Decision Making and the Will of God
Does God have a perfect will for your individual life? Does he have a certain job he wants you to have, a certain spouse he has picked for you, a specific school for you to attend, a certain house or car he wants you to buy?
Or is God more interested in having you follow his moral will that is revealed in the Bible? Does God promise to give you wisdom to make decisions and then grant you a great deal of freedom to make choices as long as you are living within his moral will?
If you’d like to grapple with these questions, along with the leaders at Grace Place, read the article, “Decision Making and the Will of God.” This article is a transcript of spoken presentations made by Gregory Koukl.
Decision Making and the Will of God
October 20th, 2008 at 7:35 am
Interesting paper on the Will of God. A bit long, however! I had to put on a pot of coffee to finish it, ha! I think I agree with the overall conclusion. When it comes to making decisions, we shouldn’t be paralyzed by trying to discern if there is a green or red light telling us to go ahead. I think the point is that unless there is an obvious red light (in opposition to God’s expressed Word), the light is always green. It is like God saying, “you choose, I will be with you.” That is freeing.
If we look back at our lives we can usually begin to connect the dots concerning God being with us. So if I understand that, then I am more comfortable trusting that God will work out the details in the future. Christianity is a journey and a relationship more than it is a set of propositions and doctrines. When we realize that we are part of the narrative, the story of the Bible, then following Christ becomes an adventure.
Some favorite verses:
Pro 16:3 Commit your works to the LORD And your plans will be established.
Pro 16:9 The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.
Pro 3:5-6 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.
Php 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Rom 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
1Cor 13:9-13 (Message Bible)
We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete.
But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.
When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.
We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.
October 20th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Good thoughts, John. Took a whole pot of coffee, eh!? I’ll be reflecting more on this topic in the future. I’m taking a couple weeks for prayer, reading and writing–working on renewed vision for Grace Place and doctoral research. Discovering God’s will is one of the themes I’m doing in-depth study on. Clay
October 22nd, 2008 at 10:01 am
Hi Clay,
I found Gregory Koukl’s “Decision Making and the Will of God” to be very disturbing. In the past I have felt that I have received guidance from God (see http://meditations-on-an-eyeball.blogspot.com/2007/06/gods-word-in-wal-mart.html), but I also acknowledge that I could be mistaken about that. I tried to be open minded while reading this, but some negative things stand out to me in Gregory’s presentation:
*A lack of humility. Comments like “When we’re finished, though, you’ll be thankful” occur distressingly often.
*A hermeneutic that treats all verses contrary to his point of view as exceptions. The apostles make an important decision by drawing lots, the apostles state that a decision “seemed good to the Holy Spirit” (Acts15:28). On what basis does he discount these?
*A simplistic view of God. Could an omniscient God with plans for us really be discomforted by us disobeying him and not marrying the best choice for us? For someone that selected us before the foundation of the world, the choice of a spouse contrary to His wishes does not seem likely to disrupt the stability of the universe.
*A solution that is basically legalism – here is a set of rules that I’ve selected for you to follow—no involvement from God is required. Gregory doesn’t mention the biblical rules that he chooses to disregard.
I agree that there appear to be abuses by people claiming they been led, or have peace about questionable choices. But biblically you can’t tell from the outside what God has allowed or required, for example Hosea being told to marry Gomer (or is this just another exception?).
As believers Christ dwells in our hearts. It is hard to believe that he is just along for the ride. I think he lights the path.
–Vance
October 22nd, 2008 at 10:18 am
Hi Vance, I’m glad to hear you found the article challenging! Thanks for your thoughtful feedback. I’m doing some reading by various authors on this subject right now and grappling with this subject. Clay
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Some additional thoughts, Vance. While not defending this article as the final word on this subject:
–Remember that the article was a transcript of a spoken presentation. Maybe some of the comments like “hang with me to the end” would not have been included in a written presentation.
