Before 2008 I was vaguely aware of Jay Adams’ nouthetic counseling. But in 2008 I read his little booklet Godliness Through Discipline, and I was incensed.
At that time my understanding about abuse and abuse enablers was microscopic, but I had been studying the Scriptures, and I knew this teaching was wrong and would lead people away from Jesus instead of toward Him.
(Only later did I understand the dynamics of how this wrong teaching could lead to abuse enabling and blaming and shaming of victims.)
So I wrote a passionate refutation of the booklet. But I didn’t know what to do with that refutation. I didn’t have any place to publish it. I didn’t even have a blog yet. And when I did start my blog the following year, it was a devotional blog, and this passionate critique didn’t quite fit there.
Finally, in 2013, I realized I could post it as a book review on Amazon. (It is by far the book’s longest review.) In 2014 when I and some friends started the BJUGrace blog, I posted it there in 3 parts.
Since Here’s the Joy took a turn to speak out for the oppressed in 2016 or so, I’ve written to refute Jay Adams Nouthetic Counseling (often called “Biblical counseling”) many times. Many others are also speaking out about it, for which I’m very thankful. Mostly the conversation centers around the abysmal and utterly destructive counseling that is given to abuse victims and abusers about repentance, forgiveness, bitterness, etc, which certainly does merit much discussion.
But the Jay Adams presentation of sanctification merits discussion as well. It is also destructive in its way.
Here is my 2008 critique in its entirety (with only a few small edits), for anyone who wants to better understand what Jay Adams teaches about sanctification and why I believe his teachings are deeply detrimental to our Christian lives.
Because this critique is from 2008, it doesn’t mention abuse and trauma. Perhaps in the comments we can discuss how it applies to the current discussion.
Here is my review of Godliness Through Discipline.
*****
Behaviorism teaches that behavioral change is the kind of change we’re aiming for—that is, a change of action without regard to a change of heart (perhaps expecting a change of heart to follow, but not considering that particularly important).
It’s important to understand that yes, this is what is taught in this little booklet, available as a free online download, and then to understand why that’s a problem. A big problem.
Jay Adams, the Father of Nouthetic Counseling, begins this booklet by presenting an example of what he calls a typical Christian, who keeps trying to change but continues to fail. He claims that the reason you can’t change is that you have tried to obtain instant godliness, which doesn’t exist. (It seems presumptuous for him to assume that this is the reason the reader is discouraged in his pursuit of godliness. This was not the reason I was discouraged. I didn’t care about instant godliness. My problem was that somehow it seemed that I couldn’t obtain godliness at all. The harder I tried, the more unattainable true godliness seemed to be.)
First Timothy 4:7 is the key verse Adams uses to posit, “you must discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” When Adams says, in so many words, “Discipline [which he goes on to define as development of specific habits] is the path to godliness,” he’s teaching behaviorism.
“We must please God by being, thinking, doing, saying and feeling in the ways that He wants us to,” Adams says. “You will become that much more like God only because of what you have done and thought and said each day.”
He is certain that you can become godly—like God, pleasing to God—through your own self-effort, the development of what you determine to be your “Godly habits.”
Adams goes to great lengths to develop the concept of self-effort [establishing habits] in order to become godly. He gives very lengthy examples of an athlete, a baseball player, a weight lifter, and how all of them had to work to become good at what they did. Throughout the book he gives further lengthy examples of buttoning a shirt, driving a car, brushing your teeth, ice skating, yo-yoing, playing the organ, and getting up in the morning.
These examples of developing habits take up at least half of the book.
“God requires us,” he says, “to discipline ourselves by constant practice in obeying His revealed will and thus exercise (train) ourselves toward godliness.” He couldn’t say it much more clearly that our works—our bootstrap obedience—will make us holy.
This works-sanctification thinking is what motivated Paul to rail against the Galatians, calling them “foolish.” Paul said that when people try to obtain godliness by the works of the flesh—by “doing”—then they “cannot do the things that [they] would,” Galatians 5:17-18.
“Christian” behaviorism—changing actions in order to become godly—is really the antithesis of the true Christian life, the life of faith in Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Faith alone was the initial path to salvation (the justification aspect), and faith alone will continue that same salvation (the sanctification aspect), according to Galatians 3:1-3. The discipline, or training, needed is that of keeping our hearts and minds on Christ, i.e., “walking in the Spirit,” Romans 8:3-4.
However, Adams vehemently defends his Christian behaviorism to his hypothetical reader (who, like me, is apparently protesting an inability to accomplish godliness this way).
He supports his view with negative examples, based on 2 Peter 2:14: hearts are “trained in greed,” the same word as in Timothy. “Without consciously thinking about it,” Adams says, “such a person ‘automatically’ behaves greedily in various situations where the temptation is present.”
This comparison is a crucial error. He claims that the more a person does something fleshly and “natural,” the more “natural” it becomes. He then claims that this is the same way that the life of the Spirit is accomplished.
But is it our fleshly efforts that will make the powerful life of divine grace more “natural”? Or is it faith?
“Godly, commandment-oriented living comes only from biblical structure and discipline,” Adams says. “There is only one possible way to become godly: You must be disciplined toward godliness until you do in fact become godly. . . .”
Adams tells me to be orienting myself toward the commandments rather than toward Christ. And then to give myself a list of rules from the Bible. As I strive to keep those rules (and he never addresses the fact that I won’t be able to keep them, perhaps because he expects me to make my list small and easy to keep), as I continue to get back up and keep trying when I fail, eventually I will become godly.
He says that the way to godliness is through applying principles, guidelines extrapolated from the law. But the Scriptures clearly say again and again that the only thing that principles (law) can accomplish in us is to show us our inability.
So let’s say I see a Biblical injunction to love God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. So I say, “All right, I am going to exercise determination and perseverance and endurance to discipline myself to love. . . . Well, I failed, but I won’t give up. I’ll keep trying. Oh, I failed again. But I will grit my teeth and persevere, because that’s what God wants me to do.”
