Last month, we noted that biblical counseling was inherently superior over secular counseling in five different areas: 1) a unified and unchangeable source of truth; 2) a God-centered view (philosophy) of life; 3) counseling goals that bring glory to God; 4) a biblical view of the nature of man; and 5) an unchangeable source of moral authority.

Now we will look at four more. These are even more revealing than the first five.

There are at least three methods that can be used to develop a secular counseling system. These are: 1) original or innovative thinking by the originator of the secular counseling system, 2) modification of an existing secular counseling system to more nearly agree with the ideas of the modifier of the system, or 3) eclectic choice of "bits and pieces" of existing counseling systems and reassembly of the "bits and pieces" into a new counseling system.

Without regard to which of these three development methods is used to develop a secular counseling system, the person developing the secular counseling system is the creator of his counseling system.

In contrast, biblical counseling as a system is not, and cannot be, developed by one or by any combination of these three methods. Instead, the development method of biblical counseling is entirely unique.

Biblical counseling is a counseling system created by God and revealed in the Scriptures. Therefore, biblical counseling is not, and cannot be, a creative work of man. It follows that biblical counseling is not, and cannot be, developed by any of the methods that are used to develop secular counseling systems. Instead, biblical counseling is God-given and man-discovered.

God has revealed the principles of biblical counseling in the Scriptures. It is the duty of Bible scholars and other students of the Bible, by diligent study of the Scriptures--including study of the Scriptures in the original languages of the Bible, aided by illumination of the Scriptures by the Holy Spirit--to discover the counseling system that God has conceived and has provided for man.

Any attempt to develop biblical counseling by creative thinking, by modification of secular systems, or by eclectic choices of man would put error into a God-given system and would place human limitations into what should be a perfect, God-given system of counseling.

Unless a secular counseling system is developed by the eclectic method (picking and choosing bits and pieces here and there) typically, the developer of a secular counseling system will sense the need to provide order in his counseling system; and so he will develop his system around some unifying structure.

So, out of his own creative abilities, the developer of a secular counseling system may conceive some unifying structure. This unifying system may be a model that attempts to understand the relationship between man's thinking and his behavior. Or the model may be one or more of the supposed needs of man, usually borrowed from Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

Then the creator of the secular counseling system will attempt to fit all human behavior, and all motivation for human behavior, into his unifying structure. Because of this attempt to place all human behavior and all motivation for human behavior into his unifying structure, his counseling system will tend to be both simplistic and erroneous.

Biblical counseling cannot be developed around any unifying structure devised by man, because any man-made unifying structure would put erroneous restraints upon a God-given system.

Instead, biblical counseling is "developed" in the same manner as the doctrines of salvation, sanctification and so forth were "developed": One Bible scholar discovered a first truth of a given doctrine in the Scriptures, another scholar discovered a second truth and so forth. Then as these God-given truths were examined, it was found that they fit together to form a God-given system of doctrine.

Generally, these Bible scholars were not attempting to make God-given truth fit a unifying structure of their own creation. Instead, they were discovering the unifying structures around which God has given His truth. However, in instances where men tried to make the Scriptures fit their preconceived unifying structures, they interjected human error into God-given truth.

It is God who knows--and who has provided--the unifying structures of biblical counseling. As biblical counseling becomes more fully developed, His unifying structures for His system of counseling will become apparent.

Since the time of Freud, secular counseling systems have been increasing in number and divergence as each original thinker, each modifier, and each eclectic chooser, has developed a new counseling system around his "truth."

The number and divergence of secular counseling systems should not seem strange. With their ever-changing and mutually- contradictory "truth," secular counseling systems are inherently divergent.

Of course, since truth cannot contradict truth, it is clear that only one system of counseling can be correct; and the one that is correct will be the one that is based upon inerrant truth--the truth of the Scriptures.

Further, the counseling system that is based upon the inerrant truth of the Scriptures--biblical counseling--inherently will be a converging system.

As biblical counselors discover what they believe to be counseling principles, and as these supposedly biblical counseling principles are carefully checked in the Scriptures, including thorough checking in the original languages of the Bible, biblical counseling will develop toward the single and unified system that God has given.

One of the strengths of biblical counseling is the power of the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit to bring men to salvation. Often, God providentially brings a counselee to the end of his own resources in order to emphasize that the counselee's greatest need is the Saviour.

Therefore, it is the duty of every biblical counselor, without fail, to determine--insofar as possible--the spiritual condition of all counselees; and to present the Gospel to all.

For believers, all principles of biblical counseling are powerful. The power of biblical counseling is in the God-given origin of the counseling principles; the power of biblical counseling is in the power of the Holy Spirit to witness to the truth of His Word, to comfort, to convict, and/or to empower the counselee to act or react biblically; and the power of biblical counseling is in prayer.

Thus, not only is biblical counseling powerful, but also, biblical counseling has supernatural power.

Summarizing, the inherent superiorities of biblical counseling include the following: 1) biblical counseling is based upon God's inerrant and unchangeable truth as opposed to the ever-changing "truth" of men; 2) biblical counseling is based upon a biblical view (philosophy) of life; and 3) biblical counseling has biblical goals.

Further, 4) biblical counseling is based upon a biblical concept of the nature of man; 5) biblical counseling has an unchangeable source of moral authority; and 6) biblical counseling is a God-given system, as opposed to being a man-developed system.

In addition, 7) biblical counseling is developed without any man-made unifying structure, because it is God who has created biblical counseling; 8) biblical counseling is a converging system--as opposed to being a diverging system--because the counseling principles of biblical counseling are God-given and unchangeable; and 9) biblical counseling has the supernatural power of both the Holy Spirit and prayer.

Pastors, you who diligently study the Scriptures as you prepare your sermons, are you as diligent in studying the Scriptures to be sure that your counseling is biblical?

Senior pastors and official boards, is your counseling pastor adequately trained in theology, including the biblical languages, and does he use this knowledge to be sure that his counseling principles are thoroughly biblical?

Bible school and seminary administrator and professor, you who strive to teach doctrine that is strictly biblical, are you as diligent in being sure that the counseling that you teach is truly and completely biblical?

You who aspire to do counseling, are you planning to obtain a sound theological education--including knowledge of the biblical languages--as a basis for your counseling? Will you be able to search the Scriptures to be sure that the principles that you are taught--and that you will use--are biblical?

Christian, as you read counseling literature that is purported to be biblical--or as you receive counseling--do you search the Scriptures to see if the things taught are biblical?

There is little doubt but that secular counseling systems will multiply in number, divergence, and mutual contradiction as each developer of a new secular counseling system determines the "truth" of his system.

But, biblical counseling inherently is a converging system; because it is a God-given system based upon an unchangeable source of truth--the Scriptures; and so biblical counseling should converge toward a single and unified system.

Biblical counseling will converge toward the single, unified, and perfect system that God has given as Christians and Christian organizations dedicate themselves to discovering biblical counseling principles and/or to testing counseling principles that others purport to be biblical.

The Christians in Berea were called "noble" because they searched the Scriptures daily to see if the things that they were being taught were actually true to the Scriptures (Acts 17:11). "Noble" Christians can be instrumental in determining that biblical counseling becomes the system that God has created and that he wants mankind to have.

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