It might seem strange for the authors to spend the first third of the book without telling you what they actually do believe. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the first part and found it to be insightful.Once the authors get around to spelling out their views, they do so in a hurry. Their view is neatly summarized in the first two pages of the section, and then several chapters of elaborations follow.
Summary of the Wisdom View
Since this is the very center of the book, I think I’ll let the authors speak for themselves and offer a somewhat lengthy quote:
1. In those areas specifically addressed by the Bible, the revealed commands of God (His moral will) are to be obeyed.
2. In those areas where the Bible gives no command or principle (nonmoral decisions), the believer is free and responsible to choose his own course of action. Any decision made within the moral will of God is acceptable to God.
3. In nonmoral decisions, the objective of the Christian is to make wise decisions on the basis of spiritual expediency.
4. In all decisions, the believer should humbly submit, in advance, to the outworking of God’s sovereign will as it touches each decision.
God’s Moral Will
Since the authors believe that there isn’t an individual will of God as expressed in the traditional view, a major part of their focus is on God’s moral will. God’s moral will is the ethical structure upon which we are to base our lives.
God’s moral will is an expression of his character. We are to be holy because He is holy. It does not merely address our actions, but every aspect of our lives, the why and the how as well as the what. Basing on 2 Timothy 3:16-17 the book makes the case that God’s moral will is fully revealed in the Bible, because it is “adequate to equip believers for every good work.”
Choice
The authors make the point that in most things, that is, in nonmoral decisions, people are free to make their own choice. They go through numerous scriptural passages, in both the Old and New Testaments, demonstrating that in matters not specifically addressed by God (through scripture, the prophets, etc.) people had freedom of choice. An example:
1st Corinthians 10:27 - “If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience’ sake.”
The believer is free to accept or decline the invitation. The book notes that Paul did not write something like, “Determine if it’s God’s will for you to go.”
The Basis for Making Decisions
After having made a solid case that in nonmoral decisions believers are free to choose, it obviously becomes important to see what we should base our decisions on, and it is to this that the authors turn their attention to next. A study of several passages is made to this end. Outside of supernatural revelation, the apostles do not claim to make decisions because they had a feeling that it was the will of God. Instead they use phrases like, “we thought it best” “I thought it necessary” and “if it is fitting.”
But why did they make one decision and not another? The authors state that they based their decision on “spiritual expediency.” Spiritual expediency means what works best to accomplish God’s moral will. To make these decisions we are to employ the use of wisdom (Eph 5:15-16 and Col 4:5). I presume this is why the authors refer to their position as the “wisdom view.”
To acquire wisdom, we need to have the right attitude and make use of the right approach. We must realize that the ultimate source of all wisdom is God. Scripture mentions that God gives wisdom to those whose attitude is characterized by the following: reverence, humility, teachableness, diligence, uprightness, and faith.
The approach to finding wisdom begins by asking God for it (Col 1:9-10). We should then: seek for wisdom in scripture (Psalms 119), conduct research (Luke 14:28-32), consult wise counselors (Proverbs 11:14), both to see if know of any scriptures that address the situation in question and if their experience has taught them something in that regard, and look at nature (Proverbs 6:6-11).
God’s Sovereign Will
The book then proceeds with two chapters on God’s sovereign will. The authors express God’s sovereign will in a very fatalistic way. A quote from the book will illustrate this:
Would you like to know His sovereign plan for the past? … If something happened it was part of the plan.
How this strong view of God’s sovereignty reconciles with the previous statements that seemingly deny God has a “detailed life-plan uniquely designed for each person,” has been a much pondered question in reviews of the book. I think the authors’ view is that you can’t know God’s plan for you ahead of time (except in the moral will sense), but you can see in hindsight what it is (because it happened). Thus, a major concern of the Traditional view, that one might miss God’s perfect will for themselves, is not something that is possible. This is a point where I think the book could have used more clarity, as the authors themselves do not resolve this difficulty.
The authors make a pretty good argument for their view of God’s sovereignty, but suffice it to say, I am not (cannot be, if you prefer) a fatalist. I still found the book quite valuable even if I disagree with this part.
