The “hearing from God” false teaching is rampant in evangelicalism and is very destructive. Consider how popular the book Jesus Calling is when it is pure blasphemy. Justin Peters does a great job of quickly exposing these awful teachers.
A popular passage they abuse is John 10:27: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. But they can’t be bothered to read the passage in context. Consider the following:
John 10:6 clearly teaches that this “voice” is a figure of speech, but they can’t be bothered to read in context. John 10:6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
This passage is about salvation. We are saved after “hearing his voice,” but it isn’t audible.
The Jews literally heard his voice but didn’t respond. If only the false teachers would consider that! They were right there in front of the physical Jesus and hearing every word audibly, but still, they rejected him.
The sheep hear because of what the Father does, not because of their holiness, practice, or spiritual disciplines.
The video also has Matt Chandler’s bizarre shark/pirate story. That message went to his entire church plus thousand more who listen to his Podcasts. It makes Christians look foolish.
As Justin Peters says, if you want to hear from God, read the Bible. If you want to hear from him audibly, read it out loud. But these wolves are too busy doing Satan’s work and making you avoid scripture while inventing your own messages from God. The lack of discernment is sickening.
And yes, when the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, He gave them the Lord’s Prayer and said nothing about listening for a response from God. If prayer was a two-way street, that would have been a good time to tell us (or in any other of the 31,000+ verses).
God told me to tell these wolves that He isn’t talking to them outside the Bible.
I was reading 1 Kings 13 this morning and was reminded of this post. I also had someone I do prison ministry with send a link to a ridiculous video of Sid Roth (he’s a disgusting “prophecy” guy who has one false teacher after another on his show). I pointed out to the guy that Roth and his guests were shameless wolves and sent a link to a Justin Peters video (see the video at the bottom) that thoroughly exposed them. But the guy still wants to believe the phonies! Such a terrible lack of discernment in the church today.
I love this passage because it exposes the dangers of listening to those who claim to have heard from God instead of just hearing from him directly by reading the Bible. What do you trust more, the Bible or some huckster who claims to have heard from God?
It is unwise in the extreme to listen to the “Christian” Left or any of the phony “prophets” who mock the word of God while claiming to be getting new and accurate messages from him (such as the “God is still speaking;” slogan of the apostate United Church of Christ).
Have you read 1 Kings 13 lately (see below), where a “man of God” initially obeyed a direct command from God but then believed a prophet who falsely claimed that God told him something different? It didn’t end well. And by “didn’t end well,” I mean he got killed by a lion.
Now am I saying that if you listen to false teachers about what God “really” says rather than the Bible that you’ll get killed by a lion? Of course not. You probably live in North America, so God will use a bear instead of a lion.
Just kidding! Probably! While God often uses examples in the Bible to show how serious sins are, such as with Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5, by his grace and mercy He doesn’t give us all what we deserve. But that doesn’t mean we should confuse his patience with his approval.
We are commanded to love God with our minds and we should use good discernment when listening to people make claims about God, regardless of their titles or reputation. Remember to be like good Bereans and test everything in light of scripture (Acts 17:11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.). But how can you do that if you aren’t reading the Bible regularly?
If people claim to have heard from God then the burden of proof is on them to back it up. If they are teaching things that disagree with the Bible (e.g., Jesus isn’t the only way to salvation, we don’t know what God really said in the Bible, pro-abortion, pro-“same-sex marriage,” etc.) then they should be ignored. If they hold those views and say that God spoke to them then they are lying, just like the old prophet in 1 Kings 13. False teachers are deadly — not always physically, but certainly spiritually.
Read the Bible, then read it some more. Every day. Then you’ll be much more likely to spot the false teachers.
One of the reasons to go through the Old Testament is that otherwise you’ll miss great stories like this!
1 Kings 13 (ESV)
A Man of God Confronts Jeroboam
13 And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings. 2 And the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’ ” 3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’ ” 4 And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. 5 The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. 6 And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it was before. 7 And the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” 8 And the man of God said to the king, “If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place, 9 for so was it commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.’ ” 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.
The Prophet’s Disobedience
11 Now an old prophet lived in Bethel. And his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told to their father the words that he had spoken to the king. 12 And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone. 13 And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he mounted it. 14 And he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak. And he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” 15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” 16 And he said, “I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, 17 for it was said to me by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’ ” 18 And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” But he lied to him. 19 So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water.
20 And as they sat at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back. 21 And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the command that the Lord your God commanded you, 22 but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’ ” 23 And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body. 25 And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown in the road and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived.
