After a week of fall break, or “fall reading days”, things are once again back in full swing here at Southern.  Our latest lecture in Biblical Counseling concerned the putting off of pride, and the putting on of humility.  Dr. Scott, I believe, very accurately described pride as an “epidemic vice”.

The question we have to ask ourselves is not whether or not it exists in our lives, but where and how much.  Amy Carmichael once said, “Those who think too much of themselves don’t think enough.”  We can see this is a huge problem in our culture, and modern therapeutic methods have only thrown gasoline onto the proverbial fire.

The definition we used for pride is the mindset of self: a focus on self and the service of self, a pursuit of self-recognition and self-exaltation, and a desire to control and use all things for self.  (See any key terms here??)

We went through 31 different manifestations of pride, including a lack of gratitude, having an inflated view of our importance or giftings, perfectionism, lack of compassion, and maximizing the sin and shortcoming of others.  As we were going through these, we all kind of thought, “OK, OK, we get it, we’ve got pride in our lives.  Now let’s move to humility…”.  However, the professor stressed that we really need to linger here for a while and truly expose ourselves to  how deep this is running in our lives.

We each took a self-assessment on those 30 or so manifestations along with their descriptions and accompanying verses and gave each one a score from 0 (not an issue in my life) to 5 (life-dominating issue in my life).  Let me tell you, we felt pretty beat up after taking that assessment! But, beat up in a good way.

Thankfully, we still had the second half of the class to talk about putting on humility.  Defined, humility is the mindset of Christ, a focus on God and others, a pursuit of the recognition and the exaltation of God and a desire to glorify and please God in all things and by all things He has given. (compare to definition of pride above)  Much like how the definitions contrast, we examined the 30 manifestations again but concerning humility. We then looked at practical ways to be intentional about moving from pride to humility:

• Praying for God to search our hearts by His Spirit and Word, and helping us to repent of pride and grow in humility
• Reading Psalms and the prophets to get a high view of God and proper view of ourselves
• Studying Jesus and his example
• Ask others where they see pride in your life
• Spending time focusing on God and the love demonstrated on the cross
• Practicing the 38 “one-another” commands of scripture.
• Going back through those manifestations and working with the Holy Spirit to put off pride and put on humility in our motives, thoughts, words, and deeds.
• Realizing that humility but become a way of life.

Needless to say, it was a very humbling class!  I would definitely recommend picking up Stuart Scott’s booklet From Pride to Humility and dig through these issues deeply.

Any thoughts on pride or how you have seen it manifest itself in your life?  What you have been doing to put on humility?

~ Isaac ~

We recently discussed the differing views of sanctification in our class.  Since biblical counseling is all about changing to become more like Christ, it is all about sanctification!  I did not realize the different views about sanctification commonly held by evangelicals.  Continued below…

The Wesleyan View

The first view is known as the Wesleyan View, or Christian Perfection. Sometime after the work of salvation, there is a second work of grace which brings the Christian to a state of sinlessness, or “entire sanctification.”  Sin in this case is  defined by transgressions we willfully commit, viewing anything we don’t “intend” as only a “mistake.”  In this view, spiritual growth after the second work of grace is an increase in works.  This view is commonly held by Methodists and Nazarenes.  John Wesley himself believed it was possible to reach that state of sinlessness, but did not believe himself to have ever gotten there.

The Keswick View

The second view is the Keswick View, or the Higher Life.  Similar to the Wesleyan view, there is a post-salvation experience or “enlightenment” that brings the believer to a place of victorious and consistent obedience.  There is still a struggle with sin, but it is significantly lessened by new truth better understood and accepted.  Spiritual growth takes place in putting passive trust in the work of God.  This is commonly held by the expression “let go and let God”.  This is the predominant view in evangelical Christianity.  You will see this view in many great Christians and theologians as well, including Watchman Nee, Andrew Murray, and Charles Stanley.  This is also the view that J.C. Ryle combats in the book, “Holiness”.

The Reformed View

Third is the Reformed View, which sees sanctification as a lifelong cycle of sin, repentance, renewal, and growth towards Christ-likeness which will only be complete when we’re in heaven.  This sanctification is done through the active discipline of the believer, trusting in the Holy Spirit energizing his efforts.

Closing Thoughts

To me, the Wesleyan view does not make much sense biblically or rationally.  It is between the last two that I am most interested about.  I’m still wrestling through them a bit.  I’ve heard plenty of “let go and let God” messages.  There is definitely a place for yielding and surrender, but God cannot obey for me.  My professor said that this view takes the positional view of who we are in Christ (new creation, old has gone, new has come) and misapplies them to sanctification.  There is certainly a sense of the “already-not yet” and the tension we live with on a daily basis.

