Article: Why Our Subjective Feelings Need God’s Objective Truth by Randy Alcorn
https://www.epm.org/blog/2022/Dec/5/subjective-feelings-need-truth
Category Archives: Decision Making
The Will of God: Found!
Reply
“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” – Eph. 5:17
How do you and I find the will of God? Is God’s will something hard to find? Has God left us in the dark? Has He left us hints – clues that He expects us to find if we are spiritually mature enough to work out? Or is finding the will of God a much more simple process than that?
What the Bible teaches about this SETS US FREE to live a life of God-glorifying obedience. And that is the point of the teaching.
Decision Making
Its been a blessing to read Pastor Jim Osman’s new book “God Doesn’t Whisper”. Its an outstanding book dealing with a problem prevalent in the church of our day. Pastor Jim was recently interviewed about his book on a podcast (found here: https://podcasts.strivingforeternity.org/programs/rapp-report/god-doesnt-whisper-with-jim-osman/) and I made a transcript of a brief segment of the interchange. Once the illegitimate and dangerous decision making models have been thrown out (from Scripture) the question then becomes, so how are we as Christians to make God-honoring decisions. Here’s the relevant discussion:
Interviewer: How then do we make decisions?
Jim Osman: Well, I would say we make decisions in the same way that the Apostles made decisions. That is if we have an opportunity to choose between two options, A and B, we need to ask two questions.
What does the moral will of God reveal concerning this decision? And that is His will in Scripture. The thing that He has said. That I need to flee from immorality, and that I need to do all things for the glory of God. The scripture lays out the moral parameters in which we are to live as believers. It is a big circle, but it leaves a lot of options when we are choosing between A and B.
It still leaves probably most options open to us.
Then the second question we need to ask is what does wisdom say? What does God’s word reveal that would be the wise thing to do? Are there warnings of foolishness that I need to avoid here?
And once we have answered those two questions, and we found that there is nothing about this decision for these options that violates God’s clearly revealed moral will or the wisdom that is given to us in Scripture, then we are free to make, and this is going to sound shocking to some people, we are free to make either decision with God’s blessing. We are free to decide to do anything we want, so long as it does not violate scripture, and it does not violate God’s sound wisdom.
That leaves the option open to us. We are free to marry any woman we want, if it does not violate God’s moral will or violate God’s wisdom. We are free to take any job we want or to buy any house we want, as long as it does not violate God’s moral will revealed in Scripture or sound wisdom. It is not that God does not care which choice we make, as if he is apathetic. It is that God is not intent on revealing to us which choice to make. We are free to make that choice with the firm conviction that in doing so, we are not violating God’s will, and we can make that decision with the conviction that he will bless or use whatever decision it is that we end up making.
… If you read Paul in the book of Romans, he talks about wanting to go to the city of Rome and eventually to visit them. He talks about his strong desire to do so, and then he said, “Maybe, perhaps, at last in the will of God, I will be able to make this trip to come and see you.”
He does not say, “The Lord is revealing to me that this is what my travel plans should be,” or “The Lord gave me a vision of Rome.” or “The Lord laid Rome on my heart,” or “The Lord has whispered to my heart ‘Rome’ over and over again.”
He did not use any of that language. He just says, “I have a desire to come see you. There is a spiritual benefit to this. I am called to be the apostle to the Gentiles. So, it makes sense that this is within God’s moral will. There is nothing non-wise about it, and maybe the Lord will open up the door to do so, and then I will be able to come and do it.”
Basically, the apostle Paul was not waiting to hear a word from God. He was just making a decision that was in keeping with what God had revealed in scripture and in keeping with what he desired ultimately to do. I start the book by talking about that crisis at college on whether I should go back to the second year or not. The end of the book tells you exactly how it is that I made that decision. I ended up doing exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to go study Scripture.
That was what I wanted to do. So, I decided to do that. I did not hear the voice of God in deciding to do that. God did not speak to me and tell me which woman to marry or which city to live in or which church to pastor or which house to buy or what to name my kids. None of that. I do not need anything from God. He has given to me everything in Scripture to make God-glorifying decisions. And so, if I am making it within the parameters of what God has revealed in Scripture in terms of his moral will and his wisdom, then I am free to make any of those decisions with the promise, or the full confidence, that I am not violating God’s will in doing so.
