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Seeing with New Eyes: Counseling and the Human Condition Through the Lens of Scripture
A compilation of essays by a highly regarded biblical counselor. Some of these pieces exegete Scripture with a counseling perspective, while others recast specific “psychological” problems.
288 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2003
267 people are currently reading
2291 people want to read
About the author
David A. Powlison
144 books221 followersDavid Powlison, MDiv, PhD, (1949–2019) was a teacher, counselor, and the executive director of the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF). He wrote many books and minibooks, including Speaking Truth in Love, Seeing with New Eyes, Good and Angry, Making All Things New, God's Grace in Your Suffering, Safe and Sound, and Take Heart. David was also the editor of The Journal of Biblical Counseling.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
January 20, 2014
Regretfully I owned Seeing with New Eyes for almost six years before reading it. I wish I would have read it much earlier. It is a gospel feast. Powlison illustrates why pastors must have a counselor’s heart. The difference between preaching or teaching from a text from strictly informational perspective and the kind of robust biblical and Christ-centered perspective Powlison offers is stark. Seeing with new eyes is no understatement.
David takes a holistic view of mankind and, accordingly, address the entire man within Seeing with New Eyes. The gospel in his hands is nothing but practical. It’s the transformative work of the Spirit. What he’s seeking to open our eyes to, I believe, is summed up in this paragraph,
Biblical faith is far more than bare cognition, self-talk, positive thinking, a worldview, or intellectual assent to doctrines. The Christian who knows clearly loves strongly. Believes robustly. Thinks passionately. We not only think that Jesus is the Bine. We really think it and so abide in him with joy and hope (John 15). (p. 219)
He also demonstrates for me why biblical counseling must be foundational for counseling Christians. With the rise of diagnoses for depression, ADHD, and other mental illnesses, Christians must tackle these issues holistically and biblically. David walks through the history of biopsychology and its over promising and under delivering. He points out, for example, that electro-convulsive therapy and lobotomy (removing part of the brain) were common cures for mental illness. And he says now,
The brain may not be a gland secreting thought [as previously thought], but it is an electrochemical organ that produces thought, emotion, and behavior . . . . The perennial hope is that we will understand and cure what ails us by localizing brain function, greasing the neuroelectrical, and buoying up our chemistry. (p. 246)
but also
Biopsychiatry will cure a few things, for which we should praise the God of common grace. But in the long run, unwanted and unforeseen side effects will combine with vast disillusionment. The gains will never live up to the promises. And the lives of countless people, whose normal life problems are not being medicated, will not be qualitatively changed and redirected. (p. 246)
From my limited perspective it seems Christians are often overly confident in drugs as the answer and under confident in the gospel playing any significant role in fighting mental illness (because it’s seen as primarily a physical problem). However, even if this is so, it should not hinder us from robustly gospeling those who are fighting this battle. If someone had cancer, we would encourage them to receive the necessary medical treatment, while also rallying around them with the gospel. Recent research from The American Cancer Society suggests faith plays an integral role in recovering from illness, as one example. Why should it not for any and all mental illness? Also, Gary Wilson in his recent TEDs lecture, “The Great Porn Experiment, ” suggests, while there hasn’t been research showing direct causation, initial studies suggest pornography may be the culprit for some of the depression and ADHD found in young men. All of this in my mind, suggests we must not address the topic of mental illness simplistically.
I would recommend Seeing with New Eyes for everyone. Whoever you are you will benefit from the gospel rich exposition and application David Powlison offers within the pages of this book. Especially though for pastors and counselors, you must not delay in reading Seeing with New Eyes.
David takes a holistic view of mankind and, accordingly, address the entire man within Seeing with New Eyes. The gospel in his hands is nothing but practical. It’s the transformative work of the Spirit. What he’s seeking to open our eyes to, I believe, is summed up in this paragraph,
Biblical faith is far more than bare cognition, self-talk, positive thinking, a worldview, or intellectual assent to doctrines. The Christian who knows clearly loves strongly. Believes robustly. Thinks passionately. We not only think that Jesus is the Bine. We really think it and so abide in him with joy and hope (John 15). (p. 219)
He also demonstrates for me why biblical counseling must be foundational for counseling Christians. With the rise of diagnoses for depression, ADHD, and other mental illnesses, Christians must tackle these issues holistically and biblically. David walks through the history of biopsychology and its over promising and under delivering. He points out, for example, that electro-convulsive therapy and lobotomy (removing part of the brain) were common cures for mental illness. And he says now,
The brain may not be a gland secreting thought [as previously thought], but it is an electrochemical organ that produces thought, emotion, and behavior . . . . The perennial hope is that we will understand and cure what ails us by localizing brain function, greasing the neuroelectrical, and buoying up our chemistry. (p. 246)
but also
Biopsychiatry will cure a few things, for which we should praise the God of common grace. But in the long run, unwanted and unforeseen side effects will combine with vast disillusionment. The gains will never live up to the promises. And the lives of countless people, whose normal life problems are not being medicated, will not be qualitatively changed and redirected. (p. 246)
From my limited perspective it seems Christians are often overly confident in drugs as the answer and under confident in the gospel playing any significant role in fighting mental illness (because it’s seen as primarily a physical problem). However, even if this is so, it should not hinder us from robustly gospeling those who are fighting this battle. If someone had cancer, we would encourage them to receive the necessary medical treatment, while also rallying around them with the gospel. Recent research from The American Cancer Society suggests faith plays an integral role in recovering from illness, as one example. Why should it not for any and all mental illness? Also, Gary Wilson in his recent TEDs lecture, “The Great Porn Experiment, ” suggests, while there hasn’t been research showing direct causation, initial studies suggest pornography may be the culprit for some of the depression and ADHD found in young men. All of this in my mind, suggests we must not address the topic of mental illness simplistically.
I would recommend Seeing with New Eyes for everyone. Whoever you are you will benefit from the gospel rich exposition and application David Powlison offers within the pages of this book. Especially though for pastors and counselors, you must not delay in reading Seeing with New Eyes.
September 26, 2012
Dr. Powlison is simply brilliant. This was the textbook for my biblical counseling introductory class, and I highlighted about half the text. Just phenomenal.
