The following review was written by Hank Griffith (Missionary/Chaplain/Pastor)

Timing is everything … even in the reading of a book. I read How To Handle Trouble at just the right time – at the end of March in the midst of the COVID 19 crisis. I was not fearful, just disappointed to have to leave certain volunteer ministries that I was enjoying and believed God was using.

The author of this short, biblical and practical book is well known to many of my generation. In the late 20^th century Jay Adams (born 1-30-29) was an active pastor, biblical counselor, and seminary professor who wrote over one hundred books, most of them like this one – short, biblical, and practical. The great majority deal with how to handle life’s problems from a uniquely biblical perspective.

In his introduction, Adams points out that this book is written for believers. He reminds the reader that if he or she is not a believer in Jesus Christ, the advice given in this book doesn’t really apply to him. He must first repent and put his faith in Christ. Then once he is saved he must handle troubles in God’s way, instead of the way he’s handled them in the past. How to learn God’s way? Go to the Bible, the Word of God.

Adams, who has a strong belief in divine providence, uses Philippians 1:12-26 as his principal Scripture text. In this passage, Paul’s imprisonment turns out to be a great opportunity to present the gospel to people in Rome who otherwise would have never heard it. From a study of this passage and others, the author gives clear and biblical directives “for discerning God’s hand at work in bringing good out of troublesome circumstances, great and small.”

The basic outline is for doing this is to (1) recognize God is in your problem, (2) remember God is up to something, (3) believe that He is up to something good, (4) discover how God is at work, (5) get involved in what He is doing, and (6) expect good effects.

The last chapter points out that sometimes our troubles are of our own doing. However, even if that’s the case, God can work for our good and His glory, but we must (1) acknowledge and confess our sin to God and any others involved, (2) seek forgiveness all around, (3) rectify any wrongs that can be rectified, and (4) turn from our sin to biblical alternatives.

What I have shared here is just the bare bones of this 60-page book. It goes deeper than I have indicated. Read this book prayerfully, and apply its principles to what you are facing right now. I assure you that it will give you insight into whatever trouble you have.

“For God planned it for good” (Genesis 5:20)

“God makes everything work for the good of those who love Him … “ (Romans 8:28)

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Keep in Step with the Spirit

If you are having difficulty with quietistic teaching, please take a gander at this book. It will enlighten you. Not only will it expose the fallacies of the view, it will also explain how it can destroy vital Christian living. This latter point seems to be Packer’s major concern, as indeed it should be.

In addition, sprinkled about the book—and focused upon in a couple of places—you will discover some of the finest explanations of the process of sanctification as it involves the acquisition of new “habits of holiness.” Packer draws this teaching from a number of sources, but in particular from Romans 7 which, in the debated verses, he quite rightly affirms can only be describing Paul’s struggle as a believer.

All in all, you will find this book not only worth its cost, but one that you will refer to again and again in order to remind yourself of what a true walk with the Spirit is like. It will become a valuable asset to your library. If you don’t have it—get it, NOW!

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1. This book consists of raw and largely unedited transcripts of a conversation between two people. Little, if any, of the pleasantries of conversation have been omitted. Nothing has been edited to make it an easier read.
2. Because it is the record of a conversation between two people it does not follow any sort of logical outline. You will not be able to go to an index and find the place in the book where Adams discusses a specific topic. He may discuss a topic in which you are interested in several different places in the book.
3. The folk who did the transcription were obviously British. Thus you will encounter some strange spelling (counselling, neighbour, etc.).
4. This interview took place in September 2002. The interview reflects Dr. Adams’ thoughts at that time but not necessarily his thinking today. Now Dr. Adams is not tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine and his thinking about fundamental issues of theology and counseling have not changed. However, the interviewer presses Adams for his opinions about various authors and organizations. Since those things do change, one should not extrapolate from this interview Dr. Adams’ opinions today.
5. This is an unguarded interview. Dr. Adams spoke frankly with his interviewer and probably would have wished the final product had been edited. In fact, in one place, Adams expressed to the interviewer that something he had just said should probably be omitted—it was not.
6. The interviewer wishes to remain anonymous and I will honor that here. I will tell you who it is not, however. He is almost certainly not someone you know, trust me. Today he is a businessman. He has never been a NANC/ACBC member, nor has he traveled widely in biblical counseling circles. This is the only thing he has published that has anything to do with biblical counseling or ministry in general.
7. The Institute for Nouthetic Studies has no interest in the book. While we knew the interview had been conducted 13 years ago we were surprised that it was finally published. While the Institute receives no royalties or income from the book we do urge you to order it from this link as more of the proceeds will be used for good purposes if you do. You can also order it from Amazon or our own Amazon bookstore if you wish.

