What is biblical counseling?


As I was reading If I’m A Christian, Why Am I Depressed?, I stumbled upon a quote that defines biblical counseling quite well. Robert Somerville says, “Biblical counseling is just discipleship centered on an issue that needs addressing.” When I say discipleship, I am simply describing the process of coming alongside someone as a fellow follower of Jesus Christ with the purpose of growing in Christlikeness.

When someone comes in for counseling, my goal is to ask questions, to listen, and to understand what my counselee is going through. Then I must evaluate how I can compassionately bring specific truths from God's word to bear in the midst of their particular situation.

2 Peter 1:3-4 says, "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire."

The word of God is sufficient to bring real power and help in dealing with all of life's problems in a way that glorifies him. No matter what you are facing, God's word provides wisdom and instruction in how we are to respond as his children.

How is God's word sufficient? The Bible is God's self-revelation that helps us to lift our eyes to his glorious perfections so that we can rightly view and relate to him in the midst of any circumstance. God's word helps us to understand the nature of man as having been created in the image of God to glorify Him but now fallen and born into sin. Our only hope is in Christ redeeming us from our sins--through his life, death, and resurrection--and the Spirit giving us new life through repentance and faith in Christ. Once this occurs, we are no longer slaves to sin and, by the the grace of God, will continue to grow into the image and likeness of Christ--in seasons of sorrow and suffering, in anxiety and depression, anger, conflict, addictions, and the like. The Word of God rightly understood and applied to our hearts by the Spirit of God brings the hope and change we long for.

This is why the Biblical Counseling Center of Maui exists. We labor to point believers to the hope-filled, authoritative, and transformative truths that God has laid out in his word. So if you or anyone you know is going through a significant season of suffering or you feel like you are going in circles or stuck in your fight against sin, reach out to the BCCM and schedule an appointment today at www.bccmaui.com.