July 26, 2020
Provocative and Nuanced
Typically, if someone tries to be provocative, they speak in sweeping generalities as they huff, puff, and blow down their strawmen. On the other hand, when authors trend toward nuance, critique and clarity fall by the wayside.
In Seeing with New Eyes, Powlison is able to highlight glaring deficiencies in many counseling approaches, while also being nuanced about the biblical correctives. His Reformed epistemology and prepositionalism comes through ever so subtly as he argues for God's Word as ultimate source of true truth and shows how secular methodologies cannnot hold up to their own standards.
Powlison's work is often more than worth the time, and I hope to revisit Seeing with New Eyes again, for my counselees but mainly for myself.
Typically, if someone tries to be provocative, they speak in sweeping generalities as they huff, puff, and blow down their strawmen. On the other hand, when authors trend toward nuance, critique and clarity fall by the wayside.
In Seeing with New Eyes, Powlison is able to highlight glaring deficiencies in many counseling approaches, while also being nuanced about the biblical correctives. His Reformed epistemology and prepositionalism comes through ever so subtly as he argues for God's Word as ultimate source of true truth and shows how secular methodologies cannnot hold up to their own standards.
Powlison's work is often more than worth the time, and I hope to revisit Seeing with New Eyes again, for my counselees but mainly for myself.
June 22, 2023
It took me a long time to slowly chew through this dense book, but it was worth it. Helpful, practical, and convicting. Powlison pulls no punches in a necessarily exposing and comforting book for anyone who seeks to understand the human condition and counsel biblically and winsomely.
May 29, 2019
In April of this year, I called Suffering and the Heart of God: How Trauma Destroys and Christ Restores by Diane Langberg the best book on counseling I've read. Today, I'm calling Seeing with New Eyes the worst.
Powlison's hatred of and disdain for psychology is clear, and to an extent I sympathize with it. So much damage is done by moralistic theraputic deism (which some psychological methods can feed in to) in the church. However, his feelings about such "pop psychology" (a term he uses for seemingly everything that isn't Biblical counseling) lead him to say harmful things. In chapter 11 he refers to people with schizophrenia as "large children, fill of folly" and insists that the gospel can heal them and make them "sane." He also refers to anxiety as a sin without clarifying whether he means being worried (which may be sin) or an anxiety disorder (which is an illness and the result of living in a fallen world).
In chapter 3, he writes "if you would fear Christ, fear your husband" and says that is what Paul is saying in Ephesians 5. I would argue that this is not a correct reading of Eph 5, and also it is a dangerous way of viewing marriage in a sinful world where men sometimes abuse their wives. A man who inspires actual fear in his wife is not a man his wife should reverence (what Powlison means when he writes "fear"), it is a man she should run from. Further, to place respecting your husband (which is what Eph 5 says) on the same level as reverencing Christ is wrong. A woman's husband may deserve her respect, but we are to fear God alone (Lk 12:5).
The book also has a general lack of compassion for sufferers and a seemingly magic pace for healing. In the chapter on fathers, Powlison writes about a woman who was horribly abused by her own father, but who comes to love God as Father because she repented of her own sin. Maybe this is a true story, but in a church culture where "you're a sinner, too!" is often used to minimize the way someone has been sinned against and declare the person who hurt them to not be a bad sinner, this kind of story shouldn't be used as a way to counsel others. Also, the example stories told in the book often have the person suddenly realizing something and then being fixed - a magical kind of thinking that will hurt people for whom healing from being sinned against is a much longer process.
I really don't understand the positive reviews of this book. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
Powlison's hatred of and disdain for psychology is clear, and to an extent I sympathize with it. So much damage is done by moralistic theraputic deism (which some psychological methods can feed in to) in the church. However, his feelings about such "pop psychology" (a term he uses for seemingly everything that isn't Biblical counseling) lead him to say harmful things. In chapter 11 he refers to people with schizophrenia as "large children, fill of folly" and insists that the gospel can heal them and make them "sane." He also refers to anxiety as a sin without clarifying whether he means being worried (which may be sin) or an anxiety disorder (which is an illness and the result of living in a fallen world).
In chapter 3, he writes "if you would fear Christ, fear your husband" and says that is what Paul is saying in Ephesians 5. I would argue that this is not a correct reading of Eph 5, and also it is a dangerous way of viewing marriage in a sinful world where men sometimes abuse their wives. A man who inspires actual fear in his wife is not a man his wife should reverence (what Powlison means when he writes "fear"), it is a man she should run from. Further, to place respecting your husband (which is what Eph 5 says) on the same level as reverencing Christ is wrong. A woman's husband may deserve her respect, but we are to fear God alone (Lk 12:5).
The book also has a general lack of compassion for sufferers and a seemingly magic pace for healing. In the chapter on fathers, Powlison writes about a woman who was horribly abused by her own father, but who comes to love God as Father because she repented of her own sin. Maybe this is a true story, but in a church culture where "you're a sinner, too!" is often used to minimize the way someone has been sinned against and declare the person who hurt them to not be a bad sinner, this kind of story shouldn't be used as a way to counsel others. Also, the example stories told in the book often have the person suddenly realizing something and then being fixed - a magical kind of thinking that will hurt people for whom healing from being sinned against is a much longer process.
I really don't understand the positive reviews of this book. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
February 28, 2022
Excellent resource on biblical counseling. I will definitely return to this book often. Highly recommend!
September 19, 2020
There's some excellent stuff in here. To really enjoy this, I probably should have read it when I knew I had time to sit on it and meditate. Instead, I read it in quick snatches. Partly, this was because I'd already read many of the articles when they were published separately. But if anyone wants to understand what biblical counseling looks like on the ground level, this might be a good place to start (although you can't beat Paul Tripp's Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands).
March 6, 2013
"When the gene mapping is complete, when the folks on Prozac still can't get along with their spouses, when the fountain of youth still does not arrive in a bottle, when money and achievement fail to satisfy, and when your clone grows up to hate you ... sinners will yet find Christ to be the one we need." (p. 248)
June 29, 2017
When beginning Seeing Through New Eyes it is beneficial to understand that this book is a collection of separately written essays gathered here for a specific reason. Understanding this helps one understand the connection or seeming lack of certain connections, the slightly disjointed presentation of the book collectively. However, Powlison
Powlison's point is dually noted. Ephesians is not systematic or biblical theology, rather it is practical theology. It is "Intensely personal". Powlison identifies that we must have Practical Theology to begin and continue this life in a manner that pleases God.
