FBC Durham Knowing and Doing the Will of God Week 2

Transcription

1 THE THREE WILLS OF GOD Last week we introduced the six weeks of this course. We talked about some standard misunderstandings about how to know God s will and some basic principles about the nature of God s will. We set up the path for the entire series of lessons. This week we are going to talk about three wills of God. They are God s will of decree, his will of desire, and his will of direction. A popular book on Christian living tells us, right in the first sentence on the first page, God has a wonderful plan for your life. Say that to someone who just won the lottery and you ll get an amen, a high five, and maybe even a thumbs up. However, if you say the same eight words to someone who just heard a terminal diagnosis, who lost a loved one, or who just got dumped by their boyfriend and you will get a different response. Or, again, if you offer that same platitude to an earnest teenager right after high school graduation and you might find yourself engrossed in a deeper-than-expected conversation about the myriad of possibilities, opportunities, and pitfalls that lie before the youngster. When we say the will of God most people conjure up the image of some sort of master plan that has thousands of steps and decision points between now and the end. It s as if we are in a Choose Your Own Adventure book, hoping to make it through to the end to get the treasure. This thought process holds there is one perfect way to get from A to Z and that if we miss one step and decide wrongly one day everything downstream will be out of whack. We ll end up losing the treasure and getting trapped in the cave-in never make it to the glorious end that would have been ours had we turned to page 27 instead of page 63. Another mistaken way to look at this is to think that God has a secret travel itinerary for us. It s like we are in the Amazing Race, a socalled reality show, where we have to go from point to point and figure out the trip as we go along. If we make it we win, if we miss a flight it could ruin everything. Still another way to look at the will of God is to believe that God will take care of everything, we just need to hang out until the next thing comes along. This sort of thinking leads people to be passive as they wait on God to do something. Somehow the only thing they believe they need to do is sit around and wait and it will all work out. Let go and let God. WILL OF DECREE God knows all that will happen and whatever God declares will happen. God is sovereign over all things. He created all things. In Genesis 1, God spoke all things into existence from nothing. He owns it all and can and will work all things out according to the plan that was laid down before this world was founded. Our form and development is decreed: 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. (Psalm 139:16) 1

2 Our welfare is decreed: 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. (Matthew 10:29 30) The plan for atonement for our sins is decreed: 27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. (Acts 4:27 28) Our salvation is decreed: 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:11 12) If God decrees it, it is going to happen: 9 Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose, (Isaiah 16:9 10) WILL OF DESIRE The descriptions of God s will of decree make it sound fatalistic or deterministic. In the words of the famous Bible scholar Doris Day, Que sera, sera/ Whatever will be, will be. Or, as in Greek and Roman myths, as if there are forces that will shape the future according to some destiny that is laid on the world and will terrorize anyone that defies the Fates. People might bring up passages like 2 Peter 3:9 when considering God s plan for the salvation of individuals: 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) Taken in the most literal terms in the first reading, it might seem like this verse undermines what Paul wrote in Ephesians 1 about God s plan for our salvation, but the context of 2 Peter 3 demonstrates that it is likely that God is withholding the judgment which has been warranted since the fall of Adam until his plan has worked itself out. Peter is telling his audience to be patient but to expect the end at any time because God s got a plan. 2

3 Another argument against God s will of decree is that of human responsibility. Basically, this argument states that God isn t justified in condemning anyone for sin because he made the world and is sovereign. If God is really in control of all things, then he could stop all sin from occurring. If he created all things, then he created evil, too. This is a big, important question that we aren t going to fully answer here. However, we should recognize that God addresses this in Scripture. Even if we don t fully understand how God can be both sovereign and yet humans responsible for their actions, we know both are true. God will judge people for their sin: 21 Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 7:21) Sinful desires in us do not come from God: 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15 17) God gives us the tools we need to obey, but we have responsibility to do so: 20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20 21) God reveals many things for us to do in his law: 29 The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29:29) It is important to recognize as we consider God s will of desire that we are always talk about moral choices: For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; (1 Thess 4:3 5) Doing things contrary to God s will of desire, also known as sinning, always results in bad things. Eternally, apart from Christ, sin results in death and hell. Temporally, sinning results in natural consequences like divorce, children out of wedlock, financial loss, unhappiness, etc. 3

4 Moral vs. Non-Moral Choices Excursus The greatest difference between a Moral and non-moral choice is revelation. Both special revelation and general revelation demonstrate God s character to the world. Simply described, special revelation is the Bible and general revelation is the created order. A Moral choice either obeys or disobeys some aspect of revelation. A non-moral choice is not addressed by revelation. Examples: Respecting property is a Moral choice. The Bible tells us not to steal (Ex 20:15). Awareness of creation shows us that stealing is wrong and undermines the common good. Wearing a red shirt instead of a blue one is a non-moral choice. Neither the Bible nor the created order specify what color shirt we should wear. However, the otherwise non-moral choice of my shirt color becomes a Moral choice when, for example: 1. An authority establishes a rule that should be obeyed, so that I am violating the 5 th commandment by flaunting a God ordained authority. 2. My choice to wear a particular color of shirt is designed to offend someone else, thus not showing neighbor love. A simple way to understand Moral choices is to evaluate them by three characteristics: Goals Conduct Character 4