–Many scholars have noted that the casting of lots (Acts 1) occurred before the outpouring of the Spirit (Acts 2), and that approach is never used again in the NT. Perhaps God intends for a different approach in the new covenant.
–It is possible to understand “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit” (Acts 15) as a reference to the evidence of Gentile conversions (that had just been presented) and as a reference to the fact that Scripture (just quoted) foretold the inclusion of Gentiles.
–I agree that God will accomplish his sovereign will no matter what marriage choices we make. But the idea that there is one perfect partner for everyone does imply that if we marry someone else then we robbed someone else of their perfect partner, etc., etc.
–We all agree that God guides us through his Word (moral will) and through wisdom (gleaned through the Bible, prayer, experience, research, counsel, and reflection). The big question is does God guide through feelings, impressions, hunches, etc. This doesn’t seem to be taught biblically. On those occasions where God speaks supernaturally (out of the cloud, or out of a bush, or in a vision, etc.) they are unique and an exception to the rule, and never in the NT do these happen in response to people seeking direction. Instead they are an interruption and a surprise.
(For a more thorough and scholarly argument in favor of the wisdom model see “Decision Making and the Will of God”, by Garry Friesen)
November 10th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Since many difficult topics have different views based on similar Scripture or one side uses this verse and the other side uses that verse, the proper use of logic may help guide us to a decision. Logic helps remove the argument over interpretation of indiviudal verses which seem to imply one viewpoint while other verses seem to imply another viewpoint.
Scriptural Logic requires a fundamental understanding that the Word of God is inerrant and indeed the WORD of God. But, many scholars and churchgoers who believe in these principles still grapple over viewpoints and interpretations from the Word of God. The WILL OF GOD is one of many such topics.
This type of study makes FANTASTIC Sunday School curriculum as everyone is involved in the discussion regardless of their knowledge of Scripture. The proper teacher knows how to ask questions based on logic and common sense that EVERYONE can agree to, even if they have NEVER opened the Bible. Once we agree to the logical assumption, our theology needs to match this assumption and if it does not, then our theological stance is probably wrong.
Here are a few rules I like to go by before we start.
1. Our theological viewpoints should be based on sound evidence with Scriptural backing. We realize Scripture does not contradict itself so if we have a number of THEMES (not verses with different interpretations) that seem to violate Scripture, then our belief system is probably wrong no matter which verse we may use to back up our position. THEMES are MUCH EASIER to understand than individual verses. If we see a verse that seems to contradict a basic theme we know is correct, it could be that we are taking the verse out of context. If we can find a number of erroneous THEMES with our viewpoint, then more than likely, our interpretation of Scripture or are theological position is probably wrong and we should consider changing our view.
2. Whatever viewpoint we believe today is only temporary, if evidence is presented to the contrary, we simply change our view.
3. We never ARRIVE theologically, there might be many different doctrines or subjects we believe in and are 100% convinced we are right, but we may be wrong! Nothing fundamental of course, just subjects like The Will of God.
4. We may truly BELIEVE, WITH ALL OF OUR HEART, that O.J. Simpson is INNOCENT. But, if we have enough evidence to the contrary, we should AGREE to change our view. In other words, we don’t hold onto views based on feelings, gut checks, dreams or other abstract emotions. Our views should be based on sound evidence and the underlying knowledge that Scripture does NOT contradict itself. The main reason God gave us a brain, was to USE IT!
5. If we are UNABLE to answer basic questions concerning our view, then we should be ready to change our view. In other words, we may be holding onto a view based on how we were raised rather than sound evidence. If we do not have enough knowledge to answer basic questions concerning our view, then we should be more willing to change our view.
6. We are NEVER DOGMATIC on issues that are not core to Christianity. For example, the WILL OF GOD. How we interpret the Will of God, is not conditional on our Salvation. When we have topics such as this, we look at the evidence to see if our view really holds up to consistent THEMES in the Bible rather than trying to interpret difficult verses. Logic brings all the cookies down to the bottom shelf for everyone to participate regardless of their Scriptural knowledge.