But Powlison's points express the deep need of both the working of every aspect/person of the God-head in the life of the believer, as well as a deeper understanding and exegesis of what scripture means and how it applies to life and godliness. It is the difference between hearing the Gospel as truth, and hearing the Gospel as true to you.
I loved his comparison of waves in an oceanographic view verses waves that cause physical, emotional turmoil and destruction. "The people to whom you minister-even the oceanographers!- do not live, move, and have their being in Oceanography 101. They sail wooden ships in places where the wind shrieks and the scale of the rollers is vast, where a decrease in the value of the hyperbolic tangent means shipwreck, and where some one can walk on water and still storms."(pg38)
His essay “guideposts” are fiercely practical to the counselor as ministry as is in essence entering into the lives of those to whom we are ministering. It is the nitty-gritty detail that encompass the practical spiritual struggles that we each face on a daily basis. We cannot give Biblical equations , we must express/give Christ. His emphasis is crucial for our daily lives... God wants us to know Him. I
Powlison briefly touches on many "hot topic" real life struggles and uses examples of practical application for the daily life of not just the counselee, but the counselor as well. Each of us needs to feel and experience God for who He is, but the biggest way that will happen is through the personal application of His word to our daily life. The struggles of our lives are genuine and the daily need is real. It is not own our own that we will succeed. "God does not intend you to fully resolve your struggles even in private with him. Join the people of God in a setting where your needs can be presented to God by others."(104)
I believe this book is a practical, worthwhile resource for any counselor or Christian to not only read, but come back to as a resource. Toward the end specifically, Powlison identifies the great need of orienting one’s life to the gospel and the cultural struggle to do so. We as believers must fight to think and counsel Biblically as today’s fad may continue attempting to lead in half-truths that minimize or remove our awareness of both our inability to save ourselves and the deep need of Christ’s work on the cross accomplish on our behalf in our place. He gives practical help for both identifying these struggles and “heart issues” within ourselves and help our counselees do so as well.
He identifies several of the historically cultural struggles over the past century in which we have and must continue to engage. For if we do not, we run the risk of living and counseling in half-truths. I particularly liked his thorough analysis of Chapman’s Five Love Languages and identification that this is in essence only part of how to love, but is not the whole Gospel; Chapman does not call one to think and live biblically but rather attempts to assuage the believer that the issues in life have nothing to do with a sinful flesh and thus expresses unwittingly that we have no need for a Savior. This is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ and does not make us aware of our desperate, eternal need for a Savior to purchase redemption on our behalf but rather tempts us to believe that genuine love is that of selfish gain. This is not how we learned Christ.
Overall, Powlison’s essays are well thought out and practical for a counselor in any stage/level of experience. I believe his book Seeing With New Eyes is an intensely practical and relevant help.
Powlison's point is dually noted. Ephesians is not systematic or biblical theology, rather it is practical theology. It is "Intensely personal". Powlison identifies that we must have Practical Theology to begin and continue this life in a manner that pleases God.
But Powlison's points express the deep need of both the working of every aspect/person of the God-head in the life of the believer, as well as a deeper understanding and exegesis of what scripture means and how it applies to life and godliness. It is the difference between hearing the Gospel as truth, and hearing the Gospel as true to you.
I loved his comparison of waves in an oceanographic view verses waves that cause physical, emotional turmoil and destruction. "The people to whom you minister-even the oceanographers!- do not live, move, and have their being in Oceanography 101. They sail wooden ships in places where the wind shrieks and the scale of the rollers is vast, where a decrease in the value of the hyperbolic tangent means shipwreck, and where some one can walk on water and still storms."(pg38)
His essay “guideposts” are fiercely practical to the counselor as ministry as is in essence entering into the lives of those to whom we are ministering. It is the nitty-gritty detail that encompass the practical spiritual struggles that we each face on a daily basis. We cannot give Biblical equations , we must express/give Christ. His emphasis is crucial for our daily lives... God wants us to know Him. I
Powlison briefly touches on many "hot topic" real life struggles and uses examples of practical application for the daily life of not just the counselee, but the counselor as well. Each of us needs to feel and experience God for who He is, but the biggest way that will happen is through the personal application of His word to our daily life. The struggles of our lives are genuine and the daily need is real. It is not own our own that we will succeed. "God does not intend you to fully resolve your struggles even in private with him. Join the people of God in a setting where your needs can be presented to God by others."(104)
I believe this book is a practical, worthwhile resource for any counselor or Christian to not only read, but come back to as a resource. Toward the end specifically, Powlison identifies the great need of orienting one’s life to the gospel and the cultural struggle to do so. We as believers must fight to think and counsel Biblically as today’s fad may continue attempting to lead in half-truths that minimize or remove our awareness of both our inability to save ourselves and the deep need of Christ’s work on the cross accomplish on our behalf in our place. He gives practical help for both identifying these struggles and “heart issues” within ourselves and help our counselees do so as well.
He identifies several of the historically cultural struggles over the past century in which we have and must continue to engage. For if we do not, we run the risk of living and counseling in half-truths. I particularly liked his thorough analysis of Chapman’s Five Love Languages and identification that this is in essence only part of how to love, but is not the whole Gospel; Chapman does not call one to think and live biblically but rather attempts to assuage the believer that the issues in life have nothing to do with a sinful flesh and thus expresses unwittingly that we have no need for a Savior. This is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ and does not make us aware of our desperate, eternal need for a Savior to purchase redemption on our behalf but rather tempts us to believe that genuine love is that of selfish gain. This is not how we learned Christ.
Overall, Powlison’s essays are well thought out and practical for a counselor in any stage/level of experience. I believe his book Seeing With New Eyes is an intensely practical and relevant help.
