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Does the
Bible really have the answers to our problems, even our
emotional and psychological ones? Is the grace of God all we
need for total peace of mind? Or is something more required,
something found outside God’s word? “Let us therefore come
boldly to the throne o grace, that we may obtain mercy and
find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).
An article in Moody
Monthly back in May, 1991 analyzed the “Christian”
counseling movement in America, a movement which is “drawing
increasing influence and controversy.” According to the
article, Americans have more hang-ups than any other nation.
One-third of the world’s psychiatrists are Americans and
over one-half of all clinical psychologists live in the United
States. There are more professional therapists in America than
librarians, firefighters, or mail carriers. Professional
counselors outnumber dentists and pharmacists by nearly two to
one.
Among these are so-called “Christian” counselors. But
observers note that there is no standard of “Christian
counseling,” estimating that there are at least 250 distinct
approaches to “Christian psychology” or “biblical
counseling.”
Many religious leaders are disturbed by the growth of this
movement toward the science of Sigmund Freud, who had
dismissed religion as the “obsessional neurosis of
mankind.” These critics see the integration of psychology
and scripture as nothing more than another seduction of Satan.
A well-known denominational preacher, John MacArthur, is one
such outspoken critic and has written a book about it (“Our
Sufficiency in Christ”). “I’m convinced that what
we’re seeing is one of the most subtle and effective attacks
Satan has ever mounted against the church,” he says. ‘By
substituting an artificial simulation ... of sanctification,
he is turning Christians away from the real source o power and
victory.”
Some of MacArthur’s concerns derive from a trial in which he
was involved in 1980. He and the elders where he preaches were
sued when someone they counseled subsequently committed
suicide. They won the case, but during the trial he heard many
supposedly “Christian” psychologists testify on behalf of
the plaintiffs that the Bible alone is not an adequate
resource for counseling people about emotional problems. He
observes in his book that evangelical psychological clinics
claim to offer biblical counsel, but merely dispense secular
psychology disguised in spiritual terminology.
“Bible reading and prayer are commonly belittled as ‘pat
answers.’ Scripture… Christ, prayer, and grace – those
are traditional solutions Christian counselors pointed people
to. But the average Christian today has come to believe that
none of them really offers the cure for the people’s deepest
woes.”
He feels this attitude amounts to a “practical denial of the
faith.” “If we don’t believe the solutions to our
problems are in the Word, what does it matter what we say we
believe? Psychology is a mass of human ideas that Satan has
placed the church as if it were powerful, life-changing truth
from God. Think about it. What could Satan do to try to
destroy the church that would be more effective at undermining
God’s word, shifting the focus off Christ, and minimizing
holy living? All those things are happening slowly, steadily
within the church right now.” (Keep in mind that
MacArthur’s concept of the church is quite different from
ours; but these problems seem to be affecting us as well).
One counselor, Henry Brandt, who has written a book entitled, When
You’re Tired of Dealing with Symptoms and You Want a Cure,
Call Me, will listen to you long enough to determine which
biblical standards you are violating. He practices what is
called “directive biblical counseling,” which means
getting right to the core of the psychological problem, which
he identifies as either a sinful behavior or a sinful
attitude.
“If relief is your goal,” he says, “then you can get
relief through psychotherapy.” But if your goal is to get
right with the Lord, then I’m going to point out where you
need to repent.” Brandt dismisses the popular notion that
our hang-ups are caused by what happened to us during our
upbringing, regardless of how traumatic those events may have
been. “My question is, How are you handling that trauma?
With bitterness? With anger? Rebellion? Now we’re talking
about sin.”
He believes counselors should be cautious about using secular
psychological methods in their practices because of the
temptation to soft-pedal sin. “If you’re not up-front
about sin and if you don’t introduce the Lord, all you’re
having is a heart-to-heart discussion. I would not want to
help people get through life comfortable with their sins. That
would be like telling a cancer patient he has some other
illness that isn’t deadly. You might help him feel relief,
but you won’t help him get cured.”
If all the counselors my brethren were turning to were like
Mr. Brandt, I’d feel much more comfortable. Of course, I
might wonder what he is doing (for $75+ an hour) that any
preacher who knows his Bible couldn’t do (Brandt probably
agrees; maybe the problem is that few “preachers” really
know their Bibles; I know some who spend more time counseling
than preaching, some out of the goodness of their hearts). In
any case, with a few exceptions (for example, learning
disabilities, chemical imbalances and mental disease),
counselors are most often consulted in order to deal either
with relationship problems or the problem of guilt. I doubt if
I would get any argument from my fellow Christians that the
Bible, God’s word, has the answers to these problems. In
almost every case, the problem is based in sin and the answer
is found in repentance, forgiveness and grace.
But not everyone – even those who proclaim their love for
God’s word – accepts the answers that God gives. As
MacArthur says, “Many people won’t tolerate God’s
solutions to their problems because His solutions don’t make
us feel good about ourselves.” He make the following
insightful comment: “In 2 Tim. 4:1-4, we are reminded to
preach the word of God consistently, even when it is not
tolerated. When we doubt that God’s resources are adequate
for meeting all of our needs, we begin to tolerate error.”
Ultimately, what people do is their business – they will
answer to God for themselves. It is commendable whenever a
person recognizes that he has a problem. But we should not be
ignorant of the devil’s schemes (2 Cor. 2:11). It is his
specific purpose to make void the grace of God in the life of
one Christian at a time, if necessary. The worst thing we can
do, as far as the devil is concerned, is repent. And he does
not want us to forgive ourselves or anybody else. He hates
confession and repentance, forgiveness and grace. He thrives
on bitterness, conflict, and anger.
The danger is this: when we avoid the consequence of our sin
(for awhile) by running to those who will indulge us in them,
we frustrate the purpose of God’s grace in us and play into
the devil’s hand. In the end, we will be lost, because the
purpose of God, as revealed in the bible, from cover to cover,
is to deal with sin. If we were all better acquainted with the
grace of God, there would surely be less guilt to take to
human counselors.
David Posey
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