SPECIAL LESSON: THE CHRISTIAN AND COUNSELING
  1. Introduction
    1. For decades in the pastorate, I have been asked whom to recommend for Christian counselors.
    2. Though I have recommended names in accord with these requests, I have come to the view that such help outside of addressing actual medical problems is not only inferior to the use of Scripture for help, but in some cases even harmful. Here is my view and reasons on the subject (as follows):
  2. The Christian And Counseling.
    1. Before modern counselors, believers like those who were killed by lions for their faith in Rome dealt well with stress! There thus must be a solution to mental needs apart from modern professional counseling!
    2. By way of personal experience, this conclusion has been confirmed as follows:
      1. At a time of personal mental depression in the pastorate, I found secular counselors (a psychiatrist and a psychologist) to be effective only in diagnosing what was wrong. They could not pull me out of my cause for the depression. Only application of Scripture to my needs accomplished this for me!
      2. Except for medical cases, I have found getting others to apply II,B,1 as I did has always worked. On one occasion, a Christian woman with some training in counseling whose husband is a trained counselor working with prison inmates tried counseling with a believing certified counselor. When this did not work, I helped her find a resolution and comfort by giving her a single verse in Scripture.
    3. Scripture reveals it alone is our ultimate source of accurate authority when compared with man's ideas: Isaiah 8:20; Psalm 118:8-9 and Jeremiah 17:5-8 reveal this to be a fact. ("Sola Scriptura" principle) Though men outside of Scripture may hold to some true ideas (cf. Tit. 1:12-13 where Paul cites the pagan poet, Epimenides on a point, saying he was true there [Ryrie Study Bible, KJV ftn.], all extra-biblical ideas of men, including theories of counselors, must be subject to Scripture to be validated for believers!
    4. From Scripture, we know its use is totally effective for all non-medically-caused psychoses as follows:
      1. Scripture claims to be fully sufficient for equipping believers for every good work, 2 Tim. 3:16-17.
      2. This fact coincides with two other facts: (a) Scripture's words bear the full inspiration of Christ, Who is God, 2 Tim. 3:16 with John 1:1-3, 14; and (b) as God's Word Incarnate, Christ is our Supernatural Counselor, Isa. 9:6. (The names of Messiah include "Wonderful" and "Counselor", the first describing the second to read, "Wonderful Counselor," Ryrie Study Bib.: King James Version, ftn. to Isa. 9:6.
      3. Accordingly, if the believer exposes himself on a regular basis to the words of the Bible, and understands them to be Christ's words applicable in their proper literal, historical, grammatical contexts to his needs, he will have the Supernatural "Wonderful Counselor", the Incarnate God the Son minister to keep him thinking what he should so as to avoid mental and emotional psychoses.
      4. This fact has been shown in clinical testing: Psychiatrist Frank B. Minirth in You Can Measure Your Mental Health (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1980), p. 14, documented the test. He cited its results, saying: "The maturity level was found to be consistently and proportionately related to the time spent with the Word. The first group, those who spent time daily with the Word, were found to be more mature, more mentally healthy, and to show no significant pathology."
    5. Dr. Jay E. Adams, Competent To Counsel (Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1978), p. 41-42, who was trained as a counselor and in seminary as a pastor, reveals that Romans 15:14 says any believer, via the priesthood of the believer, if walking in fellowship with God so that he is full of practical goodness, and thus knows the Word, can nouthetically confront other believers in a way that wholesomely handles issues of sin and righteousness, leading to good mental health.
Lesson: God has supplied us with all we need by His Spirit and the Word to live above psychoses.

Application: If emotional or mental problems arise, (1) the needy party should seek medical help to deal with possible physical aberrations. (2) Besides this, (a) the spiritual new birth in Christ (John 1:11-13; 3:1-16), (b) confession of sin as a believer (1 John 1:9), (c) dependence on the Holy Spirit for behavior control (Gal. 5:16-23) and (d) consistent intake (Ps. 1:1-6) and (e) application of Scripture to matters of concern will correct and preserve one from psychoses. (3) Thus equipped, believers can help others with such problems as they have been personally helped, Romans 15:14.