26 And when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word that the Lord spoke to him.” 27 And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it. 28 And he went and found his body thrown in the road, and the donkey and the lion standing beside the body. The lion had not eaten the body or torn the donkey. 29 And the prophet took up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back to the city to mourn and to bury him. 30 And he laid the body in his own grave. And they mourned over him, saying, “Alas, my brother!” 31 And after he had buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. 32 For the saying that he called out by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria shall surely come to pass.”
33 After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people. Any who would, he ordained to be priests of the high places. 34 And this thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth.
This is one of the most practical lessons you can ever learn. Everyone makes decisions every day and lives with the good and bad consequences of prior decisions, and they help guide others to do the same. How can you make sure you doing that in the right way? Does God tell you how to make each decision, or has He given a different method? And is it normal for Christians to get messages from God outside the Bible?
This is especially important when considering how popular books like Jesus Calling and its sequel are.
My favorite apologist linked to this so I thought I’d re-run it. Still the most practical biblical lesson I know of for daily living. As Greg Koukl says, we are constantly either making decisions or living with their consequences. I use this method and share it regularly. I just used it with the high school kids at church to talk about careers, dating, marriage, college, etc.
Click here to download a set of PowerPoint slides to read or to teach others.
And here is a new video of this lesson!
—–
Decision Making and the Will of God is one of my all-time favorite lessons to teach. This is such a crucial topic, because we constantly make big and small decisions and are living with the consequences of past decisions.
Does God speak to you about specific decisions when you are reading the Bible, such as whether you should pay off your mortgage, whom you should marry, what job you should take, etc.? This is about how you apply the Bible to decision making and not about whether God sends individual messages through his word.
For example, if you want to know whether paying off your mortgage is the right thing to do, you have a couple options:
1. Ask God for a supernatural sign for the answer, whether it is a yes or a no (a la Gideon). My guess is that He won’t decide for you that way, but it is always his option. If God wants to tell you something directly He isn’t subtle. There are zero examples of him trying to tell someone something in the Bible and not getting through.
2. Use the wisdom model of decision making. You don’t have access to God’s sovereign knowledge (Will I lose my job? Will interest rates go up or down? Etc.). However, you do have unrestricted access to his moral will via the Bible. Example: Is it immoral to pay off your mortgage early? No, unless that means you won’t have enough money to feed your kids. After moral considerations, look to the wisdom angle. Ask God for wisdom, as He promises to deliver. But as with Solomon, He doesn’t promise to decide everything for you. Read Proverbs (and more). Seek the counsel of others. Consider the pros and cons. That’s how to make wise decisions. Finally, provided the options are moral and wise, consider your personal preferences. We have tremendous freedom in Christ to do many things with our time and money. Will paying off your mortgage make you happy? If so, then do it.
Here’s a picture of what it looks like:
Short version: Aside from direct and clear personal revelation from God, you don’t have access to his sovereign will when making decisions. Therefore you must look at other factors. If it isn’t moral, don’t do it. If it is moral but not wise, don’t do it. If it is moral and wise, then use your personal preferences.
Using this model you can end up with a wise and biblical decision, but you have avoided the traps of the “God told me to ____” routine. Saying, “God told me this and that,” conveys a super-spirituality that can leave less mature believers wondering if they have an authentic relationship with him. They may conclude that because God doesn’t tell them every little thing that perhaps they don’t know him.
The “God told me ___” routine can also be outright blasphemy, as when “Christians” claim that God is moving in a new direction counter to what He revealed in the Bible. The United Church of Christ “God is still speaking;” theme is a good example of that. They didn’t believe what He said the first time around, so why trust them on allegedly new revelations?
Saturating yourself in the word is a key success factor in making good decisions. On the other hand, if we focus on worldly wisdom things go badly:
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
But if we repent and do everything we can to see things from God’s perspective, we will make better decisions.
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
This model will help you make good decisions in all areas of life — dating, marriage, college, careers, purchases, giving, ministry, and more. You can also use it to help friends, children, etc., make good decisions. I even use it at work as a “faith flag” at times. If people ask career advice, for example, I pull out this diagram and share it with them (i.e., “At the risk of getting all religious on you, here’s the method I use to make decisions like that.”)
Click here to download a set of PowerPoint slides to read or to use yourself to teach others.
P.S. A kid came into my wife’s elementary school library yesterday and asked if she had any books on making good choices. She thought of the diagram above and laughed. Let’s just say I refer to this model now and then. She thinks I should write a children’s book on decision making. I think she is kidding.
