The Sufficiency of Scripture and Modern Psychology

By Robert E. Hempy Jr.

Mr. Hempy received his B. A. degree from the University of Minnesota, and Th.M. degree from Talbot Theological Seminary. He is a public school teacher in Los Angeles and has taught at the seminary level.

What do we mean when we say that Scripture is sufficient? Do we believe that the Word of God alone is sufficient to equip the believer to handle all the problems and exigencies of life? The Bible internally testifies that it is (2 Timothy 3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:3–11). What are the practical implications of this?

Historically, as a matter of orthodoxy, Protestant Christianity has held the position that Scripture is verbal-plenarily inspired, inerrant, authoritative, and sufficient.

The very words of Scripture are inspired of God and inerrant, referring to verbal inspiration (Matthew 4:4; 5:18). Inerrancy extends to every portion of Scripture, referring to plenary inspiration (2 Timothy 3:16). The Scriptures bear the very stamp of God as the ultimate Author—they are authoritative. While the teaching of the Bible may be foolishness to the unbeliever, the Holy Spirit convinces the believer that this is God's Word, not just the product of the human wisdom of man (cp. 1 Thessalonians 2:13).

Concerning the authority of Scripture, Peter compares his experience of witnessing the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1–8; Mark 9:2–8; Luke 9:28–38; John 1:14) to the written Word of God. He calls God’s Word “the prophetic word [made] more sure” 2 Peter 1:16–19).

In other words, although being an eyewitness to the precursory revelation of the coming of Christ's Kingdom, as revealed in the Transfiguration, the written Word of God gives us a better seat in the stands so to speak. He goes on to teach that we

do well to pay attention [to it] as a lamp shining in a dark place (a figure for the recesses of our sinful self) until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts (a figure for the indwelling of the character of Christ) (2 Peter 1:19).

In effect, Peter says that the Word of God is sufficient. Paul also tells us that “all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

What does the word “every” mean? A paraphrase of 2 Peter 1:3–4 explains:

His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by His own glory and excellence, He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having previously (by initial salvation faith in Christ) escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

However, the Bible testifies that the Word of God alone is sufficient to equip the believer for “every good work,” and that “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness” through “His precious and magnificent promises.” What are the practical implications of this? Is the evangelical church modeling this truth through its philosophy and practice of ministry today?

Have you been to a Christian bookstore lately? Are you confused by the seemingly endless number of new Christian books written to help the believer handle his problems? Who are the best-selling Christian authors today? What is the content of their books? Is their education and training in theology, or so-called Christian psychology? Have the authors designed these books to lead the believer into the Word of God as the adequate and sufficient solution to life's problems?

When we tune-in local Christian radio stations, what is the content of the programming during prime time—the drive time to and from work? What is the content of the advertisements that support Christian radio? Do you notice an increasing number of talk shows hosted by Christian psychologists supplanting substantive expository preaching and Bible teaching?

Do you come from a dysfunctional home? Did someone abuse you as a child? Are you divorced or widowed? Do you have painful “repressed” childhood memories? Have you abused drugs? Are you addicted to sex? Are you a “co-dependent,” or an adult child of an alcoholic? Do you suffer from chronic depression? Do you have flashback experiences of painful memories? Do you suffer from low self-esteem? If you listen to Christian talk radio or visit the local Christian bookstore, you will find they offer “solutions” to all of these problems.

What is the solution? Do we need to engage in therapy with a Christian psychotherapist? Do we need to “work through our issues?” If you have abused alcohol or drugs, do you have an incurable disease that now can be controlled through a life-long commitment to a “12 Step” program? What does the Word of God say?

The psychotherapist tells us that if we have experienced any of the serious problems of life mentioned above, he has some good news and some bad news for us. The bad news is that we have an incurable disease, but the good news is that we may control our incurable disease by a lifetime commitment to psychotherapy, or a 12 Step program.

How many kinds of problems are there in life? According to popular Christian psychological theory, we can classify life's problems into three categories: biological, spiritual, and psychological. If you have a biological problem, you need to see a medical doctor. If you have a spiritual problem, you should seek counsel from your pastor, who should point you to the appropriate biblical solution. But, if you have a psychological problem, you need to see a “professional,” a Christian psychotherapist who can integrate principles of the “science” of psychology with principles of Scripture to provide a solution for psychological problems.

However, is this so? Does the Bible teach this dichotomy—that psychological and spiritual problems are two separate, but often related categories? On the other hand, are all non-organic problems spiritual problems? Scripture suggests that all non-organic problems are spiritual problems and that biological problems may be caused by spiritual problems. Moreover, the Word of God is sufficient to handle every problem of life, according to the content of 2 Peter 1:3–11 and 2 Timothy 3:16–17.

The evangelical church sees many people come to Christ from backgrounds of substance abuse, divorce, child abuse, and other painful experiences. We do not want to minimize the pain and heartache of people's past experiences. Yet, the Word of God teaches that we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) and that we possess all spiritual blessings at the point of faith in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). Furthermore, all things work together for good, we are eternally secure in Him, are as good as glorified the moment we place our trust in Christ (Romans 8:28–29), and we are complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10).

