Common Grace, the Authority of Scripture, and Biblical Counseling—Part 2
Editor’s Note: this is Part 2 of the series. You may read Part 1 here.
In the previous article, we saw common grace and its three categories, and looked at why this doctrine cannot be relied on in order to counsel people biblically. We now turn our attention to the authority of Scripture and how Scripture should act as the guardrails for our minds when it comes to interpretation and implementation in counseling.
Authority
Authority can be defined as the “power to influence or command thought, opinion, or behavior.” Counselors, in order to encourage people to be more godly in their thoughts and actions, must have a source of authority that gives power to influence or command. In order to understand Scripture as our authority, we must go back to the beginning.
In Genesis 1:1 we read, “In the beginning, God,” and throughout the rest of the chapter, God’s authority is established by his creation in simply speaking. The phrase “And God said” is repeatedly used.
As the creator of all things, God is the ultimate authority over all things, and he has the right to govern it as he pleases. Psalm 115:3 affirms this: “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.” God can do whatever he wants because he made everything. He has authority over all things. Psalm 135:6 lets us know that there is not one square inch in all creation where God doesn’t do whatever he pleases: “in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.”
If we attempt to take God out of the equation when we help people, we are operating on a foundation of sand, and not rock. We have no ultimate authority. Joel Beeke says,
God owns the universe because he made it. Like the potter over the clay, the Creator has the right to do with us as he pleases. Since the Bible is the Word of our Lord and Maker, it rightfully commands our submission, and it is morally wrong for us to disbelieve or disobey anything it says. As the Word of the Lord, it always places us under obligation to respond with faith and obedience.
Additionally, God communicates his authority by speaking to His creation and inspiring and preserving His words in Scripture.
Authority of Scripture
This brings us to the authority of Scripture, and Scripture is the omnipotent God's very own breathed out words, communicated from Creator to creature, in order for the creature to understand what is needed for salvation and how to live all of life. Unlike the secular therapeutic world, we do have a manual and guidebook for life and the problems we encounter.
Since Scripture has divine authorship, it is authoritative and has the power to command us. Scripture’s content is also has inspired and it tells us what God wants us to believe, do, and feel. Because Scripture has divine authorship, is authoritative and inspired, we have an obligation to obey God’s Word. Joel Beeke, again, said, “When we speak of the Bible's authority, we refer to its property as the Word of God to obligate its readers or hearers to entire submission. The Bible has authority as the rule for faith (what man is to believe) and behavior (what man is to do).”
Since we looked at common grace in the previous article, and the authority of Scripture here, we can now compare the two doctrines.
Scripture is authoritative and common grace is provisional. People are obligated to obey Scripture because of its divine authorship and inspired content. Even though common grace does come from the same author, the people interpreting common grace are not authoritative in themselves. We must not blend those two realities. Again, we know that secular psychologists can make good observations, but they are not an absolute authority.
Heath Lambert clarifies the issue by saying,
The Bible affirms that God's common grace in the intellectual realm makes it possible for unbelievers to know correct information. That does not mean that the correct information they come to know renders the Scriptures insufficient for counseling. In other words, no matter how accurate the information of secular psychologists is, their findings are not as valuable as sacred Scripture with regard to its authority and usefulness for counseling.
We must remember that common grace is God’s good provision for His creation and does not carry the authoritative weight of Scripture. We must remember our authority.
Implications for Biblical Counseling
When you come to a difficult counseling session, where do you typically turn to for help? Do you turn to Google, or a new counseling book, or even other counselors? While these can all be helpful resources, God’s testimony is greater than man’s. We should never forget our ultimate authority and always begin with the Scriptures.
When we emphasize the Scriptures as our ultimate authority, we are teaching our counselees to do the same. When we speak and interpret problems using biblical language, we are training our counselees to leave behind psychological terminology and think in biblical terms.
Final Thought
The Scripture is authoritative because it is revealed by God and has the power to change people by the application of the Holy Spirit. Remember, common grace is not a sanctifying power. We can and should be thankful for common grace, but it doesn’t promote individual holiness. God’s people respond to His Word because His Spirit testifies to the truth of what is being taught and explained. May we as counselors ministering the Word of God always find our authority in that Word.