CHAPTER 2: RECLAIMING A BIBLICAL PSYCHOLOGY: FOUNDATIONS FOR A CHRISTIAN COUNSELING WORLDVIEW
Introduction: The Necessity of a Theological Anthropology
Beloved colleagues in the sacred science of soul care, allow me to speak to you not merely as a fellow practitioner but as a pastor-theologian, as one who labors beside you in the great work of reordering the disordered human condition. As we enter Chapter 2 of this professional handbook, we engage the critical task of reclaiming a biblical psychology—not as an optional supplement to our work but as its very foundation.
We must begin with what theologians call theological anthropology, the biblical doctrine of human nature. For the Christian counselor, anthropology is always theology, and theology is always anthropology. To speak of the human person is to speak of the God who created the human person. To speak of dysfunction is to speak of the Fall. To speak of restoration is to speak of Christ. There is no such thing as a neutral or purely secular psychology because there is no such thing as a neutral or purely secular human person.
The very word “psychology” comes from psyche (soul) and logos (study). How can we study the soul—an entity created by God, sustained by God, accountable to God, redeemed by God, and destined to return to God—without rooting our understanding directly in the revelation of God? For secularists to attempt this is philosophical folly; for Christians to accept this is pastoral malpractice.
Charles Allen was correct when he wrote that the central purpose of Scripture is to adjust the mind and soul of humanity. The Christian counselor must accept this as the governing truth of the profession. Because of Adam’s rebellion in Genesis 3, the mind of every human being is born in distortion and misalignment. Psalm 51:5 reveals that we are “brought forth in iniquity,” and Romans 5:12 teaches that through one man’s sin, death and disorder entered all creation. This means the human being does not arrive in the world already calibrated toward righteousness but rather in a state of psychological and spiritual maladjustment.
This is not an insult to the human person. It is an accurate diagnosis. The Fall introduced into humanity not merely moral corruption but mental disintegration—a fragmentation of purpose, identity, cognition, desire, and emotional equilibrium. Thus, Christian counseling is the deliberate attempt to gather the scattered pieces of the human interior—mind, emotions, will, imagination, affections—and recalibrate them according to the Creator’s original design.
This chapter will therefore establish:
The proper order of human operation under God.
The necessity of grounding psychology in special revelation.
The impossibility of value-neutral counseling.
The role of spiritual formation in psychological healing.
The need for discernment between natural, spiritual, sinful, and situational causes of dysfunction.
The biblical worldview that must anchor every counseling encounter.
Let us now take each of these in turn.
I. The Proper Order of Operation: Creator as Source
Christian psychology begins with the Creator, not the creature. Human beings are not freelancing biological accidents but intentional, purpose-designed image-bearers. Genesis 1:26–27 reveals that the human person is made imago Dei—in the image and likeness of God. This means our identity, purpose, and internal structure flow from Him. Our mind is patterned after His mind. Our emotions are patterned after His affections. Our will is patterned after His sovereign will. To study human functioning apart from God is to attempt to understand a reflection without examining its source.
A. Purpose Comes from God
Purpose is not self-generated; it is God-given. Human beings do not have the authority to define what health, maturity, or functional living look like. God defines these in His Word. Thus, psychological health is measured not by self-actualization but by God-alignment.
B. Dysfunction Comes From Departure
The very essence of dysfunction is departure from divine design. When the heart turns from God, when the mind rejects truth, when the will refuses obedience, when the emotions exalt the self, when desires are disordered—psychological fragmentation is the natural and inevitable result.
C. Regenerate Believers Still Need Renewal
Although salvation is instantaneous, sanctification is progressive. Many Christians remain psychologically dysfunctional because their minds are still operating according to the old patterns of the flesh. Romans 12:2 commands, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” This implies a process of re-education, reconditioning, and reorientation toward the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16).
Thus, the Christian counselor is not merely facilitating change but guiding the believer through the sanctifying process of recovery from the Fall.
II. Revelation: The Dual Lenses of General and Special
Any robust biblical psychology must respect Scripture’s bifurcation of revelation.
A. General Revelation: Descriptive but Limited
General revelation includes creation, conscience, reason, and the observable world. In counseling, this includes:
psychological research
empirical data
medical findings
neurological studies
behavioral observations
sociological patterns
These tools are good gifts from God. They offer clarity about what is wrong. They describe the symptoms of the Fall. But general revelation cannot tell us:
why humans exist
why they suffer
why they make destructive choices
what their purpose is
what their value is
what the standard of health is
how the soul is restored
General revelation is descriptive, not prescriptive. It is diagnostic, not redemptive.
B. Special Revelation: Prescriptive, Authoritative, Redemptive
Special revelation—Scripture, Jesus Christ, and the Spirit’s witness—gives meaning to general revelation. It gives purpose, direction, and interpretive authority. It tells us not only what humans do but what humans are, not only what they feel but what they ought to feel, not only how they behave but how they must behave in alignment with God.
