Has God placed someone in your life that seems to be seeking direction? Maybe a young Christian has sought you out to disciple them. Or maybe you have been self-reflecting on your walk with Christ and notice that something is off. If you are in any of these situations you maybe wondering “Where do I go from here?” This is where biblical counseling/discipleship comes in.
Dale Johnson on the Truth in Love podcast reminds us of what the goal of biblical counseling/discipleship is. “Biblical counseling seeks to reorient disordered desires, affections, and behaviors toward a God-designed anthropology in an effort to restore true worship of God and right fellowship with others.” (Dale Johnson, TIL 269). But how do we begin to reorient those desires?
The key to this can be found in 2 Tim 3:16-17. Yes, this is one of the verses used for the argument of the sufficiency of Scripture but let’s look at it a little further.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
2 Tim 3:16-17
Notice that there are four elements presented here: teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. Teaching equates to the principle that is embedded in God’s word. Reproof equates to our way of thinking. Correction equates to our wrong actions. And training in righteousness equates to the right actions we need to take. So we see here that God’s word speaks directly to mankind’s cognitive and volitional behaviors.
Biblical counseling seeks to reorient disordered desires, affections, and behaviors toward a God-designed anthropology in an effort to restore true worship of God and right fellowship with others.
Dale Johnson, TIL 269.
We looked this month at Jeremy Pierre’s book The Dynamic Heart which details out that our hearts respond in a three-dimensional fashion: cognitive, volitional, and affectionate. Since the heart is the command center for mankind’s desires these three areas need to be addressed to change the desires of a person.
When it comes to change the affectionate dimension will be the last to change, because of this as counselors we need to walk with our counselees through the cognitive and volitional. The cognitive dimension sees change as our counselees learn the truths of Scriptures. The volitional dimension shows change when they begin to live differently considering the truths they have come to learn.
As we applied these principles to our case study this month one example we saw as a group was Tim’s need to operate as the head of his family. For the cognitive dimension we could point Tim to study through passages such as 1 Cor 11:3, Eph 5:22-33, and Col 3:18-19. As Tim is learning these truths, we can begin to assign homework that applies to the volitional dimension. For example. leading his wife Emily in prayer and bible study five nights a week. Or having Tim communicate clearly with Emily when he plans to accomplish his household responsibilities, so she does not feel like she needs to remind him.
As you consider these principles, thinking about the case study, what are some ways you would lead Tim and Emily through both the cognitive and volitional dimensions of change?
Tri-State Coalition of Biblical Counseling 
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