So I try again and again and again, and during this time I find my heart becoming more and more shriveled in love, a dry leaf, because I cannot accomplish it.
But this is the very greatest law! If I can’t keep that, I can’t keep any. I will despair!
Do I despair because I didn’t get the godliness instantly? No! I despair because I can’t get it at all.
I’ll despair because I was studying the demands of the law, but I was not realizing that the purpose of the principles of the law was to show me my inability. This is made clear from Romans 7:21-25. The next passage, Romans 8, makes clear that the Christian life cannot be lived by trying to follow principles, but by walking in the Spirit. The law could not do it, because it was weak through the flesh. The nation of Israel (Rom 9:31-32) could not attain to the righteousness God required.
Why not? Was it because they didn’t keep trying? Because they didn’t persevere and endure? No. It was because they didn’t seek it by faith. “If righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain,” Galatians 2:21.
Misrepresentation of Scripture
Adams says, “Because of the work of Christ, you have been counted perfect in God’s sight, but in actuality you are still far from the goal.” I don’t know if you’re troubled by that “it’s-true-but-it’s-not-true” thinking that’s prevalent in some Christian circles.
If God says something is true, but it isn’t really true, doesn’t that make God a liar?
But the fact is that the Bible never says we are counted perfect because of Christ. The Bible says that we are counted righteous: Romans 3:28, 4:4-5, 23-24. That’s different.
And we don’t have to go through any semantic gymnastics to say “we are, but we really aren’t.” We are in Christ. Therefore we really are righteous. Period.
Perfection, in Scripture, is a “finishedness,” a “readiness,” and we’re told that even Christ, who was as righteous as anyone can be, had to be made “perfect,” or finished, through His sacrifice (Hebrews 2:10; Heb 5:9). We too, are told over and over that we are to become perfect (Matthew 5:48; 2 Cor 13:11; Eph 4:13; Col 1:28; Col 4:12; I Thess 3:10). God clearly did not count us so upon our justification. There is no “it’s-true-but-it’s-not-true” in Scripture.
Adams says, “. . . many of your practices are not yet oriented toward godliness. The ‘old man’ (old ways of living) is still your unwelcome companion.”
But look at the Scriptures. There are three references to the “old man” in the Scriptures:
Rom 6:6, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with [him], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”
Eph 4:22 “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;”
Col 3:9 “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.”
Each of these “is crucified,” “put off,” “you have put off” is in the aorist tense, which I understand to indicate punctiliar action, usually represented by the English past. These Scriptures indicate that (even though we can still live as if the old man is with us), the old man is no longer our unwelcome companion—this is what our death and resurrection with Christ is all about.
Why is this truth crucial to godliness? Because understanding it, believing it—rather than trying to develop habits—is what will change our lives.
Colossians 3, which is the crucial Scripture that explains about putting off the old man and putting on the new man, first emphasizes, in explaining how to accomplish this, the solid truth of our resurrection in Christ, an absolutely essential truth for godly living that Adams apparently finds immaterial, because he never mentions Christ’s Resurrection at all in the context of our becoming godly.
Then this passage goes on to emphasize the importance of focusing our eyes and hearts on things above, on Christ Himself. And so because of these crucial truths, Colossians 3:5, we can consider our members dead to sin, as dead as Abraham’s body was when he could not produce a child. Verse 7 says that we can “put off” the deeds of sin—cast them off like an old dirty robe—because we have “put off” the old man—a different Greek word meaning utterly trounced in battle.
Colossians says clearly that we have already put off the old man and (vs 10) we have already put on the new man. This is not about forming new habits. This is about believing truth, trusting Christ.
Another example of Adams’ misrepresentation of Scripture appears when he says, “Paul says that the believer must daily deny (literally say ‘no’ to) the self.”
But the apostle Paul never said that.
Maybe Adams is referring to 1 Corinthians 15:31, where Paul said, “I die daily.” This partial sentence is almost always taken out of context. It doesn’t say that the believer must daily deny himself. In fact, from a careful reading of the context, it’s clear that Paul was talking about physical persecutions and physical death, the same as in 2 Corinthians 11:23.
Spiritually, all the dying that needed to be done took place on the cross. The believer died in Christ and was raised in Christ, according to the absolutely crucial passage Romans 6:1-14, which Adams fails to give even a mention.
What we need now is not more death, but faith in the death and Resurrection that have already taken place.
In another misrepresentation of Scripture, Adams says that Jesus “represented the Christian life as a daily struggle to change.”
What?
I have no idea what Scripture he is referring to here. I can’t think of a time when Christ ever did this. I can’t even think of another Scripture that he might be taking out of context.
But Adams forges ahead, assuming that his reader will simply accept that assertion. “Too many Christians . . . want change without the daily struggle”—apparently that daily struggle that Jesus didn’t talk about.
Using the example of learning to ice skate, he says, “Perhaps you have been afraid to talk to someone about Christ. Maybe you tried it once or twice, and as far as you are concerned you went zip bang! . . . that is simply part of learning to skate (or witness, or love).”
So . . . failing in giving the gospel has nothing to do with a lack of faith in the power of Christ through the Holy Spirit? It’s only about practice and habit and forcing ourselves to keep trying? When the disciples couldn’t cast out a demon and asked in Matthew 17:19, “But Lord, why could we not cast him out?” what was Jesus’ answer? Hmmm. “It’s because you haven’t practiced enough. You haven’t disciplined yourselves enough. It’s a daily struggle.”
Adams presumes on the Scriptures again when he says, “Structure alone brings freedom. Discipline brings liberty. . . . The order is first, structured discipline, then freedom; there is no other. . . . Liberty comes through law, not apart from it.”
