We affirm that God guides Christians through their careful study, accurate knowledge, and application of His Word which is contained in the Old and New Testaments. The primary means of discerning God’s providential guidance and direction is by the Holy Spirit through the careful study, accurate knowledge, and application of the Holy Scripture.

We consider these sixty-six canonical books to be the sufficient and sole source needed for counseling a believer concerning all matters pertaining to life and godliness. We enthusiastically encourage persons who also affirm biblical sufficiency to apply for certification. We affirm the guidance of the Spirit for the NT believer—including guidance through a conscience informed by the Scripture—but realize that guidance primarily occurs through the application of the Scripture to the believer’s life.

We deny that prophetic words, revelations, spiritual experiences, or extra-biblical words of knowledge are to be sought and practiced in the counseling room. Furthermore, the prioritization of these means of guidance from God the Father or the Holy Spirit over Scripture is equally erroneous. While some may hold to varying perspectives of the miraculous sign gifts, the additional means of revelation, and additional means of guidance by the Spirit, we affirm the sole and primary place of the Scripture in the counseling context.

ACBC affirms the miraculous working of God to reveal Himself and His ways to the world.

However, ACBC denies the miraculous sign gifts or the individual conscience as being equally authoritative or more authoritative than the Holy Scriptures.

We live in a broken world full of people suffering with profound trouble and intense pain. One manifestation of that brokenness is the problem that our culture recognizes as mental disorder. Increasing numbers of people are diagnosed with these complex difficulties, which require wisdom and multi-faceted care. We confess that, too often, the church of Jesus Christ has not been recognized as a source for profound hope and meaningful help for such difficult problems. We further acknowledge that many Christians have contributed to a negative stigma attached to such diagnoses through simplistic understandings of these problems, and have offered solutions grounded in ignorance.

As an organization committed to pursuing excellence in biblical counseling we call upon faithful Christians to grow in the twin tasks of understanding complex problems and learning skills to address them in the context of counseling. As an organization committed to the sufficiency of Scripture for counseling we believe that the Bible provides profound wisdom to guide us in caring for people diagnosed with mental disorders.

One example of this wisdom is the biblical teaching on dichotomy. The Bible is clear that God created human beings to consist of both a body and soul. To be a human being is to exist in these two constituent parts, which are separable only at death. Even after death, Christians confess that the bodies and souls of human beings will be restored at the Last Day. This biblical truth points to the high honor and regard that God gives to both the physical and spiritual realities of humanity. (Genesis 2:7; Matthew 10:28; 1 Corinthians 7:34; 2 Corinthians 5:1; 1 Timothy 4:8)

A theological reality like this one requires Christians to honor both body and soul as crucial to human existence. Christians, therefore, should respect medical interventions as a fully legitimate form of care for those struggling in this fallen world. Examinations by medical professionals are crucial adjuncts to a biblical counseling ministry as they discover and treat, or rule out physical problems, which lead many to seek counseling help.

Another example of this biblical wisdom is the teaching in Scripture on the dynamic nature of problems that we experience in a fallen world. Human beings have difficulties, which always carry physical and spiritual implications. Both aspects need to be addressed in an appropriate fashion. Human beings experience problems with spiritual implications for which they are morally culpable and must repent. Human beings experience other physical and spiritual problems, which are not a consequence of their sins, are not their fault, but which are painful realities that attend life in a fallen world. (Matthew 5:8; 26:38; 2 Corinthians 7:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 5:14)

This theological reality requires Christians to approach problems in a complex way, rather than a simplistic one. Christians understand that some spiritual realities will require a rebuke, but others will require encouragement in the midst of pain. Still others will require help in the midst of weakness.

Christians today live in a secular and therapeutic culture, which lacks the sophistication of the Scriptures in understanding these matters. This culture attributes physical causation to many problems ignoring their spiritual roots and implications. This practice is confusing and unhelpful since the Bible teaches that not all serious problems are medical problems. The Bible’s teaching on humanity leads us to conclude that many problems are physical in nature, many others are spiritual in nature, and each of these affects the other. God’s Revelation in the Scriptures about the complexity of humanity forbids the secular reductionism that makes all problems merely physical.