With those caveats, I urge you to purchase a copy. It is a fascinating read. I have the unusual privilege of being able to visit with Dr. Adams in his study and talk with him at length these days about whatever topic interests either of us. You do not. This is the next best thing.

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Most biblical counselors would dismiss the term schizophrenia as an unhelpful and confusing label. Heath Lambert has demonstrated, however, that the term has validity as a literary genre. The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams is a number of contradictory things. It is a respectful recounting of the contributions of Jay Adams and a collection of harsh and unkind epithets about the man and his followers. It is both a carefully researched Ph. D. thesis and grievous academic malpractice. It identifies important issues within the biblical counseling movement and embraces as authoritative, shoddily constructed straw men. Lambert praises concepts he himself finds questionable, and confuses movement with maturity, differences with development, and provocation with progress. Upon a careful reading of this book, biblical counselors who are familiar with the issues reported here will be made both thankful and appalled.

Lambert has a genuine respect and appreciation for Jay Adams. It is evident in his first chapter in which he surveys Adams’ early writings and places them in the context of the times they were written. It is a careful and complete survey and serves as a great introduction to the man and his writings. In his conclusion, Lambert correctly points out that Adams has always welcomed a careful examination of what he has written and invited others to build on what Adams himself admitted was preliminary (although not tentative). Lambert does just that. He seeks to identify specific areas where, in his view, Adams’ work was deficient—even erroneous—and marshals support for his conclusions by quoting as authoritative those who do not share his deep respect for Adams—many of whom have misrepresented Adams, and questioned his integrity, character, and scholarship.

As a credible scholarly work The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams was doomed from the beginning. It began as a Ph.D. project at the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville where Lambert teaches. His purpose was to chronicle what he perceived to be the “development” of the biblical counseling movement in its “second generation” iteration. In Lambert’s mind, it was to be a continuation—a volume two—of a dissertation written by David Powlison in 1996 and later published in book form in 2009.[1] Powlison figures prominently in Lambert’s thesis as a molder and promoter of counseling theory in this “second generation” and is a focus of Lambert’s analysis—it is more a book about David Powlison and his friends at CCEF than it is about Adams. Because the only person Southern Seminary had on faculty with the academic credentials to supervise Lambert’s Ph. D. project was an avowed integrationist the powers that be at the Seminary sought out and hired an outside authority to oversee Lambert’s Ph.D. project—David Powlison! According to Lambert, Powlison

. . . has walked with me every step of the way through this project. Without his wisdom and care, this project would never have been written. Without his living example of Christlikeness, I would be much less that what I am. One of the greatest honors of my life was doing my doctoral work under his leadership. I am repeatedly thankful for his friendship, wisdom, and input (page 20).

So, to clear the academic hurdles for his Ph. D. Lambert was writing a paper that was largely about the man whose approval he had to have to earn his degree! Academically, this is incestuous and the powers that be at Southern Seminary should be ashamed. As a result, while Lambert is willing to critique, criticize, and at times condemn Adams and his “first generation” writings, there is only praise and commendation for Powlison and his “second generation” colleagues. In most of the book, Adams serves as a foil, a warden from whom the “second generation” has been able to free the movement. Lambert quotes some outrageous things these “second generation” men have written about Adams and his followers as though they are authoritative and gives them a pass.