Is the concept of the “freedom through structure” supported in Scripture? John 8:32, 36 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. . . . If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
Jesus Christ is the one who makes us free, through the truth. John 14 tells us that He is the Truth. Second Corinthians 3:17-18 says, “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord [is], there [is] liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
It is the Spirit of the Lord that brings liberty, and the context of this passage tells us that this is apart from the law. It is through the beholding of the face of Jesus Christ that we are made truly, spiritually free from sin.
Every other New Testament Scripture about freedom supports this concept.
Minimization of the Holy Spirit, Prayer, and Faith
The primary problem with Adams’ perspective on the Christian life—and by extension, his nouthetic counseling method—seems to be his lack of acknowledgment of the importance of the spiritual realm, of true faith, desperately dependent prayer, and the power of the Resurrection through the Holy Spirit in the spiritual battle that we face.
However, to be fair, in this booklet he does mention faith once, prayer twice, and the Holy Spirit a few times. At one point he says, “The Holy Spirit has oriented you [at the beginning of your salvation] toward God and His holiness, putting a new focus on all of life. . . .”
What he means here is that the Holy Spirit changed your direction, but now, he explains throughout the book, the work of transformation is up to you. He says, “Now the work of the Spirit is not mystical. . . . He says in the Scriptures that He ordinarily works through the Scriptures.”
Once again I wonder what Scripture Adams is referring to when he says “He says in the Scriptures.” It simply isn’t there.
I also wonder what he means when he says that the work of the Spirit is “not mystical.” Would he say that that work of salvation ordinarily called justification is “mystical”? It is a mysterious work of transformation in the life of a person that cannot be fully explained. Paul said that he prayed that the Ephesians would “know” (experientially) the love of Christ, which passes “knowledge” (intellectually). This is “mysticism” in its truest sense–a spiritual truth that cannot be explained on an intellectual level. The Holy Spirit is in the business of doing this kind of work all the time.
“[T]here is no easier path to godliness than the prayerful study and obedient practice of the Word of God.” I too believe that the Scriptures are exceedingly important, but it’s not because they give us guidelines by which we can practice our disciplines for godliness. It is because through the power of the Holy Spirit they show us our inability and point us to Jesus Christ, in whom is all Power (John 5:39).
Adams says, “Do you think that after going to all that trouble [of writing the Bible] He now zaps instant holiness into us apart from the Bible? . . .”
Once again I’m astonished and dismayed. Whether or not you believe that the Holy Spirit ever “zaps instant holiness,” you have to acknowledge that “after going to all the trouble of writing the Bible” he still zaps instant salvation into people when they trust in Jesus Christ. Isn’t this foundational to our faith?
And though the Scriptures are hugely instrumental in understanding, and I thank God for them, it is still true that salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone.
“The Holy Spirit gives help when His people read His Word and then step out by faith to do as He says. He does not promise to strengthen us unless we do so; the power often comes in the doing.” Amazingly enough, this is the first time Adams has mentioned faith as having any role in living the Christian life. And the faith he describes is still a faith in self-effort. Instead of looking to Him for all my righteousness, all my salvation, all my holiness, all my consecration, all my victory over sin, I’m looking to my self-effort and expecting Him to help me.
Here’s another critical point. From the context of the booklet, I know that the “doing” Adams is talking about above is a List (which he must expect us to keep fairly short, lest we be overwhelmed with discouragement).
But in the book of Hebrews, the “stepping out by faith” to do as God says were not List things. In fact, they were often pretty strange. By faith Abraham offered Isaac. By faith Rahab hid the spies. By faith Noah built an ark. By faith the priests put their feet in the rushing river.
Why is this important? Because the life of faith, the walk of faith, will look different for different believers. In each case, though, we are all focusing all our hope for righteousness not on what we do, but on Who we trust.
“When we read about [the requirements of the Scriptures],” Adams says toward the end, “we must then ask God by his grace to help us live accordingly.” This is the first time he has mentioned prayer. And yet, who do we think we are to think that we will accomplish anything in this Christian life without a daily, moment by moment, even desperate dependence on God? It is only by His power that we live the Christ-life. Why does Adams take so long to get to something so crucial? How important, really, does he think it is?
“Here then, is your answer: regularly read the Scriptures, prayerfully do as they say, according to schedule, regardless of how you feel.” Notice that if you don’t feel like reading the Scripture, he doesn’t mention the concept of crying out to God for deliverance from your coldness of heart. No, just plod ahead and expect your behaviorism to take effect eventually, making you godly—at least outwardly.
Motivation to Change
Somewhere in the middle Adams takes a brief about-face to contradict himself. “All of the stress that the Bible puts on human effort must not be misunderstood; we are talking about grace-motivated effort, not the work of the flesh.”
First of all, the stress that the Bible puts is on the finished work of Christ—not human effort—and the divine inflow-outflow that results from that finished work.
Second, how is he defining the “work of the flesh”? It appears to be what he’s been emphasizing in all the rest of the book. And what does “grace-motivated” mean?
He doesn’t explain, but I wonder if it’s the common thinking, “God did so much for me that I need to do as much as I can for Him”? Instead, I would say “grace-empowered.” God does the work. We have the privilege of participating in the results.
But that talk of “motivation” is telling, because it comes up again, in a very different way. At another point in the book, he says, “There are only two kinds of life, the feeling-motivated life of sin oriented toward self, and the commandment-motivated life of holiness oriented toward godliness.”
To think that Jay Adams presents us with this artificial, unScriptural dichotomy of choices!
Yes, we can move toward self-centeredness or toward God-centeredness, but where in the Bible does the Lord tell us that these two options are the pathways—that feelings lead to sin and commandments lead to holiness?
For one thing, “feelings” can motivate a person to “feel” the emptiness that he has within, and to cry out to God to relieve this emptiness. George Whitefield was saved by crying out, “I thirst!” Wasn’t his thirst a “feeling”?
