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Wisdom Applied, Circumstances Denied

Published by Colin February 14, 2008 in Religion. 8 Comments

Author’s note: The following is from a study I taught last weekend on Godly wisdom. As I go through the book “Decision Making and the Will of God” (reviewed here), I find that the basic view of the book has much wider applications than merely those which the author intended. In this study, I took Dr. Garry Friesen’s ideas one step further, and considered the erroneous Biblical roots of determining “individual will” via circumstances.

Wisdom is the summation of all the characteristics of a man of God. A wise man is going to be dependent on God in prayer, he is going to study the Bible diligently, he will have faith, he will have integrity and he will be a man devoted to Godly love.

A wise man fears the Lord so much that he looks to God and his word for all things pertaining to the Christian existence:

Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
And to depart from evil is understanding. (Job 28:28)

It is up to us, however, to search for wisdom in the truth of God’s Word, not by trying to subjectively read our emotions and auger our circumstances.

Biblical Wisdom Applied Correctly
There are many places where wisdom was applied correctly, and circumstances (even supernatural ones) were ignored in favor of it. One impressive example is when Paul and Silas had been imprisoned in Acts 16:25-30:

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”
Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

The man and his entire household went on to be saved because Paul used wisdom. How? This is merely surmising, but consider that Paul and Silas were very likely praying that they would be able to escape or leave the prison - that is definitely what I would be praying for. However, when God responded miraculously, Paul waited in the jail and rejected an “open door” because it was wise to prevent the guard from killing himself. In all honesty, he could have left the jail, which was clearly an option. But his wise decision was rewarded with a new convert!

We know this today, and Paul knew it then, that we are called to preach the gospel. We are to value it more than our freedom – so it’s an easy choice between an open jail cell and a person in distress (I know I would have bolted out of the prison, but that is another story). Paul was obviously prepared in wisdom and so he did not have to rely on “reading” his circumstances to make his choice. The truth of the word was hidden is his heart, as it says in Psalm 119:11.

This is the essence of Biblical Wisdom: being prepared in the word.

The Opposite of Biblical Wisdom: Divination
In a broad sense, I would call wisdom’s opposite “mysticism” – a philosophy which rejects free-will, reason and absolute truth and instead relies on fatalism, human experience and subjectivism. The closest thing Biblically is the practice of divination - the attempt to use common objects or signs to auger supernatural direction. We see God’s thoughts on the practice several places, but Ezekiel 13:1-3, 6-7 is one particularly strong passage:

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own heart, ‘Hear the word of the LORD!’”
Thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!
…They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD!’ But the LORD has not sent them; yet they hope that the word may be confirmed. Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false divination? You say, ‘The LORD says,’ but I have not spoken.”

It is important to see here that these diviners were doing so under the pretense of being God’s people. However, they were not being deliberately deceptive, but ignorantly foolish. These prophets were misguided, having reduced God’s wisdom to vain mysticism.

Wisdom Applied Incorrectly
Because the Bible is honest, we have many examples of man’s ignorance in action. Let’s look at a somewhat controversial one in Acts 1:23-26, where the remaining apostles are trying to determine how to fill Judas’ place:

And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.” And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

The Apostles chose to cast lots to determine next apostle rather than apply wisdom. They were impatient and impulsive, which led them to use mystic methods to make a choice rather than rely on wisdom.

For example, they knew that God promised them the Holy Spirit - Jesus just told them this in their recent memory. They knew that God keeps his promises. Yet they chose, in the moment when it came time to apply wisdom, to instead “read the signs” of divination, and ignored what Jesus had just spoken about the coming of the Holy Spirit. They wouldn’t have had to wait long, as Pentacost was just around the corner.

Anyone who has heard a modern sermon on idolatry knows that idolatry does not require stone statues to exist in today’s society. But do we also realize that lot casting is also a popular method in today’s church for determining wisdom? Just as it was incorrect then, it is incorrect now. Casting lots is, in essence, trying to divine God’s will by circumstances.

For example, in looking for a new job, relying on criteria such as “if this job calls me first, then I’ll know it’s right” or “if the interviewer is wearing a white shirt, God wants me here.” This is modern divination, using time in the first example and a man’s shirt in the second to determine God’s will.