Lambert divides his critiques into three basic categories, how his “second generation” of counselors think about counseling, how they do counseling, and how they talk about counseling. In each area Lambert identifies specific issues on which his “second generation” subjects differ from Adams. Difference does not necessarily mean progress, however. While Lambert believes these differences are the result of growth and maturity in the movement, a careful examination of Lambert’s evidence often reveals a departure from what is biblical and helpful and is a retreat back to the mindset of the pre-nouthetic Rogerian practices of our forefathers which Adams inveighed against over 40 years ago.

How Counselors Think About Counseling

Here Lambert identifies two areas where he believed Adams was deficient and lauds the “second generation” for correcting them. First is the issue of suffering. While Lambert admits that Adams did indeed address the issue in his early writings he concludes Adams did not say enough. This is a most curious criticism. While I have read countless articles from those critical of what Adams has said or written, this is the first case I can recall of someone criticizing Adams for what he did not say—complaining that Adams should have said more!

Lambert then instructs Adams that “the problems and struggles of people are not limited to sin alone” (page 57) as though this is what Adams taught. He quotes Ed Welch who makes a false dichotomy between those who are “pain counselors” and those who are “sin counselors.” Adams, according to Lambert, is one such “sin counselor” (page 60) whose perspective necessitated this correction from Welch:

Those who lean in the direction of minimizing pain, or calling for a stoic acceptance of it, are often more precise in their theological formations. But they may be guilty of ignoring important biblical themes and thus do not offer the full counsel of God to those who suffer.

So for Welch, “more precise theological formations” often hinders the counselor’s ability to “offer the full counsel of God.”

Adams, of course, believed no such thing. For Adams, every counseling problem is, at its core, a theological problem. For this reason, he included a lengthy discussion of the issue of misery, pain, and suffering in his book on Theology (More Than Redemption, pp.152-159). Adams also published a host of small books and pamphlets to use as handouts to counselee’s who were suffering (How to Handle Trouble, How to Overcome Evil, What to do When . . . series, Christ and Your Problems). He also produced a brief homiletical commentary on the book of 1 Peter (Trust and Obey) designed to help the Pastor teach his people about suffering.

Lambert quotes Lane and Tripp and commends their “effort to understand carefully the context in which the counselee exists” (page 62) as though Adams had been silent about such things. Adams’ lengthy sections about data gathering in his Manual do just that.

“It is wrong to approach a struggling brother or sister with a condemning, self-righteous spirit,” chides Paul Tripp (page 63). Jesus rebukes “the problem of ignoring suffering” scolds Ed Welch (page 63). “We do not want to communicate truths in ways that are cheap and platitudinous” (Tripp again). Over and over again these straw men about Jay Adams and his followers are served up and Lambert cites them as authoritative. He questions none of it. Instead, their observations are cited as “progress” within the biblical counseling movement rather than condemned as the slander that they are.

The second issue Lambert cites is that of motivation and he begins the discussion with the claim that “Adams’ view of the dynamics of sin is unusual.” In fact, he claims “it is a theological innovation” (page 67). Lambert cites two articles that were published in the Journal of Biblical Counseling about ten years ago in which Ed Welch challenged Adams’ view of the “flesh” and sought to put forward an “alternative” view, an alternative view that was even more “unusual” and “innovative” than Adams’! Adams responded to the article in a letter to the editor in which he refuted Welch point by point. David Powlison, the editor of the Journal, refused to publish most of Adams’ response opting to run only a quarter of it and leaving out entirely each of Adams’ point by point arguments. On the page following the heavily redacted letter from Adams, the Journal ran an article which accused Adams of being a closet behaviorist and of himself deriving his model from secular psychologists—and Lambert agrees!

So then Schwab and Welch each agree that Adams’ model of habituation is unbiblical. In addition to this, Schwab establishes that the origins of Adams’ thinking were found in secular psychological theories, not in specific texts of Scripture. In other words, Schwab shows that the problem—cited by Welch—of Adams’ understanding of the term “flesh” was imposed by Adams on the biblical text and actually derived from the influence of unbelieving people (page 72).