The Christian world has been guilty of belittling “feelings” to the point that they are ignored as a barometer of a person’s spiritual life, when in fact they can be crucial. Again, Paul said he wanted the Ephesians to know (to “experience” in their senses and their feelings) the love of Christ that passes knowledge (academically and intellectually).
The reason a person would even be reading Jay Adams’ little book is that he “feels” that he is short of the godliness he desires. May the extreme reliance on feelings shown by some groups not cause us to disparage feelings altogether.
And again in that same quotation is his theme of the entire booklet: “the commandment-motivated life of holiness oriented toward godliness.”
I shudder. The letter [law] kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Cor 3:6).
If a person believes that he must keep the commandments in order to be headed toward godliness, then he will either deceive himself in foolishly thinking he can do it, as the Pharisees did, or he’ll be driven to despair, because he cannot.
Motivated by the commandments? Isn’t this what Paul spent much of his letter to the Galatians castigating them for? Isn’t this what the whole New Testament decries?
How Do We Get Godliness?
If I were to write a booklet for unsaved people called “Salvation through Bible Reading,” you might say, oh, but salvation doesn’t come through Bible reading, however good and helpful that might be. Salvation comes through faith alone in Christ alone.
This is what I say about sanctification/holiness/godliness. The so-called “Christian disciplines” of prayer, Bible reading, etc, are excellent and important things. But they are not the path to holiness any more than are the disciplines of physical exercise.
All salvation—including the salvation from daily temptations to sin and daily reliance on God that is called “holiness”—is through faith alone in Christ alone. This is where all the Scriptures point us.
This is the gospel, and it’s truly Good News. Grace—the divine inflow-outflow of God—comes through faith in Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is freedom. This is joy. This is Christianity.
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Go here to download your free Guide, How to Enjoy the Bible Again (when you’re ready) After Spiritual Abuse (without feeling guilty or getting triggered out of your mind). You’ll receive access to both print and audio versions of the Guide (audio read by me). I’m praying it will be helpful.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! For your diligence in debunking this destructive and wrong teaching!
I pray that the truth of sanctification/holiness/godliness by faith alone in Christ alone will be broadcast to the whole world. It is truly good news.
I stopped reading your post very early on since the Holy Spirit made it obvious that you had fallen into the same trap that you accuse Adams of falling into. You call his teaching behaviorism while doing so from the ground of abehaviorism. You fail to identify the different uses of salvation in the Word. Salvation (justification)- the redemption of the the lost soul, salvation (sanctification)- the maturing of the believer in his walk with the LORD, and salvation (glorification)- the believer’s reign with Him in glory. Yes, though original salvation is free through grace, our living for him is not! Scripture tells us we were bought with a price, we are told to endure, to walk, to renew, and more things than I have time or space to write. The balance in all of this is found in James 2:18 where the scales are equally weighted by God Himself who inspired Paul to begin his letters with the doctrinal theology of God’s completed and continuing grace as he segued into the call to walk (behave). It is obvious that your distain for this individual and his beliefs, merely put you in the same state that you rail against. Owning to no other authority than scripture, I have as my sincere hope that you would remove this derisive post and place another that has only the accurate Scriptural theology that the Kingdom of God is His physical manifestation of His spirituality work in every area of our lives. His kingdom is furthered by the glorification of His Son Christ Jesus and that glorification comes through the Spirit and that through the work of peace by grace and by the behavior He prompts through His gifts.
I’ve never heard of abehaviorism. I didn’t know it was a thing.
This article was only about sanctification, not about either of the other aspects of our salvation.
We are told to endure, to walk, to renew, and I agree with that. We are not to be couch potato Christians.
I addressed James 2 here: https://heresthejoy.com/2018/11/what-place-does-striving-have-in-sanctification-a-response-to-heath-lambert/
“His kingdom is furthered by the glorification of His Son Christ Jesus and that glorification comes through the Spirit and that through the work of peace by grace and by the behavior He prompts through His gifts.” Amen.
I am so grateful that you and others are exposing the evil of “nouthetic counseling” and pointing to life in the Spirit, based on faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. I have a dearly loved sister visiting me, and I am noticing similarities between Adams’ false teachings of obedience and her Jehovah’s Witness beliefs. It’s “do, do, do” and “obey, obey, obey”. I also notice that the JWs have prescribed readings, and in their meetings the elders ask “the questions” of the people participating. In other words, the organization writes the questions and they all participate in the same information. There’s no room for the leading of the Holy Spirit in that kind of regimentation. In the same way, Adams’ teaching was very regimented. This problem? This solution. Thank you for mentioning that God leads his dear children along various paths. Not one size fits all.
That’s right, and so interesting that you should draw that parallel. I’ve seen from Jehovah’s Witness writings that the emphasis is on knowing about God–as they define him–instead of knowing God, and on doing the works they prescribe.
I haven’t seen anything from Adams that emphasizes that a Christian grows in maturity by getting to know the Lord. Just do, do, do, as you say.
Run John run, the law commands,
But gives me neither feet nor hands.
A better word the gospel brings
It bids me fly and gives me wings.
–John Bunyan
❤️❤️ so helpful, Rebecca, to have a shorter rebuttal to this teaching . “The Rest of the Gospel” explained this sanctification ” by faith alone” well, but was a bit much for most to read as a first challenge to what many in my circle were teaching.
Unfortunately, most teachers who float in this culture also believe a woman is less capable of understanding and expounding on what The Bible actually says … IMHO, thats why abuse is so prevalent in these systems. Just keep the women quiet, they are dangerous …so even if i share, i wont be holding my breath.
Ah, my friend, back in 2009 when I began blogging, I knew that many wouldn’t listen to me because I’m a woman. I trusted the Lord to bring the ones who would be willing to listen, who would have ears to hear, as it were.
I have lots of thoughts on how this line of thinking contributes to abuse.
