How would you like to fight an enemy who, just as you have him on the ropes, always evades the final blow? An enemy who hides just out of reach, lulling you into a false sense of security, until he drops from nowhere onto your back? That's the advantage of indwelling sin - it lurks in an unsearchable fortress where you can't get to it. But if God has redeemed us from sin - and given us his Holy Spirit to sanctify us and give us strength against sin - why do we go on sinning?

Today we face a tremendous weakening of confidence in the Bible. This is just as true for the pastor offering counsel in his office as it is for the person in the pew talking with a struggling friend at Starbucks or the small group leader who is unsure of what to say to a hurting group member. We need to regain our confidence in God’s word as sufficient to address the real life issues we face today. We need to understand how the Bible equips us to grow in counseling competence as we use it to tackle the complex issues of life.

Is it harder for you to change and grow as a Christian than it should be? Do you wonder what is holding you back? Have you ever considered that it might be idolatry? Using real-life stories and examples, Brad Bigney shows us how the idols we might not even recognize can still have devastating effects in our lives. In this transparent, honest book, he helps us to identify our idols, understand how they lead us to commit treason against the gospel - and finally repent of them and root them out forever by turning to the only One who can fill our every need.

Theology professor and Competent to Counsel author Jay E. Adams firmly believes that the Bible itself provides all the principles needed for understanding and engaging in holistic counseling. In order to bring the practice of counseling—whether by professional therapists or by the church—under biblical guidance, we first have to deepen our understanding of Scripture. A Theology of Christian Counseling is the connection between solid theology (the study of God) and its practical application.

A classic in the field of Christian counseling, Competent to Counsel has helped thousands of pastors, students, laypersons, and Christian counselors develop both a general approach to Christian counseling and a specific response to particular problems. Using biblically directed discussion, nouthetic counseling works by means of the Holy Spirit to bring about change in the personality and behavior of the counselee.