Phil. 2:12-13 tells us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.  In Col. 1:29, Paul speaks of warning and admonishing everyone to present them mature in Christ, saying “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me”.  These verses are very telling and do not advocate for a “let go and let God” mentality.

What does it even matter?  When you are struggling with a sin or other struggle, do you simply pray for God to take this away from you?  Do you just yield it to Him and ask Him for it to be removed?  Or do you pray that God will give You the heart and the energy to be obedient to Him in this struggle or that temptation, that you may glorify Him?  Think about both of those views and what your mindset is going to be going into temptation with each one, and you will see that our view of sanctification definitely matters.

~ Isaac ~

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (Acts 17:11 )

When it comes to counseling, we must be very careful when we suggest that we can integrate secular psychological theories with a biblical counseling model.  As we will see, these theories have very little common ground among them.  Whenever we are exposed to counseling, or counseling models, we need to be good Bereans, to see if this is what the Scriptures actually teach us.

I’m going to examine four different counseling methods here: Freudian, Neo-Freudian, Rational-Emotive, and Biblical.  I’m not going to go in-depth with these but I just want to illustrate how these theories are diametrically opposed to the Biblical view.  I’m going to go through a series of questions and show how each methods answers the question.

1. Who is seen as the leader of this theory?

Freudian: Sigmund Freud

Neo-Freudian: Alfred Adler, Abraham Maslow (Also seen Christianized in works by Dobson and Crabb among others)

Rational Emotive: Albert Ellis (Christianized in Osteen, health & wealth movement)

Biblical: God

2. What is man?

F: Man is an instinctual animal made up of the id, ego, and superego

NF: Man is a socially goverened animal

RET: Man is a basically good being with internal potential

Bib: Man is created by God to glorify God

3. What is man’s problem?

F: Man has conflict between the Id and Superego

NF: Man is born small and weak, and feels inferior because of limitations that are determined to him by the time he is 5 or 6 years old.

RET: Man is a victim of flawed irrational beliefs about himself that are rooted in childhood.  Man’s belief system is the cause.

Bib: Man is a fallen sinner by his own choice.

4. Who is responsible?

F: Not man’s

NF: Not man’s, but society’s

RET: Not man’s

Bib: Man’s

5. What is your view of man’s guilt?

F: Man’s guilt is the result of imposed standards from others.

NF: Man’s guilt is a product of mistakes in thinking and values, and a lack of confidence.

RET: Man’s guilt is crooked thinking resulting in neurotic behavior.

Bib: Man’s guilt is real and the result of sin.

6. How is man treated?

F: Man must actualize his potential, strengthen his ego, make the unconscious conscious, and find source in insight and awareness.

NF: Man must strive for superiority.  He controls his own fate – emphasize emotional health and importance of birth order.

RET: Man must eliminate his self-defeating outlook on life and acquire a rational view of life.  This includes a process of re-education and positive thinking, and practicing actively changing self-defeating behaviors.

Bib: Justification by faith, progressive sanctification by the Spirit and the Word.

7. Who is the counselor?

F: An expert

NF: An encourager who adapts to client’s “needs”

RET: Teacher and educator with an emphasis on insight

Bib: Biblical Discipler/Counselor

8. What are the problems with your theory?

F: Unbiblical view of man, promotes self-absorption, narcissism, and a victim mentality

NF: Unbiblical view of man, victim mentality, and pride.

RET: Unbiblical identification of beliefs, and a substitution of therapist’s belief system rather than God’s Word for counselee’s belief system.

Bib: NONE that can’t be overcome by God, His Word, and His obedient children.

As we can see through this brief survey, these theories are not compatible with the Biblical counseling view because they are built on such different foundations.  Even in the “Christianized” versions of secular theory (or especially in these versions) we need to be good Bereans and see if what we’re getting fed is the word of God, or the folly of man.

~ Isaac ~

A Bat on the Ceiling

Much thanks to Barry and everyone else who prayed for me.  Swamped is a pretty good description of where I am at right now, needing to read God’s Greater Glory (Ware), The Problem of Pain (Lewis), and Leading the Team-Based Church (Cladis) this weekend.  I’m grateful for the grace of no classes on Friday and not being scheduled to work this weekend!  Highlights from the day included hearing Bruce Ware preach at chapel (watch the video), and getting to tell Dr. Russell Moore, “There’s a bat on the ceiling…just thought you should be aware.” (Exhibit A)

Defining Biblical Counseling

Last week, I laid out some examples of what biblical counseling isn’t, so this time we will explore what biblical counseling is.  A good summary of the definition we discussed in class would be that it is empowered by the Holy Spirit and consists of one Christian giving wise counsel to a brother/sister in need, that they would have a fuller understanding of how the Gospel relates to every area of their life, and respond in obedience.

