Christian Counselling

"Foundational to problem solving is a person's relationship to Christ. Christians have God as their Savior and the sanctifier of their souls. The unsaved, those that are not Christians, have no access to Gods loving care for the problems they are facing. Indeed, often their problems are not only a product of their sins; these problems are often a part of the temporal judgment of God for these sins ... The only hope for the lost, in this world or the next, is Jesus Christ" [source].

"Christian counselling can have a most adverse impact on those who are not Christians. Because they are not empowered to do what God requires, they will ultimately fail. Having failed in Christian counselling, they are in danger of writing off the whole Christian message. At some later date, having the claims of Christ pressed upon them, they will be inclined to respond, 'Oh, I tried Christianity; it didn't work.' They did not try Christianity. They tried acting like a Christian in the flesh; that never works. But they will not know the difference. The only thing they will remember is that 'Christianity didn't work.'  As a result, they will be inoculated to the gospel. Christian counselling for the lost is dangerous. However, evangelism for the lost is the starting point to solving all problems" [source].

Problem-Centred Counselling

"The focus of ministry should not be on the problems. Focusing on the problems and rehearsing wrongs committed against oneself tend to increase the intensity of the problems. There fore talking about problems is discouraged and seeking the Lord and His Word is encouraged. What? How can problems be handled if they are not carefully described? ... God knows the problem completely. He knows what needs to be changed in each person involved. The person who comes alongside will only get a partial view at the most" [source].

Self-Centred Counselling

"The client (i.e., the self) comes with a problem. The counseling is directed at the self with the problem. Thus, problem-centred counseling is actually self-centred counseling. The two are inextricably linked" [source].

"The focus of psychological therapy is on self and its problems from the perspective that the self is essentially good, but wounded emotionally by circumstances and other people" [source].

"Psychotherapy attempts to fix the self so that its so-called essential goodness can be experienced and expressed. They psychological mindset sees the problem as on the outside. The solution is found within the self, albeit with the help of those who have special psychological knowledge. Self is central and must be nurtured with self-love, self-esteem, and self-worth, all of which are supposed to  lead to self-fulfilment, but which generally increase self-absorption, self-centredness, and self-indulgence" [source].

"The basic focus of psychology is self. Psychology attempts to improve self, repair self, value self, esteem self, love self, find self, forgive self. Self becomes god. This is diametrically opposed to the biblical perspective, which says that our old self has been crucified with Christ. Now we are to put off the practices of that old self and put on the qualities of Christ, being conformed to His image" [source].

"Rather than focusing on the Lord and the work of His Kingdom, Christians are held captive to self - meeting the needs of self, understanding self, protecting self, nurturing self. The truth is: We don't need one more psychologist to explain self or sin. We need a Saviour to deliver us from them!" [source].

Marriage Counselling

"Marriage provides many opportunities for spiritual growth. But instead of using these constructively, partners often focus on problems, blame each other, and want the other partner or circumstances to change. Instead of seeking the Lord to work in their own lives, they go to counseling, talk about their problems, and expect the counselor to do something ... It is unbiblical to discuss marital problems with others or complain about one's spouse in each other's presence ... It is unbiblical to discuss marital problems with others or complain about one's spouse in his/her absence ... It is unbiblical to discuss marital problems with others for the purpose of getting a spouse to change" [source].

Honouring Father and Mother

"Problem-centred counseling, when looking for the source of problems in a person's upbringing, usually leads a person to violate God's commandment to 'Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long ... ' (Exodus 20:12). Even if a seeker is having problems, the fifth commandment must be obeyed. ... not dishonouring mother and father to a 'third party'." [source].

Psychology and/or the Bible

"[T]hose who dispense psychotherapy believe that they are dealing with proven facts and great truth" [source].

"Psychological counseling theories are collections of human opinions arranged in theoretical frameworks. They are human inventions based on the perception and personal experiences of the theorists themselves" [source].

"The presuppositions upon which those theories are based include evolutionism, secular humanism, atheism, psychic determinism, environmental determinism, and various forms of non-Christian religions" [source].

"The therapists transformed age-old human dilemmas into psychological problems and claimed that they (and they alone) had the treatment" [quoted at source].

"Consider the basic questions of psychology, and it is immediately clear that we are dealing with competition. Every system of psychological theory addresses issues that are already fully addressed in Scripture. The major difference is that psychology sees man apart from God. man is made in God's image. How, therefore, is it possible to accurately study his behaviour and motives while excluding God?" [source].

