Page 8 - Biblical Counseling I Textbook

• Confusion.
Christians understand that people are limited in knowledge and have become corrupted in their
minds. Not only is the knowledge of humanity as a whole limited, but each person is much more
so. No one is able to have all knowledge, and no one is able to have a complete perspective. This
means that there will always be confusion. The corruption of the mind also leads to confusion.
Paul says in Romans 1:21 that the human heart is darkened. He means that our understanding is
corrupted. Even the “simple” decisions of life can become complicated as a result.

• Death and dying (1 Cor. 15:26)
The world refuses to accept the reality of death and dying. Modern science holds out the hope
of defeating death by finding the cures for great diseases or at least of diminishing the effects of
death and the dying process, but Christians understand that death is the curse of sin and cannot
be overcome. Death will be with us until Christ returns and brings death under subjection to His
great rule. Until then, Christians are able to understand the cause of death and are able to
properly grieve death while holding out great hope in the face of death. The world has no
suitable answer for the dying man.

1.4 Let’s Practice…

1. True or False Everyone counsels either by what they say or how they live their lives.

2. You have two choices in how you counsel. You can counsel or you can counsel

3. Write out the definition of a true friend:

4. In what ways should a pastor of a church be involved in counseling?

5-9. List four of the seven secular beliefs concerning humanity listed in the lesson.

10. List four of the five beliefs that the biblical counseling movement hold to:

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