This “second generation” view of motivation is hardly progress. It is a view of the heart that Adams has been criticizing and opposing for the last 20 years. This is not building on Adams’ work, it is a rejection of it.

Lambert continues this section by citing Powlison’s “Idols of the Heart” construct as a further “development” or maturation in the area of motivation only to challenge Powlison’s understanding later in chapter six.[3]

How Biblical Counselors Do Counseling

Here Lambert seeks to make the case that “second generation” counselors have advanced in their methodology by rejecting Adams’ tendency “to obscure the importance of building loving relationships with counselees” (page 88). Here again Lambert quotes as authoritative those who paint Adams as a harsh, uncaring, authoritarian counselor.

Our service must not have an “I stand above you as one who as arrived” character (Tripp, page 96).

Tripp is also quoted as advocating “sacrificial” counseling.

Tripp goes so far as to say that people who do not invest sacrificially in those to whom they minister are ‘selfish’ and ‘thieves’ (page 93).

Lambert misses entirely the irony of a lecture about sacrifice from someone who charged $85 per session for such “sacrificial” counseling when he worked at CCEF while scolding others who have never charged a dime for counseling.

Lambert correctly points out that “Adams believed that his counseling approach was fundamentally loving. He believed it was loving to confront people with their sin and give them resources to change” (page 92). Still, Lambert concludes the chapter by comparing Adams to Job’s counselors

. . . who had a monolithic view of Job as a sinner. They ministered to Job in a static and ultimately unhelpful way. Their counsel failed because they did not identify with Job as a sufferer or seek to minister to him accordingly.

Lambert has demonstrated here that there is a stark difference between Adams and the CCEF orb. The difference isn’t one of development or maturity as Lambert postulates. The “second generation” approach is a retreat, a throwback to pre-nouthetic times when relationship trumped truth and commiseration with a counselee was called “counseling.” Adams often likened the difference to encountering a friend who was working under the hood of his car. Someone comes along and upon sizing up the situation leans on the fender and tells the shade tree mechanic he understands how difficult his task is. Indeed, he once had a starter motor go bad and understands the frustration. He tells the mechanic how sad he is about the motor, affirms him in his efforts, and tells him he will check on him again next week. The nouthetic guy, however, takes off his coat, rolls up his sleeves, crawls under the car, and helps guide the socket onto the nut while the mechanic turns the wrench.

Suffering counselees do not need a new friend, nor do they need a hug. They need someone who will offer them solid help in dealing with their situation. Commiserating is not counseling.

How Biblical Counselors Talk about Counseling

In this chapter Lambert seeks to make the case that Adams drew the wrong conclusions from his failed attempts to interact with secular counselors and integrationists. He recounts several events in Adams’ life when Adams did interact with his critics and rightly points out that Adams concluded it was a waste of time. It was not Adams’ tone nor his demeanor that alienated the integrationist, however, it was his message! For Lambert “the biblical counseling movement has a responsibility to engage an atheistic society and the surrounding culture” though he does not explain why. For Adams, the believer has a responsibility to evangelize, not engage—proclaim, not dialog. The theologian has nothing to learn from a Mormon. An astronomer has nothing to gain from the astrologer. Biblical counselors can hope to find no help from the secular psychologist. Those who seek to influence their integrationist friends find they become influenced instead.

It should be noted, however, that Adams did seek to understand secular psychology and during the middle ‘60s devoured the psychological literature of the day—genuinely hoping to find some help. He found none. We have those books in our library here at the Institute for Nouthetic Studies and Adams’ careful interaction with them can be seen in the copious notes and arguments found in the margins. Still, his heart was inclined toward winning the integrationist, not condemning him.

In 1972 Adams reviewed a book written by an integrationist by the name of James Hamilton in which he tried to show how pastors could incorporate the conclusions of psychology into ministry. That book has descended into well-deserved obscurity but the final paragraph of Adams’ review is classic.

Sad, sad it is to read a book like this—Hamilton is so close, yet so far. If the basic problem stems from the fact that he is yet in transition, let us pray that it will not be long before the waters part and he crosses over to the promised land. Dr. Hamilton, please believe me, the crossing is neither wet nor muddy, and the grapes on the other side are sweet.

