Many Christians employ unbiblical methods to make decisions—fleeces, impressions, looking for "open doors," etc.— because they do not understand the doctrine of the will of God.
The Bible speaks of the will of God in two ways. One, His decretive or sovereign will; two, His preceptive or moral will.
The decretive will of God has to do with God's decrees, what he has determined from eternity that will come to pass. His sovereign will is always fulfilled, exhaustive, perfect, and, most importantly for our purposes, secret.
The preceptive will of God is found in his law—what God commands all men to do and not to do. Unlike His sovereign will, the moral will of God has been revealed. It is clear and understandable. It also, unlike the sovereign will of God, can be resisted—but only with eternal consequences. Psalm 19 further delineates other characteristics.
Many Christians, however, believe there is a third will of God: God's will for individuals—that when a person comes to a fork in the road, they are to figure out what God's will is: right or left. Such a belief trespasses into the arena of God's secret will.
In the next several lessons, we will examine and refute this error and its accompanying practices. |