"The psychologists tell us how to handle anger, when to forgive, how to handle our relationships, how to raise our children. So does the Bible. If psychology coincidentally crosses paths with the Bible on some rare point, it is redundant. If its answers are different, which is most often the case, then it must be in error. Where there appears to be truth in psychology, time spent in biblical research will reveal that we already have that truth, in purer form, in God's Word" [source].

"The worst idea is that psychological counseling theories and therapies have anything to offer the Christian other than fodder for the flesh. This worst idea has been embraced by numerous psychotherapists, counseling psychologists, marriage and family counselors, psychiatrists, and social workers who call themselves Christians. This worst idea is embraced by most pastors and their flocks. This worst idea is even embraced by some 'biblical counselors' who emulate their psychological counterparts in various ways. This worst idea flourishes in the church and there are very few who are concerned. In fact, this worst idea has been integrated not only into therapy and counseling, but into sermons, books, Christians colleges, seminaries, and schools" [source].

"Attempting to syncretise psychology with Christianity denies the sufficiency of the Word of God and the sufficiency of the Spirit of God in all matters of life and conduct ... When Christians restate their favourite theories to make them sound Christian, they often distort the truths that have been given by God in His Holy Word, which is our only fully reliable textbook on the human condition ... many Christians now see the Gospel, the Bible, and the work of the Holy Spirit through the lens of one psychological theory or another ... many pastors, teachers, and writers eisegete Scripture accordingly" [source].

"Even the best ideas from these theories and therapies are limited to the flesh. At most, they enhance the old man, which Scripture tells us to put off. ... Since these theories were developed by unbelievers, we must ask: How can an unredeemed mind tell a Christian how to walk in the Spirit?" [source].

It is argued that "'Christian psychology' is a separate tree from secular psychology, but it cannot be separate because it has the very same roots, and the very same sap flows through its veins" [source].

"How dangerous is this growth of Christians psychology in the church?  We believe that it is a diabolical means of infusing the church wit the world's ways and ideas. It takes the eyes off Christ and onto self. It substitutes the word of God with the wisdom of men and it replaces the work of the Holy Spirit with human ingenuity. It feeds the flesh and hinders spiritual growth" [source].

"Let the world follow the wisdom of men" [source].

Christ-Centred Ministry

"Christ-centred ministry relies in the work of the Holy Spirit in a believer's life and therefore emphasizes spiritual growth, whereby the believer walks with the Lord according to the Spirit rather than according to the flesh. ... When believers are walking in the Spirit they are ... following Jesus in holiness, righteousness, truth, mercy, kindness, goodness, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, patience, humility, temperance, gentleness, faith, forgiveness, and obedience to God" [source].

"In Christ-centred ministry the person coming alongside does not need to know the specific problems or the details. Neither is there a necessity to guess at what might be the source. Instead, both the seeker and the helper are to deal with life biblically and spiritually ... the emphasis is on Christ and Him crucified and all that involves. ... A Christ-centred helper moves a person as quickly as possible from problem-centredness to Christ-centredeness. ... Christ-centred ministry encourages both denying self and living for and growing in Christ. No one else can do what needs to be done in the seeker as much as what the Lord and the seeker can do together" [source].

Victims

"Paul warns believers not to be robbed of what they have in Christ through 'philosophy and vain deceit' that turns them into victims ... rather than victims forever seeking to be healed of emotional wounds, Christians are new creations in Christ (2 Cor 5:17), fully equipped for challenges, trials, disappointments, dangers, and all sorts of calamities" [source].

"While, indeed, there are real victims, the psychotherapeutic mindset has trivialised the horrors that some people have experienced by so expanding the meaning that now everyone qualifies if they want to. The role of victim can actually be quite enticing ... qualifying for sympathy from friends, engaging in endless psychological therapy centred on self, and gaining exoneration from responsibility and guilt" [source].

"Rather than having to face the ugly fact of their own sin without excuse or reason or blame-shifting, they choose to be victims ... more and more Christians are seeing themselves as innocent victims with their 'mistakes' and problems of living being due to other people and circumstances beyond their control ... helping an individual see himself as needy, emotionally wounded, and having been harmed or disappointed by others is one convenient way to sidestep personal responsibility, sin, and guilt" [source].

"Victimisation shifts the attention away from one's own responsibility for what is thought, said, and done. Victimisation shifts attention away from one's own sin and onto the sins of others committed against them. Victimisation diverts believers away from the cross of Christ. Victimisation robs them of gratitude for God's unspeakable gift and thereby robs them of a close walk with Him. Turning Christians into victims weakens their faith and stunts spiritual growth. Every choice to walk according to the Spirit by grace through faith brings spiritual maturity. The choice is up to every believer: whether to be a psychologically defined and created victim or to be a biblically defined sinner saved by grace and growing into the likeness of Christ" [source].