March 13, 2021
The first part is like an exegetical snapshot of the biblical theology of counselling from the book of Ephesians, and demonstrating how the Psalms speaks to an entire spectrum and range of the human experience and condition. Along with Luke 12, this first half of the book makes for a great exegetical-devotional read that spoke timely to my oft wearisome and anxious heart. The second part engages tacitly with mainstream/secular psychology and counselling methods, and even some nuanced and perhaps provocative challenge against how Sigmund Freud, Albert Bandura, and Carl Rogers have unfortunately seeped into mainstream church practices/counselling. For example, Powlison suggests qualifying more carefully the common church jargon "unconditional love" because it carries the mainstream cultural baggage of Rogers' unconditional positive regard and affirmation, or even the defensive mechanism of dismissing personal responsibility by reductionistically interpreting current sinful tendencies/brokenness to past relational breakdown or hurt (which I suspect a mix of Freudian and Maslow's hierarchy). If Paul Tripp's Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands is the why of mutual-biblical counselling in the church and gospel community, then Powlison's Seeing with New Eyes is the how of going at it. Worth a lifetime of deep reflection and careful application.
March 26, 2021
Powlison splits his book into two parts. Part 1 focuses on how Scripture opens blind eyes and part 2 on reinterpreting life. In part 1, Powlison largely exposits Scripture and spends significant chunk of time in Ephesians, drawing out counseling implications from the gold mine of truths found in this letter. I found part 2 was extremely good and worth the price of the book. It may seem a little dated from 2003, but his interaction with contemporary psychological theories is exceptional. Powlison brings a keen eye to these man made philosophies that propose solutions for the problems people face. His critique on the love languages in chapter 14 is exceptional along with nearly every other chapter in section 2. The belief systems he interacts with have only grown in prominence since 2003, with others adding to the eclectic mix since then as well. The present age is a therapeutic playground. Powlison helps lead and guide the reader through the mix of psychological jargon and therapeutic cures with a Scriptural road map. His analysis not only debunks the myths, but he turns to Scripture for a deeper analysis of the human condition.
May 19, 2023
On the positive side, Powlison helpfully demonstrates how scripture can be administered as a balm to the hurting person’s soul. His “X-Ray Questions” in Ch. 7 are profound and immensely helpful tools for every minister/counselor to keep in their back pocket. His decoding and critique of the secular psychological worldview is fascinating and really important for pastors, missionaries, and biblical counselors to be aware of.
On the negative side, because various essays were strung together to make this book, the book’s structure felt clunky and counterintuitive to me. Also, Powlison’s rhetoric was too polemic for my taste, though I appreciate his concern to keep the Word of God as central and sufficient for “life and godliness”.
Overall, while this book provides some really good practical biblical counseling nuggets and helpful cultural apologetics, if you’re looking for a pastoral/biblical counseling handbook, this may not be your first read. For that, I recommend Paul Tripp’s “Instruments in the Redeemers Hands”.
On the negative side, because various essays were strung together to make this book, the book’s structure felt clunky and counterintuitive to me. Also, Powlison’s rhetoric was too polemic for my taste, though I appreciate his concern to keep the Word of God as central and sufficient for “life and godliness”.
Overall, while this book provides some really good practical biblical counseling nuggets and helpful cultural apologetics, if you’re looking for a pastoral/biblical counseling handbook, this may not be your first read. For that, I recommend Paul Tripp’s “Instruments in the Redeemers Hands”.
May 21, 2025
Solid read! I especially enjoyed chapter 13 (What Do You Feel) and 14 (Love Speaks Many Languages Fluently). Chapter 13 examines the dominant use of “feeling language,” and what’s actually lurking beneath it (sense perception, emotions, thoughts, desires). In chapter 14, he compellingly challenges and critiques Chapman’s book on the 5 love languages, contending that it fails to adequately address the fundamental sin and depravity which give rise to shallow, superficial, and self-centered “love.”
His writing style was quite unique too. Conversational, pointed, articulate, accessible, including a remarkably rich and diverse vocabulary. Since this book is a series of essays written over time and eventually compiled, the transitions between chapters can feel a bit thematically disjointed. This wasn’t a huge problem for me though.
“Souls are cured as the ignorant and self-deceived are disturbed by the light of God’s analytic gaze and then comforted by the love that shed substitutionary blood to purchase the inexpressible gift” (pg. 151).
His writing style was quite unique too. Conversational, pointed, articulate, accessible, including a remarkably rich and diverse vocabulary. Since this book is a series of essays written over time and eventually compiled, the transitions between chapters can feel a bit thematically disjointed. This wasn’t a huge problem for me though.
“Souls are cured as the ignorant and self-deceived are disturbed by the light of God’s analytic gaze and then comforted by the love that shed substitutionary blood to purchase the inexpressible gift” (pg. 151).
November 21, 2025
Unfortunately, this book is a collection of essays which I'm not a fan of. It seems to hurt its cohesion and comprehensiveness. There is no systematic organization of the topics so that a foundation for biblical counseling can be established one truth or principle at a time. The topics seem to be presented fairly randomly. Some are clearly more academic than others ("Human Defensiveness," for example). Does not lay out a comprehensive approach to equip (or at least begin to) for biblical counseling, but maybe that was not its intention.
On the other hand, the latter half of the book has a number of very helpful articles on understanding how our culture sees and attempts to address human behavior. A useful guide in explaining some of the things I have been observing in our culture (Past trauma or lack of love or biology leads to present dysfunction).
On the other hand, the latter half of the book has a number of very helpful articles on understanding how our culture sees and attempts to address human behavior. A useful guide in explaining some of the things I have been observing in our culture (Past trauma or lack of love or biology leads to present dysfunction).
November 28, 2022
Finally finished Powlison's Seeing With New Eyes! So good! Wow!
I am struck by his articulate wisdom and clarity in holding up simple Biblical Christianity against all the faulty psychology/ psychiatry and anything else corrupted man comes up with to explain and "help" humans in all their destructive sinfulness.
Indeed, let God be true and every man a liar! Glory to God!
I am struck by his articulate wisdom and clarity in holding up simple Biblical Christianity against all the faulty psychology/ psychiatry and anything else corrupted man comes up with to explain and "help" humans in all their destructive sinfulness.
Indeed, let God be true and every man a liar! Glory to God!
October 22, 2019
Great book. My favorite chapters were on the “love languages” and biological psychiatry. Powlison debunks the lies of secular psychology by using Scripture and showing the selfish lies it tells hurting people who’s only hope is the Gospel of Christ Jesus.
