Ever heard it before? Well, it won’t be the first or last time if you are involved in trying to be biblical in your counseling. Let’s see how you might answer.

Response: Right. And neither do you. Your very objection indicates that you have a position on the matter. As a matter of fact, those who most vigorously advocate open-mindedness often viciously attack others who believe in being close-minded. It is logically impossible to hold an open-minded position with conviction. That is, in itself, a contradiction. Either one has no convictions on the subject (which isn’t open-mindedness, but simple lack of conviction), or he holds firmly to a position for or against open-mindedness (and in neither case can he be open-minded toward the opposite position).”

An open mind is like an open window; you have to put in screens to keep the bugs out! That is the way that a professor in one seminary puts it. He means, of course, that a person without convictions is open to everyone else’s opinions (no matter how outrageous). Many who boast of having an open mind simply don’t have convictions about anything much. As the Peanuts crowd puts it, they are wishy-washy.

Christian counselors must be closed-minded about open-mindedness. They are required not to be swept along by every wind of doctrine (especially counseling doctrine, which changes at least as often as the breeze) like those without convictions.^[1] At the same time, they must be as open-minded as the Holy Spirit will make them toward scriptural truth. Here is one place where open-mindedness is both desirable and possible. The Spirit alone can truly open the mind and heart to the changes demanded in the Bible.^[2]

When the Christian speaks of closed-mindedness, then he considers it a virtue and not a vice. But the sort of closed-mindedness that he applauds isn’t pig-headed bigotry. Rather, it is the conviction that what God says in the Bible is true. And it is that very Bible that insists that he open his mind to facts wherever they are found.^[3] But such data may not be accepted uncritically. They must be screened. The Scriptures are the screen by which the Christian keeps the bugs out. As his Standard of faith and life, the Bible keeps him from becoming the flypaper to which every sort of belief sticks.

[1] Ephesians 4:14.

[2] Luke 24:32.

[3] 1 Thessalonians 5:21.

From:

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Want to look at a couple of facts?

1. You go to be with Christ—which is far better (than anything else).
2. You go to Paradise [the word for a “park”] which is in the third heaven.
3. You will be tenting in heaven (i.e., there only temporarily; presumably, after the resurrection to live on the new earth).
4. You will have a conscious existence.
5. You will be housed in the place Jesus prepared for you, “at home with the Lord.”

Now, I haven’t given you passages directly attached to each of these facts. If you are interested in doing so, it would be well for you to search them out for yourself—as a Berean. But I will do two things to help you along.

1. List the pertinent passages to study.
2. Give you a more correct translation of one of them.

OK; here goes—passages in no special order: 2 Corinthian 5; Philippians 1; Luke 23; 2 Corinthians 12; Revelation 12.

Here’s the translation of Revelation 12:12 “. . . be glad you heavens, and those who are tenting there . . .”

Have fun while being blessed!

Check out our online course, Theology and Counseling taught by Jay Adams!

Books related to dealing with problems:

1. A Theology of Christian Counseling by Jay Adams
2. Sanctification and Counseling by Jay Adams
3. Christ and Your Problems by Jay Adams

The Christian Counselor’s New Testament and Proverbs, translated by Jay Adams

Visit our online bookstore for all your biblical counseling resource needs.
For biblical counseling training, check out our list of INS Online Courses.

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The post Deadly Facts appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.

All we should expect is His vengeance for our ingratitude.

And if you think about it what does a country like ours, that has been blessed so greatly, really deserve? Surely, a lot worse than we have yet seen. We have been a rebellious nation, bent on pleasure and willing to do most anything in order to “get ahead” in life. We have been a country of people who spend more on entertainment and sports in a month than they give to the cause of the Lord in a year. We don’t deserve God’s favor. We deserve his punishment. And, if the way that God dealt with people and nations in the Scripture is any indication of how He will deal with us today, we can expect His patience to run out sometime in the future. Eventually, the iniquity of the Amorites was full! Eventually, after a long time, God destroyed Jerusalem and sent the people off into captivity. He is slow to anger—but when His anger burns and boils over, God can sweep nations and peoples aside like so much dust. We dare not treat His longsuffering as if it were indifference. To do so has been the tragic story of many a nation in history.

Not only ought we not to presume upon God’s patience, we ought to implore Him to be merciful to us. Before things go too far, it’s time for Christians to rise up and seek His forgiveness and beg His favor. It isn’t time to bewail situations that we don’t like. Rather, we ought to bewail our sin and seek God’s pardon. Rather, we ought to warn others of the wrath to come and seek to win the lost.  Rather, we ought to ask God once again to awaken our country to the faith that so many once had.  Rather, we ought to live as we ought before Him and our neighbors as Christians should rather than living like the world.