The contemporary language of mental illness is one example of this reductionism. The compendium for mental illnesses that our culture recognizes as authoritative is The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM). This manual makes many accurate observations about the manifold problems that afflict people. For biblical counselors, the DSM paints an inadequate and misleading picture. It fails to express, recognize, or understand the spiritual aspect of problems that afflict people. Because of that failing it cannot offer clear help and hope for people diagnosed with its labels. While some of the disorders listed in DSM are medical in nature, many others are not. Even when the problems in DSM have a physical component the spiritual and Godward elements of humanity are not addressed by the DSM, which biblical counseling must take into account. Christians must be committed to a way of understanding and speaking about complex problems that is more likely to lead to real and lasting change than that recorded in the various editions of DSM.

In light of these realities,  we endorse the following standards of belief and practice for its certified counselors and counseling centers that would care for people diagnosed with the complicated problems identified as mental disorders.

1. Biblical Counselors must acknowledge that human beings struggle with physical and spiritual problems.

2. Biblical counselors shall encourage the use of physical examinations and testing by physicians for diagnosis of medical problems, the treatment of these problems, and the relief  of symptoms, which might cause, contribute to, or complicate counseling issues.

3. Biblical counselors shall help their counselees respond biblically to physical problems, but deny that spiritual interventions are the only proper response to problems with a medical element. They reject any teaching, which excludes the importance of the body and the goodness of God, which leads to the blessing of medical care.

4. Biblical counselors reject the notion that medical interventions solve spiritual problems. They embrace the use of medicine for cure and symptom relief, but deny that medical care is sufficient for spiritual problems, which require Christ and his gospel for ultimate relief and lasting change.

5. Biblical counselors shall be committed to counseling those with medical problems, but should not attempt to practice medicine without the formal qualifications and licensing to do so. When they have questions or concerns of a medical nature they should refer their counselee to a competent medical professional for diagnosis and treatment.

6. Biblical counselors shall nurture a spirit of humility, understanding many issues at the nexus of body and soul defy simplicity. They recognize that many problems are combinations of physical and spiritual issues. Others are problems, which are not easily identified as one, the other, or both.

7. Biblical counselors do not reject the true observations found in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, but do reject that DSM is an authoritative guide for understanding the cause and treatment of complex problems of human behavior, thinking, and emotions. They affirm that God’s Word in Scripture serves as this authoritative guide. Biblical counselors move toward using biblical language to refer to the counseling problems that people face. They are committed to applying the Bible to an understanding of the causes of and treatments for these problems.

8. Biblical counselors are committed to biblical discernment in understanding the nature of spiritual issues, and to dealing with sin through gentle, Christ-centered correction.

9. Biblical counselors are committed to biblical discernment in understanding the nature of spiritual issues, and to dealing with suffering through Christ-centered encouragement.

10. Biblical counselors are committed to biblical discernment in understanding the nature of spiritual issues, and to dealing with weakness through loving care in the context of the body of Christ.

Biblical counselors are ministering in a time of unprecedented controversy concerning matters of sexuality in general, and homosexuality in particular. We are eager to clarify and reassert our biblical convictions when it comes to dealing with these issues in the context of counseling. The following statement is one attempt to do this.

Real Christian Counseling is online non profit ministry under the authority of the local church and the convictions of ACBC which is a ministry that seeks to advance the glory of Jesus Christ by pursuing excellence in biblical counseling. ACBC’s ministry identification is located within the classic Christian tradition. Our sources of authority are the 66 books of Scripture in the Old and New Testaments, the constitution and by-laws of ACBC, the Standards of Conduct of ACBC, and the Statement of Faith of ACBC.

Our constitution specifically describes the purpose of our organization in the following ways,

The particular purpose of this Association is to encourage, acknowledge and standardize counseling and counselor training done by Christian clergymen and laymen who are committed to the Scriptures as the only authoritative rule of faith and practice.

