Decision Making and the Will of God: A Biblical Alternative to the Traditional View

After years of searching through books about finding God's will and hearing the "voice" of God, professors Garry Friesen, Ph.D. and J. Robin Maxson, Th.M. have finally answered the question, at least to me, in their second edition of "Decision Making and the Will of God."Friesen and Maxson make their case by first introducing the "traditional" view through a short narrative, then exposing the faults of the "traditional" view of God's guidance in the Christian's life, then stating their case clearly using Scripture, and then finally applying it to the "big" decisions. Many evangelicals sincerely, but wrongly, believe that God has a plan for their lives that must be followed or else end up in God's "permissive" will. Friesen and Maxson have evaluated this view in light of Scripture, and have found that this method leaves at least some believers wanting. Yet the authors have done so in an irenic manner, not resorting to ad hominem attacks as some Christian authors have done when writing about theology. (One chapter even makes an attempt to "reconcile" these two views by shoring up the defects in the "traditional" view.)Many will be offended by this book; in fact, many people have been offended. Perhaps the ones who will be most offended are those who sincerely believe that God supernaturally guides them through signs, visions, and impressions. Those who believe that God "speaks" to people today outside of Scripture, of course, exist outside of the Charismatic and Pentecostal circles. Yet Friesen is himself open to "supernatural" guidance; however, he simply believes that it is not the norm today.Moreover, Friesen does believe that God has a plan and purpose for each believer's life. What he and Maxson argue, however, is that a Christian should not be concerned that what he does is within the will of God unless it is either (a) unbiblical and/or (b) unwise. Being in the will of God, they argue, means being obedient to God's revealed will in Scripture, and being wise in one's decision making. And, as the authors repeatedly affirm, if anyone lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who freely gives (see James 1:5-8).However, I disagree with Friesen's views on deciding whether one should get married or not, although I do feel glad that he refutes the view that God will "tell" someone whether to get married or not. A better treatment would be found in Debbie Maken's "Getting Serious About Getting Married."I leave my review with one final note. The children of Israel had it right all along when they affirmed: "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law" (Deuteronomy 29:29 NKJV). The Lord does have a plan for our lives: It is found in the Word of God. We will be in God's will if we obey that Word and if we walk in wisdom.

SummaryA Powerful (& Long) book about God’s Blueprint and his perfect will.• Three meanings of God’s will – Sovereign, Moral and Individual• God’s individual will is that ideal, detailed life plan which God has uniquely designed for each believer• Proof of God’s will- reason, experience, biblical example and biblical teaching• God’s individual will has been likened to a blueprint or a road map for a believers life• Misconceptions of God’s willo Syllabus search –God’s will is unrolled like a scroll not a complete syllabuso Celestial Killjoy- God is a living heavenly father who delight in bringing joy to his childreno Bionic Missionary- God’s vocational call is for saints only- not for missionaries or pastorso White hair only-maturity will certainly help in discerning God’s will, but the newest Christian who is properly taught to discover God’s will make decisions just like old believerso Lightening Flash- Do not think you missed God’s will because you saw no lighteningo Presidential Problems- His individual for you is detailed, it is detailed so you can cast every decision upon him. Even the non-Presidential ones• Road Signs- Bible, Circumstances, Inner witness, mature counsel, personal desires, common sense and special guidance• Experience alone cannot determine truth, however it can confirm truth• The cases of direct of direct guidance are clearly the exception to the rule.• It is important to live and make one’s decisions in the larger circle of God’s moral will• Psalm 32:8 – I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you• (traditional) If God’s plan is thought of as a blueprint or a “dot” in the “center of God’s will” that must be discovered by the decision maker, the answer is no. On the other hand we affirm that God does have a plan for our lives- A plan that is described in the bible in terms that we can fully understand and apply.• God has provided tow objective sources for certain knowledge of his will- His word and direct revelation from himself• We must be obedient to God’s moral will• We are responsible to choose within moral parameters• We must make wise decisions according to our spiritual maturity• We must be ready always to submit to God’s overriding sovereignty• God is not simply concerned with what we do; he is equally concerned with why we do what we do as well as how we do it• God has made it clear what he wants: His plan for his children is for them to enjoy the freedom that he has granted• Where there is no guidance, the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory (proverbs 11:14)• Principles of decision makingo In those areas specifically addressed by the bible, the revealed commands and principles of god are to be obeyedo In those areas where the bible gives no command or principle, the believer is free and responsible to choose his own course of action. Any decision made within the moral will of god is acceptable to godo In non-moral decision, the objective of the Christian is the make wise decisions on the basis of spiritual expediency• “all such boasting is evil” self-confidence born of pride. The high pressure life insurance salesmen would say- Ok if you don’t want to buy a policy now think about it and call me in the morning- If you wake up. (the way of wisdom)• God’s sovereignty does not exclude the need for planning; it does require humble submission to his will• Circumstances define the context of the decision and must be weighed by wisdom. Not “read” as road sighs to gods individual will• Open doors are God given opportunities for service. Not specific guidance from God requiring on the enter• Putting out a fleece is an invalid practice that sometimes works when it is really wisdom in disguise• God’s will is sovereign will and we should humbly submit• God’s sovereign will govern circumstances and provides open doors, but his moral will and wisdom are the determinative factors in the making of the decision itself• Purposes, priorities, plans, prayer, perseverance and presentation• On debatable issues cultivate you own vonvictions