In short, it is time to repent as a nation, as a church, as individuals, and call upon God to pour out His grace upon us once more. Will you be one who does, Christian?  Or will you just go about complaining how bad things have become?

Check out our online courses, including, Introduction to Nouthetic Counseling and  The Use of Scripture in Counseling, taught by Jay Adams!

Books related to counseling others:

1. Competent to Counsel by Jay Adams
2. The Christian Counselor’s Manual by Jay Adams
3. How to Help People Change by Jay Adams
4. Check out our Bookstore for all the best counseling books!

The Christian Counselor’s New Testament and Proverbs, translated by Jay Adams

Visit our online bookstore for all your biblical counseling resource needs.
For more biblical counseling training, check out our list of INS Online Courses.

Follow INS on Social Media:
– Facebook: noutheticstudies
– Twitter: @noutheticstud
– Instagram: @noutheticstudies

The post God’s Still in Heaven appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.

Jay Adams describes the personal conflict with sin that rages within every believer. Then with skill and understanding, he exposes the enemy’s principal tactics and spells out a clear biblical strategy for overcoming sin. He answers such important questions as:

– How can I successfully deal with temptation?

– How do I fight the battles of the Lord and WIN?

– Can I learn to recognize the designs of Satan so I won’t be so easily defeated?

– Why do I keep making the same mistakes over and over again?

– Where can I find help when I need it?

Whatever the struggle-sexual temptation, chemical dependency, pride, materialism, loneliness, discouragement-we are not alone in the battle and we can win the war within by the power of God’s might as we learn to use the weapons He has provided for our victory.

What Are Others Saying About Winning the War Within?

“Real and lasting change in the Christian life toward Christlikeness goes way beyond behavioral adjustments. There is an internal battle that must be won. In his book, Winning the War Within, Jay Adams uses the carefully exposited truth of God’s Word and the wisdom of a highly experienced counselor to help Christians achieve this goal. This book should be on the shortlist of required reading for counselors and for all Christians because of its relevance to growth in the Christian while overcoming deeply embedded sins within.”

— Dr. John Street, Chair, MABC Graduate Program, The Master’s College and Seminary; President, Association of Certified Biblical Counselors

“This classic work by Jay Adams demystifies spiritual warfare offering practical help for all believers. It is full of scriptural hope and encouragement.”

— Dr. Jim Newheiser, Professor of Counseling and Pastoral Theology Reformed Theological Seminary Charlotte; Director IBCD.

“Dr. Adams has a way of taking complicated matters and making them easy to understand while providing guidelines for how to work through those matters in a biblical way. Winning The War Within is an example of this. He guides us into understanding and addressing spiritual warfare in a way that is practical and biblical. A great resource for bible studies and counseling.”

— Dr. Nicolas Ellen, President of Expository Counseling Training Center

“Winning the War Within demonstrates the teaching skill of Dr. Jay Adams and displays his compassion and kindness in caring for souls. As a shepherd, Dr. Adams balances grace and truth, offering the wisdom of Christ in a practical and applied manner. His emphasis on the heart and its temptations toward choosing what the world and Satan offers is extremely helpful. I commend this book to you without reservation!”

— Dr. Mark Shaw, Director of Counseling, Grace Fellowship, Florence, KY; author of Heart of Addiction

“I could not agree more with Dr. Adams when he said, “It is there—within your inmost being—that battles are won or lost.” It’s not outside of us, it’s within us. Some let this lead to talk of personal worth or affirming your own ability to wage war, but Dr. Adams teaches us in Winning the War Within that the Christian’s victory is guaranteed because of God’s work in us. Though our flesh is a formidable enemy, our God proves victorious in our lives both now and ultimately. One of Adams’ classics and one of only a handful of good resources on spiritual warfare. I commend this book to you.”

— Dr. Greg E. Gifford, Associate Professor at The Master’s University; author of Heart & Habits

“I have lived through three generations of biblical counseling. What is amazing is how consistently on the money Dr. Adams, the father of modern biblical counseling was and is. Winning the War Within is a great example. Adams identified his cultural situation when he wrote, “…I need to say that the same forces that have spawned an effete Christianity, that shun confrontation, glorifies self, and represents Jesus as a Savior who can add a dimension to your happiness (rather than one who will radically change your life) are at work.” The contemporary situation has worsened dramatically. The enemy has fielded an array of new battle plans such as gender dysphoria, porn at the flick of a finger, and CRT. Adams’ faithful, clear biblical guidance and instruction are extraordinarily helpful to Christian engaging in that inward warfare with evil.”

— Dr. Howard Eyrich, retired Seminary professor and author of Three to Get Ready

“Jay Adams changed my life. Reading his books and learning from his wisdom was absolutely foundational for me, not just as I learned how to engage in counseling that is authentically biblical, but also as I learned to think biblically about an entire host of issues. Jay Adams is biblical counseling’s great grandfather. There is no biblical counseling author, leader, or practitioner that cannot draw a direct line from their ministry to the founding work of Dr. Adams. That means that neither your theological education nor your counseling training is complete until you have sat long at his feet, reading as much of him as you possibly can.”