Several observations about Lambert’s book are in order. First, this is not a book about “the biblical counseling movement after Adams” at all. It is a book about CCEF. For Lambert, the “second generation” of biblical counselors consists solely of those who travel in the CCEF orb. The only counselor quoted outside that orb (though, like Adams, he once served on the CCEF board) is Wayne Mack—who should more accurately be categorized as a “first generation” counselor. There is nothing here but passing references to NANC, the Master’s College, Faith Baptist Church, Adams’ own Institute for Nouthetic Studies, or any number of other biblical counseling institutions. Other authors and teachers including George Scipione, Lou Priolo, Stuart Scott, Martha Peace, Mark Shaw, Jim Berg, and the Journal of Modern Ministry do not seem to be a part of Lambert’s “second generation.”

Second, the post-Adams era has not yet begun! Jay Adams did not die in 1988. During this time frame Adams has continued to write, often opposing the same “developments” or “progress” Lambert cites as positive.

Third, where is the scholarly examination of CCEF and the important issues related to their counseling paradigm? Wouldn’t the reasons for Adams’ and his nouthetic co-workers’ wholesale resignation from the CCEF board in the ‘90s be an important topic for examination? What about the rejection of Adams’ view of progressive sanctification, the embrace of Jack Miller’s Sonship theology, and the resultant sub-orthodox view of sanctification? There is no evaluation of the impact of CCEF’s embrace of an Historical/Redemptive hermeneutic on their counseling model. How about the influence secular training in psychology has had and the perceived need for counselors to understand all that the psychological world has to offer? The last CCEF annual conference was devoted to exegeting the DSM-IV, not the Scriptures. For Lambert, “second generation” CCEF has had only a salutatory impact on the biblical counseling movement.

Forth, Lambert has, probably unwittingly, demonstrated the distain many in the CCEF orb have for their founder. In one place or another in his book Lambert quotes them referring to Adams and his nouthetic model as “stoic,” “bombastic,” “indifferent to suffering,” “insensitive,” “harsh,” “ignores clear themes of Scripture,” “approaches counselees with a condemning, self-righteous spirit,” “cheap and platitudinous,” “unbalanced,” “legalistic,” “moralistic,” “behavioristic,” “immature,” “sees counselees in a monolithic way as sinners,” has a “stand above you as one who has arrived” character, and is “less than biblical.”

Finally, to demonstrate how heavily the influence of David Powlison weighs on this book, note the tone Powlison sets in his Foreword. Referring to the biblical counseling scene today Powlison claims that

We should be good at counseling—caring, skillful, thoughtful . . . But more often than not, we have been poor and foolish, rigid or inept. The pat answer, snap judgment, brisk answer and quick fix are too often characteristic. Where is the patient kindness? Where is the probing concern and hard thought? Where is the luminous, pertinent truthfulness? Where is the flexibility of well-tailored wisdom? Where is the unfolding process? Where is the humanity of Jesus enfleshed in humane, humble, sensible people (page 13)?

This is a breathtaking perspective. After 40 years of teaching, writing, and counseling this is the view from the CCEF tower of the biblical counseling world today. Unskilled, inept, uncaring counselors populate the landscape. What is the antecedent of his pronoun “we?” Is it simply a literary device? Hyperbole? If this is an honest assessment of his own counseling should he really be teaching others? Does Powlison really have this kind of condescending view of the majority of counselors today? Is it any surprise then, that Lambert would pick up and embrace his mentor’s jaundiced view in this book?

Twenty years ago one could read and hear countless secular and eclectic counselors scorch Adams for his views and the caricatured portraits they painted of him. One does not hear so much of it from that camp today. Today, they have been replaced by Adams’ “friends.”

Hear then, Lambert’s conclusion to the whole matter. Comparing Adams and his “first generation” counselors to the CCEF “second generation” Lambert concludes that

The movement is more thoughtful; it is more caring; it is learning to speak more wisely and loving to outsiders—the movement is more biblical (page 159).