But divination appeals to us because it allows us to cede what God has given us along with free-will – responsibility. Its the same method that legalism employs, where the believer can be immune to critical thinking by following prescribed rules and laws. For the diviner, he can avoid responsibility (and consequences) by claiming that the stars weren’t aligned, the energy was bad, or (the Christian favorite) it wasn’t God’s will.

But we can know God’s will – it is clearly written in the bible. There is nothing magic or mystic about it. God is a God of order, not confusion! Thus, God, in his wisdom, gave us everything that is pertinent for us to know about who He is and how to obey him – in the bible.

Book Review: Decision Making & the Will of God - Part 5

Published by Jasen Tracy December 10, 2007 in Religion, Book Reviews and Christian Books. 6 Comments

Wisdom when Christians Differ, and a Conclusion
This section, on what to do when Christians have different positions on issues (which are often all backed biblically, at least in the view of some), was truly excellent. Many reviewers point this section out as their favorite in the book. I also enjoyed this section, but I cannot say if I liked it better than the section critiquing the traditional view.

The Wisdom View when Christian Differ
A major idea of the book is that when scripture makes no clear command, Christians have the freedom (using wisdom and on the basis of spiritual expediency) to make their own choices. There is not always agreement on what scripture clearly teaches, however. The authors spend the last two chapters of the book (other than a conclusion chapter) addressing this important problem.

Based on Romans 14, the authors lay out how we should deal with issues on which Christians disagree. I think something like their ideas are commonly accepted. We should:

1) Learn to distinguish between matters of command and matters of freedom.
2) On debatable issues, cultivate your own convictions.
3) Allow your brother the freedom to determine his own convictions - even when they differ from yours.
4) Follow Christ as the model and motivator of servanthood.

Weaker Brothers, Stronger Brothers, and Pharisees

The interesting part of this section though, is the definitions the book gives of weaker brothers, stronger brothers, and Pharisees (for which the authors wish they had a nicer name).

Weaker Brothers
Weaker brothers are not those who hold to a different view on an issue than you, those who are offended by your use of freedom (ie. drinking alcohol), or simply new believers. Weaker brothers are marked by four characteristics:

1) They are weak in faith. Not in saving faith, but in not being able to see their full liberty in Christ.
2) They lack knowledge. An example is those who didn’t know idols were nothing, and so didn’t want to eat food that had been sacrificed to them.
3) They are weak in conscience. That is, their conscience is overly sensitive, prohibiting things not prohibited in scripture.
4) They are weak in will. They can be influenced to act against their conscience.

Stronger Brothers
Stronger brothers are strong in those very areas in which weaker brothers are weak. They have the responsibility to not produce stumbling blocks for weaker brothers. Stumbling blocks are actions by stronger believers, which would otherwise be permissible uses of freedom, which cause a weaker brother to sin against his conscience.

Thus, although Christians were free to eat meat, including that sold from markets that may have previously been sacrificed to idols, they were not to eat in an idol’s temple because a weaker brother might be influenced to sin against his conscience.

Pharisees
A third group is given attention by the authors: Pharisees. They are believers with strong convictions who take offense at those who resist their pressure to conform to their views. Unlike weaker brothers, they are not influenced by others’ use of freedom, but they nevertheless seek to force their views on others.

A Summary Using the Drinking Alcohol Issue:
The authors don’t use this example, it’s my example based on what the book teaches.

Weaker Brothers - Believe drinking alcohol is wrong, or at least are not fully convince that it is ok do to so. They can be influenced into drinking if they see other believers doing so. Strong brothers are required by love to avoid drinking in their presence and potentially causing them to sin against their conscience.

Stronger Brothers - Are fully convinced that drinking alcohol is a matter in which they have freedom (as long as they aren’t getting drunk, of course). Or, they may be those who are fully convinced that drinking is wrong (at least for them), but are not influenced by other believers drinking, and do not seek to impose their view on this issue on others.

Pharisees - Are fully convinced that drinking alcohol is wrong. They cannot be influenced by other believers into drinking (and thus sinning against their conscience). They also seek to impose their view of the issue on others, even those whose conscience is fully convinced that drinking is fine. The book says that stronger brothers may choose to limit their freedom to get along better with Pharisees. They are not required to do so however, because Pharisees take offense when none is given.

It is important to note that “weaker brother” should not be a permanent label for someone; they are to be trained and become stronger brothers. They should not change their actions though, until they are fully convinced, so that they do not sin against their conscience. Obviously, Pharisees aren’t supposed to stay Pharisees either.

