"A necessary presupposition of biblical counseling is that God has indeed provided every essential truth the believer needs for a happy, fulfilling life in Christ Jesus. It is the belief that God has not left us lacking in any sense. The apostle Peter states it emphatically in his second epistle: " His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness" (2 Peter 1:3).
Note the word everything. God has provided absolutely everything man needs for physical and spiritual life. This a primary consideration. If Peter is correct, then God has given us all the information we need to function successfully in this life. Every essential truth, every essential principle, every essential technique for solving human problems has been delivered in God's Word. Peter underlines this fact when he writes, "God has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires" (2 Peter 1:4)."
"In direct contradiction of Scripture, a foundational precept of psychology is the inherent goodness of the human heart. It is sometimes described as "the innocent child within." Man is seen as a victim, not the sinner, and as long as he perceives himself as an innocent causality rather than a willful rebel, he will remain in his sins. Yet man's only hope for change is to acknowledge his fallen condition and helplessness before God and to cry out in faith for God's transforming power to be applied."
"Jeremiah explains why humans are so confused: "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. (or desperately wicked) Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9). By nature, we are so deceitful it seems we can't even tell ourselves the truth. We lie to ourselves and say "I'm not really bad" or "It isn't my fault" or "I'm justified in how I feel or what I did."
"What was true of ancient man is still true today. We are all rebels at heart. We don't want to listen to God. We have "rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High" (Psalm 107:11)."
"Modern man has dismissed the concept of God a an archaic relic of our superstitious past. As a result, he has decided to rely upon his own experience, reason, and feelings to guide his beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. Fallen, confused, and rebellious, man is dysfunctional in every sense of the word. He is left in a state of darkness, groping for meaning and direction. Jesus described it this way: "If your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" (Matthew 6:23)
"Well, if psychology is essential to the healing of souls, how in the world did the ancients ever deal with persecution, suffering, and death without the invaluable insights of Freud, Maslow, Minirth, or Crabb? How were Martin Luther, the Puritans, Charles Spurgeon, D.L. Moody, and a host of other preachers able to minister to millions of people with just the simplistic statements of the Word of God?"
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