Hat tip to Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason for much of this, including the diagram.
Decision Making and the Will of God is one of my all-time favorite lessons to teach. This is such a crucial topic, because we make big and small decisions all the time and are constantly living with the consequences of past decisions.
Does God speak to you about specific decisions when you are reading the Bible, such as whether you should pay off your mortgage, whom you should marry, what job you should take, etc.? I think this is about how you apply the Bible to decision making and not about whether God sends individual messages through his word.
For example, if you want to know whether paying off your mortgage is the right thing to do, you have a couple options:
1. Ask God for a supernatural sign for the answer, whether it is a yes or a no (a la Gideon). My guess is that He won’t decide for you that way, but it is always his option. One thing we know about God is that if He wants to tell you something directly He isn’t very subtle. There are zero examples of him trying to tell someone something in the Bible and not getting through.
2. Use the wisdom model of decision making. You don’t have access to God’s sovereign knowledge (Will I lose my job? Will interest rates go up or down? Etc.). You do have unrestricted access to his moral will via the Bible. Example: Is it immoral to pay off your mortgage early? No, unless that means you won’t have enough money to feed your kids. After moral considerations, look to the wisdom angle. Ask God for wisdom, as He promises to deliver. But as with Solomon, He doesn’t promise to decide everything for you. Read the Proverbs (and more). Seek the counsel of others. Consider the pros and cons. That’s how to make wise decisions. Finally, provided the options are moral and wise, consider your personal preferences. We have tremendous freedom in Christ to do many things with our time and money. Will paying off your mortgage make you happy? If so, then do it.
Here’s a picture of what is looks like:
Really short version: Aside from direct and clear personal revelation from God, you don’t have access to his sovereign will when making decisions. Therefore you must look at other factors. If it isn’t moral, don’t do it. If it is moral but not wise, don’t do it. If it is moral and wise, then use your personal preferences.
Using this model you can end up with a wise and biblical decision, but you have avoided the traps of the “God told me to ____” routine. People who run around saying that God told them this and that convey a super-spirituality that can leave less mature believers wondering if they really have a relationship with God (i.e., “God doesn’t tell me every little thing to do, so maybe I don’t really know him.”).
The “God told me ___” routine can also be outright blasphemy, as when “Christians” claim that God is moving in a new direction counter to what He revealed in the Bible. The United Church of Christ “God is still speaking;” theme is a good example of that. They didn’t believe what He said the first time around, so why trust them on allegedly new revelations?
Saturating yourself in the word is a key success factor in making good decisions. If we focus on worldly wisdom things go badly:
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
But if we repent and do everything we can to see things from God’s point of view we will make better decisions.
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
This model will help you make good decisions in all areas of life. You can also use it to help friends, children, etc. make good decisions. I even use it at work as a “faith flag” at times. If people ask career advice, for example, I pull out this diagram and share it with them (i.e., “At the risk of getting all religious on you, here’s the method I use to make decisions like that.”)
Click here to download a set of PowerPoint slides to read or to use yourself to teach others.
P.S. A kid came into my wife’s elementary school library yesterday and asked if she had any books on how to make good choices. She thought of the diagram above and laughed. Let’s just say I refer to this model now and then. She thinks I should write a children’s book on decision making. I think she is kidding.
Hat tip to Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason for much of this, including the diagram.
No, wait, that isn’t how it went. It was more like this:
1 Kings 3:5–12 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.
Far too many Christians turn to un-biblical thinking when it comes to Decision making and the will of God (click the link to a set of PowerPoint slides on the topic). They think they have to look for little clues that God leaves them, as if that is a biblical style of communication from the Lord. It isn’t.
Consider what Solomon asked for: Wisdom and discernment to make good decisions. He didn’t ask God to come make every decision and tell him what to do.
When God spoke in the Bible He was very clear. People didn’t wonder if the message was from him or not. So ask God for wisdom and discernment. Read Proverbs — and the rest of the Bible — a lot. Seek wise counsel. Choose what is moral and wise, then feel free to apply your personal preferences. Enjoy the freedom you have in Christ!
If God wants to give you a sign it will be unmistakable, but He isn’t obligated to do so and the occurrences are rare. Oh, and the burden of proof is on those claiming revelation from God.
Have you read 1 Kings 13 lately (see below), where a “man of God” initially obeyed a direct command from God but then believed a prophet who falsely claimed that God told him something different? It didn’t end well. And by “didn’t end well,” I mean he got killed by a lion.