Does any of this really sound wise, or caring, or more loving? Indeed, is this more biblical than Jay Adams?

Heath Lambert is a promising young man whom I count as a friend. I like him. I don’t like his book. His seminary failed him in this project by placing him under, requiring him to have the approval of, and permitting him to function far too close to an influential figure whose close proximity to the project has obscured Lambert’s view of the entire landscape. I expect, that as more years and further experience gives him better perspective, we will see some helpful things from his pen. I will be looking forward to reviewing them.

My advice to the reader? Buy this book and see for yourself. Just be careful not to read it too close to an open flame. Straw men are easily combustible.

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But now! I have come across two volumes that I want to recommend and commend in the strongest way possible.  They are by Dale Ralph Davis, pastor of the Woodland Presbyterian Church of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He was former professor of Old Testament in Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi.

What is different about his work? Almost everything!. I have completed reading the volume on Joshua, and am well into its sequel on Judges (he has written more, but I don’t have them—yet!). There is racy (never objectionable) language throughout, enlivening otherwise material that is difficult to continue to study because it seems dull. One of his achievements is to show how, rightly interpreted, the Scriptures of these books is anything but dull! No one could help enjoy reading difficult to discuss data the way in which he has presented it!

But, of importance—Davis has shown that what seems dull and matter-of-fact actually has vital and interesting purposes.  He has brought the text of these books of the Bible to life as few commentators ever have.

But, there’s more.  These are commentaries that will delight preachers. Davis is writing primarily for them, and the way in which he comes at portions of Scripture is exactly what preachers need commentators to do. These aren’t line for line commentaries.  Largely, they stress how the writer of the Bible book intended to be understood, what he had in mind in writing as he did, how he goes about attempting to change his reader, and the way a preacher today can go about doing the same in his sermons. And he doesn’t spirituralize away the original intention of the text in doing so!

Thankfully, the books are not all tangled up in biblical-theological jargon, in which there is an attempt to locate some new Gospel type or other. Indeed, they are theocentric, in which God’s three-Person Nature is rightly acknowledged. The Father and the Spirit are not neglected, as they are in so much theological writing today.

The deeply-interested Bible student, as well as the pastor, will find these books helpful, but the novice and the casual student probably will discover that the going is too difficult for him.

Christian Focus is to be highly commended for encouraging such theological writing, and Dr. Davis is to be applauded for writing it!

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The traditional view of the gospel’s relationship to change is that salvation is foundational to change. Once a person is justified before God by believing in Christ’s saving work on the cross, and made a new creature, he then begins the work of co-laboring with God in the growth process, also known as sanctification. The traditional view sees our role, after being made a new creature (born again), as many-faceted in regard to biblical instruction—the primary role being the learning of God’s Word and the application of it to life via obedience in how we think and behave (Matthew 7:24).

The traditional view makes a significant distinction between justification (redemption), sanctification (growing into Christ-likeness), and glorification (complete transformation). It sees justification and glorification as acts of God alone apart from human participation or monergistic, but sees sanctification as synergistic or a cooperative (but none the less dependent) work with God. Obviously, an accurate view and description of our participation is vital to affecting real and lasting change.

For Tripp and Lane, however, the gospel message is not only for the unregenerate, but efficacious for real and lasting change in the life of a believer. Certainly, as Christians move into our relationship with Christ as not only Savior, but also Lord, we should never leave behind an appreciation for the sacrifice of Christ that saved us. The authors claim, however, that the same elements of justification must be carried forward into sanctification without anything being added. In fact, for believers to even make an effort to align our thinking with Scripture is an act on our part that denies Christ as Savior:

. . . and the Bible does call us to change the way we think about things. But this approach again omits the person and work of Christ as Savior. Instead, it reduces our relationship to Christ to “think his thoughts” and “act the way Jesus would act” (p. 27, 2006).