The first thing that comes to mind is how my abuser was viewed in light of the whole idea of trying and failing, and trying and failing again ad nauseam. When I would cry out to my elders for help, with much fear for my husband’s soul because of the very evident lack of a changed heart, this was used to shut me up. ANY sort of effort they could point to on my abuser’s part was enough for them to castigate me for having any doubt regarding his salvation. When I would express my intense confusion as to why I did not see in him what the Scriptures say about salvation… a new man, a new creation, someone walking in a new manner of life, etc…I was told things like I shouldn’t break a bruised reed. When I asked, “but isn’t a bruised reed the picture of a humble person who is questioning their own salvation, who is broken because of his own sin? Because that’s not my husband”… I would again be reemed out for doubting the condition of his heart. After all, he’s coming in for counseling, he has said he’s sorry, he keeps trying…
So this emphasis on human works left my head spinning because they could refute anything I said regarding the harmful manner of life I saw and experienced in my abuser by pointing to any shred of human effort on his part. You know that thing about a mustard seed that is actually about faith?? They would use that in regards to his tiny little shred of effort.
Also, since godliness comes from following lists with a bootstrap effort mentality…well, you’re much easier to control when they make the list for you. Especially since, “obey your pastor” is on the list. And here I could insert a large number of commands on the list that originate from twisted Scriptures. But I will just mention the two that were probably the most damaging to me.
1. Just keep having sex with him, meeting that need before he even has to ask. The idea is that there is no temptation. And pray for those who use you.
2. All sin is to be dealt with in the church. So even if he hits you, don’t go to the police, come to us.
Okay, I’ll add a third list item. What if NOT calling the police violates my conscience?
3. Then you need to submit your conscience to us.
You get the idea.
Another very detrimental outcome of Adam’s human effort, list based model was to my own walk with the Lord in my abusive marriage. This is for many reasons, but a main one was my belief that I could win my husband over without a word. Imagine that, my effort could even accomplish my abuser’s salvation.
Add to that a huge pile of other commands that I imposed on myself that would surely fix my marriage if I just kept trying. Return good for evil, be silent like Jesus was when he was reviled, don’t talk so much, do whatever he wants…
And this all rests on the concept of a feelings motivated life vs. a commandment motivated life. Deny yourself, right?? Pick up your cross…regardless of how you feel.
I remember one day after a verbal beating, I was in bed crying. I knew that the “right” thing to do was to put these feelings aside and get up and get busy with what I needed to do. And all of a sudden, I stopped crying, got up, went to the kitchen and put on some music, started cooking something, and felt “happy”. Wow! Look at how the Spirit was working! I was doing what I was commanded to do regardless of my feelings! And now my feelings followed! The power came in the doing! Right?
Um…no. This was dissociation. My beliefs led me to believe that what was happening was good and right. But it was really evil at work.
There is no rest in this ideology. None. Zip. Zero.
When I left my husband…I could breathe, I could eat, I could sleep, and I started to see the truth. The truth of God’s love for me. The truth of my worth to Him. And that was the truth of the real Gospel.
And I finally knew what rest was.
Thank you so much, Julie. This is exactly the kind of application I was asking for–how this teaching works out in the lives of abusers and those who are abused by them.Here is Exhibit A.
I also have a story about the very reason I even read this little booklet in the first place–it was because it an abuser had been assigned to read it and was “benefiting” from it (and we’re talking concentration camp overlord abuse), and I was a friend of the abuser’s wife.
This was one of the pieces that led me to where I am now, but it took me a while to see how all the pieces fit together.
Oh gosh! Of course he would use it to his advantage. He learned all the correct lingo to turn everything around and blame the victim. My ex went so far as to go to a women’s shelter after I separated from him. He was apparently claiming to be abused. I found out because I had been referred to a counselor there and they denied a services to me because of a conflict of interest.
Julie, wow! Thank you for this! It’s disassociation for sure. How does that honor God? How does my disassociation show love to the other person? Disassociation is a form of lying—omitting truth, hiding truth, denying reality. That offers neither freedom to the abused or abuser, only perpetual bondage.
i can relate to similar counseling from pastors. “Be strong for your husband.” Which meant, endure his abuse because he can’t be strong himself to overcome it without your grace and strength and love and quiet perseverance. It not a wife’s job to be for her husband what she can’t even be for herself. We do others (and ourselves) great disservice and damage when we offer grace apart from truth. Only Jesus!
That is sickening teaching and oh so not what God wants from us.
Yes! I was really denying the truth by simply staying. That’s not only unhealthy, but it does not honor God.
Amen and Amen. My story was very similar. I will add that now I have peace-their was no peace in our home with him- he was a walking tornado, constantly. So nice to be free and being able to focus on the Prince of Peace.
Amen.
Julie, would it be correct to assume that in order to find rest, you had to also walk away from those mustard seed faith Elders?
Yes! I told them they had become an idol to me and then I left. Leaving my church and my husband was the biggest step of faith I ever took. But I realized it was one of my very first steps I took actually out of faith, a real faith that I am learning to rest in.
Thank you for describing your life so articulately. That was mine too. I am glad to know I am not alone as I grow in grace and communion with Him.
Thank you, Rebecca for being bold to write about this. I do pray that many will read it and stop using ACBC’s bad teaching to harm more than help.
Julie Zepnick I am so very glad that you are out of that deceptive even demonic system. Me too, Julie, me too. Those people nearly.killed me…loterally.
My heart hurts for you. The Spirit is grieved for you. However, you were not given Scriptural council as you described it. You were given legalistic and secular humanistic counciling. The two are in opposition to one another.
I agree completely. Would you say then that an area in a person’s life where he/she is not changing over time is an area where Jesus does not yet reside, perhaps where there is a door closed to the Holy Spirit? Is the process of sanctification one where we invite or allow the Spirit access to more parts of ourselves?
It could be thought of that way, especially if dissociation is involved. For me, I prefer to think of it as asking the Lord to show me what untrue things I may still be believing and what blind spots I still have. He has been faithful to reveal those one by one, and I trust He will continue to do so.