This book sets out the biblical principles by which Christians should discern God's will. It blows the myth of the 'single dot' which some Christians suggest we should try to find by means of signs and "fleeces" and demonstrates that the Apostles made decisions on the basis of obedience to God's revealed moral will and their own common sense. They said such things as: "It seemed good to us..." The widow in 1 Corinthians 7:39 can marry whoever she wants to, provided the man is "in the Lord". There isn't just one Mr Right. But Paul adds that he thinks she will be happier if she remains as she is. That is to say, that what will make her happy is also to be taken into account. It is also clear from the Book of Acts that God did intervene and give direction on certain occasions, but this was the exception rather than the rule. This is a very thorough examination of this principle in all areas of life. It is well argued and there are examples from Scripture to corroborate every point. It is both easy to read and refreshing in its wisdom and simplicity.The revised edition adds answers to frequently asked questions. For many, this book will bring liberation.

I'm not sure what I expected from this book, perhaps some guidance on how to make good decisions based on God's will. He made a good argument for his case that God has no specific perfect path we should try and follow, but much of the book was defending this position rather than giving guidance to people on implementing his view which is we make rational decisions based on the wisdom God gives us. I was convinced by his arguments and if you don't agree with it then this book is probably worth a read, but if you already agree with his central premise then there isn't much point reading the book in my opinion. Still the book itself is good, just wasn't what I thought it was.

I had already read this book years ago, but only had a borrowed copy. I'm glad I have my own now, and I'm enjoying going through it once again. Content: Decision making requires wisdom, much more than it requires miraculous divine signs, fitting circumstances, or an inner feeling of peace.

Friesen's book was recommended to me in a time crises. I was suffering from, what I now know to be, the typical early-twenty-year-old's decision-making inertia. Much of this was caused from a common understanding of God's will--that is, God speaks to and directs his people, outside of the teachings of the Bible, and that it is their responsibility to listen to and interpret the signs or dreams or the communiqués of the heart that God sends. I believed, through the general climate of Christian education I was receiving, that if I couldn't figure out which school God wanted me to go to and which classes to pick, and which bus to take on the way there, and which shirt to wear, etc., than I was living in rebellion to this secret (but somehow discoverable) will for my life.Unfortunately, this debilitating sense of failure was made worse by much unbiblical, but pious sounding, advice from well-intention Christians: "Ask God, and he will make it clear to you," "Do you have peace about it?" "What is God telling you to do?" Instead of going to the Scriptures, I had to wrestle inside my own muddled mind, trying to neither screw up my life for good nor be disobedient.DMatWOG was a huge help to me. It made me look at the Bible and not at my feelings. It relieved me from theological-clichés that I assumed theists must believe about God's will.Basically, Friesen's thrust is that God has spoken very clearly and unambiguously through his Word: We are to obey his moral will, and he has given us Biblical wisdom while we sort out all the other decisions. Yes and amen.In the long run, what may have been the greatest help to me was not Friesen's thesis on how a Christian makes decisions, but how a Christian ought to deal with the Bible. He does this by slowly going through many commonly cited verses that seem to support the secret-will-of-God view of decision-making ("God is not a God of confusion but of peace" "Trust in the Lord with all your heart... and he will make your paths straight," or any verse where God tells a biblical character what to do), and does what a good exegete does; he looks at language, context, nuance, use of the text throughout Scripture, and possible meanings before settling on what the text is actually saying. For a young Christian, having someone walk you through this process is an invaluable exercise, and helpful in all areas of life.

I first read this book about thirty years ago. Since then I've had reason to investigate decision-making in a sectarian context and it's served to raise my level of appreciation for the clarity that Gary Friesen brings to the subject for Christians.