The Sufficiency of Scripture and Counseling
In his
call to obedience, Moses reminded Israel that “Ye shall not add unto the word
which I command you, neither shall ye diminish
ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God
which I command you” (Deuteronomy 4:12). Similar words are in the book of
Proverbs (Proverbs 30:6). The
sufficiency of Scripture is also discussed by Strong (1906) in his statement
“But the person and words of Christ sum up and complete the revelation, so
that, taken together and in their connection with him, the various parts of
Scripture constitute an infallible and sufficient rule of faith and practice”
(location 8976). In summary, God’s revealed Word gives us everything we need to
know in order to live a morally perfect life in God’s sight. Unfortunately, due
to our inherent sinful human nature this is unattainable. Fortunately, we can
find solace in the fact that because of the sufficiency of Scripture we need
not look anywhere else apart from the Bible to find what God requires of us
(Grudem, 1998).
God’s Word
is clearly deemed to be completely sufficient for all of our lives. This belief
in sufficiency is an absolute requirement for biblical counselors and calls on
any individual wishing to pursue this ministry to completely understand all
Scripture related to a particular topic in order to be both effective and
trustworthy.
Where
secular counseling and some Christian counseling efforts become ineffective is
due in large part to either not knowing in the sufficiency in the Scriptures or
an outright unbelief in the practical use of Scripture in counseling an
individual. In either case, a weak foundation in theology clouds the efforts of
any counselor to appropriately apply the solution God has provided to a
counselee’s problem. This same weak understanding of the sufficiency of
Scripture and its practical use will limit the effectiveness of biblical
counselors as well, regardless of intentions. Biblical counselors must not only
believe in the sufficiency of Scripture but also must have the knowledge and
wisdom to apply God’s Word effectively. This can only be accomplished through
diligent meditation on His Word and writing Scripture on the heart (Psalm
119:11, KJV).
The goal of biblical counselling is to bring about change in a
counselee’s life that brings honor to God through methods that honor God. The
biblical counselor is not the agent of change, it is the Holy Spirit working
through the meeting that has the power to change a counselee. Thus, it is not
only impossible to quantify or qualify the workings of the Holy Spirit in an
individual’s life, but to attempt to do so would seem glorify man instead of
God.
Grudem, W.
(1994). Systematic theology: An introduction to
biblical doctrine. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Strong, A.
(1909). Systematic theology: a compendium and
common-place book designed for the use of theological students.
Philadelphia, PA: Griffith & Rowland
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