Throughout the book, the authors embrace parts of the traditional view, but view the traditional elements through a non-traditional prism, and give the traditional elements of change a different meaning. In this case they trade the traditional idea that Christians are to make an effort to align our thoughts with Scripture with the idea that we should do something else instead that leads to biblical thinking as a natural result of the living Christ acting on our behalf and apart from our initial efforts. According to the authors, the traditional approach omits the “work” of Christ in our sanctification and omits Christ as “Savior.”

Lane and Tripp do not deny that Christians have a role in the sanctification process. But what exactly is that role? If the traditional view of our exertion (effort in aligning our life with Scripture) in sanctification is out, what is in? Answer: deep repentance, the second major thrust of the book which we will discuss later.

Repentance is a form of emptying the heart . . . Along with deep repentance, Scripture calls us to faith that rests and feeds upon the living Christ. He fills us with himself through the person of the Holy Spirit and our hearts are transformed by faith. (p 28)

Our efforts are out; a faith that “rests and feeds” is in. So, like justification, sanctification is limited to the narrow elements of faith and repentance only. We don’t apply effort to align our lives with Scripture in order to be saved, and we don’t for sanctification (real and lasting change) either.

Throughout HPC, Christ is referred to as “the living Christ.” Believers have no ability to perform works, or add works to their faith because believers are still spiritually dead, and the only life within us is Christ. On pages 64 and 65 Christians are described as being dead, powerless, enslaved, alienated from God, enemies of God, fools, and those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. In other words, our condition is not changed from what we were before salvation. Referring to believers, the authors write: “when you are dead, you can’t do anything” (p. 64). Therefore, we can’t do anything leaving only the “living Christ” to perform works on our behalf.

This is a synthesizing of justification and sanctification. Our ability to perform works pleasing to God is in the same context as those who are unregenerate. We are clearly unable. The authors illustrate this with the story of Andy:

In both phases of his Christian life, the work of Christ on the cross was radically minimized by Andy’s own efforts. The first three years evidenced a Christ-less activism that produced pride and self-sufficiency (p. 184, 2006).

Andy’s “own efforts” in “his Christian life” are in direct relation (according to the authors) to how prevalent redemption (“the work of Christ on the cross”) was in Andy’s life. The fact that Andy’s efforts to obey might have been misguided is not the point that the authors are making here. The authors only cite Andy’s “own efforts” in “his Christian life” with no traditional consideration of erroneous efforts to obey that are inconsistent with the Scriptures being rightly divided.

In essence, it resembles an ongoing need to be saved (redeemed) daily through the works of Christ only. Referring to 1 Cor. 10:13-14 the authors state:

What Paul envisions here is not just the change that takes place when we come to Christ, but the lifestyle of change that results from an ongoing sense of our need for redemption (progressive sanctification) (p. 102, 2006).

Progressive sanctification is redefined as “an ongoing sense of our need for redemption.” However, the redemption he is speaking of is the same redemption that originally saved us (“when we came to Christ…and the ‘ongoing’ need for it”). Tripp and Lane believe that there is little difference between justification and sanctification. If we can’t do works to be saved, neither can we do works in the sanctification process.

But what about all the commands in the Bible that are obviously directed toward us? Are we not supposed to obey the principles and commands of Scripture? Yes, but . . .

. . . a behavioral approach to change is hollow because it ignores the need for Christ and his (sic) power to change first the heart and then the behavior. Instead, even the Christian version of this separates the commands of Scripture from their Christ-centered, gospel context. (p. 26)

By “Christ-centered, gospel context,” they mean obedience via the cross (works of Christ, not ours). This can also be seen in their view of the use of Scripture as instruction, or “directions” to be read and then followed:

One of the mistakes we make in handling God’s Word is that we reduce it to a set of directions on how we live. We look for directions about relationships, church life, sex, finances, marriage, happiness, parenting, and so on…..This does violence to the very nature of the Word of God and robs it of its power. The Bible is the world’s most significant story, the story of God’s cosmos-restoring work of redemption. The Bible is a “big picture” book. It introduces us to God, defines our identity, lays out the meaning and purpose of life, and shows us where to find help for the one disease that infests us all—sin. If you try to reduce the Bible to a set of directions, not only will you miss its overall wisdom, you will not make sense of the directions. They only make sense in the context of the whole story (p. 92, 2006).