"Memories of abuse also can help them resolve the dissonance between 'I am a smart, capable person' and 'my life sure is a mess right now' with an explanation that makes them feel good and removes responsibility: 'It's not my fault my life is a mess. Look at the horrible things they did to me'." [quoted at source].

"Considering the grievous circumstances and the childhoods of many of the Gentile Christians, the early church had plenty of potential 'victims' (many born and raised in slavery with the accompanying sexual and physical abuse and being treated as less than human). But did the church treat them as victims needing to heal their emotional wounds or to remember the pain of the past in order to know God and to grow spiritually? No. The Bible does not portray mankind as victims, but as sinners" [source].

Inner Healing, Visualisation, Recovered Memory Therapy

"[S]ome, who have been convinced that the source of their problems is what happened to them as young children, spend months and years in therapy and/or in so-called inner healing. Some are trying to gain insight by remembering real events and some are searching for supposedly forgotten memories of abuse and neglect. Others are encouraged to see a figure of Jesus add something to the memory to heal or change it, but, since this [visualisation of Jesus with them in their past event] is all in their imagination, they end up with a false Jesus" [source].

"Everyone has been adversely affected by the sins of others to some degree ... the Bible does not teach people to ... probe their early childhood years to look for ways that adults failed them in any way ... the Bible does not advise anyone to remember and re-experience past pain, disappointments, or even abuse [please see here for a relevant discussion concerning child sexual abuse] for the sake of personal or spiritual growth" [source].

"Because of the nature of memory, remembering the past cannot be done without enhancing, embellishing, omitting, or creating details to fill in the blanks. Therefore, this is a faulty method of help because of the brain's limited ability to remember and tendency to distort" [source].

"Rather than trying to remember the past and somehow rework painful memories through therapy or so-called inner healing, Christians need to reckon themselves dead to the past by identifying with Christ's death and to live according to their new life in Christ. Everything needs to be taken to the cross instead of relived and talked about" [source].

"[D]igging up old memories for the purpose of changing one's present life is counterproductive to the cross and in effect denies the finished work of Christ.  Jesus said, 'It is finished.'  So we say to fellow Christians: Identify with those words when you bring sin to the cross - your own sin and the sins of others committed against you. Recognise that Jesus suffered the pain and eternal consequence of those sins. He felt the pain and agony of every sin you have committed and the pain of every sin committed against you. He took it all and said, 'It is finished.'  If a memory with its pain comes back, treat it as a temptation from the enemy, who wants to rob you of the truth of what Christ did and to undermine your identification with Him, both in His death and resurrection" [source].

"Believers do not transform their lives through looking at the sins of others or by revisiting the past, but by confessing their own sin and believing that Jesus took it all. Believers need to leave their own sin and the sins committed against them on the cross and not try to remember, reconstruct, fix or transform the so-called inner child, which is actually the old nature or flesh" [source].

"Satan always works to keep Christians struggling in the flesh, because that is where they are most vulnerable and because he hates the life of Christ in every believer. He is most pleased when Christians walk according to the flesh or their old nature. Therefore, the devil is pleased with all forms of psychological therapy and related forms of inner healing" [source].

"[R]ecovered memory therapy ... has destroyed lives and families of people who entered counseling and were subsequently convinced by their therapists that their problems were due to their past and that they must retrieve so-called repressed memories to become well again. Dr. Robert Epstein notes: 'the source of many of the recovered memories was the therapist. Leading questions, especially when combined with drugs, hypnosis and suggestive dream interpretation, can easily produce false memories that seem quite real to patients'." ['The Loose Screw Awards', Psychology Today, (2005), quoted at source].

Forgetting Those Things Which Are Behind...

"Dwelling on the past can be a great impediment to pressing 'toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus' (Philippians 3:13-14) ... Turning to the past to find reasons for present problems places blame on others and circumstances rather than on one's own responsibilities and possibilities" [source].

"Christianity is all about living the new life and reckoning oneself dead to the old life. Christianity is not about focusing on problems and on other people's sins and shortcomings, and it is not about dredging up the past to fix the present. The Christian life is about confessing one's own sin, walking according to the new life in Christ, and 'forgetting those things which are behind' (Philippians 3:13-14)" [source].

Thus saith the LORD,
Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way,
and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls
(Jeremiah 6:16)

© Bayith Ministries     http://www.bayith.org     bayith@blueyonder.co.uk