Quotes of Note: What Makes Biblical Counseling Biblical? Part 2
The following “Quotes of Note” are from Chapter Nine of Equipping Counselors for Your Church. This chapter focuses on what makes biblical counseling truly biblical. For quotes from Chapter One, read God’s Grand Vision for His Church. For quotes from Chapter Two, read Knowing and Loving Those We Serve and Equip. For quotes from Chapters Three and Four read Christ’s Compelling Calling. For quotes from Chapter Five read My First Priority in Ministry. For quotes from Chapter Six read Mobilizing Ministers. For quotes from Chapter Seven read The Résumé of the Biblical Counselor. For quotes from Chapter Eight read What Makes Biblical Counseling Biblical?, Part 1.
• As equippers of Christians we should never forget the freeing truth that the face of Jesus is already in every new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 3:17-18; 5:17).
• God calls us to stir up and fan into flame the gift of God that He has already implanted in every believer (2 Timothy 1:5-7).
• We haven’t clearly and biblically thought through the purpose of biblical counseling. We have failed to identify spiritual formation (transformation into the image of Christ) as the ultimate goal of biblical counseling.
• In biblical counseling, we should be working toward soul-u-tions: comprehensive inner life transformation.
• The underlying theme of salvation is Christ having transformed us from the inside out from self-worshipping, self-sufficient, self-centered, self-driven persons to Christ-worshipping, Christ-sufficient, Christ-centered, Christ-pursing persons.
• The underlying theme of progressive sanctification is the ongoing transformation of our inner life from the old manner of life in sin and self to the new manner of life in Christ (Ephesians 417-24; Colossians 3:1-17).
• Relating like Christ is the first mark of Christ-like character that every biblical counseling trainee must cultivate (Matthew 22:34-40). Do we love like Jesus?
• Thinking like Christ is the second mark of Christ-like character that every biblical counseling trainee must cultivate. We want our trainees to see life with spiritual eyes, with faith eyes, with 20/20 spiritual vision.
• Choosing like Christ is the third mark of Christ-like character that every biblical counseling trainee must cultivate. Christ’s life mission must become our life mission (Mark 10:43b-45).
• Feeling like Christ is the fourth mark of Christ-like character that every biblical counseling trainee must cultivate. Emotionally, we want our trainees to face life honestly and to manage their moods biblically.
• I don’t want to point people to myself or to never-ending meetings with me. I want to point them to the ultimate Spiritual Friend (Christ) and to ongoing spiritual friendships (within the Body of Christ).
• We cannot effectively equip competent biblical counselors apart from the context of intimate biblical one-another community.
• Christian community is the growth-enhancing context, the fertile soil, the healthy environment for equipping people in biblical content, counseling competence, and Christ-like character.
• Every biblical counseling trainee must participate in two kinds of Christian community: communion with the Body of Christ and communion with Christ.
• We must create and nurture a safe environment where we weep with one another communicating that it’s normal to hurt and where together we explore life from God’s perspective communicating that it’s possible to hope.
• We must form and cultivate a grace environment where the faithful wounds of friends communicate that it’s horrible to sin but wonderful to be forgiven and where we stir up one another communicating that it’s supernatural to mature.
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What makes biblical counseling truly biblical?