That being said, one of the most helpful pictures we discussed in class was the relation of the physical and the spiritual aspects of whatever is going on that necessitates counseling.  The physical issues that can contribute to a problem are numerous and include sleep deprivation, illegal and legal drugs, hormones, diet, and many others.  Spiritual issues can include testings and trials, discipline, faking it, and guilt/cover up.  In almost every problem there are several physical and/or spiritual factors going on.  Spiritual factors will influence the physical, and physical factors will also influence the spiritual.  We have to be incredibly careful about giving pat-answers when someone comes to us for counsel.  One thing Jay Adams advocates is having a physical checkup from a doctor to see if there are any known (proven) medical conditions or physical issues that are going on.

Epistemology

We also discussed epistemology, which is essentially how do we know what we know?  This is an important question to ask.  You may have heard (as I have) the anthem being trumpeted “All truth is God’s truth”.  Well, all error is Satan’s error, so we’re essentially back at the drawing board.  Let’s look at four levels of where we get our knowledge.  The list goes from least subjective to most subjective:

1. Revelation – Recorded exclusively and completely in the Scriptures.  We don’t discover it, God has revealed it.  This is the Truth that biblical counselors  must build their methodologies on.   General revelation says that God has revealed some truth to all people at all times about Himself (his glory, his supremacy, divinity, etc.) From here, it is a big step down to….

2. Facts and possible facts – This is essentially the best the world has to offer.  Based on the scientific methods, seeking to gain facts and knowledge by the hard sciences.

3. Possible truth and theories produced by human reasoning and observations.  This is often called the “soft” sciences.  This is much of what sociology and psychology deal with. This is where a lot of psychological diagnoses are formulated.  For a shocking look at how little hard scientific research has gone into many abnormalities put into the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), check out the book “They Say You’re Crazy”.

4. Intuition – feelings and senses, almost totally subjective.  Unfortunately we see this a lot when people make decisions in their lives. We’re all too often led by our feelings whether it be where to go to college or what we do with our lives.  We say “I just had a peace about this” without searching through the scriptures.

Whenever we hear a framework being presented to us, we need to look at where it lands in these levels.  Is this capital-T Truth we’re talking about, or are these people’s observations and intuitions, which can so fallible?

I look forward to your comments.

~ Isaac ~

First off, wow, thanks for all the comments and discussion from my opening post.  Blogging is way more beneficial (and fun) when there are comments and mature discussions, so keep ‘em comin’.  I once heard that asking the right questions is a sign of intelligence.  I stink at asking questions.  So, I value any questions you ask for my own training and edification.

Wow, seminary is difficult.  It easily consumes my day and I don’t even have a job or kids.  By this time next week I’ll need to read David Powlison’s Seeing With New Eyes and The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis in their entirety, read about 90 pages of Grudem’s Systematic Theology, not to mention probably 5 other chapters from other books.  For those interested I’ve put our required reading list for this class at the end of this post.  I’ve also realized that 88 credit hours is not the typical amount of hours for a masters degree.  That’s like, 3 masters degrees.

In one of our first lectures, we learned what biblical counseling is by first looking at what it is not.  There are many false assumptions about biblical counseling (some I had in my own mind).  Some of these false assumptions are that biblical counseling is simplistic, superficial, anti-science and anti-medicine, harsh, and that people’s problems are all due to their sin.

So, let’s look at what Biblical Counseling is not…

• it’s not a separate ministry from the local church
• it’s not an optional ministry
• it’s not reserved for experts
• it’s not integrating secular psychology with Biblical truths
• it’s not dealing only with outward behaviors
• it’s not ignoring or trying to remedy proven medical issues.
• it’s not separate from discipleship

In fact, discipleship counseling is a helpful way of thinking about biblical counseling. Sometimes things happen in our walk that totally take us out and we need some intense discipleship to bring us back to gospel effectiveness.  This could be any number of issues with any number of causes.

So, that’s a lot to think about.  Tons of questions come to mind.  This was an eye-opener to me.  I find myself always looking at things through the context of the local church, as well as a local church in a completely foreign culture.  I think for both, the implications can be profound.

Next time, we’re going to try to flesh out what biblical counseling IS, as well as looking at the sources of our knowledge.   Also, I have a memory verse quiz over Psalm 1:1-3, Matthew 18:15-17, Galatians 6:1-3, 1 Thessalonians 5:14.

For those curious of what I’m reading, here is the reading list for the class:

Teaching to Observe – Jay Adams

Competent to Counsel – Jay Adams

Counseling and the Authority of Christ (Free PDF download, basically a statement of Southern’s view on Biblical counseling and the changes that have taken place here over the years) – Russell Moore

Seeing With New Eyes – David Powlison

Transformed Into His Likeness – Armand Tiffe

Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands – Paul David Tripp

~ Isaac ~

As you probably know, I am the new guy here at the “who am i?” blog.  If you missed out back in July, check out Barry’s interview with me here.

