Sunday Sermons
The Will of God - Part 2
The Will of God 2
As we noted in the first lesson, there are many people today who have been taught that God has an individual life plan for each believer. This plan is very detailed including the ideal choice for every decision in life, but this plan is not revealed in the Bible.
The Problem of Ordinary Decisions
The problem with believing that God has a detailed plan that includes every decision I make in life is that no one consistently acts like such is true. Even people who believe in an “individual will”, do not practice it, for they will select a route to work, a pew to sit in, which shoe to put on first, or which fruit to select at the store, without even thinking about which decision God wanted them to make in that area. One writer noted that everyone, even those who claim that in every decision there is an ideal choice that God wants them to make, end up habitually making all these non-moral decisions on the basis of using good judgment without wasting time. The idea that God directs every decision really breaks down when we consider the ordinary decisions of life such as “What should I have for lunch?” “Where should I buy gas?” “Which cologne should I wear?” and so on.
The Still Small Voice
It is argued that God’s moral will (the Bible) is not specific enough to direct one to many of the decisions that God wants one to make and therefore God’s individual will is revealed by the Holy Spirit through inward impressions or a still small voice. The verse cited, as proof of this is 1 Kings 19:11-12 “but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing”. One typical view of the above passage is that God does not speak through stupendous events, but rather often through a quiet voice. Yet in the above passage God had already directly told Elijah to go to this mountain (1 Kings 19:11). Secondly, God did not speak to Elijah through a quiet voice, rather the gentle blowing was the signal to Elijah to come out and listen to what God would audibly say to him (1 Kings 19:13). God did not speak to Elijah in the gentle blowing rather God spoke to Elijah directly. The gentle blowing did not put any impressions on the heart of Elijah, rather God specifically told him what to do (1Kings 19:15-18).
John 16:13
Some have argued from the above verse that the Holy Spirit will guide each individual believer into all the truth and that this expression encompasses the knowledge needed to make even non-moral decisions. Yet the context of John chapters 14-16 reveals that Jesus is speaking to the apostles and that all truth refers to the teaching that will be revealed through them to the world (John 14:26; Ephesians 3:3-5).
Romans 8:14
This is another passage used to prove that the Holy Spirit guides the believer by inward impressions. Again, the context is not talking about daily decisions in non-moral areas, rather it is talking about righteous living, which includes removing from our lives those things that God has revealed in the Scriptures to be wrong (8:13; Colossians 3:5ff). Notice verse 16 “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God”. This is clearly not some inner impression for the only way we truly know if we are children of God is if we have obeyed the commandments revealed by the Holy Spirit (John 14:15; Matthew 7:21). If we look at what the Holy Spirit has revealed in the Scriptures and if our lives are in conformity, then we know we are saved (James 1:22,25).
Colossians 3:15
Some have interpreted the statement, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts”, as meaning that this “peace” functions as an umpire that “calls” each decision in question. The idea is that so long as the believer is following the right inner impressions, they experience an inner quietness, that is, such a peace is letting them know that their decisions have been the right ones. In addition, one will experience an increasing restlessness and inner anxiety as they begin to depart from God’s ideal plan for their life. Note that the “peace” in this context comes as a result of obeying God’s revealed will (Colossians 3:5-14). This “peace” is objective, that is, I can have peace because I know I am doing God’s will. The danger with a subjective peace (“I just feel at peace”) is that many people in the religious world who have never been baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38) would adamantly claim that they are saved because they have such peace with God. Finally, there are many right choices that we must make in life that are filled with restlessness (2 Corinthians 11:28-29). If Jesus had used such a system to make decisions, He would have never died on the cross (Matthew 26:38).
The Holy Spirit’s Leading
There is no question that the Holy Spirit guides and leads believers (Galatians 5:18), but the real question is “how” does He guide us? Does He guide us through inward impressions? Or, does He guide us with the truth that He has revealed in the Bible? Consider the following chart, it is significant that actions attributed to the Holy Spirit are equally attributed to the Word of God, inferring that the tool that the Holy Spirit uses to guide and lead believers is the Scriptures.