Jesus and the Pharisees

The book gives an interesting account of how Jesus dealt with Pharisees. It was a case of escalation. At first they asked him questions (why are you doing that?) and Jesus simply told them. Then they began to observe Jesus to see him breaking their rules, so that they could accuse him. Jesus responded with grief and anger, and publicly justified his actions (the episode of healing a man on the Sabbath).

The Pharisees then conspired against Jesus. Jesus responded by withdrawing from them. The Pharisees next turned to slander, by attributing Jesus’ miracles to the power of Satan. Jesus refuted them and rebuked them for the first time. The Pharisees then accused Jesus’ disciples of violating their traditions. Jesus called them hypocrites and warned his disciples about them for the first time.

The Pharisees then turned to trying to trick Jesus into blundering by giving him trick questions (should we pay taxes?). Jesus avoided their attempts to trap him, and publicly warned the multitudes against the teachings of the Pharisees. The Pharisees then actively sought Jesus’ destruction, and Jesus delivered scathing denouncements of the Pharisees and their practices.

How Believers Should Act Towards the Pharisees

The authors give some points on how believers should behave towards Pharisees based on Jesus’ actions. Notice, he did not go out of his way to avoid doing things that would offend them.

1) Be careful not to become a Pharisee.
2) Explain your convictions when asked.
3) Don’t conform to their errant views.
4) Try to have peaceful relationships with them.
5) Instruct others on the dangers of Pharisaism.

And for “aggressive Pharisees”

6) If Pharisees are causing spiritual damage to others, the church, or God’s reputation, then confront them privately and seek to help them change.
7) If private reproof does not work, then church discipline is called for.

I found this section really interesting, especially the differences between stronger brothers, weaker brothers, and Pharisees.

Conclusion

The last chapter in the book is named “Conclusion” and is a nice four page wrap-up of the book. It repeats the high points of the book. It provides a basic summary of the wisdom view (quoted before in part 3):

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.

I found this book to be quite helpful, and especially enjoyed the sections critiquing the Traditional View, and about what to do when Christians disagree. I would highly recommend this book to all believers.

Book Review: Decision Making & the Will of God - Part 4

Published by Jasen Tracy December 3, 2007 in Religion, Book Reviews and Christian Books. 9 Comments

In the forth and final section of Decision Making and the Will of God (which I will review in two posts), the authors turn to explaining how their wisdom view of guidance and decision making applies in real life situations. In particular, they address the “Big 3″ of marriage, vocation, and education. The issue of giving is also addressed.

Throughout this section, the book refers to the couple highlighted in the first section of the book who managed to be facing all of the “Big 3″ at the same time. My review will focus more on the ideas presented however.

Marriage and the Wisdom View
In the traditional view, the pressure for decision-making regarding marriage is unbelievable. After all, if there’s an individual perfect will for us, then there is only one person that is eligible to be our spouse, and marriage is definitely something you don’t want to make a mistake on. In addition, a person’s “intended spouse” could marry someone else, thus making it impossible to follow God’s will. Even worse, a mistake regarding marriage cannot be undone (divorce being prohibited in most situations), and thus after making a wrong decision (or having one made for you) it is impossible to re-enter God’s perfect will.

The first issue regarding marriage that needs to be considered is whether we should get married at all. Both Jesus and Paul state that singleness is a valid, and in some ways, the preferred, option. However, according to Jesus, singleness is not for everyone: “not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given.” Paul echoes this in 1st Cor. 7, and so it appears that scripture teaches that there is something like a “gift of singleness” and that people who possess it (presumably this included Jesus and Paul) should stay unmarried. The basis however, is not God’s individual will, but rather spiritual expediency. As, 1st Cor. 7:35 puts it: “This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.”

The 2nd question concerning marriage is who we should marry. It should not be addressed until the first issue (whether or not to marry) is made. The book cites 2 Cor 6:14-16, amongst others, to show that Christians are to marry other Christians. This is a limitation, but it is not something that tells us specifically who to marry.

The book then gets into what one should consider when looking for a potential spouse:

1. Moral and Spiritual Characteristics - Men and women should look for those who demonstrate that they are able and willing to fulfill marital responsibilities, and the proposed spouse would be someone that it would be relatively easy for them to meet their commitments to. For example, a woman should not marry someone if she does not think it would be easy for her to submit to him.