March 18, 2024
If you only read one biblical counseling book this needs to be it. Every chapter convicted me, encouraged me, and then fixed my eyes on Christ. I can’t say enough about how wonderful and insightful and charming and realistic and hopeful it is. Thank you David Powlison and Pat Quinn
October 31, 2022
So much gold here. The chapters Peace, Be Still and Love Speaks Many Languages Fluently were particularly meaningful to me
May 23, 2024
I will likely use this book more of an outline of passages to work through depending on the scenario, but I feel like he used a lot of words to say not a lot.
September 23, 2024
Not easy to read because it felt like he exposed all the tactics I use to instinctively manage my perception and sin 🫠
Great read actually
Great read actually
February 16, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend it.
Powlison is one of my favourite authors and I walk away from his writings loving Jesus more. I love his heart for the Gospel, people, and his perspective that "all theology is practical theology." I have learned more about discipling others and pastoring from his writings than the endless onslaught of new books covering these subjects.
My one qualm with this work is that he isn't very open to the possibility of integrating what we can from clinical psychological research. I understand the caution and I think we should all exercise a degree of caution with secular pathologies. He is committed to the nouthetic counseling approach which I to think is the best starting place. Especially, for pastors who don't have necessary training and background to make informed decisions regarding clinical research.
However, there are of Gospel-centered counsellors, psychologist, and psychiatrists who have seen the value of acknowledging the common grace in clinical research. Thus, they seek to learn what they can, submit it to the authority of Christ, and treat people accordingly.
Richard Winter of L'Abri and Covenant Seminary addresses this topic. Reformed Theological Seminary incorporates clinical research into their training. Tim Keller addresses this topic in a free paper he published concerning the various pastoral counseling models. You can find it here:https: //gospelinlife.com/downloads/four-model...
Keller's article will balance out Powlison in relation to his contemporaries on a spectrum. I found it to be helpful and informative as I engaged with Powlison's work.
Powlison is one of my favourite authors and I walk away from his writings loving Jesus more. I love his heart for the Gospel, people, and his perspective that "all theology is practical theology." I have learned more about discipling others and pastoring from his writings than the endless onslaught of new books covering these subjects.
My one qualm with this work is that he isn't very open to the possibility of integrating what we can from clinical psychological research. I understand the caution and I think we should all exercise a degree of caution with secular pathologies. He is committed to the nouthetic counseling approach which I to think is the best starting place. Especially, for pastors who don't have necessary training and background to make informed decisions regarding clinical research.
However, there are of Gospel-centered counsellors, psychologist, and psychiatrists who have seen the value of acknowledging the common grace in clinical research. Thus, they seek to learn what they can, submit it to the authority of Christ, and treat people accordingly.
Richard Winter of L'Abri and Covenant Seminary addresses this topic. Reformed Theological Seminary incorporates clinical research into their training. Tim Keller addresses this topic in a free paper he published concerning the various pastoral counseling models. You can find it here:https: //gospelinlife.com/downloads/four-model...
Keller's article will balance out Powlison in relation to his contemporaries on a spectrum. I found it to be helpful and informative as I engaged with Powlison's work.
February 15, 2019
Am I missing something here? This book simply wasn't very good. It seemed to me like he talked his way into creating a new form of unattainable legalism. He offers zero practical advice, tends to simply rave on and on about how much he loves Jesus, and his chapters dissolve into rants about how he hates the 5 Love Languages or anything that could be practical.
Nothing you do will ever work or be good enough, he wants to split minor hairs of vocabulary words, and ultimately it was infuriating. We are not good enough to help (in the ultimate sense he is right, I get that), but he never builds us into a practical world. We have to live here, we have to love each other, and he offers no advice on how to do that. His advice was to be as Jesus and Paul. You know, just be like the two epitomes of Christianity. One is literally God incarnate, the other wrote half the New Testament, spent 3 years alone in the desert with God, met Him on the road to Damascus, and having, in all likelihood, the Old Testament memorized. Just do as they do, obviously!
He also "shotguns" scripture at you like it is going out of style. At one point his recommendation was to just memorize the Psalms . . . all of them.
Paul David Tripp's Instruments in the Hands of the Redeemer was so much better. I can't even begin to express how much I enjoyed Dr. Tripp. Powlison really left something to be desired.
Nothing you do will ever work or be good enough, he wants to split minor hairs of vocabulary words, and ultimately it was infuriating. We are not good enough to help (in the ultimate sense he is right, I get that), but he never builds us into a practical world. We have to live here, we have to love each other, and he offers no advice on how to do that. His advice was to be as Jesus and Paul. You know, just be like the two epitomes of Christianity. One is literally God incarnate, the other wrote half the New Testament, spent 3 years alone in the desert with God, met Him on the road to Damascus, and having, in all likelihood, the Old Testament memorized. Just do as they do, obviously!
He also "shotguns" scripture at you like it is going out of style. At one point his recommendation was to just memorize the Psalms . . . all of them.
Paul David Tripp's Instruments in the Hands of the Redeemer was so much better. I can't even begin to express how much I enjoyed Dr. Tripp. Powlison really left something to be desired.
July 4, 2013
This is a really fantastic book about biblical counseling. What I liked most about it was that it was very practical and very engaging. Rather than just saying how you counsel someone, the author talked about the truths of God and who we are in Jesus through Scripture and what we can then believe about ourselves and the problems we face. This had the effect of not only equipping a person to counsel someone, but take a close look at themselves and experience their own convictions. I definitely found myself gaining personal value, Holy Spirit conviction, and spiritual growth as I read.
Throughout, there was a great application approach for counseling others and some case study examples which were also very helpful for considering how one would counsel someone else.
I would say this book is a must-read for anyone who counsels people and loves Jesus. I would also highly recommend this book for any Christian. We are called to make disciples and in getting to know the people in your life, speaking the truth about Jesus and who we are in him when people are challenged by the trials they face is critical to discipleship.
Throughout, there was a great application approach for counseling others and some case study examples which were also very helpful for considering how one would counsel someone else.
I would say this book is a must-read for anyone who counsels people and loves Jesus. I would also highly recommend this book for any Christian. We are called to make disciples and in getting to know the people in your life, speaking the truth about Jesus and who we are in him when people are challenged by the trials they face is critical to discipleship.
