I would like to address the issue of the sufficiency of the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the context of the local body of believers for the salvation of elect sinners in every area of their lives, from birth to death. I realize you are well aware of much of what I am going to address in this article, because it is nothing new. Though this is the case, I feel the need to present some points of concern for your consideration. I would like to utilize fundamental scripture texts to point out that the Institute for Reformed Biblical Counseling (IRBC) is unbiblical, not Reformed, and very deceptive. Dr. Martin and Deidre Bobgan have thoroughly documented the dangers of the so-called Christian psychology movement and the biblical counseling movement (BCM) in their books Psychoheresy and Against “Biblical Counseling”: For the Bible and Biblical Counseling Reviews. Some of their books can be downloaded for free from their website at www.psychoheresy-aware.org/mainpage.html.¹ Dr. Bobgan was part of the biblical counseling movement for sixteen years and is very knowledgeable in this field of study.

I have done some research on the biblical counseling movement in the United States. Many churches and learning institutions have embraced this counseling model to address the needs of suffering saints in their congregations. Some of these include the Master’s College and Seminary, the Christian Reformed Church (CRC), Reformed Baptist Churches, United Reformed Churches (URC), the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, the Westminster Seminary, and the Southern Baptist Convention. This list does not infer that all churches within these denominations are part of the biblical counseling movement but rather that the counseling and training of biblical counseling methodologies can be found within these groups.

As the Bobgans point out, “Dr. Jay Adams…is regarded as the father of the biblical counseling movement.”² Adams’ book Competent to Counsel, which was published in 1970, was the catalyst of the BCM. One reason he wrote this book was to counter the influence of psychology, in order to help those in need. Dr. Clyde Narramore was the pioneer for the integrationist movement of psychology and the Bible, which preceded the biblical counseling movement. Later on, others, such as Dr. Bruce Narramore and Dr. James Dobson, joined the integrationist movement. The psychoanalysis / psychological / psychiatric movement preceded these movements.

The BCM has been in existence for over forty years and has branched out to infiltrate the Protestant Reformed Churches in America (PRC) through the IRBC. First Corinthians 1:22–23 states, “The Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness.” In order to give emphasis to the primacy of preaching, the scriptures also state in 1 Corinthians 2:4–5, “My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” This is opposed to the position of the IRBC on its website, where it says, “All truth is God’s truth.”³ This is a completely false statement because that which psychology states is true is according to the wisdom of man, and that which scripture says is true is according to the wisdom of God. The BCM has transitioned from a position held by the executive director of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors, Dr. Heath Lambert—“Counseling is a theological discipline”⁴—to a position held by Dr. David Powlison from the Biblical Counseling Coalition, “Biblical counseling is a psychology. It is a psychotherapy.”⁵ Before there was psychology, there was philosophy, and this is the point of departure. Once the IRBC begins to train elders, pastors, and seminary professors in biblical counseling, it will inevitably lead to the influence of psychology in the preaching. This is unbiblical.

The IRBC is not Reformed. During the Protestant Reformation there was no biblical counseling in its present format as promoted by the IRBC website: 

The seven steps we use in our counseling methodology model are as follows: 1) Provide Perspective, 2) Collect Data, 3) Identify / Prioritize Problems, 4) Direct or Confront the Counselee, 5) Establish Directives / Secure Commitment, 6) Provide Hope, and 7) Assign and Evaluate Homework.⁶

The Canons of Dordt, the Belgic Confession, and the Heidelberg Catechism make no mention of this methodology of edifying the church. Our Church Order has no reference to this model to help console the suffering. Calvin did not use this strategy in the church of Geneva. TULIP has nothing to do with this form of counseling. Where did it come from? A quote from the IRBC website gives us a perspective on this matter: “The person who should rightfully be credited for discovering the majority of the underlying principles of these steps is Dr. Jay Adams.”⁷

There has always been counsel from scripture but without the influence of philosophy, psychology, and psychiatry. Dr. Jay Adams learned the methods of therapy before writing his book on counseling. Although he was against those psychiatric methods, his plan was to come up with a better way to help people. The BCM uses the Bible, the Reformed confessions, and Calvin to make biblical counseling Reformed. It never was. It is not, and it never shall be.

The IRBC is very deceptive. Its website states the following:

The Institute for Reformed Biblical Counseling believes that both counseling and associated training should arise from within the local congregation and be conducted under the oversight of elders. IRBC functions under the oversight of Cornerstone United Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan, which partners with conservative reformed confessional congregations in the United States of America and Canada.⁸

There is more to this on their website. IRBC has a counseling center at Grace Immanuel Reformed Baptist Church, Bethany URC, and Central Avenue CRC. At the CRC center the staff is three women and five men. 

What is not on the website is the suggested fee for those who can pay it. There is no information regarding the fee for the training to be a biblical counselor. The IRBC does not give the names of the counselors, only pictures of staff. 

The problem here is that the IRBC portrays itself as functioning under the direction of biblical Church Order. However, what is not stated on the website is its position on a conditional covenant, common grace, the federal vision, and divorce and remarriage. Dr. Jay Adams and Dr. David Powlison wrongly hold to divorce and remarriage as being permitted by certain conditions in scripture. We in the PRC are opposed to the Reformed Baptist position on the covenant and baptism. We are opposed to the CRC in its heretical teaching of common grace. We are opposed to the URC and their toleration of those who teach the federal vision. We are also opposed to their indifference and apathy toward the biblical doctrine of an unconditional covenant, as their desire to unite with the Canadian Reformed Churches shows so clearly. The IRBC is ecumenical, and its partners belong to denominations that hold to heretical teachings. We should not send offerings to the IRBC, nor should we refer our young people, ladies, and children to be indoctrinated by pastors, elders, and women who were not taught at our seminary and who are not members of our churches.

First Corinthians 12 teaches the importance of the diversity of gifts by the same Spirit in the body of Christ. Ephesians 4 states that God gave gifts unto men, such as pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ. Colossians 3:16 teaches us that we need to teach and admonish one another. This is all in the context of the body of Christ. The good Lord has given us family, friends, deacons, elders, and pastors. We have Bible studies, the sacraments, catechism, our schools, sound biblical teaching, and most of all the powerful preaching of the gospel. It is sufficient for marriages, young people, and grieving saints. It was sufficient for the church under the persecution of the Roman Empire. It was sufficient for the church in the Reformation. It was sufficient for our forefathers in 1924. It was sufficient for the PRC in 1952–53. And the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ is sufficient for us today in the year 2020.