2. Spiritual Console - People should seek the advice of mature Christians in this regard.

3. Common Sense - Things such as individual goals (if one person wants to be an overseas missionary and the other doesn’t, there might be a problem), interests (preferably one would not hate things the other really likes), and compatibility (desires for children, how to raise children, concern for possessions, etc) should not be overlooked.

I have to say that I found this section a bit weak, but perhaps I just want more details and specific methodology than is really available.

Vocation and the Wisdom View
The book then turns to addressing how decisions pertaining to a person’s vocation should be made, with a particular emphasis on ministry positions. According to the traditional view, the decision to enter the ministry (that is, full time “Christian work” jobs such as pastor or missionary) should not be made unless that person has felt a call to do so.

The authors object to that view. They note that the examples of people being called to ministry in scripture was by the means of supernatural revelation (audible voice of God, or through a prophet), which is not what is often meant by “call” today, which refers to an inward sense. Instead, a person should enter the ministry if they posses the biblical qualifications to do so (such as are found in 1 Tim 3 and many other places) and if they have the desire to do so for the right reasons.

The authors acknowledge that in fact all believers all called to ministry, whatever their job happens to be. The moral will of God as pertaining to our vocations can be found in scripture. There is a long list in the book that covers what that will is. It includes such things as working diligently and to show respect even to unreasonable masters. The basis of choosing a job should be wisdom and spiritual expediency. The question to ask, as the book puts it is:

Given my aptitudes, abilities, gifts, desires, and opportunities, which vocation would offer the greatest potential for my service to the Lord and my obedience to His moral will?

I found the section on vocation to be quite sound biblically, and far superior to the method some employ of having to “hear a call” before they can do a certain job (such as be a missionary).

Considerably less ink is spent on the third of the books’ big three decisions, education. The same guidelines apply to it that applied to vocations; choices should be made with wisdom on the basis of spiritual expediency.

Giving and the Wisdom View
Besides the “big three” issues, the authors specifically address the subject of giving. In their minds, the Traditional View sometimes distorts the scriptural view of giving. The first issue is the tithe. The book points out that there were at least two different tithes in the Old Testament. The first was ten percent of all one’s possessions (Lev 27:30-33) and was used to support the Levites and the temple ministry (Num 18:20-21). A second tithe was for a sacred meal in Jerusalem (Deut 12:17-18). It is less clear if there was a third tithe every third year for the poor (Deut 12:17-18), or if that is combined with the second tithe. The tithes functioned as a tax system, and they were required.

The command to tithe however is not found in the New Testament. Neither does the church act as a temple storehouse nor does it need a tax-like system. As the authors put it, “Believers today couldn’t obey Malachi 3:8-10 if they wanted to.” In contrast, the church is supported as each member gives “as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion (2 Cor 9:7).”

The traditional view also leads to “Faith Promise” type giving, where believers commit to giving a set amount of money beyond their tithes based on what they think God is calling them to do, and trust that God will provide this money so they can give it. This violates 2 Cor 8:12 - that a person should give according to what they have, not what they don’t have, as well as being a direct result of the traditional view, which the authors reject.

There is then a long lists of biblical principals upon which we actually should base are giving. Giving is according to various places in 2nd Corinthians characterized by: joy, cheerfulness, liberality, eagerness, willingness, perseverance, and integrity. The gift is not determined by the amount, but by its cost (2 Cor 8:2) and the greatest threat to giving is not poverty but covetousness (2 Cor 9:5). To quote the book, “The question should be … not ‘How much can I give?’ but, ‘How much can I give up?’”

I found the giving section pretty convincing, but then again I already shared this view, so perhaps I was biased a bit.

Next week: When Christians Differ

Book Review: Decision Making & the Will of God - Part 3

Published by Jasen Tracy November 26, 2007 in Religion, Book Reviews and Christian Books. 8 Comments

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

Book Review: Decision Making & the Will of God - Part 2

Published by Jasen Tracy November 19, 2007 in Religion, Book Reviews and Christian Books. 10 Comments

The Traditional View Critiqued
In the second part of Decision Making & the Will of God, Garry Friesen and J. Robin Maxson stop the fictional seminar form of the first part and proceed in a more typical fashion. The book contains many excellent summarization areas, which help to reinforce the main points. I found the critique of the traditional view quite convincing.