December 24, 2015
Powilson is always a great read. Another great book on biblical counseling. The chapters where he exposits Scripture (he does some amazing work on Ephesians and a couple of Psalms and the passage on anxiety in Luke) are gold and worth the book itself, as well as his chapter on analyzing the Five Love Languages. However, there are a couple of chapters where he talks more theory of past and modern psychology, which I didn't care for as much.
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July 23, 2025Good, a little dense for my brain... but love Powlison’s clear thinking and deep convictions on the matter
July 7, 2025
I love David Powlison. CCEF has deeply enriched my life and my relationship with God. This book is heavy going but worth it. A big theme that has changed my thinking is the pervasiveness of our sin. We cannot try and live life around it, or problem solve ourselves. Our broken lives require intelligent repentance and renewal of our whole hearts. The lovingkindness and forgiveness of our Father, the grace of Christ, and the transformation of the Spirit are at work in us. Praise the Lord!
The book is filled with absolute gems, like these:
“The view of sin that focuses on willed actions is a denial of the biblical view of sin. It is the heresy known as Pelagianism in the history of theology. … This typical view of sin misses the deep inner hold of sin. It misses the dislocation and confusion of our hearts that is the core of the biblical view of sin. An external view of sin implies a moralistic stance toward it. But for the Bible, it connotes the saving grace of Jesus Christ. It implies compassion and love offered to those who would know themselves and God. Christ did not come to judge or say, “Shape up!” He came to save, to invite people to an inner transformation of mind, heart, motives, will, identity, and emotions. … Historically, attitudes toward troubled people have often been moralistic in Western society and in the church. Secular psychology might even be viewed as a tolerant reaction against moralism, for it sought to accept people rather than judge them, to show acceptance rather than to promote guilt, to make problems be psychological or behavioural maladjustment rather than sin. … It is no accident that the history of secular psychology and psychiatry is intertwined with theological liberalism and has continued to appear where there is a liberalisation going on at the church. The pendulum swings from error to error, from moralism that condemns men before God to liberalism that sets men free of God. The paradox is that in the name of tolerance, i.e. non-judgmentalism and supposedly objective psychological science, the truth that troubled people have a deep sin problem is withdrawn. And the gospel that deals with that sin problem is also withdrawn.”
“'Feelings.' What a difficult word to pin down when it is used to communicate four very different things: experience, emotions, thinking, and desires! … Wise counsellors care to know what a person is experiencing situationally or emotionally. People should not stuff what they honestly 'feel.' How can you address what you are unaware of? God traffics in reality, not pretended and avoidance. How can you be heard and helped if you will not honestly acknowledge what is going on? Biblical truth, penetrates your experience, emotions, beliefs, and desires. God meets you where you are.”
Powlison’s critique of Gary Chapman's 5 Love Languages: We cannot blame an 'empty tank' for our sin. E.g., Adultery because the adulterer ‘did not have their needs met’ somehow casts the victim as needy and well-intentioned. Their self-pity and self-righteousness are neatly preserved by ‘empty love tank’ notion. Also, 5LL is based on the idea of ‘reciprocal’ love- you scratch my back, I scratch yours, which is totally at odds with the gospel (Philippians 2). A demand to be loved in a certain way can be self centered, idolatrous, and enslaving (a ‘law’) to those who might attempt to love you. The 5LL book also assumes that relationships are fixable via works - (food for thought, and perhaps a greater indictment on the self-help category as a whole). But our broken relationships require renewal of our whole heart.
As Christians, we tell God ‘I need you to rule me so that I am no longer ruled by what I want.’
“Only the Faith is able to make the grand synthesis, to make all of life hang together: physical existence, social relations, thinking, suffering, emotions, economics… as well as ‘religious’ ideas, practice, and experience, both individual and corporate.”
The book is filled with absolute gems, like these:
“The view of sin that focuses on willed actions is a denial of the biblical view of sin. It is the heresy known as Pelagianism in the history of theology. … This typical view of sin misses the deep inner hold of sin. It misses the dislocation and confusion of our hearts that is the core of the biblical view of sin. An external view of sin implies a moralistic stance toward it. But for the Bible, it connotes the saving grace of Jesus Christ. It implies compassion and love offered to those who would know themselves and God. Christ did not come to judge or say, “Shape up!” He came to save, to invite people to an inner transformation of mind, heart, motives, will, identity, and emotions. … Historically, attitudes toward troubled people have often been moralistic in Western society and in the church. Secular psychology might even be viewed as a tolerant reaction against moralism, for it sought to accept people rather than judge them, to show acceptance rather than to promote guilt, to make problems be psychological or behavioural maladjustment rather than sin. … It is no accident that the history of secular psychology and psychiatry is intertwined with theological liberalism and has continued to appear where there is a liberalisation going on at the church. The pendulum swings from error to error, from moralism that condemns men before God to liberalism that sets men free of God. The paradox is that in the name of tolerance, i.e. non-judgmentalism and supposedly objective psychological science, the truth that troubled people have a deep sin problem is withdrawn. And the gospel that deals with that sin problem is also withdrawn.”
“'Feelings.' What a difficult word to pin down when it is used to communicate four very different things: experience, emotions, thinking, and desires! … Wise counsellors care to know what a person is experiencing situationally or emotionally. People should not stuff what they honestly 'feel.' How can you address what you are unaware of? God traffics in reality, not pretended and avoidance. How can you be heard and helped if you will not honestly acknowledge what is going on? Biblical truth, penetrates your experience, emotions, beliefs, and desires. God meets you where you are.”
Powlison’s critique of Gary Chapman's 5 Love Languages: We cannot blame an 'empty tank' for our sin. E.g., Adultery because the adulterer ‘did not have their needs met’ somehow casts the victim as needy and well-intentioned. Their self-pity and self-righteousness are neatly preserved by ‘empty love tank’ notion. Also, 5LL is based on the idea of ‘reciprocal’ love- you scratch my back, I scratch yours, which is totally at odds with the gospel (Philippians 2). A demand to be loved in a certain way can be self centered, idolatrous, and enslaving (a ‘law’) to those who might attempt to love you. The 5LL book also assumes that relationships are fixable via works - (food for thought, and perhaps a greater indictment on the self-help category as a whole). But our broken relationships require renewal of our whole heart.
As Christians, we tell God ‘I need you to rule me so that I am no longer ruled by what I want.’