The world of Christian psychology far too often prescribes a lifetime of psychotherapy, or submission to a 12-Step program to gain freedom from the bondage of our past. Dr. Martin Bobgan calls this the psychological way. In contrast, for the believer, the Word of God prescribes freedom from the bondage of sin and the past through presenting our bodies as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:13). Bobgan calls this the spiritual way. The Bible teaches that we experience freedom from bondage through a lifetime of renewing our minds through the study and application of God's Word.

In two primary passages of the New Testament (Ephesians 4:22–24; Romans 5–8 and 12:1–2), Paul teaches the believer a three-part prescription for spiritual health. If followed, this approach makes 99% of the so-called self-help, Christian marriage enrichment, and pop psychology books found in the bookstores unnecessary. Why? Because the Word of God is adequate for all things that pertain to life and godliness and equips us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:3–11).

The three-part prescription is as follows:

1. Step One of God's program is to recognize that the provision of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone has fractured the power of the sin nature to rule our lives. Prior to faith in Christ, we were slaves to sin. Now that we are no longer slaves to sin, we can choose not to sin. We are to lay aside our old sinful patterns, therefore, by conscious, daily moment-by-moment decisions. Paul calls this laying aside the old self.
2. Step Two of God's program is to acknowledge that the Word of God is sufficient to equip us for every good work. Thus, we need to engage in a life-long discipline of renewing our minds through the daily intake and application of God's Word. For the believer who has had past experiences that hinder his Christian walk, this life-long process is the biblical response replacing a life-long submission to psychotherapy and self-help books. Many of current books, and the psychologists who write them, provide a “solution” which is 180 degrees contrary to Scripture. The psychological way is seldom the spiritual way, but a new kind of bondage.
3. Step Three of God's program is to make a conscious, daily, even moment-by-moment decision to live out the principles of Scripture. As the Word of God begins to transform us from the inside out, renewing our minds, and as the pain of the past subsides, we make conscious moment-by-moment decisions to live a godly life.

Paul calls this three-fold process laying aside the old self, being renewed in the spirit of the mind, and putting on the new self (Ephesians 4:22–24).

The great truths of the New Testament epistles form the backbone of information needed to equip the believer to live a victorious Christian life. The principles of Ephesians 4:22–24 are expanded upon in detail in Romans 5–8; cp. Romans 12:1–2. Peter summarizes the same principles in 2 Peter 1:3–11, which may be the greatest concise passage on the sufficiency of Scripture.

The view expressed in this article is contrary to the practice of far too many evangelical Christian churches. Many evangelicals say they believe in the sufficiency of Scripture, but their practice denies that claim. The contents of Christian bookstores and the move toward pop psychology are a practical denial of the utter sufficiency of Scripture. William Kirk Kilpatrick, Dave Hunt, Martin Bobgan, and others describe this as a seduction. They maintain that the infiltration of the “psychological way” is seducing the Church—the Body of Christ. They see the lives of Christians being neutralized by this seduction. We must never forget that Satan operates as an “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).

Kilpatrick, Hunt, Bobgan and others, such as William Playfair, have provided extensive documentation and citation of empirical research to demonstrate that not only is much of so-called Christian psychology unbiblical, it is also unscientific. The portion of psychology that studies human behavior is highly theoretical and subjective. It is not scientific and it is not science. It is a false religion that competes with Christianity in the spirit of 2 Corinthians 11:3, where Paul expresses his concern that Satan may lead believers astray from the purity of simple devotion to Christ.

Does the plethora of self-help and pop psychology books found in Christian bookstores bewilder you? Most of these merely put a Christian label on faulty and unbiblical secular psychological theory and seek to “integrate” it with Scripture. Do the Christian psychologists on the talk radio and TV shows confuse you? If so, please observe the following bibliography of sources that provide the biblical view of Christian counseling. I highly recommend these books for your reading.

Bibliography

• Bobgan, Martin and Deidre. 12 Steps to Destruction. Santa Barbara, CA: Eastgate Publishers, 1991.
• ________. Against Biblical Counseling: For the Bible. Santa Barbara, CA: Eastgate Publishers, 1994.
• ________. Competent to Minister: The Biblical Care of Souls. Santa Barbara: Eastgate Publishers, 1996.
• ________. Four Temperaments, Astrology & Personality Testing. Santa Barbara, CA: Eastgate Publishers, 1992.
• ________. Hypnosis and the Christian. Santa Barbara, CA: Eastgate Publishers, 1984.
• ________. Prophets of Psychoheresy I. Santa Barbara, CA: Eastgate Publishers, 1989.
• ________. Prophets of Psychoheresy 2. Santa Barbara, CA: Eastgate Publishers, 1990.
• ________. Psychoheresy: The Psychological Seduction of Christianity. Santa Barbara, CA: Eastgate Publishers, 1985.
• ________. The Psychological Way/ The Spiritual Way. Minneapolis: Bethany Book House, 1979.
• Hunt, Dave & T. A. McMahon. The Seduction of Christianity. Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1985.
• Hunt, Dave. Beyond Seduction. Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1987.
• Kilpatrick, William Kirk. Psychological Seduction. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1983.
• MacArthur, John F. Our Sufficiency in Christ. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1991.
• Owen, Jim. Christian Psychology's War on God's Word. Santa Barbara, CA: Eastgate Publishing, 1993.
• Playfair, William L., M.D. The Useful Lie. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1991.
• Torrey, E. Fuller, M.D. Freudian Fraud. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1992.
• Wood, Garth. The Myth of Neurosis. New York: Harper & Row, 1986.