Individual Will Debunked: The Issue of Biblical Examples
The authors agree with the traditional view that God has a sovereign will, “God’s secret plan that determines everything that happens in the universe,” and a moral will, “God’s revealed commands in the Bible that teach how men ought to believe and live.” However, they disagree that God has an individual will, that is, an “ideal, detailed life-plan uniquely designed for each person.”

The traditional view argues from Biblical examples of God giving specific instructions to believers. Examples of this include the instruction to Peter to go to Cornelius’s house, and the instruction to Ananias to find Saul after his experience on the road to Damascus.

The book points out the problems with depending on these accounts to prove the traditional idea of God’s individual will. One problem is that there isn’t a sufficient number of examples of this type of leading, as most decisions made by people in the Bible were made without specific divine guidance. Another problem with the examples is that they are not comprehensive.

The traditional view holds that God’s individual will covers every decision a believer faces, but that is not shown in scripture. For instance, most of the examples of specific leading in Acts had to do directly with key decisions in the spread of the gospel, but not decisions of lesser import.

Perhaps a more serious problem is that the traditional view holds that special guidance is not to be a common experience for believers. However, all the examples of detailed guidance in the book of Acts did come through supernatural means, such as angels, visions, and God’s audible voice. Perhaps just as telling are the phrases used today by people who believe in the traditional view even though these phrases are not seen in Acts. For example, “I did thus and such because I knew it was God’s will for me,” or “I felt in my heart that God wanted me to do it.”

Individual Will Debunked: Is it Taught in Scripture?
The authors next turn to examine some of the various proof texts that people use to justify the traditional view of the individual will of God. They argue that the verses instead more correctly apply to God’s moral will. I’ll address just one of the specific passages, Proverbs 3:5-6 (quotations are from the NASB).

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

The book points out that noun “path” is used by Hebrew writers to describe the general course of life. Thus, the verse basically means: “He shall make the course of your life successful.” This fits the immediate context and the general context of the book of Proverbs, exemplified by Proverbs 11:5:

The righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way, but the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.

The point then of Proverbs 3:5-6, is that those who trust in God’s wisdom and not their own, and acknowledge God in their whole life, “will reap a life that is successful by God’s standard.” It teaches God’s moral will, not an individual one, which the authors maintain is true of all the proof texts that are used to justify the traditional view (they examine many such passages).

Individual Will Debunked: Problems with the Traditional View
After examining the Biblical evidence, the authors then discuss some of the problems with the traditional idea of God’s individual will. One problem is the great anguish that faces believers when they earnestly seek specific direction from God and it is not forthcoming. Even more telling is that the traditional view cannot be used consistently. It takes considerable time and effort to discern what God’s will is, and thus cannot be used for everyday decisions. In practice, it has to be abandoned for most of life’s decisions.

Sometimes a choice will have options that are equally valid. The traditional view’s insistence on just one correct option leads to worries about missing God’s will rather than thankfulness for the opportunities.

The traditional view teaches that the “inner witness of the Holy Spirit” is available to all believers, but this can lead to unwise decisions justified on the grounds that “God told me to do it”, especially by new believers. It can also lead to costly delays due to uncertainty about God’s will.

Probably the biggest problem with the traditional view is its reliance on inward impressions. That is because of the subjectivity of inward impressions (which is addressed in the aptly named chapter “Impressions are Impressions”). People who use the signs that the traditional view recommends cannot be certain that they have actually found God’s will. Scripture often is not specific enough to provide the guidance they are looking for, supernatural guidance is not to be expected, circumstances, personal desire, and common sense cannot be trusted completely. In practice, the followers of the traditional view must depend upon inward impressions to make decisions. Yes, the Holy Spirit does lead believers (Romans 8:14, Galatians 5:18), but this leading is to assist believers in putting “to death the deeds of the flesh,” and is not guidance in the sense of the traditional view individual will.

Next week: The Wisdom View Explained

Book Review: Decision Making & the Will of God - Part 1

Published by Jasen Tracy November 12, 2007 in Religion, Book Reviews and Christian Books. 16 Comments

A Biblical Alternative to the Traditional View
Decision Making & the Will of God was first published in 1981. The authors are Garry Friesen (whom I have a sneaking suspicion wrote most of the book), professor at Multnomah School of the Bible in Portland, Oregon, and J. Robin Maxson, pastor of the Klamath Evangelical Free Church in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Both men have managed to hold these job positions since before the book was written to today.