My wife and I have just recently moved to Louisville, Kentucky and I am now in my second week at Southern Seminary.  There are a lot of exciting things happening in and through Southern Seminary, and it’s exciting to be right in the middle of it.  I am pursuing my Masters in Divinity through the Billy Graham School of Missions and Evangelism.

This is the first in a series of blogs I will be posting throughout this semester.  The concept was birthed from a series of short conversations between Barry and I, and a lot of dreaming and brainstorming.  There are a lot of people out there who would love to go to seminary and attend these classes but that is just not possible and not where God has called them.  These are the people I have in mind during this series.  Not that I would in any way offer anything resembling seminary teaching, but that you would be able to get an inside view of what class is like, and hopefully contribute to some issues brought up in class.

We both thought it would be intriguing and beneficial to blog through a class for a semester.  My vision is that once a week I would discuss that week’s lecture and my general impressions on it.  I think this will be a pretty creative form of studying!  I very much would love to receive questions in the comments section that I can ask the professor or the teaching assistant.

We all agreed when looking at my schedule that the best class for the endeavor would be Introduction to Biblical Counseling: Methods and Skills, taught by Stuart Scott (not the ESPN Sportscenter Stuart Scott. I know…disappointing!).  We thought this would generate a lot of discussion and questions since there are a lot of Christians with different (and passionate) views on the subject.  We live in a society that increasingly sees the psychiatrist’s couch and the pharmacy as the solution to the issues going on in their lives.  Even by the most liberal of assessments, one would be hard-pressed to deny this.  But what is the Biblical model for this?  What is the church’s responsibility?  Is the Bible, the church and the pastorate sufficient to handle these difficult ”psychological” issues?  Should the pastor refer their congregation to professional counselors outside the church, preferably one with a fish on their sign?

These are difficult issues, but they are issues we cannot afford to ignore.  The integrity of the gospel is at stake.  I invite you to join me in wrestling through these issues, and wrestle we will, for I am not coming into this with two feet firmly placed in any specific camp.

Do you have any initial thoughts, questions, or experiences regarding biblical counseling that you would like to share?  I look forward to tackling these issues with you.  May it all be for His glory.

The bio for Dr. Stuart Scott can be found here.

Guest post by Isaac Johnson, who blogs at Doulos Reviews and Building a Better Me

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll remember Barry’s post on forgiveness and Corrie Ten Boom. It reminded me of one of the letters Mark Driscoll wrote in Death by Love. It was addressed to a young man who was a Christian. His father often beat him up while he was growing up. Many times the son would put himself in harms way so that he would take the worst of the beating to protect his sisters. He had so many scars from childhood and the pathetic father he had. Then, the father becomes a believer. Now the son is left with many questions and a myriad of emotions. Now that his father is a brother in Christ, how does he let go of the past? Is he just supposed to forget everything and act like it never happened? And how does the father live with what he’s done? It was definitely one of the most powerful chapters in the book. This theme of forgiveness has caused me to look deep inside my own heart.

On one hand, I’m happy to say I’ve never really been wronged to such an extent that I’ve felt it hard to forgive someone. The person that I’ve had the hardest time forgiving is myself. Even after I have received the forgiveness of the person I have wronged and have asked for and received forgiveness from my heavenly Father, I have difficulty forgiving myself.

And then, there is the cross. My sin is as ugly as a Nazi guard, as wretched as an abusive father, as damning as the murder of a pastor. Yet the ultimate just judge chose his son to take my punishment. He took the wrath that I deserve. Freedom in the purest sense is now mine forever and I’m a slave no longer. Yet, I find it so easy to be comfortable with those chains…to want to put them back on. I put myself as a judge higher than God and withhold forgiveness from myself, as if I was the judge with the final say in the matter! What seems like humility is really just masked pride.

We have a fine line to tow in realizing our own wretchedness and guilt yet at the same time being fully alive and proclaiming His forgiveness. The Psalms have been a great place of refuge for me when I wrestle with these issues. Psalm 51 has been particularly insightful. David wrote this psalm after the prophet convicted him of his sin of adultery with Bathsheba. In David’s plea to God, he says that “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (verses 3-4). The brokenness we feel in these moments can either lead us to worship or to despair. Thankfully, David chooses the former and shows us how to turn our sorrow into worship.

“Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.” (11-13)

This guides my own prayer, “Lord, by your joy, get me through this despair and restore me to yourself. Let me use this experience to teach those who have fallen like I have about your forgiveness!”

Do not let your sorrow be wasted. Like David, let it cultivate in you a heart of humility and worship.