Decision Making & “I Have a Peace About It”
Article: Decision Making & “I Have a Peace About It” by Eric Davis (original source https://thecripplegate.com/we-dont-need-a-peace-about-it/)
A professing Christian was in a rough marriage for many years. It came to the point where they felt as if they could not take it anymore. Divorce entered the thoughts. They sought counsel from other Christians. Some opened Scripture, some didn’t, and some prayed. Though no biblical grounds for divorce, it came to the point where they could not see how God would want them to be unhappy in marriage. The marriage did not bring feelings of peace and comfort. So, they went through with the divorce on the grounds that both they and their close Christian friends “had a peace about it.”
Perhaps you’ve said it. “I have a peace about it.” Sometimes it takes on a different form. “I have prayed about it, so it’s God’s will.” Or, “I have a peace about it, so God is calling me to…” Those words are often-assumed gateways to what God wants me to do in the throes of life. But, is my “peace” God’s enthusiastic permission slip for my “it”? Is my prayer and peace heaven’s approval for whatever “it” may be in my life?
That process of making the decision usually goes something like this. I am facing a difficult issue in my life, requiring some wise decision-making. However, I approach the decision with a pre-existing bent towards my own comfort. Instead of an objective approach to the decision, I have a subjective bent towards getting my own way. I have some desire for God to weigh in on the decision. I may pray about it, look up a few verses, and ask a few friends, but I am hoping to discover some Christian key to unlock my wants. I likely run into counsel either from godly friends, leadership, or Scripture which hinders getting my way. I subsequently feel more drawn towards my decision. I find a few verses (which I do not rigorously study with a proper hermeneutic and help from church leadership) that, though taken out of context, seem to support what I already want. This fuels my existing idolatrous pursuit. I run across some friends and verses which assure me that God wants me to feel happy and joyful about what I do. Since it does not seem joyful to make the more difficult decision, I am further established in my own way. I run across some verses which discuss personal peace. I perceive a feeling of personal peace as I meditate on my pre-desired decision and the consequent ease it will bring in my life. Therefore, since I experience feelings of increasing pleasure, I conclude that I am at peace. Thus, since I presume that God wants me to be at peace, I conclude that my feeling of peace is God assuring me, “This is the decision you should make.” Finally, I declare, “I have a peace about making this decision. I have prayed about it. God is calling me to ____.” And I go through with the decision. But all is not well.
Here are a few thoughts to consider before we use our personal peace as determinative of God’s will.
Scripture alone is God’s means of communicating his will for us.
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
Much of this issue boils down to the sufficiency of Scripture. Is the Bible alone sufficient to guide me in decision-making with matters pertaining to life and godliness? Has God adequately outfitted humanity to know and do his will?
Leaning on feelings of peace, in effect, says, “No.” Though Bible verses may be consulted, what tilts the decision scale is subjective to the individual; what is subjectively comfortable. Thus, to use “I have a peace about it” as the determinative factor says, “Though the sovereign God of the universe has spoken in his word, God has simply failed to provide humanity with what we need for life and godliness.”
And, leaning on feelings of peace and the Bible also may deny the sufficiency of Scripture. Bible verses can be ripped out of context. I can operate with a hermeneutic of happiness: since I should be joyful always, I will make whatever decision helps me to maintain feelings of joy.
Bottom line: the “I-have-a-peace-about-it” method of decision-making denies the sufficiency of Scripture.
Our “peace” could be putting ourselves in the place of God.
Overall, the “I-have-a-peace-about-it” approach to life can be dangerous. I may “have a peace” and “have prayed about” a decision, but if my decision is in contrary to the word of God, then my peace or prayer is likely a self-permitted license of self-sovereignty. I am placing myself in authority over God, while ensuring that others cannot question me because of my supposed “peace” or “prayer.”
I wonder if sometimes we use our “peace about it” as a self-issued cosmic fortune cookie for our idolatrous pursuits. Perhaps our peace is not God’s will at all. Instead, our peace is simply our feelings. So, our feelings become determinative. Thus, our feelings are functionally authoritative. Our feelings are a functional god, which is to say, we have made ourselves god.
3. God does not tell us that an internal peace is his means of communicating his will.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105).
There is no Bible verse which says, “Ok, the decision which causes you to experience peaceful feelings is the decision you should make.” And God never said, “The way in which I will signal to you what I want you to do in big decisions is by causing you to feel a peace.”
When God communicated to us, it was a revealing, hence the reason Scripture is called “special revelation.” He did so because fallen humanity is in such a damaged condition that we are incapable of determining his will and desirous of self-sovereignty. In his mercy, he spoke in the 66 books of Scripture. We need a lamp for our feet and light for our path because we willfully and naturally are in complete darkness. Thus, God’s will is something that is determined by resources outside of us, not inside; by Scripture, not hunches. Continue reading