The apostle Peter says, "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and Jesus Christ our Lord, according as his divine power half given unto us ALL things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that called us to glory and virtue." (II Peter 1:3)

Do you believe that we have ALL we need for life and godliness to the knowledge of God and Christ? The Greek word knowledge used here is the one meeting a full and exact knowledge. It is not mental apprehension. Satan has that. It is an intimate relationship whereby we know Him and relate to Him as He is. If you do not accept this as truth you will not be able to help yourself, let alone others.

The problem people "present" is rarely the real one. It takes time to dig down to the real problem since it lies at least four layers deeper than the emotion that brings them to our door. The key is to help with both the emotional issue presented as well as the more basic issue without "minimizing" what the person feels as being unimportant. We do this by a firming that the problem they present is important and let them know it is even more important than they realize. This sets up an attitude of seriousness for the problem.

Clinical psychology has borrowed from the medical world the term: DISORDER. In medical terms this refers to a physiological malfunction of the body. Muscular Dystrophy; Down Syndrome; Multiple Sclerosis; are disorders. In bringing this term over and calling what they do Mental Health, psychotherapists have both legitimize their art and made it pay off financially. Health insurance companies will pay for disorders, whether of the mind or of the body. And there are currently over 400 mental disorders catalogued and described in the DSM-IV [Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Vol. IV]

God, however, does not mention Neurosis, Psychoses, Anorexia, Dissociative Disorders, Manic-depression, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Alcoholism, Co.-Dependency, or any of the other "disorders" or "diseases" so popular among clinical psychologists and biological psychologists today. Does this mean the Bible is out of touch? Does it not know about these? Did God give us "ALL things that pertain unto LIFE and GODLINESS?" Or is there something going on that is anti-God and anti-Bible?

STEP ONE: An important first step is to sort out responsibilities. Is this something for which you are responsible? Are you accepting someone else's responsibility? If so these will cause pressures to be applied to your life without any means of relieving them. On the spiritual level, the lines of responsibility are even more important. God says, "Let every soul be subject for the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist show received for themselves damnation." [Rom. 13:1,2] we cannot resist/rebel against the "powers" that God has ordained without first rebelling against Him and receiving to ourselves, judgment. These are strong words!

THE PROBLEM: A person presents a problem. Know first of all that this is NOT the problem! This is the RESULT of the problem. And not the immediate problem, but the result of a deeper problem. If we attack the real problem, most people will either get discouraged or offended and you will chase the person away. If you ignore the real problem, you are not doing what God wants.

SOLUTION: 1) Sort out the responsibilities, where applicable. 2) Isolate the violation of Scripture. 3) Present the biblical solution. In the process, keep working toward an understanding of the core cause: the spiritual problem that caused wrong thinking, that produced a wrong choice, that resulted in frustration, that generated the emotion that brought this person to your door.

You won't be able to deal with that problem unless/ until the person allows you to pursue it, which generally doesn't happen, unless the person is really interested in pleasing God with their life. Because biblical change is

1. doing the right thing / God tells us what that is.
2. doing it for the right reason / the right reason is always to glorify God.
3. and doing it long enough that it becomes the new habit.

Problems are resolved when the believer learns what God expects and is willing to trust God that this is right and good, OR stops challenging God's handling of their situation and begins trusting His authority, in its various forms, learning the important lessons of meekness and faith. Since biblical counseling is a discipleship process, these folks, having removed the barrier, will continue growing spiritually through an active ministry of discipleship carried on by their church.

The ultimate goal is to take the person back to the source of their problem(s). This source is always a heart that wants its own way. Submission to God, in Christ, is the only solution. The immediate goal is to determine at which level to begin. Is this person saved? No? Then you need to point them to Jesus. If they are saved, you may be dealing with ignorance, occasional disobedience, or deliberate rebellion. If you are patient and perceptive, you will be able to determine which