5 Conduct: 1. Is there a law or rule prohibiting what I am doing? 2. Is what I am doing (or considering) consistent with God s revealed will in Scripture? Character: Goals: 1. Am I a Christian? 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6) 2. Is what I am doing consistent with the character of a mature Christian? 1. What is my intent? Am I seeking to please God or to please myself? 31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Cor 10:31) 5

6 WILL OF DIRECTION So far we ve talked about God working all things according to his will of decree and how sometimes things do and don t go according to God s will of desire. God s will of direction is the one that everyone always wants to talk about, but it is the one that Scripture says little or nothing about. From Gerald Sittser s book, The Will of God as a Way of Life: Conventional understanding of God s will defines it as a specific pathway we should follow into the future. God knows what this pathway is, and he has laid it out for us to follow. Our responsibility is to discover this pathway God s plan for our lives. We must discover which of the many pathways we could follow is the one we should follow, the one God has planned for us. If and when we make the right choice, we will receive his favor, fulfill our divine destiny and succeed in life.... If we choose rightly we will experience his blessing and achieve success and happiness. If we choose rightly, we will experience his blessing and achieve success and happiness. If we choose wrongly, we may lose our way, miss God s will for our lives, and remain lost forever in an incomprehensible maze. 1 Clearly, from last week s discussion, this is not how we are presenting God s will in this course. Nor is it really how Scripture discusses knowing God s will or serving God. What Scripture shows us are examples of people seeking to serve God, not knowing exactly what the next step is, and yet not being paralyzed by trying to be in the center of God s will. Paul leaves Ephesus uncertain if he would return: 19 And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. 21 But on taking leave of them he said, I will return to you if God wills, and he set sail from Ephesus. (Acts 18:19 21) James cautions against being too sure of the future: 13 Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (James 4:15 17) 1 Gerald Sittser, The Will of God as a Way of Life: Finding and Following the Will of God (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 17. 6

7 Yet we can be confident that things are going to work out for the good: 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) We should focus on being faithful and content with outcome: 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me The most significant danger in the discussion of knowing and doing God s will of direction is we expect an immediate reward for doing what we perceive to be God s will of desire. If I go to this school instead of that school God will give me the husband or wife that I want. If I take this job instead of that job I will end up broke and on the street. If I get it right, life is going to be easy. The truth is we rarely know which job we were supposed to take until we make the best choice we can by God s grace, and God shows us later, years down the line, how he has worked things out according to his plan and our ultimate good. In the meanwhile, we should pursue holiness in all things instead of stressing over what color shirts we should wear. Prosperity Gospel Excursis: There are two kinds of Prosperity Gospel. In its strongest form, the Prosperity Gospel teaches that material wealth, premium health, and whole life prosperity follow from right living in God s kingdom. There is a direct, linear relationship between holiness and material flourishing. Most of us can break through that sort of the Prosperity Gospel teaching easily as we look at Jesus poverty, Paul s sickness, and the book of Job. 2 There is a softer form of the Prosperity Gospel that is more prevalent in the prosperous American Christian culture, which is described here by David Jones: The prosperity gospel resides in the heart of all men; the prosperity gospel is even in my own heart. Imagine you re driving to church on a cold, rainy Sunday morning, and to your dismay you get a flat tire. What is your immediate thought? God, really? I m going to church. Isn t there some drug dealer or abusive husband you could have afflicted with a flat tire? That s the prosperity gospel. 2 More on the prosperity Gospel, particular the economic iterations of it, can be found in a series of blogs I wrote for the Institute for Faith, Work and Economics. 7

8 Or maybe you don t get that promotion at work, your child gets sick, or you re unfairly criticized at church. The result? You get mad at God because you were overlooked, troubled, or disparaged. That s the prosperity gospel. The very thought that God owes us a relatively trouble-free life, and the anger we feel when God doesn t act the way we believe he is supposed to act, betray a heart that expects God to prosper us because of our good works. That s the prosperity gospel. 3 We should resist the urge to try to turn doing God s will into a formula that has a positive outcome when we obey. That isn t the pattern reflected in the life of anyone in Scripture and we should expect it. Bringing it all together: Here is a final illustration, by way of conclusion. This is an imperfect analogy, but it carries the sense. The three wills of God can be described as a train ride. Train (decree): Moving in a direction along the tracks. The train is going to get from one station to the next; passengers have no control. Train Company Rules (desire): Stay in seat. Don t be annoying. Keeps hands inside. The passengers can choose to obey or disobey, but there will be personal, punitive and/or natural consequences to disobedience. These are always moral choices. Personal conduct (direction): Read a book for school or watch a movie; look out the window or sleep; share the gospel with your neighbor or talk about sports. The passengers can choose to do one or the other and there will likely be no perceptible short-term consequence. The use of time (in this example) is primarily prudential, and the choices may or may not be moral. This constitutes the vast majority of our decision making. Resources DeYoung, Kevin. Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, Sittser, Gerald Lawson, and Gerald Lawson Sittser. The Will of God As a Way of Life: How to Make Every Decision with Peace and Confidence. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, Jones, David W., and Russell S. Woodbridge. Health, Wealth & Happiness: Has the Prosperity Gospel Overshadowed the Gospel of Christ? Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, Jones, David W., and Daniel R. Heimbach. An Introduction to Biblical Ethics David Jones, The Prosperity Gospel in My Own Heart. 8