Fav Foto... Knowing God's Will: Necessity

The theme is "up" for Favorite Foto Friday. Abby's spirits were definitely UP! after getting a kiss from a Block hunk. More "Block" pics tonight...

Your comments about knowing God's will:

There were some great comments and feedback on the first post about "Knowing God's Will". Here is some response from me related to those comments:

• We often see things as "black and white" in the Bible that millions of other see as "gray"; in other words they are either unsure or don't share the same conviction. I think there are some things that are black and white, PLAINLY black and white, that others struggle with and see blurred (I'm speaking of peripheral issues, not salvation). It is our responsibility as Christians to hold fast to our convictions and never compromise, but also to do it in love and realize that everyone is at a different place in their Christian walk. It calls for the mature, discerning Christian to extend patience, liberty and humility to those who don't see things as clearly. Remember, personal conviction is not doctrine... and doctrine is NOT dependent on our convictions. They are two different matters.
  
• Someone asked about the laws and regulations of the Old Testament: are they binding to Christians today? No. Without presenting a long substantiation of that conclusion, let me leave you with this to consider... if the Old Testament laws and regulations are binding on the Church, which ones? All of them? Part of them? Who gets to choose? Tithing regulations were 30-40% of your income... are you ready to do that? Ritual cleansing? Animal sacrifice? Who gets to choose which ones are binding? That's my point... the Old Testament commands and statutes were for those who approached God through the Law before Jesus died and we entered the era of Grace.
  
• I loved Courtney's comment about God's will not being a "small dot" that we might miss. Very true! I will certainly steal that and use it later! Thanks Courtney...
  
• Sarah asked the question about military and killing... if you will go over to http://www.seriousfaith.com/, I've answered that question there: http://www.seriousfaith.com/asr/question.asp?questionid=725

I love your comments and questions. They help us all as a community to think more and examine what we believe.

Knowing the Will of God - Necessity

1 John 2:17 - And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (NKJV)

Let's review what we have learned so far. When trying to determine God's will:

• First off, does God's Word contain a plain and direct answer to your question or circumstance? You have to diligently and regularly search God's Word and do the hard work of finding out God's revealed, written Word (2Tim 2.15; Acts 17.11)


• If you find a direct and clear answer, then it simply boils down to a matter of obedience; simple to understand, often not simple to do. (1 John 5.2; James 1.22)


• If there is no direct answer in the Bible, how do you know God's Will for the "gray areas" (those things the Scriptures don't address plainly or directly)? This is the idea of "working out your salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2.12), Working hard to know God's Word, praying for understanding, asking the Spirit for guidance

We are going to get busy answering the "gray area" question. One thing to keep in mind: what I'm calling "gray" are those things that are COMMONLY struggled with as "gray". It may be perfectly black and white to you, and in fact, there are many things that seem black and white to me that other people have difficulty with. Even so, if it is not clear to YOU, then it is gray until God leads you to a black and white conclusion.

Some of this is liberty, some of it discretion, some of it maturity and some of it discernment. Everyone is not the same, and thank Heavens for that. So when we talk about "gray" from this point on, we are talking about those common things people struggle to know about God's Will because they cannot turn to a verse that say "you shall not..." or "it's okay...". Or maybe they've just not found the verse yet or found it and misunderstood.

There Are NO Magic Answers

There are several questions and considerations that will help you determine God's Will in the not-so-easy-to-figure-out circumstances. None of the questions considered BY THEMSELVES will give you a magic answer; but when considered as a whole, you should be able to make a Godly decision with confidence.

Let's start with some easy ones... when trying to discover God's Will about a question or circumstance, ask yourself:

• Is it really necessary?
• Is the thing, choice or action you are considering really necessary, or is it just something "extra" that you would LIKE to do, but there is no "necessity" involved?
• Can you live without it?
• Is it genuinely important?
• If you gave it up, would anything suffer or be neglected?
• Should you give it up in order to leave room or time for something better?

We burden ourselves unnecessarily with TOO MANY things, too many choices, too many options, too many commitments, too many activities. God never meant for us to live a million miles an hour with no direction or purpose or anchor (1Thess 4.11). This is the one I struggle with the most because if I get 10 seconds that are not filled with something creative or productive, I start looking around for some new adventure.

It's Harder to Say "No" To the Holy Stuff

It's easier to answer this question when it comes to the "non-sacred". We might easily conclude that more work, more sports or more possessions aren't really necessary but it will take some deeper spiritual maturity to determine when more church, more ministry and more Christian activity is too much. God has promised to give us the answer though when we ask in faith (James 1.5).

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, (NKJV)

We are running a race. The Christian life is a race to the finish line: Jesus Christ. If the choice or decision you are pondering is one that involves holding on to sin, then we have a plain answer in Hebrews 12.1: lay aside sin because it ensnares you, traps you and trips you up.

But what about when the choice is amoral (wouldn't be sinful either way)? Notice the admonition to those in the race: Let us lay aside every weight!

The idea here is to throw off anything that will slow you down; anything that will make it harder and longer to reach the finish line which is PERFECTION, becoming like Christ. A runner doesn't carry around an extra 50 fifty pounds when he is trying to run and win a race. In fact, almost embarrassingly, runners today are wearing almost nothing, and certainly carrying nothing extra. Why? So that there is no extra weight or burden to slow them down.

The ancient Olympic runners competed "butt nekkid" (that's Oklahoman for 'naked'). This extreme "laying aside of everything that will hinder us from running" is exactly the mental picture the original readers of this verse would have in mind. Remember that's a "mental picture"... don't go running around nekkid and say Brent told you it would make you a better Christian.

Ask yourself: is it really necessary?

Will it slow me down in my race to be Christ-like? Does it contribute to the goal of finishing the race and winning the race? Will my walk with God be hindered or helped if I toss aside, or better yet, never pick up the extra weight (responsibility, commitment, activity, etc.) associated with this decision?

Another way to help you answer the question "is it really necessary" is to determine "will it matter?" What I mean by that is best demonstrated with a series of questions. When considering a choice or decision ask yourself, "if I do this thing" (or say yes, or commit, or take on this responsibility):

• Will it matter tomorrow?
• Will it make a difference 2 weeks from now?
• Will I really care 2 months from now?
• Will it have any lasting benefit 2 years from now?
• Will it matter in 20 years?
• Does it matter from an eternal perspective?

After answering those, ask yourself the NEGATIVE versions of those questions: will it hurt tomorrow? Will I still be paying the consequences 2 months or 20 years from now? Will I lose eternal reward?

Remember, these aren't quick and easy, magic-pill questions. None of the questions we will consider in these posts about "God's will" will give you an answer by themselves. But taken together you should be able to confidently determine God's Will in the vast majority of circumstances.

First, see if the Bible has a plain answer. If you can't find a clear, direct answer in Scripture, then start the process by asking: Is it really necessary? Or just a low priority? An unneeded, extra distraction? Will it matter 10 days or 10 years or 10 lifetimes from now? Hold on to your answers, we'll look at another important question next time.

I look forward to your comments and questions...

~ Brent