Also, in 2002 I asked the Lord to remove a spiritual wall I was sensing was keeping me from moving forward in my spiritual life. That led to the beginning of much of the understanding I elaborate on in this blog a couple of years later. I would say at that time it was more lack of understanding that He brought light and clarity to. Like puzzle pieces of Bible study coming together and showing me Jesus. Of course I also believe that lack of understanding is closely related to lack of faith. As faith increases, understanding increases, which increases faith, which increases understanding. This progression should continue throughout life.
Sometimes an internal door seems closed because of intense past trauma that (consciously or unconsciously) seems too overwhelming to face. That’s a large topic there, but one I touch on repeatedly in my writings.
I ask because I am currently in- house separated from my husband. He has covert abusive tendencies. We’ve been married close to 30 years. I think he truly wants to change, I don’t think he is deliberately predatory, but change is slow, despite all the time he spends seeking the Lord. He did have trauma growing up. He does sometimes act just like his dad, which is not a good thing. I wonder whether that area of his life, or those false beliefs, whatever the case, will be ever sanctified.
If he could talk with someone who understands trauma as well as the Christian faith, he could perhaps get the help he needs in this area. It may be something to look into.
It seems a bit telling that when asked a specific question about a specific situation you offer a go and be fed and clothed without any food or clothing being provided
This makes me think of a situation I’m close to. Could the abuser ever act in dissociative ways, blatantly forgetting details of the victims story? I still puzzles me why the two stories are so different and the abuser at least seems to think he’s telling the truth.
It only seems logical and reasonable that some abusers would be dissociative.
Oooh gurrrlllll!!!!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for sharing soooo much truth about this topic!!!! You are spot on!!!
The more I hear from/about legalists, the more I pick JESUS!!!!!
Even the great apostle Paul who was a Pharisee of the very highest order was astounded that the Galatians fell for this same claptrap in their day … see Galatians 3… he even said they had fallen under a spell (were “bewitched”) which shows the awful power of this heinous teaching…it is very intoxicating even to true believers!!!
Keep sharing truth!!!
I PICK JESUS!!!!! Only JESUS!!!!
Amen, this is what Paul wrote about to the Galatians.
Thank you so much for writing this. Such a challenging topic! You are absolutely right about “bootstrap obedience.” Yes, we are called to discipline ourselves and make our bodies our slaves (I Cor. 9:25-27), and to deny ourselves and take up our cross (Luke 9:23). But, as you say, the motivation cannot be the commandments or the law; they are the ideal of what perfection looks like, but we can never achieve it.
Our motivation to think and act well has to be humility before God and acceptance of (faith in) Christ’s finished work on the cross. In fact, the denial of self spoken of in Luke is NOT self-abnegation nor taking up a “cross” of strict rule-following, but denial of the very tendency we have to try to work our way to godliness through those things. We do well to accept training that enables our minds and bodies to behave well, but the purpose is to do God’s work in His strength, not in any of our own, lest we be tempted towards pride or boastfulness.
Yes, I’ve also written about “daily dying to self,” another ubiquitous teaching that seems to be part and parcel of this works-sanctification bootstrap obedience concept but is not found in the Bible.
So not even in Philippians 2:12 where we are told to work out (Greek word katergazesthe) our salvation? That word means to literally, “work down to the end-point with physical labor”. Keep in mind that Adam was given work to perform in the garden while he was yet sinless. The work was an act of worship. You are peddling A lie that is destructive and robbing people of the joy that comes from serving the LORD with their works
I wrote about Philippians 2 here: https://heresthejoy.com/2018/11/reconciling-the-resting-and-the-striving-with-some-thoughts-from-heath-lambert/
Obviously I don’t believe we should do nothing, and my life bears testimony to that truth. I believe in working hard in the kingdom of God, empowered by the Spirit. There is much to be done, many needs in the world around us, and it’s a great joy to serve that “cup of cold water” in the Kingdom of God.
This conversation between me and podcast host Lisa Meister was published a few days ago, about some ways we can help the needy in our midst: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGSmgHVQeYc
Rebecca,
thank you for addressing such hard things. Spiritual abuse is rampant. My Bible study group is studying Romans, so I’m thankful you sited a few of those powerful truths. It is so freeing to know that it is the supernatural work of God’s Spirit that both justifies AND sanctifies us. I spent many years “manufacturing” godlinessness. Ignorantly, I thought it was the way to be a “good” Christian. It only produced frustration and harsh judgement toward others, and self-righteousness and blindness in myself. Not to mention self-loathing and exaltation of sin. This all kills JOY. I want the joy of the Lord! He is my strength and my song, not my self effort and behavioral convictions.
God bless you, Rebecca, thank you! I love you.
Oh yes, so true. This truth is the reason I started this blog in 2009 and the reason I named it “Here’s the Joy.” It was about the truth I had discovered in 2004 of sanctification by faith alone in Christ alone. It was like a burden fell off my back and like I was experiencing salvation all over again.
Thank you ma’am!!! I am crying as I’ve finished reading this beautiful analysis. I have a long way to go to learn about spiritualy/Christianity!!! THANK YOU! I really do feel love when reading through your website. XXX
I’m so very thankful, Irena!
Thank you for exposing Jay Adams’ legalistic, burdensome kind of faith. This was a painful – but extremely insightful – piece.
As a recovering Baptist (sorry, but it’s true in my case), for too many years I lived under the heavy weight of spiritual obligation and perfectionism, which left me feeling like a perpetual disappointment to God.
Letting go of the checklist and embracing a genuine relationship with our living Lord, His love, peace, grace, healing and leading changes everything!
Once again, Rebecca, you have exposed more of the half-truths so commonly taught that keep God’s beloved children from experiencing the fullness of His life-giving truth!
Thank you!