OK, seems like a number of rules, let’s START our investigation into the Will of God to illustrate what we mean. We will start with a few questions that any good attorney might ask if we were on the witness stand defending our view on the WILL OF GOD.
A good teacher or a good attorney will know how to take our answers and ask even more questions, often flushing out answers that lead to a different direction or contradict other answers. We CANT do this via email, but it is very eye opening and a great deal of fun to teach in this manner. Many of us have not had our belief system analyzed by a competent attorney, here is what we mean.
1. If we can be led by the Spirit for decisions does that mean we should go by this leading if the leading contradicts Scripture or if Scripture is silent (more likely) on the issue? For example, if we are praying to be led by the Spirit in taking a certain job do we go by the leading of the Spirit since our job is not mentioned in Scripture? Or, do we look at a number of things that ARE mentioned by Scripture to help make our decision such as
A. Use of our time such as travel that may take us away from our family or required work on weekends which may sacrifice other important issues such as church life.
B. Compensation involved providing for our family along with stability.
C. Associations within our workplace, what are we required to do and who to hang out with?
D. Job requirements, are we compromising anything?
E. In other words, a number of things that ARE addressed in Scripture to help make proper decisions.
2. If we decide to use the above, and the leading of the Spirit moves us in another direction, which one takes precedence? If we try and use BOTH with everything working together, did we make the decision based on the above or was it the Spirit? How do we know if it was the Spirit as compared to using sound judgment on our own?
3. If the leading of the Spirit involves #1, is not the leading of the Spirit based on sound decisions rather than an emotion or feeling?
4. What does it mean to be led by the Spirit? Is this an abstract feeling that we can’t describe? How do we know if we get confirmation on a decision, is it just an overwhelming conviction and belief in our heart that we are going the right way?
5. Is it possible that we may make a mistake in being led by the Spirit? If we believe with all of our heart, could we be wrong?
6. If we feel 100% sure that the Spirit is leading to us to make a decision, does that mean we are guaranteed success in that decision since we figured out what God’s specific will was in this regard? How responsible are we after making decisions based on the leading of the Spirit to go back to responsible behavior within that decision? If we need responsible behavior within that decision, is not the decision less important than how we act within that decision?
7. What if there is no right or wrong decision, will God hold us accountable if we make the best decision possible based on our knowledge and what we thought was right since we did not go by the leading of the Spirit? If we can’t discern what the Spirit is leading, how do we proceed? In other words, for people who may NOT believe in the leading of the Spirit, but believe in freedom and proper behavior within decisions, are they held accountable since they just don’t get it?
8. Do we believe in Godly counsel or opinions of others who might know us better such as our wife, close friends, church leaders, etc. What happens if there is a conflicting leading of the Spirit, who determines which leading is correct? How can the SAME God or SAME Spirit give conflicting leading? Should we even ask their opinion if we feel 100% sure the Spirit has led us into a decision? In other words, since it is really OUR decision and if the feeling of confirmation is overwhelmingly present, do we really need to seek advice? After all, the Holy Spirit is giving advice and that should be good enough correct?
9. Is there any way we can TEST this leading to see if we might be getting a leading from a wrong Spirit or being influenced by emotions we may not be aware of?
10. Is there some type of scale, such as 1-10 on how convinced we are of getting confirmations of certain decisions which are not spelled out in Scripture? For example, if we are looking for a spouse or a job, is there some type of feeling, fleece or event that makes the decision 100% sure or could it be the leading of the Spirit is sometimes 50%? How much room for doubt or mistakes are given when we are led by the Spirit? If we are 100% sure, then does that mean we are guaranteed success for finding and following the specific Will of God in this one area?
For example, if we found the one single person God wanted us to marry, then how responsible are we for success of that relationship with decisions inside of the relationship? If the success of the relationship is based on decisions within the relationship, is this not true no matter who we marry? If the decisions within the leading of the Spirit are mandated for success, then how important is it to leave the decision itself up to possible speculation or a feeling that is not 100% sure? Would we be better off to keep consistent in making the decision as we are to acting within that decision? In other words, if proper behavior and obedience to Scripture is required to keep a marriage going, should not obedience to Scripture and proper behavior be used as the criteria for the decision itself?