“Only the Faith is able to make the grand synthesis, to make all of life hang together: physical existence, social relations, thinking, suffering, emotions, economics… as well as ‘religious’ ideas, practice, and experience, both individual and corporate.”
October 19, 2024
The first of a planned three book series on biblical counseling, this work is in essence a series of essays on the subject yet follows a clear pattern of demonstrating the sufficiency of Scripture. The preface introduces what the author described as “the church’s model for systematically biblical counseling” (p. 3) based on concepts, methods, institutions, and apologetics. The focus of this book was conceptual, seeking to address norms, problems, and solutions. In the introduction, a quote from Bonhoffer sets the tone for the entire book, noting that “The most experience psychologist or observer of human nature knows infinitely less of the human heart than the simplest Christian who lives beneath the cross of Christ” (p. 12).
The first section of this exceptional book, “Scripture Opens Blind Eyes,” begins with a rich treatment of Ephesians, describing it as the door to the rest of Scripture. The author continues in describing God (who makes us know him, acts according to his purposes, gives grace, demonstrates power, invades us to make peace, has wrath for his enemies, indwells his people as we him, and inherit us as we inherit him) and his role for us in relationships. Ephesians emphasizes the importance of redemptive love, showing care in our subordinate roles, and submission to Christ. Peace is addressed as present in Psalm 131, the question “Why me?” is considered from Psalm 10, and finally Christ’s words in Luke 12:22-34 show how we have more reasons NOT to worry than worry.
The second section of the book, “Reinterpreting Life,” includes nine more extraordinary essays on the topic. “Xray Questions” focuses on understanding the individual’s functional gods with 35 powerfully insightful questions that delve deeply into motivations. Motivations and desire are then treated with 15 questions to “probe the world of our desires” (p. 147). God’s love is discussed as “better than unconditional” and his function as father when the counselee does not have a good father image is presented in a practical consideration (including points on how to get to know your Father God). Mechanisms of human defensiveness are presented from a biblical perspective, describing the “warmaking” nature of sin in the human heart (this chapter spends significant time discussing Freud, Bandura, and the so-called ego psychologists). An insightful chapter, “The Ambiguously Cured Soul,” challenges the “successes” of any counseling that negates or ignores the power of the Gospel. A biblically sound review of the true nature of feelings is presented as they relate to the counseling process, seeking to redeem the human experience. One chapter on love (focusing on Chapman’s 5 Love Languages) acknowledges the limited insights of this approach,while introducing the richness of Christ’s love language that seeks to change us rather than simply understand what pleases others. The final chapter, “Biological Psychiatry” discusses the history of the development of the process of seeking and failing to find a grand unified theory. Even as the author accepts insights that have come from brain research, etc., he shares concern for turning individuals created imago Dei into the victims of biological reductionism.
The book closes with a powerful encouragement to practice the simplicity of the Gospel in the complexities of life. Powlinson notes that “The gaze and intentions of the real Christ can in fact shape the interactions between real people in the real world. Grasp that reality: living faith working out into intelligent and purposeful love. Hope for that. Aim for it. Cultivate it. Pray in that direction. Counsel in that direction. Preach in that direction. Live in that direction. This is the purpose of all that God has done in Christ. He who promises is faithful, and he will do it” (p. 258).
The first section of this exceptional book, “Scripture Opens Blind Eyes,” begins with a rich treatment of Ephesians, describing it as the door to the rest of Scripture. The author continues in describing God (who makes us know him, acts according to his purposes, gives grace, demonstrates power, invades us to make peace, has wrath for his enemies, indwells his people as we him, and inherit us as we inherit him) and his role for us in relationships. Ephesians emphasizes the importance of redemptive love, showing care in our subordinate roles, and submission to Christ. Peace is addressed as present in Psalm 131, the question “Why me?” is considered from Psalm 10, and finally Christ’s words in Luke 12:22-34 show how we have more reasons NOT to worry than worry.
The second section of the book, “Reinterpreting Life,” includes nine more extraordinary essays on the topic. “Xray Questions” focuses on understanding the individual’s functional gods with 35 powerfully insightful questions that delve deeply into motivations. Motivations and desire are then treated with 15 questions to “probe the world of our desires” (p. 147). God’s love is discussed as “better than unconditional” and his function as father when the counselee does not have a good father image is presented in a practical consideration (including points on how to get to know your Father God). Mechanisms of human defensiveness are presented from a biblical perspective, describing the “warmaking” nature of sin in the human heart (this chapter spends significant time discussing Freud, Bandura, and the so-called ego psychologists). An insightful chapter, “The Ambiguously Cured Soul,” challenges the “successes” of any counseling that negates or ignores the power of the Gospel. A biblically sound review of the true nature of feelings is presented as they relate to the counseling process, seeking to redeem the human experience. One chapter on love (focusing on Chapman’s 5 Love Languages) acknowledges the limited insights of this approach,while introducing the richness of Christ’s love language that seeks to change us rather than simply understand what pleases others. The final chapter, “Biological Psychiatry” discusses the history of the development of the process of seeking and failing to find a grand unified theory. Even as the author accepts insights that have come from brain research, etc., he shares concern for turning individuals created imago Dei into the victims of biological reductionism.
The book closes with a powerful encouragement to practice the simplicity of the Gospel in the complexities of life. Powlinson notes that “The gaze and intentions of the real Christ can in fact shape the interactions between real people in the real world. Grasp that reality: living faith working out into intelligent and purposeful love. Hope for that. Aim for it. Cultivate it. Pray in that direction. Counsel in that direction. Preach in that direction. Live in that direction. This is the purpose of all that God has done in Christ. He who promises is faithful, and he will do it” (p. 258).
December 7, 2024
“Our functional god (someone’s approval, success, grades, popularity) competes with our professed God (a personal God who controls all things and works everything to his glory and our good). Grace reorients us, purifies us, and turns us back to our Lord. Grace makes our professed God and functional God one and the same.”
X-Ray questions: Provide aid in discerning the pattern of a person’s motivation. The questions aim to help people identify the ungodly masters that occupy positions of authority in their heart. These questions reveal “functional gods”, what or who actually controls their particular actions, thoughts, attitudes, memories, and anticipations.