Next week: Application
That’s so funny - I was totally on board with these guys and then they pull out the fatalism. It’d be like Ron Paul running the way he has this whole time and then pulling out and endorsing Rudy Giuliani.
It sounds like I will just have to read this book for myself. Again, I have never had anything other than the “traditional view” presented to me and I have seen the same shortcomings with it that the authors identify. However, I am still a little ignorant on the issue.
Yet I am pretty well informed on fatalism and I find it pretty problematic. In fact, I would think that fatalism and their “wisdom view” are incompatible, and I don’t understand how they can marry the two philosophically.
“Since the authors believe that there isn’t an individual will of God as expressed in the traditional view, a major part of their focus is on God’s moral will. God’s moral will is the ethical structure upon which we are to base our lives.”
How would the author’s explain, for example, Jeremiah’s revelation about being selected as a prophet before he was formed in the womb? Paul made a similar corresponding statement about his ministry in the New Testament. It seems obvious to me that there was an individual will for these men’s lives, though not apart from “spiritual expediency” or God’s “moral will.” Case in point:
“For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” (I Corinthians 9:16)
Paul is speaking of the grace given to him as an apostle, but makes the point that his obedience to the call is a moral decision. I personally have never made a distinction between the grace God has given me (or his individual will for me if you prefer), and his moral will. Such distinctions unnecessarily micromanage God’s will. I mean, is it right to be something that you are not? If not, then the question of whether the subject is moral or having to do with spiritual expediency becomes irrelevant.
Although I haven’t read this book, and seem to disagree with it on a number of points, I will say that some of the arguments seem quite plausible. For instance, I believe the concept of spiritual expediency is a good place to start if and when God’s will is not explicitly revealed. Certainly there is liberty in Christ, and we should not have the preconceived notion that God wants to dictate our every move just for the sake of doing it. I don’t sweat most day-to-day decisions, but in those cases where others are affected and there is a possibility of it affecting the course I should be on, I do seek God’s wisdom and guidance.
Jasen, I’m interested in knowing the authors’ explanation of this passage as I’m sure it must be covered in the book:
14Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
15For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that (James 4:14,15).
The book mentions that God did call certain people to vocations in the Old Testament, such as the prophets, priests, and kings. But there is nothing to suggest that this was the norm for everyone. Note that all of these were “called” by supernatural means - God directly told Moses to set up the priesthood, Kings and Prophets were appointed by prophets who had heard directly from God - and not by some means of human discernment to discover what God’s will was.
Paul is similar - God appointed him to be an apostle through supernatural means. But that wasn’t normal. When the Jerusalem church needed deacons they simply picked good men instead of seeking who it was God’s will to make deacons. If they followed the traditional view, Paul and Barnabas would have sought God’s will over whether or not to take John Mark with them instead of just coming into a sharp disagreement over it.
They’re simply aren’t examples of people discovering “God’s individual will” for themselves through means other than the direct supernatural. Basically, unless you get a literal “road to Damascus experience” or a visit from an Angel, or some other direct supernatural experience, you can safely assume that God does not have a perfect individual will for you in the sense the traditional view teaches.
The book does discuss James 4 in the chapters on God’s sovereignty. The problem is not that they made plans (this is affirmed later in the passage), but that they were boasting of their ability and not considering that it is God who will decide what happens.
I will concede that the Road to Damascus experience is not the norm. But Paul did not receive the full revelation of his ministry during this experience. He got further insight and direction by the Spirit in Acts 13, as did Barnabas. And we don’t have any record of Barnabas having a Road to Damascus experience prior to this event. And yes, it is most likely that this further direction for their lives and ministries came about by way of a prophecy or a tongue with interpretation. But how would Paul or Barnabas know that the prophecy (we’ll assume) was correct? Certainly we shouldn’t suggest, as New Testament believers who have received the Spirit of Truth, that they or we should wholeheartedly follow the instructions given through someone else. There had to be a witness of the Spirit within themselves that confirmed that it was right to do what was said by way of prophecy. That something is the inner witness.
“But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him” (I John 2:27).