by Bob Bolender – Several times in recent years I have encountered a bizarre attitude among evangelical Christians. Each time I have found it to be more and more bizarre. It’s happening with a greater frequency these days so I am concerned that bizarre is becoming normal.
There’s a particular, specific form of it I encountered recently but it is really a symptom of a larger, more general heresy. I will address both in this feature.
The bizarre attitude is this: there is no specific will of God for your life. More and more Christians are holding this view. They’re writing books about it, teaching it in conferences, and everything. I can understand the attraction. A God with only generalizations and no specifications is much easier to serve. Fuzzy and vague “be saved,” “grow,” and “bear fruit” generalizations are in themselves pretty low demands. A mostly not-terrible person could easily claim such things to be true in their life and be content that God is happy with them.
Specific convictions to the will of God are much more demanding. His directive will, geographic will, vocational will, marital will, etc. all add to the demands placed upon us.
The particular expression I encountered recently was this: God has not designed anybody specifically to be your spouse. Marry whomever you wish. Don’t marry an unbeliever, of course, and consanguinity has to be considered, but otherwise any postpubescent member of the opposite sex is acceptable.
That cavalier attitude seems entirely un-Biblical. They seem to throw a sop at 2nd Cor. 6:14 (not even a marriage passage) and maybe Leviticus. That seems even less likely, since I haven’t actually seen Leviticus mentioned in their writings. They seem more concerned for genetic inbreeding than anything else.
So, my response. Why do I believe that God has a specific will for my life? Why do I believe that His directive will is specific? Why do I believe that He has a vocational will, geographic will, marital will, etc.? Glad you asked!
Thelematology (the doctrine of God’s will) is vital to all believers. Colossians 1:9&10 tells us that knowledge of His will is essential to walking worthy of the Lord. Thelematology is entirely God-centered (theological) and not man-centered (anthropological).
Now, the Scriptures that leave me convicted:
We are commanded in Hebrews 12:1 to run with endurance the race that is set before us. We don’t pick and choose where to run. We’re not the race designer. God designed it and placed it in our path. Scripture doesn’t say “run whatever race you feel like.”
We are taught in Ephesians 2:10 that God prepared good works beforehand so that we would walk in them. We don’t pick and choose what works we want to do and call good. God called them good when He prepared them beforehand.
Proverbs 16:9 & 20:24 portray quite the contrast. You and I might plan what we want to do, but it is the Lord who directs our steps. This reality underlies the promise in Proverbs 3:6. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. It doesn’t say “in most of your ways,” or “in the spiritual matters,” or “in all your ways except your choice of a mate.” It says “in all your ways.”
So, the will of God, generally and specifically, is a matter for our obedience. God even calls us a fool if we don’t understand what the will of the Lord is (Eph. 5:17 cf. Rom. 12:2 & Col. 1:9).
When it comes to our marital choices, the Bible presents even more specific additional evidence. God designed Eve specifically to correspond to Adam (Gen. 2:18). God appointed Rebekah specifically for Isaac (Gen. 24:14). Adam and Isaac are not unique in this. Any man should acknowledge as per Proverbs 19:14, that a prudent wife is from the Lord. Marry whomever you want like the bizarre increasingly popular attitude tells you to do, but then don’t blame the Lord for not giving you a prudent wife!
(Side note: it is possible to marry the wrong person for all the wrong reasons, and the grace of God can still turn cursing into blessing. Many marriages start terribly, like David & Bathsheba, but the grace of God can still shine forth. Just because that can happen doesn’t mean we should reject God’s marital will for us. Should we sin that grace may abound? May it never be!)
I could add more, but the weight of all these Scriptures has placed my faith under the conviction that I have before the Lord (Rom. 14:22). I will conclude with a rebuttal for the favorite text the other side loves to quote.
The folks who want to promote the “do whatever you want” attitude (God doesn’t have a will, so my will be done!) repeatedly and nauseatingly cite a snippet of 1st Corinthians 7:39. “She is free to be married to whom she wishes.”
Not to set up a straw man or anything, but they set up their own straw man so I will easily knock it down.
The “to whom she wishes” is specified to be a prerogative for a widow. It is a simple contrast with a virgin daughter under her father’s sovereignty (1st Cor. 7:36‑38). Whether the virgin is given to a man or kept virgin is within her father’s prerogative. The widow is a different social reality. She does not require parental negotiations for her remarriage (her parents may not even still be alive!). The virgin’s marital negotiations are subject to her father’s wishes. The widow is not under those conditions. So the “whom she wishes” expression in 1st Cor. 7:39 is really diminished in its impact and can in no way whatsoever establish the anthropological thelematology they are trying to create.
