2 Timothy 3:14-17
2 Peter 1:3-4
Counseling is about a person—and not primarily the person sitting in front of a counselor. It’s about Christ. The core of biblical counseling, in fact, is the conviction that the whole of a person’s life—his/her thoughts, feelings, behavior, circumstances—has to do with Christ. Therefore, in simple overview, counseling is not primarily about the conveyance of new information or strategies for health. It is about people, both profoundly sinful and genuinely hurting, meeting Christ and being changed by him through His Word. It is about establishing fruitful disciples (John 15:8), imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1), those matured in Christ (Colossians 1:28) by introducing people to the living God through careful consideration of how His Word calls their hearts to faith in His promises and obedience to His will in the context of their present circumstances.
Biblical counseling sees all of life as occurring before God and therefore having to do with the gospel. God himself, the Ruler of all circumstances, does not give inappropriate answers to real life. All of life is His. In our suffering, confusion, and sin, He grants to those of us who humbly seek Him the vision to see any circumstance, no matter how horrible, according to His redemptive purposes, for His glory and our good. This is how there is no disconnect between God and life. As we help people, including help in the form of counseling, we guide them to the God whose gracious purpose in their difficulty is far better than they could ever imagine on their own. Their troubles are real, and so is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.