Counseling: Uniqueness Flashcards
Who is a counselor?
Anyone who gives advice on how to think or act
How does worldview influence counseling?
All counsel/advice grows out of our worldview?
What is biblical counseling?
Helping people struggling with the problems of life and living using the bible
The private, compassionate, intensive ministry of the Word.
Foundational beliefs that shape the Christians view and practice of counseling:
1, A commitment to the inerrancy of the scripture (2 Peter 1:20)
- A commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ (Matthew 11:28 - 29)
- A commitment to making disciples of Jesus christ
- A commitment to loving our neighbors
- A commitment to the sufficiency of Christ and the Scriptures
The inerrancy of the scripture
2 Peter 1:20
“But know this first of all, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is inspired by God”
What is our authority? Why should anyone listen to you?
Because right now, you know the applicable scripture for their problem better than they do.
What is the common denominator found in all problems people face, and what does Jesus say we should do?
The common denominator is a heart that is not at rest.
Matthew 11:28 - 29
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls
Why is the Gospel of utmost significance in our ministry to people?
1 Corinthians 15:3,4 “For I delivered to you as OF FIRST IMPORTANCE what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures
Preaching the Gospel to yourself?
This means that in the midst of our heartache and difficulties we remind ourselves of the Gospel
Do we have the authority to make disciples
The Great Commission
Matthew 28:18 - 20
“18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth”
19 Go therefore and make disciples of tall the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
20. Teaching them to observe all I have taught you”
What is a disciple?
A long term learner and follower of Christ
In what way is counseling intensive discipleship
We are teaching people how to obey the word of God in the areas they are struggling.
Is counseling the same as Bible study?
No
Counseling is for the express purpose of helping people change and grow out of their sinful thinking and habit patterns that are leading to bondage and conflict in their personal life
What should we be known for?
Our love for one another
Matthew 22:36 - 40
- Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?
- And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
- This is the great and foremost commandment.
- The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
- On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets
John 13:34-35
- A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
- By this all men will know that you are My disciples if you have a love for one another”
Is Christ and his scripture sufficient for dealing with our current life situations?
2 Peter 1:3
Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
2 Timothy 3:16 -17
All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
Integrationism.
The attempt to import the intellectual contents and psycho therapeutic practices of psychology into their counseling in a way they thinking is consistent with biblical faith.
What is the Biblical counseling view on integrationism?
Trying to integrate secular theories with biblical approaches diminishes the effectiveness of the word
What are the 4 key areas that the word of God is useful in?
- Teaching us how we ought to think about things
- Convicting and convincing us of our sin (reproof)
- Helping people who have been knocked down to stand up again (Correction)
- To Discipline our thinking and behaviour in a way that will make our future different from our past (Train in rightousness)
What is the core problem with conventional therapy?
It is based on theories that are rooted in a defective understanding of human nature
It ignores human sin and its effects, neglect our most fundamental human and spiritual needs, and therefore, misunderstand our condition, mistreat our problems, and sometimes unintentionally do more harm than good
What is the best that conventional approaches to therapy and counseling can do?
Rearrange the flesh (Cognitive restructuring, etc), they cannot change the heart and move to the person to Godliness
How does biblical counseling affect real change?
By changing peoples harts and moving them to Godliness
1 Corinthians 6:9 -11
speaking about addictive behaviours or sin that people have repeated so often that they have made it into a lifestyle
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God”
And how through a change of heart, (justification) they were able to change their sinful lifestyles
- And such were some of you, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.”
Ephesians 4:22-24
Speaking about the kind of change that changes our lives from the inside out. A change of heart
“That in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of Truth.”
Hymn
I once was lost in the darkest night, yet thought I knew the way. The sin that promised joy and life had lead me to the grave
I had no hope that you would own a rebel to your will
and if you have not loved me first I would refuse you still
But as I ran my hellbound race, indifferent to the cost.
You looked upon my helpless state, and lead me to the cross.
And I beheld God’s love displayed, you suffered in my place. You bore the wrath reserved for me, now all I know is Grace
Hallelujah!, All I have is Christ
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life
Three basic approaches to counseling
Psychological/Secular
Integration
Biblical
How did Wilhelm Wund redefine the term psychology?
He changed it from a study of the human soul to a study of the behaviors of man
“We cannot hope to understand man if we believe that the soul is immaterial”
Which scripture supports the idea that our behaviour is influenced and determined by the motivations of the heart
From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks
Guard your heart with all diligence, because from it flows the life
The difference between wisdom that comes from God, and human theories
God’s wisdom leads to life and redemption
Human theories lead to death, vanity, and purposelessness
Can we separate between the spiritual and everything else in our life?
No everything we do is spiritual
1 Corinthians 10:31
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Prov 14:30
A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.
What does Ezekiel 12 say about the lost, rebelious people and how does that apply to secular theorist?
2 “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.
They see data that is true, but they interpret it wrongly and so create fictive theories
Secular theorists can describe what a person is struggling with, but can only guess at why they are struggling with something as they lack spiritual insight (they are spiritually blind)
Dangers of integration
It dilutes the truth, and denies the sufficiency of scripture
The problem with DSM diagnostic labels
They are fictive categories (fictions) that shelter a person from the truth and therefore keep them in bondage.
What is the problem with using ‘general revelation’ as an argument for the use of secular theories
The bible tells us that general revelation is never given to reveal the truth about man, but rather the some truth about God
Also when Isaia compares himselves to other in Isaia 5, he is not too bad off, but in Isaia 6 when he sees God ,and therefore sees himself accurately, he trembles
6 In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the Lord seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphs stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and they used the remaining two to fly. 3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!” 4 The sound of their voices shook the door frames, and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 I said, “Woe to me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin, and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin.
We need God’s special revelation to see ourselves accurately, General revelation cannot reveal our condition
using social norms to try and understand ourselves is misleading and gives us a distorted impression, like looking into a carnival mirror.
Why can man not be fully understood by science?
Because man has an immaterial soul and conscience
What did Kraepelin say about the need to identify the cause of an illness
“As long as we are unable clinically to group illnesses on the basis of cause, and to separate dissimilar causes, our views about etiology will necessarily remain unclear and contradictory.”
What is normal?
The DSM has more than 400 ways of describing abnormality but has no definition of normality.
The Bible’s definition of normal is Jesus, the nature and character of God.
Who is God’s appointed institution for soul care?
The Church