Praise God for His life-giving truth. And thank you so much for your ministry too, Cindy. I’m grateful for you.
Thank you. You have no idea how this detailed critique makes my heart sing! Adams was my first and favourite teacher on counselling etc as a teenager in a religious home. ad all his books etc. Thought we were free because we were charismatic. Oooooops. Missed a bit of life, truth and joy. Guess who then married an abuser for over 30 years? Life is a wild ride, and I am so enjoying learning who Jesus really is, and His soft heart, His great love for us all. Think I’ll lean on Him more-He’s more fun too!
He is a wonderful Savior who delights in those who trust in Him. Blessings to you, Catherine.
It is good to read your words like hearing bells ring true. My heart leaps in the perfect pitch of Jesus.
I’m thankful for that!
I was a clinical psychologist who became a believer about 35 years ago – partly because Psychology was failing me miserably. I read about Dr. Adams and his approach to counseling from the Scriptures very early in my faith walk and I found it encouraging that there was an alternative to psychology. I trained to become certified under him in 1989. Within a couple of years, however, I had to walk away because it seemed so familiar – repackaged behaviorism, as you so aptly call it. Admonition and obedience was the theme song. Sadly, it is still the case with a many folks in that world. We still provide discipleship and Soul Care using the Scriptures because they teach us about God’s nature and character, the gospel of being reconciled to God in Christ, being justified in Christ, and being adopted as children of the Most High. Our primary area of focus in our counseling Ministry is with long-term, and abuse survivors. It’s my background and there was no help for me in the church in my early days. Thankfully, more and more people are becoming educated, and equipped to provide authentic and effective discipleship and Soul Care to the wounded and broken. Yes, it is in the renewing of our mind with God’s truth that we experience ongoing transformation for the rest of our lives. And saturating on lies can keep us trapped in the toxic shame and bondage of what we’ve suffered. Saturating on the truth is what helps us to lay hold of a greater confidence in the finished work of Christ and live in that reality. But that has nothing to do with whether or not we are redeemed. I am convinced the reason people hold so tightly to the law yes out of fear. They’re actually afraid of the freedom to this ours in Christ.
Excellent thoughts. Thank you so much, Warren.
The works of the “new covenant” Christ made with us is not of the law . He fulfilled the law, not our works
You made many valid points.
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Can you help me to understand?
What is the difference between “receiving instruction” vs. “behaviorism” ? (without thinking about Jay Adam)
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1) In II Timothy 3:16 – The Scriptures is for instruction (often with steps and the list to follow: do this – not that, put off vs. put on ).
The Scriptures is not only to tell people how to get to heaven, but also in : teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness
(Does teaching and training in righteousness required a list or steps from the biblical instruction ? )
2) God’s commandments (& all the biblical principles /precepts ) are like the “fences” to keep us safe from drifting to the worldly view.
3) Biblical Counseling is used as a broad category. Many Christian /Biblical Counselors used the Bible and integrated with the Mental Health training in their licensing requirements.
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One example: Using the biblical principle for children to behave:
http://www.cornerstonesforparents.com/…/What-does-the…
————In Real Life — Follow Instruction —–
In real life, we all need to follow “instruction”.
For example, the doctor prescribed medication for my illness. The pharmacist gives me verbal instruction (along with the fact sheet) to take the medicine 3 x a day with meal and finish the whole bottle. (These are the instruction I should follow to get well ).
We must live in this world, so learning practical skills for interaction is part of wisdom. Showing love to others is part of how our salvation works out, through the power of the Holy Spirit, in practical ways. However, none of this will make us more godly.
Remember, the whole point of what Jay Adams wrote was *showing us how to be godly.* “Start doing godly-looking things on a regular basis, and you will become godly” (behaviorism). That is what I am refuting in this article.
As is common knowledge among Christians, our righteousness is through Jesus Christ. A very large percentage of the “instruction in righteousness” we find in the New Testament is helping us understand who Jesus Christ is to us, for us, and in us and urging us to exercise faith in Him. The rest is how that works out practically in our lives. The practical outworking is not going to make us more godly–it is the way the godliness flows out of our lives.
I also used to believe (as you said) that “God’s commandments (& all the biblical principles /precepts) are like the ‘fences’ to keep us safe from drifting to the worldly view,” because that was what I had been taught. But the New Testament teaches that though that the Law is good and honorable, trying to obey it is not the way we become godly. The way we become godly is through faith in Jesus Christ alone and the working of His Spirit in us.
You said, “In real life we need to follow instructions.” Yes, what I’m talking about is real life too. There are instructions for being godly. Here they are: “Jesus Christ has accomplished all your holiness for you. Believe on Him, look to Him, trust in Him, focus your eyes on Him. As you continue to do that (ever growing in faith and understanding of what that means and how that will manifest in your life), you will experience the energized, dynamic outflow of His inner working in your life, which will look like this [description]. The faith, ever and always, comes first, laying the foundation. The energized, dynamic outflow is the natural outworking of His work within (the godliness).”
Being a bit more blunt in the article by declaring Adams a false teacher, in my opinion, is needed. This guy has ruined souls by his works based salvation. But I understand that his false teaching would be easy to fall deceptive to for someone in the context of therapy/counseling. Taking action is a very significant part of overcoming, healing, or pushing through circumstances. The other extreme is the “talk therapy” groups that be-groan over and over their issues and problems but do not make a plan of action for change. However …. Adams approach to taking action clearly indicates that this man does not know the Gospel.
That seems very evident to me.
Your series on nouthetic counseling has been really eye opening to me. Previously I didn’t even know that it existed, much less that it influenced much of modern day protestant churches.
Unfortunately nothing new is under the sun: human nature tends towards “earning” our way to God, and so every single generation we see all sorts of teachings that seem spiritual but are just our own efforts all over again…
So similar to other religions, eh? Christianity is supposed to be the one religion that is about your salvation having been completely taken care of for you, through Jesus Christ.