Purpose
The book was written to “help Christians understand what the Bible says about God’s will as it pertains to decision making.” The authors hope that it will give comfort to the group of Christians who believe God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their lives, but for some reason God has not told them what that plan is.

The author (presumably Friesen) faced this situation earlier in his life. He was well schooled in what he terms “the traditional view” (more on this later) of understanding the will of God, but when faced with the decision of which college to attend, this method failed and he could not find what the will of God was for him in this decision.

He considered three causes for this inability: that God was unable to reveal His will; that sin or insincerity on his part was that cause of his failure; or that his understanding of the nature of God’s will was biblically deficient. He immediately ruled out the first option. After a careful time of introspection before God, he decided that although he couldn’t rule out the second option, he did not think it was the issue. This drove him to examine what Scripture actually taught, and began a process that ultimately lead to the writing of this book.

How the Traditional View is Presented
The first four chapters in the book present the traditional view of understanding how to find the will of God (which is later debunked). This is accomplished by presenting a fictional seminar that teaches the traditional view. The story is headlined by a pastor who is confident he knows how to find God’s perfect individual will (and has plenty of scriptural proof-texts to back it up) and a student who is facing questions regarding the “Big 3″ (marriage, vocation, and education). The section lacks the footnotes that are in the rest of the book because the authors did not wish to “disparage” any specific people who have sincerely taught the traditional view.

The authors recognize that this method of presenting the traditional view, that is a fictional seminar, causes the possibility of creating a straw man. I think they have largely avoided that problem, although it is nearly impossible for someone to give a fair statement of a position they don’t agree with (so they likely have not completely avoided the straw man problem). In any case, I know a good number of people who believe the view as they have presented it, and I found the fictional seminar interesting reading.

Summary of the Traditional View
The traditional view gives three meanings for the term “God’s will.” There is:

Sovereign Will: “God’s secret plan that determines everything that happens in the universe.” It most often cannot be known until after it has happened.

Moral Will: “God’s revealed commands in the Bible that teach how men ought to believe and live.” It is fully revealed in Scripture.

Individual Will: “God’s ideal, detailed life-plan uniquely designed for each person.” It is given and confirmed by the Holy Spirit, through numerous means, to the hearts of sincere believers.

The moral will, revealed in the Bible, is of great use for Christians’ decision making. However, many times it offers only general guidelines for believers to follow, and not specific instruction. For example, scripture clearly teaches that if believers marry it is to be to a fellow believer, but it does not tell believers whom specifically they are to marry.

Road Signs Pointing to God’s Individual Will
The traditional view uses a number of signs to help discover God’s individual will.

The Bible - Anything that contradicts the Bible’s commands (understood in proper historical context, of course) cannot be the will of God. Again, this is more useful for ruling things out than finding God’s individual will for things that aren’t necessarily moral decisions.

Circumstances - The idea here is that God works through various circumstances by his sovereign will to open and close doors, either revealing that something is or is not his will. Admittedly, what could be a “closed door” or what might be a “test” can be hard to say. This may include careful use of “putting out a fleece” as per the example of Gideon.

Inner Witness of the Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit’s guidance of a believer through personal impressions within the heart to reveal God’s individual will.

Mature Counsel - This is advice based on scripture and life experience from respected believers. One must remember though that human counselors are fallible and that the Holy Spirit is to be the final counselor regarding guidance.

Personal Desires - If someone is properly devoted to the Lord, then their desires may line up with God’s will. One has to be careful though, because the heart can be deceitful.

Common Sense - From Proverbs and elsewhere, it is clear that God expects us to use wisdom and common sense. But this cannot be the case always, for God’s wisdom is greater than our wisdom. It was not common sense that led Abraham to seek to sacrifice his son.

Special Supernatural Guidance - Examples of this are: God speaking audibly, God speaking through prophets, appearances by angels, visions, and miracles. However, such things are uncommon and most believers will not experience them.

Together these signs are taken as being completely sufficient for the believer to find God’s individual will for his or her life. Certainty that one has correctly found God’s will stems from: the agreement of the signs, the results of our actions, prayer, and personal communion with God (if we are close to God, we can be confident that he will guide us).

Next week: The Critique of the Traditional View

Zeal For Truth