SPIRIT ACTION WORD OF GOD
John 3:5-8 Born, Begotten 1 Peter 1:23-25
John 6:63 Quickens Psalms 119:50,93
Titus 3:5 Saves James 1:21
Romans 15:13 Power of Romans 1:16
1 Corinthians 6:11 Sanctifies John 17:17
1 Corinthians 6:11 Washed By Ephesians 5:26
John 16:8 Convicts Acts 2:37-38
Galatians 5:18 Guides, leads Psalm 119:97-105
Romans 8:11 Dwells in you John 15:7
Ephesians 5:18 Filled with Colossians 3:16
Reading Providential Signs
It is argued that finding God’s ideal will for every decision in your life is discovered through a combination of inner impressions given by the Holy Spirit, and the agreement of outward signs. The first problem with this is: “If the inner impressions, which reportedly provide the most personal and direct indication of God’s will, are really from the Holy Spirit, why is there any need of confirmation from other signs? It seems if God were to choose to reveal His will in that manner, His communication would be crystal clear” (Friesen p. 133). Those looking for signs often are told that the Holy Spirit enlightens us to understand Scripture; in addition He helps us understand the meaning of providence as well. Consider the following points:
Why would the Holy Spirit be needed to enlighten the believer to understand a message that He Himself gave? Did the Holy Spirit give an unclear message to begin with? In contrast, the Bible repeatedly assures believers that the Word of God is understandable, without any miraculous guidance (Ephesians 3:3-5), and that there are no short-cuts to understanding Scripture, rather, understanding comes by diligent study (Psalm 119:97ff; Acts 17:11; 2 Timothy 2:15; Hebrews 5:14).
Secondly, the Bible does not teach us that the Holy Spirit will enable us to understanding the meaning of providence. Even apostles were not given special enlightenment on the meaning of providence. Concerning the case of Onesimus the runaway slave who just happened to run into Paul in Rome and ended up converted, Paul said, “For perhaps he was for this reason parted from you for a while, that you should have him back forever” (Philemon 15). Mordecai told Esther, “And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?’ (Esther 4:14). Biblical heroes did not presume to speak for God when God had not spoken. Instead of claiming, “I just know that God did this”, they spoke with humility, “perhaps, who knows”.
Lessons Concerning Providence
Philippians 1:12 “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel”
In any situation, even a trial such as Paul’s imprisonment, good can result, but such good depends upon human free will as well. The whole Praetorian Guard heard about the gospel in Rome because Paul did not become discouraged, but rather continued to preach (Acts 26:30-31). Many of the brethren in Rome took courage from Paul’s courage and became more fearless in their preaching (1:14), which the Bible tells us to do anyway (2 Timothy 4:2-4). Equally as important as the circumstances is what we do with those circumstances. Notice Paul’s language in the above verse, “my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel”. Note that this “progress” is not judged by inward impressions, but rather by God’s standard of truth. More believers are preaching the gospel and that is what God wanted all along (Matthew 28:19).
An ideal situation can equally bring with it temptation. While most of the brethren were motivated by Paul’s imprisonment, some were tempted to use Paul’s captivity as a means to spread their own fame and build up their own names among the brethren(Philemon 15,17). In any well-timed situation or combination of circumstances believers still have free will, and we can either profit from a situation or we can abuse it. Situations that might seem “providential”, that is well-timed circumstances are no guarantee of success. In Mark 10 a young man comes to Jesus with the ideal question, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life” (10:17), and yet this man walks away lost. We must not blame ourselves when what seemed like an ideal opportunity to teach someone does not lead to that person being saved. Paul had great opportunities in the book of Acts with Athenian philosophers (Acts 17), and Roman administrators (Acts 26:19-28), yet in these high profile situations, the audience did not accept the message. In addition, there are examples in the Bible of people being saved from the most unpromising situations(Acts 18:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11). Consider how Paul interpreted the case of Onesimus. Paul wanted to keep Onesimus in Rome with him, why? Not because of some inner impression, but because the man had become a very useful worker(Philemon 11,13). Paul sent him back to Philemon, why? Because he belonged to Philemon (14-15). Paul urges Philemon to accept him back, not on the basis of some inward feeling, but on the basis of objective truth (16-19). That is, he is now a brother in Christ, accept him as such, and if there are any unresolved debts from the past, charge them to Paul’s account. Note that Paul never says, “It was just God’s will that he run away and leaven you with unpaid expenses”, for such would not be God’s will(Romans 13:1,7).
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net /mdunagan@easystreet.com
