There is nothing wrong with a healthy argument! Arguments sharpen us and can cause relationships to grow in depth. But we must do it with gentleness and respect (1 Pet. 3:15). We are to obey this command. Biblical counselors can still have faulty, errant presuppositions because we have not yet been promoted to glory. We still need counsel and correction to help us become more like Christ! This is a reality that should provoke humility.

Do you really believe that what you believe is really real?

These were the first words I heard on the initial day of a worldview class in my senior year of college. Our professor asked again, and you could hear a pin drop. Over the semester, he helped us understand that we all have presuppositions, though we are often unaware of them.

The reality for everyone is that elements of our professed worldview frequently don’t match our functional worldview. My professor aimed to help us develop a consistent Christian worldview across all of life, which included a biblical understanding of the basic tenets of any worldview: Who is God? Who is man? What is truth?

Presuppositional Waters

Presuppositions are beliefs underlying our beliefs that govern how we think, interpret, and act.[1] As biblical counselors, we swim in presuppositional waters. Not only as we counsel others but also as we discuss issues within the biblical counseling movement. Presuppositions cannot be escaped! We all have them. Because those of us in Christ are being progressively sanctified, we are in a lifelong process that requires fruitful labor and dependence on the Lord to evaluate our presuppositions, becoming more aligned with Scripture and, therefore, more Christlike. It’s a commitment. However, it also requires humility and a willingness to act when confronted with beliefs that don’t align with God’s Word.

In Romans 12:2, Paul appeals to us not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewal of [our minds], that by testing [we] may discern God’s will, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Similarly, in Philippians 1:9-11, Paul desires us to grow in love (for God and others) by gaining knowledge, exercising discernment, and making judgments that allow our continued growth in Christlikeness.

Anytime we’re confronted with knowledge, we have a responsibility to do something with it (2 Pet. 1:3-11). As biblical counselors, we agree with these texts, but to what degree do we practice them ourselves? Are we submitted to them? When we counsel, we are—at the heart of our counseling—asking counselees to evaluate their presuppositions and to allow the Lord to change them, resulting in Christlikeness. We must be skilled in doing this ourselves to lead others in this way.

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