Thus the Christian counselor must interpret all empirical data through Scripture, never interpreting Scripture through empirical data.
III. Worldview, Values, and the Myth of Neutrality
One of the most important realities in Christian counseling is this:
There is no such thing as value-free counseling.
Every counselor operates from a worldview: a set of ultimate beliefs about reality, morality, identity, and purpose. Secular therapists may claim neutrality, but this is a philosophical impossibility. The secular counselor who claims to be “non-religious” is in fact practicing a religion:
the religion of secular humanism
the religion of materialism
the religion of self-defined morality
the religion of expressive individualism
A. Every Counseling System Has:
A doctrine of the human person
A doctrine of health
A doctrine of brokenness
A doctrine of healing
These four doctrines are inherently theological. Therefore, the Christian counselor must never hide biblical values. Transparency is not only ethical—it is essential.
B. Informed Consent Honors the Client
Christian counselors must openly disclose their biblical worldview and framework. This is not coercion; it is honesty.
C. Concealed Values Create Manipulation
Failure to disclose values results in uninformed consent, an unethical practice where clients unknowingly receive counseling shaped by an undisclosed worldview.
Thus, Christian counseling is explicitly and intentionally Christ-centered, Bible-grounded, and Spirit-dependent.
IV. Assessment and Integration: The Spiritual Dimension of the Human Person
The Christian counselor must assess not only the client’s psychological state but also their spiritual history, beliefs, practices, and wounds. Avoiding spiritual issues is as irresponsible as ignoring trauma.
A. The Spiritual History Must Be Explored
Counselors should assess:
religious upbringing
experiences with spiritual authority
relationship with God
prayer life
theological beliefs
distortions of God’s character
spiritual abuse (if any)
church involvement
spiritual disciplines
doctrinal misunderstandings
These shape the client’s worldview and emotional life.
B. Counseling is Soul Shepherding
Christian counseling is not coercive evangelism, but it is soul shepherding—a pastoral ministry done professionally and ethically. We do not force but we guide, invite, and illuminate.
C. Research Affirms the Importance of Religion
Studies consistently show that religious belief is linked to:
higher resilience
lower depression
lower anxiety
greater marital stability
healthier identity formation
lower addiction rates
stronger social support systems
Thus, including faith in counseling is not only biblical—it is empirically supported.
V. Discerning the Battlefield: Truth, Lies, and the Spiritual War
Christian counselors must train themselves to identify the lie at the root of emotional, behavioral, or cognitive dysfunction. Jesus declared in John 8:32, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Satan is described as “the father of lies” (John 8:44). Thus, counseling often becomes a battleground for truth.
A. Lies about Self
“I am worthless.”
“I am unlovable.”
“I cannot change.”
“God has abandoned me.”
B. Lies about God
“God is harsh.”
“God is indifferent.”
“God cannot forgive me.”
C. Lies about Others
“People cannot be trusted.”
“Everyone will hurt me.”
D. Lies about Reality
“My feelings are truth.”
“Autonomy is freedom.”
“My desires define my identity.”
The role of the Christian counselor is to help the client identify the lie, expose it, dethrone it, and replace it with biblical truth.
VI. Discernment Between Natural, Demonic, and Sin-Based Origins
Not every problem is demonic, but not every problem is natural either. Human dysfunction can arise from multiple sources, and wisdom requires distinguishing between them.
A. Natural Causes
neurological imbalances
trauma
medical illness
hormonal disruptions
stress physiology
Natural issues require medical care in addition to spiritual and psychological support.
B. Demonic Causes
Scripture gives numerous examples of demonic influence resulting in mental, emotional, and behavioral disturbance (e.g., Mark 5:1–20). The case of King Saul demonstrates this (1 Sam. 16:14). A secular counselor might diagnose depression and prescribe SSRIs. But Scripture tells us his primary tormentor was a spirit. Christian counselors must therefore remain spiritually sensitive.
C. Sin-Based Causes
Sin generates guilt, shame, estrangement, addiction, compulsions, and relational destruction. Many psychological struggles are rooted not in sickness but in rebellion, idolatry, unforgiveness, pride, or self-centeredness. The biblical counselor must gently but firmly guide the client to repentance.
VII. Toward a Synthesis: A Balanced Biblical Worldview
This chapter concludes not with finality but with open doors. The Christian counselor must hold in tension:
the natural and the spiritual
the descriptive and the prescriptive
the medical and the theological
the human and the divine
the empirical and the revelational
We treat the whole person because God created the whole person. We address emotions because God created emotions. We address thinking because God commands us to renew our minds. We address behavior because God calls us to obedience. We address the spirit because Christ redeems the spirit.
The Christian counselor is thus a theologian of the human soul, a shepherd of the inner life, a physician of the heart, and an ambassador of Christ’s reconciling power.
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