Series Eight: Biblical Counseling and Personal Discipleship

True soul care must take its cue from the only authoritative source on the soul, namely the Scriptures. This lesson is an apologetic for the sufficiency of the Scriptures in soul care. Second, it is also a polemic against plausible-sounding solutions that are offered as alternatives to the biblical explanation.

The principles found within this section on counseling and discipleship are a compilation of materials—some developed by Grace Immanuel Bible Church, Jupiter, FL, as well as many adaptations from the counseling materials of Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, CA, under the leadership of Dr. John MacArthur. We are deeply indebted to Dr. MacArthur and the pastoral team at Grace Community for their labors and biblical clarity through the years on this vital subject.

An Apologetic for Biblical Soul Care

The Genesis account of the Fall gives us the only depiction of man in a pre-fallen state as well as right at the Fall. As such, it not only portrays to us the events that took place, but exposes the ultimate issues that have indelibly marked humanity.

“Who has the authority to describe the soul’s dimensions? Who can describe what’s wrong with the soul and then give solutions for the care of the soul? You either deny the historicity of the Fall as recorded in Genesis, or acknowledge that the Word of God both spells out the soul’s need and points us to our remedy.”

1. Before the Fall, God’s creation was perfect and man was in a state of sinless perfection (Gen 1:31–2:25).
   1. “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen 1:31).
   2. “And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed” (Gen 2:25). This foreshadows what will soon be the polar opposite in 3:7. There was no self-interest, no self-consciousness, no corruption, no shame. This was an untested state of holiness and perfection. No soul care was yet needed!
2. In the garden God established man with work to do within a simple parameter.
   1. The command to tend to the garden (Gen 2:15).
   2. The command to obey in the matter of the tree and its fruit (Gen 2:16–17).
   • “There was no special quality in the fruit; God had simply invested the tree with the moral test as a symbol of the human heart’s commitment. God was communicating to Adam, ‘I am commanding you and want you to know that I’m sufficient. I’m giving you one command, I want you trust Me that I’m enough. When I give a command, I know what’s best. When I give a command, I know the dangers if you violate it. I don’t need to explain it any further than that. I give you a command to give you parameters so that you will say in your heart, “You are all that I need!”’”
3. At the Fall Satan tempted and deceived Eve, and Adam transgressed when he also ate the fruit.
   1. Satan’s fall occurred somewhere between Genesis 1:31 and the beginning of chapter 3. There was a fall of the angelic world, led by Satan himself.
   2. Man’s fall occurred in Genesis 3:1–6. Satan appeared to Eve in the form of a serpent. The immediate consequence came in verse 7.
4. Immediately following Adam’s transgression, they had fallen from purity and innocence to wholesale corruption. This was no gradual deterioration, but depravity is evident from the very outset following their disobedience (Gen 3:7–13).
   1. Guilty: the eyes of both were opened, and they knew they were naked.
   2. Self-atoning: they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
   3. Avoiding accountability: they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD.
   4. Fearful: “I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself” (Gen 3:10).
   5. Self-preserving and blameshifting: “the woman … gave me from the tree” (Gen 3:12).
   6. Defiant: “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree” (Gen 3:12). Adam accuses God of wickedness. This is the height of man’s arrogance!
   7. Resisting confession: God didn’t ask Adam questions because He was ignorant; He wanted Adam to confess his transgression and gave him an opportunity to do so.

“So now we know what’s wrong with the soul: it is corrupt, it is self-conscious, it is impure, it is self-worshipping, self-pleasuring, hedonistic, it is self-atoning, it is self-preserving, self-protecting, it is guilty, it is afraid, and it is dishonest and unrepentant.”

A Polemic Against Plausible-Sounding Alternatives

Other claims to care for the soul offer competing explanations as to the first causes for the maladies we experience. As such, they must be discerned and examined, as these competing explanations challenge and contradict the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture. And because they don’t address ultimate causes, they don’t provide ultimate soul care.

1. Psychology, in its many forms:
   • Depth psychology (Freud)
   • Neo-Freudians (Adler)
   • Behaviorism (Skinner)
   • Rational-Emotive Theory (Ellis)
   • Third Force (Rogers)
   • Family Systems (Ackerman)
   • Etc.
   1. Regardless of the form, common to them all is a set of beliefs offering to explain
      • man’s nature and makeup.
      • man’s problems.
      • who is responsible for his problems.
      • how to treat his problems.
      • what guilt is.
      • how to resolve guilt.
      • who is able to counsel.
   2. The world’s philosophies are a competing “religion” in opposition to God’s Word. Their worldviews and presuppositions contradict Scripture.
      1. Atheism vs. theism
      2. Naturalism vs. holism
      3. Reductionism vs. constructionism
      4. Individualism vs. others-centeredness
      5. Relativism/pragmatism vs. absolutism
      6. Hedonism vs. obedience
      7. Victimism vs. responsibility
      8. Gnosticism vs. God’s revelation
2. The psychologized gospel
   1. It has infiltrated the evangelical church.
   2. It is a perversion of the gospel, teaching
      1. that Jesus came to satisfy you, meet your need for love and self-esteem, give you a healthy lifestyle, and solve your emotional problems.
      2. a different view of the person.
         1. Sound doctrine teaches that man has an active-responsible heart.
         2. This system teaches that man is a passive-reactive victim.
      3. a different view of circumstances.
         1. Sound doctrine teaches that circumstances may be significant but are not determinative.
         2. This system teaches that circumstances are determinative. It emphasizes the significance of When/Where/With Whom, believing these fundamentally shape an individual’s life patterns.
      4. a different view of the resources available to the Christian.
         1. Sound doctrine teaches that the blood of Christ was shed to cleanse you from guilt and condemnation.
         2. This system teaches that the blood of Christ evidences your innate worth, value, and beauty—and as such, meets your need for love and self-esteem.
      5. a different means and purpose for personal transformation.
         1. Sound doctrine teaches the pursuit of transformation through faith, repentance, mind renewal, obedience, and sanctification for the glory of God, who is worthy.
         2. This system teaches that one pursues transformation for greater personal satisfaction (as expressed through getting needs met, finding inner healing, finding people who accept you, and setting attainable goals to build self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-worth).
3. Integrationism
   • Many within the church assert that human observation/scientific research can be integrated with sacred Scripture to produce a more robust body of knowledge better suited to soul care.
   1. Sources of knowledge
      1. Revelation
         1. General revelation
            1. Creation (Ps 8:1, 3; 19:1–6; Rom 1:20)
            2. Conscience (John 1:9; Rom 1:19; 2:14–15)
         2. Special revelation (Ps 19:7–9; 119; Rom 10:17; 2 Tim 3:16–17; 2 Pet 1:3)
      2. Empiricism (discoveries from human behavioral studies)
      3. Rationalism (or theories derived from mere reason)
      4. Intuition
   2. Problems with seeking to integrate these sources of knowledge for soul care
      1. These sources of knowledge are not on equal footing.
         1. Human observation and sacred Scripture are not peers; one will always interpret the other.
            • By some human observation the earth appears to be billions of years old. This observation is then used to interpret the text of special revelation.
            • Human observation has just been raised to a position of greater authority than what the Scripture explicitly states.
         2. Human observations are skewed through a fallen mind.
            • Romans 1:18–32 teaches that humanity is committed to suppressing the truth of God.
            • What is observable in creation is then re-interpreted to fit a narrative of our own making, defined by a moral commitment to autonomy.