Biblical Counseling-- Society for Christian Psychology

The Confounding Variables of Sovereignty and Sin

Posted on September 15, 2009

[By Jeremy Lelek, M.A., LPC, President, Association of Biblical Counselors. Jeremy is one of our guest bloggers for the month of September]

How many readers have ever considered the following, “Statistically, how effective is counseling from a biblical worldview?” As a biblical counselor, this is a very important question for this author.

It is common knowledge in the field of counseling and psychology, that in order for a technique or method to be validated by the profession it must undergo scrutiny through the vigorous process of research. If a particular method is empirically demonstrated to produce a “significant” outcome through the scientific method, the validity of that technique or model increases among those in the professional community.

While counseling research can produce very interesting and helpful outcomes, the procedures of the scientific method may fall short when it comes to measuring the effectiveness of counseling from a biblical worldview. This is due to the fact that a Christian worldview embraces many constructs that are immeasurable, therefore offering the potential to skew the final results of a study. Such constructs are called confounding variables, and researchers seek to adjust for them as much as possible to acquire accurate scores in their research. So, what does this have to do with the effectiveness of Christian and biblical counseling?

2 Timothy 2:24-25 says, “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may escape the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”

Within these verses, two confounding variables emerge that will profoundly impact the outcome of the counseling process.

First, Paul states the following, “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth”. Two things are worthy of consideration here. One, the believer is encouraged to proclaim the Gospel, never assuming someone is hopelessly lost, regardless of how bad things appear. Two, a counselor has no choice but to submit to God’s sovereignty as it regards the process of repentance and change. In truth, a counselor may use a variety of effective biblical methods during the counseling process. However, in the final analysis it is the Lord who will ultimately grant repentance. This poses a significant problem for the scientific method of measuring effectiveness since God’s sovereignty cannot be placed under the finite microscope of human calculation.

Secondly, Paul illuminates the reality of spiritual enslavement when he writes, “and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will”.

Counselors who seek to operate from a biblical worldview will find it difficult to ignore the reality of Satan in the lives of people. From this author’s perspective, the devil is powerless to thwart God’s plans, but counselors do well to bear in mind that people who are unsaved are ultimately captured by him to do his will (i.e., rebel against the one true God). Notice, Paul uses the phrase “they may escape”. There is no guarantee that when biblical methods are utilized that people will surely escape the snare of Satan or a heart captured by sin. And should that be the case, it does not minimize the validity and effectiveness of a biblical method. Such freedom from bondage, as cited here by Paul, comes from the merciful hand of God.

At the end of the day, the question of effectiveness in counseling is a profoundly complex one, especially when discussed in light of the Bible. Two realities exist that bear consideration when working towards change in the lives of people: God’s sovereignty and the depravity of man. By no means does this author suggest that research or the scientific method are vain methods of acquiring important knowledge about people. On the contrary, much can be learned in this regard. It is simply worth noting that there are many variables (in addition to the two highlighted here) that are not typically considered in the context of secular research in psychology. As such, Christians are given the glorious opportunity to critically assess how to best account for them (biblically) in their pursuit of human understanding.

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