Many ways of finding out what God wants us to do have been put forth. Some methods fall into a category of mysticism, which claims to have a direct link with God whereby he reveals his will to you. Since we do not believe in ongoing revelation, this is a problem for our theology. Unfortunately, most of the people espousing this type of view neither claim to be theologians nor want to be, so the theological objection holds little weight with them. Variations of this kind of thinking include the following:
- Some speak of a feeling of peace (presumably placed there by God). This is captured by the phrases "I have a peace about something" or the converse "I don’t have a peace." This is a completely subjective argument; no one else knows whether you "have a peace" or not! However, in 2 Corinthians 7:5–7, Paul says that when he and his coworkers came to Macedonia, their "bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn--fighting without and fear within." This certainly does not seem like Paul "had a peace" about doing what God wanted him to do—in fact, the "peace" came after he had done what God wanted, indicating that perhaps a feeling of peace is not the best way to know if we are doing the right thing.
- Others "put out a fleece." This supposedly finds biblical precedent in Gideon’s actions (Judg 6:36–40). By presenting some sort of "test case" to God and interpreting the answer, some claim to be able to verify what God wants them to do. Unfortunately, this idea also falls upon theological difficulty since Gideon was acting in faithlessness (Judg 6:36). Ultimately, this is also a very subjective method, since a so-called "fleece" could be influenced by any number of outside entities.
- Others claim that "the Holy Spirit is leading" them to do something. This is biblical terminology used in an unbiblical way. Romans 8 speaks very directly about being "led by the Spirit." Those who are "led by the Spirit" are "the sons of God" (Rom 8:14). It is very clear from Romans chapter eight that every Christian is "led by the Spirit" in that sense.
The upshot of all of these arguments is that a person can claim that a course of action is God's will, even if it is completely unverifiable or even illogical.
On the opposite swing of the pendulum is a thinking that denies that God has a specific will for any believer. This viewpoint claims that it is immaterial to God what car you drive, what career you pursue, even what person you marry, as long as you do not violate any biblical command or principle. However, the "details" of life are not irrelevant to God. He has planned and decreed every one of them, and he tells us that in everything we do, even down to the routine tasks of eating and drinking, we are to bring glory to him (1 Cor 10:31). In other words, the details are important to God.
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