Now am I saying that if you listen to false teachers about what God “really” says rather than the Bible that you’ll get killed by a lion? Of course not. You probably live in North America, so God will use a bear instead of a lion.
Just kidding! Probably! While God often uses examples in the Bible to show how serious sins are, such as with Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5, by his grace and mercy He doesn’t give us all what we deserve. But that doesn’t mean we should confuse his patience with his approval.
We are commanded to love God with our minds and we should use good discernment when listening to people make claims about God, regardless of their titles or reputation. Remember to be like good Bereans and test everything in light of scripture (Acts 17:11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.). But how can you do that if you aren’t reading the Bible regularly?
If people claim to have heard from God then the burden of proof is on them to back it up. If they are teaching things that disagree with the Bible (e.g., Jesus isn’t the only way to salvation, we don’t know what God really said in the Bible, pro-abortion, pro-“same-sex marriage,” etc.) then they should be ignored. If they hold those views and say that God spoke to them then they are lying, just like the old prophet in 1 Kings 13. False teachers are deadly — not always physically, but certainly spiritually.
Read the Bible, then read it some more. Every day. Then you’ll be much more likely to spot the false teachers.
One of the reasons to go through the Old Testament is that otherwise you’ll miss great stories like this!
1 Kings 13 (ESV)
A Man of God Confronts Jeroboam
13 And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings. 2 And the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’ ” 3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’ ” 4 And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. 5 The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. 6 And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it was before. 7 And the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” 8 And the man of God said to the king, “If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place, 9 for so was it commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.’ ” 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.
The Prophet’s Disobedience
11 Now an old prophet lived in Bethel. And his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told to their father the words that he had spoken to the king. 12 And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone. 13 And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he mounted it. 14 And he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak. And he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” 15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” 16 And he said, “I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, 17 for it was said to me by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’ ” 18 And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” But he lied to him. 19 So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water.
20 And as they sat at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back. 21 And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the command that the Lord your God commanded you, 22 but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’ ” 23 And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body. 25 And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown in the road and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived.
26 And when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word that the Lord spoke to him.” 27 And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it. 28 And he went and found his body thrown in the road, and the donkey and the lion standing beside the body. The lion had not eaten the body or torn the donkey. 29 And the prophet took up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back to the city to mourn and to bury him. 30 And he laid the body in his own grave. And they mourned over him, saying, “Alas, my brother!” 31 And after he had buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. 32 For the saying that he called out by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria shall surely come to pass.”
33 After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people. Any who would, he ordained to be priests of the high places. 34 And this thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth.
This is such a crucial topic, because we make big and small decisions all the time and are constantly living with the consequences of past decisions. Someone asked if God speaks to you about specific decisions when you are reading the Bible, such as whether you should pay off your mortgage. I think this is about how you apply the Bible to decision making and not about whether God sends individual messages through his word.
For example, if you want to know whether paying off your mortgage is the right thing to do, you have a couple options:
Ask God for a supernatural sign for the answer, whether it is a yes or a no (a la Gideon). My guess is that He won’t decide for you that way, but it is always his option. One thing we know about God is that if He wants to tell you something directly He isn’t very subtle.
Use the wisdom model of decision making. You don’t have access to God’s sovereign knowledge (Will I lose my job? Will interest rates go up or down? Etc.). You do have unrestricted access to his moral will via the Bible. Example: Is it immoral to pay off your mortgage early? No, unless that means you won’t have enough money to feed your kids. After moral considerations, look to the wisdom angle. Ask God for wisdom, as He promises to deliver — but as with Solomon, He doesn’t promise to decide everything for you. Read the Proverbs (and more). Seek the counsel of others. Consider the pros and cons. That’s how to make wise decisions. Finally, provided the options are moral and wise, consider your personal preferences. We have tremendous freedom in Christ to do many things with our time and money. Will paying off your mortgage make you happy? If so, then do it.
Here’s a picture of what is looks like:
Really short version: Aside from direct and clear personal revelation from God, you don’t have access to his sovereign will when making decisions. Therefore you must look at other factors. If it isn’t moral, don’t do it. If it is moral but not wise, don’t do it. If it is moral and wise, then use your personal preferences.
Using this model you can end up with a wise and biblical decision, but you have avoided the traps of the “God told me to ____” routine. People who run around saying that God told them this and that convey a super-spirituality that can leave less mature believers wondering if they really have a relationship with God (i.e., “God doesn’t tell me every little thing to do, so maybe I don’t really know him.”).
