The Will of God (3)
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God’s Freedom Permitting Will
God’s Freedom Permitting Will
The Will of God:
1: Where God commands we must obey.
2: Where there is no command God gives us both freedom and responsibility to choose.
God’s Freedom Permitting Will:
“Love God and do as you please” St Augustine.
Freedom to make our own decisions and choices within the Will of God is a fact built into the scriptures.
From the very beggining God gave humanity freedom to choose.
Now, this area of freedom is NOT seperate fdrom God’s Moral Will.
Lets look at an example:
In the Garden of Eden God revealed to man His Moral Will:
16 And the LORD God commanded him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden,
17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”
Notice 2 things:
1: God’s Moral will made it clear that they must not eat of one particular tree.
But God’s freedom Permitting Will made it clear than they can choose ANY other tree to eat.
The Nature of sin means that if no command is broken, sin has not been commited.
4 Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness as well. Indeed, sin is lawlessness.
15 because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression.
The only way a person can sin against God is by breaking a command.
Without a command, God has willed that the beliver have freedom of choice.
This is so important to understand.
I know of so many Christian who are guilt riudden over non-commanded issues.
They fear they may have “missed” God will or God’s timing.
Such guilt is not from God.
If no command has been broken no sin has been committed and if no sin has been committed the Holy Spirit will not convict.
There is more freedom in scripture than you think:
A classic example is what is literally called The Freewill offering.
18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites and tell them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel or any foreign resident who presents a gift for a burnt offering to the LORD, whether to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering,
Most of the offerings were commanded, thus for the Jew they were part of God’s Moral Will and had to be obeyed.
However the freewill offering was NOT commanded - it was optional.
So let me ask: Was it God’s will that a person offer a freewill offering?
Its up to the person.
What is God’s will for how much you pay your employees?
14 Take your pay and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you.
15 Do I not have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
“Do I not have the right (The God given freedom) to do as i please with what is mine (So long as what I do does not break any command)?
Whern speaking about which food God’s Will is for us tro eat what are we told?
8 But food does not bring us closer to God: We are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.
So is it God’s will that eat food that may have been offered to an Idol?
What about food in general? Under the old covenant God had strict Moral Will for what can be eaten.
But in the New Covenant:
27 If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat anything set before you without raising questions of conscience.
“Eat Anything”.
“If you want to go”
Is it God’s will that i go?
19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commandments is what counts.
Is it God’s will that men are circumcised?
When Paul asked for assistance and a collection what was God’s will about how much they should give?
7 Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.
So what about getting married?
Who does the bible say I can marry?
Well first, God’s Moral Will says something important:
14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?
So we are commanded not to marry an unbeliever.
But beyond that, who am i to marry?
39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, as long as he belongs to the Lord.
Who must i marry?
“Anyone you wish” so long as they are equally yoked.
Lets look at Paul:
While in prison he befreinded Philemon’s runaway slave Onesimis.
Onesimis was very useful to the apostle and Paul wanted him to stay with him, so what is God’s will for Phiilemon and Onesimus?
14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness will not be out of compulsion, but by your own free will.
Here is what is so odd: If the will of God was something we had to find and then do, we would expect to find many commands for us to find God’s will and do it.
The problem is that we never find the words “Seek the Lord’s will” in the New Testament.
Now we may ask:
Does God not care about who we marry or even if we marry?
This is the wrong question and shows a fearfulness towards our freedom.
Its not that God does not care if you get married, its that God is EQUALLY pleased whether you get married or not.
Not all free Choices are equally good.
This is the most important factor within God’s Freedom Permitting Will.
Paul summed it up perfectly:
23 “Everything is permissible,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible,” but not everything is edifying.
You might have freedom to choose but not every choice is benificial or edifying.
This is where the next important factor comes in:
1: Where God commands we must obey.
2: Where there is no command God gives us both freedom and responsibility to choose.
3: Where there is freedom to choose, wisdom must be applied.
Wisdom in Freedom
When it comes to making un-commanded decisions, we are still commanded to make these free decisions with wisdom and counsel.
22 Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.
14 For lack of guidance, a nation falls, but with many counselors comes deliverance.
18 Set plans by consultation, and wage war under sound guidance.
6 Only with sound guidance should you wage war, and victory lies in a multitude of counselors.
God’s freedom permitting will has many choices, all of which are lawful, but of all those choices only wisdom will help you choose the best one.
Note: Best not right.
The Apostle Paul used wisdom, NOT seeking God’s will, but wisdom to make decisions:
When Paul, Silas and Timothy were worried about the Thessalonian christians what did he do?
1 Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it best to be left behind, alone at Athens,
2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you for the benefit of your faith,
When Paul was in prison he recieved a love gift sent with a man names Epaphroditus. While with Paul he got very sick and lets see how Paul made his decision:
25 But I thought it necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my needs.
26 For he has been longing for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill.
On another day some Gentile Churches raised money for other christians and they asked if Paul would go with their gift or would he stay behind?
If he does who should they send with the gift?
How does Paul make the decision?
3 When I arrive, whomever you approve, I will send them with letters to take your gift to Jerusalem;
4 and if it is appropriate for me to go also, they will go with me.
When the church needed helping hands how did the apostles choose who would help?
2 So the Twelve summoned all the disciples and said, “It is unacceptable for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables.
3 Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men confirmed to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will appoint this responsibility to them
4 and will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
Instead of being told to “seek God’s will” for an decision, we see God commanding the use of wisdom to make a decision.
1 If any of you has a grievance against another, how dare he go to law before the unrighteous instead of before the saints!
2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?
3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!
4 So if you need to settle everyday matters, do you appoint as judges those of no standing in the church?
5 I say this to your shame. Is there really no one among you wise enough to arbitrate between his brothers?
6 Instead, one brother goes to law against another, and this in front of unbelievers!
We get so frustrated and lost seeking God’s will when all along what we should be seeking is wisdom to make the best deision.
5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
6 But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.