Biblical Counseling - Kim Bridges

 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."
2 Timothy 3:16-17

My decision to pursue Biblical counseling started with a need. When I say a need, I am not talking about me helping someone else; in fact it was kind of the opposite. The need that brought the importance of Biblical counseling to my attention was my own struggle with anxiety and depression that started in early high school. Like most people do at one point or another, I found myself in a place where I just couldn’t handle my own struggles. Unfortunately in a small county there just weren’t a lot of options that included the God-focused view that I needed. But God knowing my every need before I knew what to ask for fulfilled it in an amazing yet mundane way. I found hope and the ability to work through my problems and it wasn’t due to anything the world offers, in fact my life changed based off the instruction I hope we are all acquainted with - the truth of Scripture. 

Although at that point in my life it would be a few years before I would step into an actual counseling session, my life was forever changed by what would be classified as a form of “Biblical counseling”. In my case, Biblical counseling was simply administered through people who loved me in the local church. That may sound strange to someone who has only been exposed to counseling in the secular world, and that’s because Biblical counseling is completely contrary to the teachings of the world. But if you continue reading, you might see that the practice of counseling one another is not foreign to you at Grace Church. With that in mind, what is Biblical counseling? 

Biblical counseling is an intensive, problem-solving centered discipleship which is dependent completely and only on the Word of God. The teachings of Scripture is where we find the method for what we do in Biblical counseling, which is also why it’s possible and even common to conduct Biblical counseling outside of the counseling room. You might not realize this, church, but you’ve been counseling each other without even knowing it! When you helped your friend going through a hard time by doing a Bible study with them on the problem they’re facing, you did the work of Biblical counseling. When you gave hope to your grieving loved one by pointing them towards the promise of eternal life in heaven, you did the work of Biblical counseling. If you graciously confronted a brother or sister about their sin and spoke the truth in love, you have also done the work of Biblical counseling.
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For these reasons, Biblical counseling should not intimidate us on either side. Whether you are considering if you need to pursue being counseled formally, or if God has given you the opportunity to step up to be the counselor in someone’s life informally you shouldn’t be afraid to do so. Biblical counseling is discipleship focused on helping someone understand their problem from a Biblical point of view and then exhorting them to obey God’s commands and make righteous habits.

On that note, why is Scripture the only basis for Biblical counseling, you may ask?  2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." You see, God did not leave us to live lives of confusion when it comes to the problems that we face. Not only does He give us the answer to those problems, but He also has revealed that His Word is all we need for spiritual life. When I say that, I’m not proposing that you open to the book of Genesis to learn how to build a fence or bake cookies. Biblical counselors do not advocate that the Bible is an exhaustive list or encyclopedia of how to do anything and everything. Rather, in terms of your spiritual life, which affects every aspect of life itself, it’s clear in the verses mentioned above that God had given us all we need to be complete and equipped. This is through the Word of God, the works of Christ on the cross, with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.  

As Christians we all have a calling which I believe our church’s statement encapsulates – to know Christ and make Him known, to love God and love others. This is the same goal of Biblical counseling; one I exhort the church to continue pursuing to help love those who are lost and hurting.