Beyond that, the “whom she wishes” is qualified by “in the Lord.” That’s an expression that ought to demolish the “do whatever you want to do” mindset. Decision making “in the Lord” is to surrender our will to His will (Matt. 26:39), and humbly respond to His leading in our lives (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:18).
Would you like some more “in the Lord” passages? We should be convinced in the Lord (Rom. 14:14). We should receive (Rom. 16:2) work (Rom. 16:12) and greet (Rom. 16:22) in the Lord. See also Phil. 2:19,24,29 for more examples. Paul hoped to send Timothy to Philippi. His hope was “in the Lord Jesus” and entirely subject to a theological thelematology. “In the Lord” is an instrumental reality for the headship of Jesus Christ in our lives. What a great blessing! “In the Lord” is much preferable to “whatever is right in our own eyes.” (Deut. 12:8; Jdg. 21:25).
If this is a subject that you would like to explore more fully, I recommend reviewing our Basic Doctrinal Studies series. Thelematology was covered in lessons #41-44.
ἀνάξιος
I’m thrilled Bob is now published on 1024Project. We’ve conversed already about this topic, not completely agreeing. And I’m well aware of his training and background so I’m the one who needs to be open the most to reproof and correction, I have little doubt!
I think my problem is that when I say that there are specfic areas in life that God does not state a specific will for, it isn’t fair to categorize my position as the same as me saying “there is no specific will of God for your life.”
Knowledge of His will is definitely crucial for the believer. And He gave us His will in 66 books of Scripture. The Holy Spirit certainly leads us in life, at least The Holy Spirit wants to. Our fallen desires fight The Holy Spirit but as believers we want to be more like Him daily and open to His leading.
Yes, Eph 5:17 does tell us we are fools if we don’t understand the will of the Lord. And what is that will? Context certainly implies to me that the 16 verses preceeding 5:17 is a very good outline of His will. It’s not difficult to find, it’s right there. Likewise, yes Romans 12:2 tells us to prove what the will of God is – and He states right there His will! That which is good and acceptable and perfect, along with verse 1’s presenting our bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God. Sure, God may have more in His will for us, but the close context of those verses sure seem to clarify exactly what “will” means in Eph 5:17 and Ro 12:2. Colossians 1:9 doesn’t seem to leave “will” up to our guessing either; the verses surrounding it are extremely specific. And I don’t see “God’s chosen specific mate for you” in the mix.
The fact that God sometimes does things never means that He always does those things. We only know for certain, barring some clarifying passage that says He does things universally. God did give Eve to Adam! But He wasn’t going to create two women and have them fight it out for Adam’s attentions. The fact God also made it easy for Isaac doesn’t mean He does that for every Jew in the Hebrew Bible or for every believer today. It only means God appointed Rebekah to Isaac.
It does sting when my understanding of God’s actions above are said to mean I have a, quote, “do whatever you want” attitude. I want to follow a literal grammatical-historical understanding of God’s Word. I have difficulty, therefore, reading more into the text than what it says. When God’s inspired words tells us we are “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus,” I believe that means we are exactly that – all of us in the Body. But when God appoints Eve to Adam, that in no way leads me to understand that is done for all of us.
Perhaps I am so hesitant to take up the spiritualization hermeneutics of Calvin that I fight too hard against Pastor Bob’s “specific will” meaning every single thing in our lives. And I know that’s a possible flaw that may cause me to want specific primary application or fairly clear secondary application before I see a specific action of God as automatically being a general action of God for every believer.
Does God have a specific autombile for us to purchase? Please stay with me, I am not being sarcastic. If He has a specific will for every detail (as the Calvinists would agree with) then He has my next car already picked out for me. Yes, a mate is more important than a car, but the gist of this article seems to be that He has “directive will, geographic will, vocational will, marital will, etc.” so why not large financial purchases that take a toil on our resources enough that maybe He gets involved?
I just don’t see the car thing of course, but I also don’t see Him telling us that He has one, specific mate picked out for me. I do see Him being the reason prudent ladies exist; after all, all good things from from Him. Having said that, when I need to make a purchase, I will often ask God to lead me in it. I don’t do this because I think He has a specific item in mind, but I do think He knows me better than I know me. So in amoral matters such as a car, I trust that He might be able to direct me in my optum will so I welcome any guidance He may give.