Seeking, then, to find in the Scriptures instruction in Godliness (2 Tim 3:16) “does violence to the very nature of the Word of God and robs it of its power.”

The second tenet advocated by Tripp and Lane is deep introspection, or “deep repentance.”

Repentance is a form of emptying the heart….Along with deep repentance, Scripture calls us to faith that rests and feeds upon the living Christ. He fills us with himself through the person of the Holy Spirit and our hearts are transformed by faith. (p. 28)

Deep repentance, also called “intelligent repentance” by the authors, is a necessarily embellished form of orthodox repentance because of the narrow approach (faith and repentance only as our role) the book’s theory takes in regard to change. Heart idols must first be identified. Then repenting of them leads to the elimination thereof, creating a void that is filled by Christ and the release of His power accordingly.

Elements of deep repentance include asking God to forgive us of our own efforts, i.e., “repenting of righteousness” (p.190, 2006), and “seeing the sin beneath the sins” (p. 190, 2006) which requires an understanding that it is impossible to violate commands 4-10 (of the 10 commandments) without first violating commands 1-3, which are the commands that speak to heart idols. Therefore, you must get to the heart of why you sinned (idols of the heart covered in commands 1-3) before the violation of all other sins can be prevented. On pages 163-165 Lane and Tripp suggest a list of “X-ray questions” to determine types of desires linked to heart idols to aid in this “deep repentance.”

The third tenet is that of “the Bible as a narrative for change.” The authors say that the Bible is a simple story that all Christians can understand, and that God uses creation to write the book in word pictures (p. 93, 2006). The very purpose of the Bible, according to the authors, is to supply believers with a model of change that involves four basic elements: heat, thorns, cross, and fruit (p. 96, 2006). The authors say the Bible is a grand gospel story that encompasses all of the necessary elements needed for life and godliness in regard to our life story. Therefore, God calls us to come to the grand story with our story, and He invites us to place our life story into the grand story, discovering where our experience of life fits into one of the four elements of heat, thorns, cross, and fruit:

This big picture model is the story of every believer. God invites us to enter into the plot!” (p. 94, 2006).

For Tripp and Lane, all of Scripture falls under one of these categories, and these categories form the grand gospel story, which is the sole purpose of the Bible—to present a gospel story of real change that reveals God’s grace and provision accordingly.

By seeing our circumstances in heat (circumstances of life), thorns (desires and idols of the heart that cause us to sin), fruit (Christ working in us, or the consequences of sin), and God’s provision for all three (cross), we gain wisdom, encouragement, and a mentality that seeks to know a deeper need and dependence on Christ. Using Scripture for this purpose exalts Christ in our minds, makes us desire Him more, and deepens our sense of dependence on Him. This deepening sense of our dependence on Christ, which results from using the Scriptures in this way, creates a lifestyle of change because we come to realize that we need redemption every day, not just when we were originally saved. Total dependence on Christ becomes synonymous with faith to the exclusion of almost everything else. The Bible, then, is designed for the sole purpose of aiding the believer in faith (total dependence on God) and deep repentance.

How People Change is a pronounced departure from the traditional (or nouthetic) model of biblical change. It starts by synthesizing justification and sanctification, and narrows our role in spiritual growth to faith and repentance only. Their model presents the Bible as a gospel narrative, to the exclusion of all other purposes. The authors of HPC present a strange picture of believers who are still dead in trespasses and sins while being indwelled by Christ who is the only life within us, and therefore the only one working in the change process. Accordingly, total dependence on Christ is the key to real change. But how does this work itself out in the Christian’s life—a Christ Who obeys for us?

Christ referred to the Holy Spirit as our “helper” in John 14:16. Who is he helping? And what is He helping us do? The verse begins with a coordinating conjunction that connects it to the idea presented in the preceding verse, which says: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to help us obey Christ. Let’s teach counselees to do just that.

This review originally appeared in the Journal of Modern Ministry.

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