11. If we think we made a mistake on the leading of the Spirit, do we stick with the decision or do we try to get out of it so we can get back to the specific Will of God.
12. If your son or daughter came up and asked you as a Father what your will was for them in regards to eating at A&W or the Wayside Inn, what would be your response? Would you be more concerned with what YOU want or with what THEY wanted as long as all things were equal? If you did have a specific will for A&W, would it be better if they went to the Wayside Inn and acted better or the A&W and acted poorly? In other words, if you care more about how they act with the behavior inside of where they selected, is it not more important HOW they behave WHERE they go rather than being hung up with the WHERE? If this is true of you, why would it be different with God in your opinion? How would you feel if they struggled mightily over this issue and did not care as much about how they acted? If they acted properly no matter where they decided, is not that what you are looking for rather than the where?
13. Since there is no real standard or measure on what it means to be led by the Holy Spirit or how to confirm when He is leading on certain decisions, are we not more prone to error with subjectivity rather than a solid rule and standard? If so, should we lean towards criteria with sounder judgment or criteria more prone to error? The leading of the Spirit may be the HOMERUN, if we can determine it, but what if we can’t? What if people are not sure about the leading of the Spirit, how do we give them advice? How do we know when this HOMERUN has occurred and if they can’t hear it, do we interpret that for them? In other words, for those who don’t believe in the guiding of individual decisions but rather the decisions made within those decisions, how can we be of assistance to them if we are dependent and believe strongly in the leading of the Spirit?
14. Where does the leading of the Spirit stop? In other words, how do we determine when to seek his leading and when not too? Should we seek specific leading on a Dell vs. Apple? How do we determine which decisions should seek a specific guidance compared to those with common sense, facts or circumstances? What if someone disagrees on our interpretation of what constitutes a Spirit led decision, how do handle disagreements?
If this seems to be confusing know that God is not the AUTHOR of confusion and following Scripture may not be easy, but it’s NOT confusing.
Steve Schroeder
August 16th, 2011 at 8:10 pm
Greg Koukl is right in talking about Gods will. There’s nothing to debate because the scripture is clear. Point is mature christianity is not hearing the voice of God. Mature means that one has grown in GRACE and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! God gave us 66 books of His voice!
April 4th, 2012 at 1:35 pm
My main concern with Friesen or Koukl’s arguments (and it’s a huge frustration) is their lack of dealing with prophecy. The gift of prophecy is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is not necessarily a voice that is “heard” outside the person (because the instructions Paul gives the Corinthians on how to handle prophecy tells the individual prophets that they can interrupt a person who is prophesying if they receive a contradictory or a different word. Such an interruption would be unnecessary if the prophetic instruction received was an audible voice. The need for an interruption by a prophet and then the need to test that prophecy given implies an internal phenomenon.) The very frustrating thing about Koukl is that he is not a cessationist and does believe in the more miraculous gifts of the Spirit. This form of communication from God apart from (but not contradictory to) the Bible HAS to be dealt with in any discussion on the individual will of God for someone’s life ESPECIALLY from someone who believes that it happens. Very disappointing. It’s my hunch that many people who are saying “God told me” such and such are, in a sense, claiming that they received a prophetic word from God (which I would define as any definitive word of guidance apart from the Scriptures) but not CALLING it prophecy, thereby skirting the need to test and weight out whatever they’re receiving as direction for their life. So there isn’t as much of a problem with people hearing God’s direction in their life as there is a problem with defining what exactly is happening and then testing it. I’m all for using wisdom to make decisions, but one has to deal with the fact that God has a will for the individual and can speak that to each individual when He chooses to turn them a certain direction. That is called “prophecy”. A pity it’s not dealt with.