ACBC is a private, non-profit, Christian ministry confessing that the Bible is the only authoritative rule for faith and practice. As such, we are not bound by the counseling standards of any other organization, state, or licensing agency. We are, furthermore, not required to adjust our conceptions for and practice of biblical counseling in light of any current cultural practice.

The cultural context of the Twenty First Century makes it popular, and politically expedient, to adjust traditional views of gender, sexuality, and counseling. Many fashionable views abound. In particular, numerous voices in our culture embrace, as normal and proper, same-sex desires and behavior, same-sex marriage, transgender identification, and malign—as evidence of ignorance and cruelty—efforts to counsel people away from such behaviors.

As a group bound by the authority of Scripture, and our own guiding documents which grow out of these Scriptures, ACBC rejects any demand that we conform to cultural pressure to embrace any of these unbiblical views of gender, sexuality, and counseling. We desire, instead, to reaffirm the following theological and practical commitments.

1. God created every person in His own image as male or female. This sexual distinction and complementarity establishes a normative connection between biological sex and gender. (Gen. 1:26-27)

2. The fall of mankind corrupts this created good in both physical and spiritual realities creating confusion and pain in the lives of each person who struggles with the difficulty of physical brokenness regarding gender, and the torment of sinful desires regarding sexuality. (Gen 3:1- 7; Rom 3:9-18; 5:12-17)

3. In the midst of a broken and fallen world, God’s Word continues to affirm the sanctity of one’s biological sex. Because of this reality, the Bible affirms that marriage is exclusively between one man and one woman for life. Marriage is thus the only proper context for sexual desire and behavior. (Mark 10:1-8)

4. The Bible regularly and consistently condemns same-sex attraction and behavior as sinful, requiring repentant faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness. (Rom 1:18-27; 1 John 1:8- 9)

5. Though we reject any triumphalism that insinuates easy, quick fixes, ACBC wholeheartedly affirms the biblical truth that the powerful grace of Jesus Christ is able to change and purify the desires of those struggling with same-sex attractions and behaviors. (1 Cor 6:9-11; 2 Cor 3:18; Col 3:1-17)

We, ACBC and all counselors and counseling centers certified by ACBC believe that homosexual desires and behavior are at odds with human joy and flourishing. Based on that reality we believe that it is an act of Christian love to call to repentance those struggling with homosexual sin. We further believe that it is unkind and unloving to fail to point human beings to the goodness of God’s commands concerning gender, sexuality, and counseling. We do not participate with or cooperate in any efforts to prepare for or perpetuate same-sex relationships. In that light we believe that a uniquely Christian form of counseling faithfulness regarding this issue requires:

1. An affirmation of God’s goodness in creating mankind as male and female.

2. A rejection that a human being could possess a gender other than the one indicated by biological sex.

3. A rejection that homosexual desires, behavior, or marriage is an acceptable or moral lifestyle.

4. An affirmation that the Christian process of change is often lengthy and is ultimately incomplete in this life.

5. An affirmation that the powerful grace of Jesus Christ ultimately and certainly sanctifies the most engrained sinful desires, including homosexuality. A Christian can know meaningful change in this life and will know the fullness of change in the life to come.

Biblical counselors affirm the value and usefulness of the entirety of God’s revelation, including general and special revelation. General revelation is a display of the goodness and power of God in the things he has made. The divine self-disclosure in general revelation leads to condemnation, rather than salvation (Rom 1:18-32).

Special revelation is recorded exclusively and completely in the Scriptures. It is an inspired, inerrant, authoritative, and sufficient rule for all of life and faith. Because counseling concerns matters of life and faith before God, Scripture is an inspired, inerrant, authoritative, and sufficient rule for the presuppositions, principles, and practices of counseling (2 Pet 1:3-21).

We deny that the findings of secular psychology make any essential contribution to biblical counseling.

God’s goodness allows that secular psychology may provide accurate research and make observations that are helpful in understanding counseling issues. Because unbelievers suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness the efforts of secular psychology at interpreting these observations lead to misunderstanding. Because their observations are distorted by a secular apprehension of life their efforts at counseling ministry will be in competition with biblical counseling. They cannot be integrated with the faith once for all delivered to the saints.