False, taken care of WITH you
BEHAVIORISM?
Accusation: What you are doing isn’t really unique. It’s only a species of Behaviorism.
This false charge has been made by those who have a propensity to lump together all things that sound similar. Their problem—and it’s a serious one—is that they read and think carelessly. They have little power of discernment; they do not know how to make valid distinctions. “Adams speaks of ‘behavior,’ he talks about ‘reward and punishment.’ Ergo, he is teaching behaviorism.”
But long before Watson or Skinner ever drew a breath God was speaking of behavior, reward and punishment. Dare we call Him a Behaviorist? Hardly. God regularly traces outer behavior to the “heart.” By heart, He means the inner person. Outer action is but a result of the inner thinking, determining, etc. Nowhere is changing the outer person alone a solution to man’s problems. Rather, that is Pharisaism. Since sin is an “inside job,” salvation must be too. Inner regeneration is necessary to produce outer changes that please God. Works (outer behavior) must flow from faith (inner belief); neither is sufficient without the other.
Moreover, in behaviorism, the goal is to reward the desired behavior immediately in order to make it stick. In the Bible, true reward is delayed until eternity (Cf. Hebrews 11:13-16; 24-27). And, God-pleasing behavior is governed not by manipulation and “control,” but by inner desire to please God. Always keep in mind 1 Peter 1:14b-15, 18-19:
See the difference? The conclusion? “Be deeply concerned about how you behave during your residence as aliens” (1 Peter 1:17).
– Jay E. Adams
Thank you Rebecca. I live in the DFW area and this is a hotbed for biblical counseling. Someone told me that I was the first women to certify as an ACBC certified counselor in Texas but I don’t know if that is true. I came out of it early on but stayed in the distorted, perverted influence of a very wayward pastor and those surrounding him. The lies bare ever blatant now and I am glad I am out. But the damage done for the 12 years I stayed has been massive. Jay Adams and his followers are not friends of Jesus Christ but modern day Pharisees and Job’s friend Eliphaz. You will find God’s assessment of Slip has in Job 42: 7. Pretty terrifying.
I’m glad you’re out, Wendy, and God bless you.
When were you certified, Wendy West?
I was in counseling for 18 months in a residential treatment center that uses Nouthetic (now ACBC) counseling. It’s been 13 years since I’ve been out and I’m still unraveling some of the wrong teachings that I received. Thank you for this well thought out article. It was really helpful.
I’m thankful it was, and I pray the Lord will shine His light into all the awful twistings of nouthetic counseling.
I was looking up a curriculum for teaching Biblical Self-esteem to middle schoolers and I came across this course written by Jay Adams (chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.chapellibrary.org/pdf/courses/bvs-sg.pdf). I was shocked at the content and overwhelmed by how much hate and anger there was in it. I wanted to find out more about this man and where he came from. Your blog helped me understand his writing a lot more. But wow… I can see this guy abusing people. If no created being has value, only the creator, that gives you leave to treat anyone however you want.
It is shocking, certainly. And if you thought that was bad, check out the way he taught thousands of counselors to handle pedophiles: https://heresthejoy.com/2021/01/how-jay-adams-would-counsel-a-pedophile/
So are you saying we’re not supposed to do anything in that the New Testament doesn’t have any commands for us?
We’re told to pray always and not faint.
Are you saying we shouldn’t do that?
And what does pointing people to God’s commands rather than Christ actually mean?
What does pointing us to Christ mean, and how is that different, or what does that actually look like? People throw out these religious statements that they never define.
Paul said God’s commands are good, holy, but we are not until we choose to be holy as he is Holy.
I’m not trying to argue, I’m just trying to understand and perhaps point out to you that you’re clear over on the other side of this.
I agree with what you’re saying, but I also think it’s not either or, it’s both.
Christians who make no effort to get up early and pray, which we see in the bible, seek god, which were commanded to, meditate on and study the scriptures…. How can they expect anything?
Well, the alternative to the “godliness through habits” teaching of Jay Adams is godliness through faith. Getting up early to pray is good to do, but it won’t make me any more godly. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can do that.
Surely as we pray we can expect things from God. When I cried out to God about the spiritual wall that stood in front of me, I didn’t know what it was, but I asked Him anyway. What He did was help my near-sighted spiritual eyes to see that sanctification is by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. That is, godliness by faith, not habits.
Paul said the commands are good and holy, but he didn’t say we achieve holiness through them. Quite the opposite. The entire book of Galatians decries the efforts to achieve holiness through the works of the flesh. Habits are the works of the flesh. They can help us have a more orderly and productive life, but they will not make us holy. Period.
The Bible , in not one case, teaches sanctification by grace it teaches justification based on grace. sanctification is a process and that through submitting to the Holy Spirit and the works that He empowers us to accomplish
It continues to surprise me that Christians think that our sanctification, or growth in holiness, does not involve God’s grace.
However, I wish you peace and joy.
I have read a lot of Jay Adam’s books on counseling, and the second chapter of ‘competent to counsel’ deals with a person only being able to do what the scriptures teach but the power and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. As he states in many of his books, he doesn’t deal with every issue in one book alone but expects the reader to have read or refer to the other books of his he sites. This article at first glance to any reader who hasn’t read his books, may seem correct, and if I hadn’t read them, I would be concerned also. But I have and I think it’s a poor representation of the counseling work he teaches, and from all those who have greatly benefited from this type of counseling. Many, even abused victims who have been through this type of counseling, have been more godly and have been able to deal with those issues better than any secular counselor would. The author of this article seems as though she hasn’t read his other books, if she had, then this would be a different article. Maybe not agreeing with all his methods, but would have understood that Jay Adams does indeed teach the reliance upon the Spirit and says that unless a person has the Spirit then counseling will come to no affect.
The Holy Spirit was mentioned in this booklet also. He was just overshadowed by the works-sanctification teaching.