After reading through the Affirmations and Denials, please indicate whether you agree below.

The following Affirmations and Denials are distinctive to the biblical counseling movement and are the foundation for the beliefs and practices of BCCI members. The purpose of the Affirmations and Denials is to honor Christ, strengthen the Church, and to promote God’s word as a vital force in the believer. 

It is the prayer of those of us in BCCI that the Affirmations and Denials will challenge you to become a partner with us in developing them into a tool for the equipping of saints. 

 

GENERAL REVELATION is the truth about God revealed through creation. 

SPECIAL REVELATION is the truth revealed through holy scripture (the Bible). 

 

BIBLICAL COUNSELING is the Christ-centered, Holy Spirit-empowered, practical, and therapeutic application of biblical truths to a person’s life through nurture, instruction, correction, and prayer, with the goal of personal maturity and fruitfulness.

 

The Authority of Scripture 

The final and supreme AUTHORITY of the church and of every Christian is the word of God. It is God’s final word in everything that relates to faith and practice. 

The Sufficiency of Scripture

SUFFICIENCY is the inherent authority of scripture, guaranteeing and providing in Christ all that man needs for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). As inerrancy speaks to the rule of faith, so sufficiency speaks to the rule of practice. 

ARTICLE I:  REVELATION

 

A.         Affirmation 

We affirm that God reveals Himself through both Special and General Revelation 

Denial

We deny that General Revelation is God’s only means of revealing Himself. 

 

B.         Affirmation 

We affirm that Special Revelation is God’s means of revealing truths pertinent to human belief and practice. 

Denial 

We deny counseling theories and practices that are not based on the Special Revelation of the Bible. 

 

C.         Affirmation 

We affirm that God’s revelations in total (including both General and Special Revelation) are necessary for holding man accountable to God. 

Denial 

We deny that General Revelation alone was intended to provide the data necessary for life and godliness. 

 

D.         Affirmation 

We affirm Special Revelation (the Bible) to be the immutable, supreme, and absolute expression of God’s truth to man. 

Denial 

We deny that either man’s wisdom or General Revelation can be given equal authority with scripture. 

 

ARTICLE II:  THE AUTHORITY AND SUFFICIENCY OF GOD’S WORD

A.     Affirmation 

We affirm that biblical truths are sufficient, when presented in the power of the Holy Spirit, to enable the Christian to love and obey God and to seek to please Him in every way. 

Denial 

We deny that man’s wisdom (secular theories and practices) can enable the Christian to love and obey God and to seek to please Him in every way. 

B.     Affirmation 

We affirm the Bible to be the indispensable textbook on human and divine relationships and behavior. 

Denial 

We deny a lesser role for the Bible in addressing all aspects of human behavior and relationship to God. 

 

C.         Affirmation 

We affirm God’s Word as the voice of God to us today. 

Denial 

We deny that there are other voices of God (“truths”) other than God’s Word (Jer. 23:25-31). 

 

D.         Affirmation 

We affirm that the Bible establishes the norms for right and effective living.

            Denial 

We deny that secular sources are sufficient to establish norms for right and effective living. 

ARTICLE III:  THE NATURE OF BIBLICAL COUNSELING

 

A.         Affirmation 

We affirm the fundamentals of biblical Christian faith as the foundation for biblical counseling. 

Denial 

We deny the validity of any counseling model that ignores or minimizes the fundamentals of biblical Christian faith. 

B.     Affirmation 

We affirm that the biblical counselor builds his system of counseling, including its presuppositions, principles, and theories from Special Revelation (the Bible). 

Denial 

We deny that the counselor can build a “biblical” system of counseling that syncretizes secular sources and the Holy Scriptures. 

 

C.         Affirmation 

We affirm that evangelism and discipleship are indispensable parts of the biblical counseling process. 

Denial 

We deny that it is unethical or unnecessary for a Christian who counsels to share his/her faith in the counseling process. 

 

D.         Affirmation 

We affirm the necessity of a close, vital relationship with Jesus Christ for spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being, and that this is the objective of biblical counseling in the life of the counselee. 

Denial 

We deny the value of anything that hinders or supersedes the necessity of a close, vital walk with Jesus Christ. 

 

E.         Affirmation 

We affirm that principles of behavior are to be drawn from scripture and observation guided by biblical information. 

Denial 

We deny that principles of behavior can be determined on the basis of observation alone. 

ARTICLE IV:  THE CALLING AND EQUIPPING OF THE BIBLICAL COUNSELOR

 

A.         Affirmation 

We affirm that the equipping of the saints, the work of service, and the building up of believers, all are to be done by those within the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-12).

Denial 

We deny that mental health professionals, by virtue of their training in secular theories and practices, are qualified to equip the saints or build up the Body of Christ through psychological theories and practices. 

B.     Affirmation 

We affirm that biblical counseling falls under the authority and oversight of the Body of Christ, the Church. 

Denial 

We deny that biblical counseling falls under the authority of psychology. 

 

D.         Affirmation 

We affirm that biblical counseling must be Christ-centered. 

Denial 

We deny that biblical counseling can be man-centered. 

 

Note:  The above Affirmations and Denials are taken from Affirmations &  Denials: A Proposed Definition of Biblical Counseling written by David Powlison.

 

PLEASE COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING FORM TO COMPLETE THIS PROCESS.