What do you love? What do you desire/want? What do you seek? What do you fear? What do you think you need? What gets you out of bed? Where do you find comfort? Who must you please? Whose opinion of you counts? What brings you the greatest pleasure of happiness? What do you pray for? What do you think about most often?
Counseling aims to illuminate the heart to help people see themselves as they are in God’s eyes and in that to make the love of God a sweet necessity.
Good teaching connects outward sins to inward cravings. Self-knowledge and self-confrontation.
The patterns, themes, or tendencies of the heart do not typically yield to a once-for-all repentance. Try dealing one mortal blow to your pride, fear of man, love of pleasure, or desire to control your world, and you will realize why Jesus spoke Luke 9:23! But genuine progress will occur where the Holy Spirit is at work. Understanding your motivational sins gives you a sense for the themes of your story, how your Father is at work in you over the long haul.
Can you change what you desire? Yes! This is central to the work of the Holy Spirit. You will always desire, love, trust, believe, fear, obey, long for, value, pursue, hope, and serve something. You are motivated when you feel desire. God redirects our desires.
The psychological versions of health and wealth miss that God is about the business of changing what people really long for. “New ruling desires expel lesser masters from the throne.” — Thomas Chalmers.
“I’d like to propose that God’s love is much better and different than unconditional. Unconditional love, as most of us understand it, begins and ends with sympathy and empathy, with blanket acceptance. It accepts you as you are with no expectations. You can in turn take it or leave it.
God’s love is active. He’s merciful, not simply tolerant. He hates sin, yet pursues sinners by name. God is so committed to forgiving and changing you that he sent Jesus to die for you. He welcomes the poor in spirit with a shout and a feast. God is vastly patient and relentlessly persevering as he intrudes into your life.”
The gospel is an action story, not simply an attitude of acceptance.
The word unconditional may be an acceptable way to express God’s welcome, but it fails to communicate its purpose: a lifelong rehabilitation. If you receive blanket acceptance, you need no repentance. You just accept it. It fills you without humbling you. It relaxes you without upsetting you about yourself—or thrilling you about Christ. We can do better. God does not accept me just as I am; he loves me despite how I am. He loves me just as Jesus is; he loves me enough to devote my life to renewing me in the image of Jesus. This love is much better than unconditional. It is contra-conditional.
X-Ray questions: Provide aid in discerning the pattern of a person’s motivation. The questions aim to help people identify the ungodly masters that occupy positions of authority in their heart. These questions reveal “functional gods”, what or who actually controls their particular actions, thoughts, attitudes, memories, and anticipations.
What do you love? What do you desire/want? What do you seek? What do you fear? What do you think you need? What gets you out of bed? Where do you find comfort? Who must you please? Whose opinion of you counts? What brings you the greatest pleasure of happiness? What do you pray for? What do you think about most often?
Counseling aims to illuminate the heart to help people see themselves as they are in God’s eyes and in that to make the love of God a sweet necessity.
Good teaching connects outward sins to inward cravings. Self-knowledge and self-confrontation.
The patterns, themes, or tendencies of the heart do not typically yield to a once-for-all repentance. Try dealing one mortal blow to your pride, fear of man, love of pleasure, or desire to control your world, and you will realize why Jesus spoke Luke 9:23! But genuine progress will occur where the Holy Spirit is at work. Understanding your motivational sins gives you a sense for the themes of your story, how your Father is at work in you over the long haul.
Can you change what you desire? Yes! This is central to the work of the Holy Spirit. You will always desire, love, trust, believe, fear, obey, long for, value, pursue, hope, and serve something. You are motivated when you feel desire. God redirects our desires.
The psychological versions of health and wealth miss that God is about the business of changing what people really long for. “New ruling desires expel lesser masters from the throne.” — Thomas Chalmers.
“I’d like to propose that God’s love is much better and different than unconditional. Unconditional love, as most of us understand it, begins and ends with sympathy and empathy, with blanket acceptance. It accepts you as you are with no expectations. You can in turn take it or leave it.
God’s love is active. He’s merciful, not simply tolerant. He hates sin, yet pursues sinners by name. God is so committed to forgiving and changing you that he sent Jesus to die for you. He welcomes the poor in spirit with a shout and a feast. God is vastly patient and relentlessly persevering as he intrudes into your life.”
The gospel is an action story, not simply an attitude of acceptance.
The word unconditional may be an acceptable way to express God’s welcome, but it fails to communicate its purpose: a lifelong rehabilitation. If you receive blanket acceptance, you need no repentance. You just accept it. It fills you without humbling you. It relaxes you without upsetting you about yourself—or thrilling you about Christ. We can do better. God does not accept me just as I am; he loves me despite how I am. He loves me just as Jesus is; he loves me enough to devote my life to renewing me in the image of Jesus. This love is much better than unconditional. It is contra-conditional.
March 14, 2025
A high dose of sanity. Powlison is an incredible writer communicating an even more incredible idea - and it's his ideas that have been paradigm-shifting for me. Now that I think about it, I suppose that's the book's stated purpose, per the title. I did not realize just how much a therapeutic, pscyhologized worldview defines our culture's way of thinking and has deeply infiltrated the Church (such as with the likes of Larry Crabb - who I'm sure was a good guy, but not helpful or biblically centered). Powlison challenged me many times in my own thinking, helping to strip away what have been subtle, psychological interpretations, anthropological convictions, and wrong-headed prescriptions for what are essentially problems only God can heal (therapize) through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Praise be to God!
June 3, 2020
I really enjoyed this book! It was a more difficult read for me as I was constantly processing what I was reading. I found it difficult to consider how powlison refutes a great deal of ideas I have learned in school and otherwise. A challenging read for me! But I appreciate his perspective!
Powlison credits many ideas that are rooted in science and psychology but is quick to acknowledge that “the greatest psychological insight, ability, and experience cannot grasp one thing: sin” (12). This is an extremely beneficial perspective! He spends most of his time in this book expanding upon this idea! Super helpful resource for those wishing to pursue biblical counseling through a job title or ministry opportunity.
Powlison credits many ideas that are rooted in science and psychology but is quick to acknowledge that “the greatest psychological insight, ability, and experience cannot grasp one thing: sin” (12). This is an extremely beneficial perspective! He spends most of his time in this book expanding upon this idea! Super helpful resource for those wishing to pursue biblical counseling through a job title or ministry opportunity.
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