The Will Of God

Have you ever been told you can't know the will of God? Or have you been counseled to run away from anyone who says he does know the will of God? In almost every case, those statements form the premise of an argument for rejecting some part of the Bible. They are a straw man argument in that they shift focus from the conclusion of the argument to supposed damning evidence in the premise. Think about it for a minute. If those statements are true, then they are denying that God's will can be known. If that's the case, then you might as well put up your Bible, for it would be a book of nice stories. If that's the case, then you might as well quit going to church to hear a sermon (at least a good, expository one) because the preacher can't possibly know that what he is preaching is true.

So...can one know the will of God? And can he do it without a doctorate from seminary? In a word...yes!!!

How? Simply by looking at the Scriptures and seeing what He is requiring of you. Love your neighbor as yourself...and you are doing the will of God. Love your enemy...and you are doing the will of God. Raise up your children in fear and admonition of the Lord...and you are doing the will of God. Take the Gospel to your neighbors...and you are doing the will of God. This is not hard. And anyone who is carefully expositing Scripture can discern the will of God. Of course, anyone who is claiming special revelation ("Last night God spoke to me...") commanding something...well...you better exercise some seriously critical discernment on that person. But if it is simply a matter of a person putting feet to the commands of Scripture...that is nothing more than pursuing the Lordship of Christ, and that certainly is the will of God!

Toward knowing His will more and more...