— Dr. Heath Lambert, Sr. Pastor, First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, FL, Author of A Theology of Biblical Counseling and Finally Free

“Here is classic Adams—clear, direct, biblically saturated, and extraordinarily helpful! Misconceptions abound when it comes to the topic of spiritual warfare. Adams will have none of them. In his typical fashion, he brings sanity to a confused topic by unashamedly calling believers to trust what God’s Word has to say on the matter. In doing so, not only does he remind Christians of the great battle they are in, but he also provides for them the biblical strategy for Winning the War Within.”

— Pastor Donald Thomas, Abner Creek Baptist Church, Greer, SC

Pick up a copy of WINNING THE WAR WITHIN from our online bookstore today!

Check out our online courses, including, Introduction to Nouthetic Counseling and  The Use of Scripture in Counseling, taught by Jay Adams!

Books related to counseling others:

1. Competent to Counsel by Jay Adams
2. The Christian Counselor’s Manual by Jay Adams
3. How to Help People Change by Jay Adams
4. Check out our Bookstore for all the best counseling books!

The Christian Counselor’s New Testament and Proverbs, translated by Jay Adams

Visit our online bookstore for all your biblical counseling resource needs.
For more biblical counseling training, check out our list of INS Online Courses.

Follow INS on Social Media:
– Facebook: noutheticstudies
– Twitter: @noutheticstud
– Instagram: @noutheticstudies

The post Winning the War Within appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.

The first hat he will need to wear is that of our lead music man. This could mean several things and does not necessarily mean that he must be an accomplished pianist, brilliant soloist, composer, choir director, and worship leader (although having all these traits would be a plus). We just need a musician who can lead our music ministry with skill.

The second hat he will need to wear is that of Nouthetic counselor. Our counseling ministry is in its infancy and we need someone who is committed to Nouthetic counseling, preferably already ACBC certified, who can lead training and organize.

Are you this person? Do you know of someone who might be? If so, contact Donn Arms at donnarms@nouthetic.org for more information. To learn about our church you can check out our website here.

The post Help Wanted – Nouthetic Ministry Opportunity appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.

That was a cruel thing to say. Think of all of the women who have prayed earnestly for their husband’s salvation who have never had them come to faith in Christ. He was not only wrong, he was thoughtless.

You might ask by what sort of exegesis (Bible interpretation), or what passage or passages of Scripture, he reached this conclusion? Absolutely none! He simply blurted out the words, He merely asserted. After all, what else is necessary when you are listening to a “famous evangelist,” like this preacher? Can you imagine how women like those I just mentioned, who trusted his word took this? If it were true—OK, they would have to cope with it. But the horrible fact is he was wrong! Terribly wrong. It wasn’t true. It was a totally unsupported lie!

I suppose it’s time again to warn against radio and TV preachers. There is much bad exegesis in many of their sermons (certainly, this isn’t true of all radio/TV preachers—here and there you can find a good one). Some of it, like this assertion, that wasn’t even backed by Scripture, however, is extremely dangerous. Much of it is simply bad preaching. Either way it means that they are not “rightly handling the Word of God.” And that—regardless of the topic or verse—is serious business because it means that they are misrepresenting God. And those who listen to poor preaching day after day, are learning (without even realizing it) how NOT to interpret the Bible.

Every Christian, instead, should take care to become a good Berean who searches the Scriptures daily to see whether what is preached is true. When you find that it isn’t, it’s time to turn him off for good, and, then, warn others against him.

Check out our online courses, including, Introduction to Nouthetic Counseling and  The Use of Scripture in Counseling, taught by Jay Adams!

Books related to counseling others:

1. Competent to Counsel by Jay Adams
2. The Christian Counselor’s Manual by Jay Adams
3. How to Help People Change by Jay Adams
4. Check out our Bookstore for all the best counseling books!

The Christian Counselor’s New Testament and Proverbs, translated by Jay Adams

Visit our online bookstore for all your biblical counseling resource needs.
For more biblical counseling training, check out our list of INS Online Courses.

Follow INS on Social Media:
– Facebook: noutheticstudies
– Twitter: @noutheticstud
– Instagram: @noutheticstudies

The post Poor Exegesis appeared first on Institute for Nouthetic Studies | Biblical Counseling.

Consider the following reasons you should study with us:

• All courses offered online
• Study on your schedule, not ours
• Study under the father of the modern Biblical Counseling movement
• Meet (and surpass) the training requirement for ACBC certification
• Indefinite access to training materials
• And now, even more affordable tuition!

Want to begin now? Just head to our coursework page, establish an account, and begin studying.

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