biblical counseling?
• Why do biblical counselors refuse to use information from science and psychology?
• Is it true that biblical counseling de-emphasizes graduate studies and overly emphasizes training in biblical discipleship?
• Does biblical counseling deny the existence of mental or emotional illness and the healing that is necessary in these areas?
• Why does biblical counseling hold to a dichotomous rather than a trichotomous view of mankind?
• Why are those involved in biblical counseling so critical and condemnatory of other believers who hold differing views?
• What can biblical counseling offer non-Christians who come for counseling?
• What theological commitments are basic to the nouthetic method of biblical counseling?
• How can biblical counselors classify drug and alcohol addictions simply as sin when medical science has proven they are diseases?
• Is it true that the foundation of biblical counseling is rooted in legalism?
• Do you ever refer people to psychologists or psychiatrists for help?