The “God told me ___” routine can also be outright blasphemy, as when “Christians” claim that God is moving in a new direction counter to what He revealed in the Bible. The United Church of Christ “God is still speaking;” theme is a good example of that.
Saturating yourself in the word is a key success factor in making good decisions. If we focus on worldly wisdom things go badly:
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
But if we repent and do everything we can to see things from God’s point of view we will make better decisions.
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
This model will help you make good decisions in all areas of life. You can also use it to help friends, children, etc. make good decisions. I even use it at work as a “faith flag” at times. If people ask career advice, for example, I pull out this diagram and share it with them (i.e., “At the risk of getting all religious on you, here’s the method I use to make decisions like that.”)
P.S. A kid came into my wife’s elementary school library yesterday and asked if she had any books on how to make good choices. She thought of the diagram above and laughed. Let’s just say I refer to this model now and then. She thinks I should write a children’s book on decision making. I think she is kidding.
Hat tip to Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason for much of this, including the diagram.
Decision Making and the Will of God is one of my all-time favorite lessons to teach. This is such a crucial topic, because we make big and small decisions all the time and are constantly living with the consequences of past decisions.
Does God speak to you about specific decisions when you are reading the Bible, such as whether you should pay off your mortgage, whom you should marry, what job you should take, etc.? I think this is about how you apply the Bible to decision making and not about whether God sends individual messages through his word.
For example, if you want to know whether paying off your mortgage is the right thing to do, you have a couple options:
1. Ask God for a supernatural sign for the answer, whether it is a yes or a no (a la Gideon). My guess is that He won’t decide for you that way, but it is always his option. One thing we know about God is that if He wants to tell you something directly He isn’t very subtle. There are zero examples of him trying to tell someone something in the Bible and not getting through.
2. Use the wisdom model of decision making. You don’t have access to God’s sovereign knowledge (Will I lose my job? Will interest rates go up or down? Etc.). You do have unrestricted access to his moral will via the Bible. Example: Is it immoral to pay off your mortgage early? No, unless that means you won’t have enough money to feed your kids. After moral considerations, look to the wisdom angle. Ask God for wisdom, as He promises to deliver. But as with Solomon, He doesn’t promise to decide everything for you. Read the Proverbs (and more). Seek the counsel of others. Consider the pros and cons. That’s how to make wise decisions. Finally, provided the options are moral and wise, consider your personal preferences. We have tremendous freedom in Christ to do many things with our time and money. Will paying off your mortgage make you happy? If so, then do it.
Here’s a picture of what is looks like:
Really short version: Aside from direct and clear personal revelation from God, you don’t have access to his sovereign will when making decisions. Therefore you must look at other factors. If it isn’t moral, don’t do it. If it is moral but not wise, don’t do it. If it is moral and wise, then use your personal preferences.
Using this model you can end up with a wise and biblical decision, but you have avoided the traps of the “God told me to ____” routine. People who run around saying that God told them this and that convey a super-spirituality that can leave less mature believers wondering if they really have a relationship with God (i.e., “God doesn’t tell me every little thing to do, so maybe I don’t really know him.”).
The “God told me ___” routine can also be outright blasphemy, as when “Christians” claim that God is moving in a new direction counter to what He revealed in the Bible. The United Church of Christ “God is still speaking;” theme is a good example of that. They didn’t believe what He said the first time around, so why trust them on allegedly new revelations?
Saturating yourself in the word is a key success factor in making good decisions. If we focus on worldly wisdom things go badly:
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
But if we repent and do everything we can to see things from God’s point of view we will make better decisions.
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
This model will help you make good decisions in all areas of life. You can also use it to help friends, children, etc. make good decisions. I even use it at work as a “faith flag” at times. If people ask career advice, for example, I pull out this diagram and share it with them (i.e., “At the risk of getting all religious on you, here’s the method I use to make decisions like that.”)
Click here to download a set of PowerPoint slides to read or to use yourself to teach others.
P.S. A kid came into my wife’s elementary school library yesterday and asked if she had any books on how to make good choices. She thought of the diagram above and laughed. Let’s just say I refer to this model now and then. She thinks I should write a children’s book on decision making. I think she is kidding.
Hat tip to Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason for much of this, including the diagram.
Good reminder about not using the Lord’s name in vain by saying, “The Lord moved me to tell you…” People use God’s name vainly when they over-spiritualize things. Saying, “God told me . . .” puts the burden of proof on the listener when it should be on the hearer. If you use that line with me it better be followed by a Bible verse.
—
Eternity Matters 