The Will of God

"For this is the will of God, your sanctification…" -1 Thess. 4:3

I have been giving a lot of thought to the will of God lately. Invariably, when anyone faces a big decision they have some way of reasoning through it to discern what choice to make. For the Christian, the mode is to turn to God and seek Him in the midst of the decision and to make a decision that will glorify Him.

That said, I am not sure if seeking God’s will in the various decisions we make looks anything like we think it will. As I am faced with more and more decisions, I think that I am slowly but surely learning what it means to seek God in all of my decisions.

Too often that has meant waiting for some sign. Too often I think I expect the decision to fall in my lap and be made for me. But that is rarely how decisions are made and it is a lazy attitude to boot.

It has become increasingly important for me to learn that God has already revealed His will for me, for the Christian, and for every person in His Book: the Bible. “[God] desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:4). For everyone this means that God desires that all would come to place faith in Jesus Christ and be saved.

Scripture also teaches that God desires that Christians, including myself, be saved. I began this post with 1 Thess. 4: 3, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” but the verse continues further, “…that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the gentiles who do not know God…” (vv.3-5). God desires that we who have placed our faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ would continue to be saved, that we would continue to grow in relationship Him and turn away from our sin in repentance and towards Christ in faith.

I have learned that knowing the will of God for my life means, first and foremost, knowing the Scriptures and what He reveals in them. I have learned several other lessons that have flowed from this first one.

We know that God is a Trinitarian God and has made us in His image. Part of this means that as God has had an eternal community with Godhead, the persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; He has made us to experience community as well.

Making decisions in the context of community as opposed to making decisions in the solitude of my own judgment is the next big takeaway. Talking to trusted friends who know me well and older guys who have gone through life helps me to make a better decision. I have found so much clarity to come from discussions with friends. Clarity has come as friends challenge me in a way that reveals my own heart and desires and reminds me of God’s overarching will for my life and the gifts and passions that He has given me uniquely.

In closing, I suppose the best way to some up what I have learned is this: My big decisions are never made alone but by first looking to God’s revealed will in Scripture, always seeking Him in prayer, and walking through the decision in the community He has blessed me with.

The Gift

"Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." –Luke 10:20

As I was preparing to write this week’s blog post, I was planning on writing about Missions, the subject I had been studying for the past two weeks. In fact, I had already started a draft and knew where I wanted to go with the body of the blog. Yet it would seem that God has other plans. As I have been reflecting on what I have been learning, one clear lesson has jumped out.

I was praying and thanking God for the various gifts He has given me and it occurred to me that I was thanking Him for the very practical day-to-day things He provides, e.g. food, clothes, friends, shelter, etc. but not once did I thank Him for and rejoice in the fact that He had sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die for my sins in my place that I might inherit eternal life which He had prepared for me in eternity past, in short, I was not rejoicing that my name was written in heaven.

So what impact does this have, why does this matter? First, Christ, in the passage quoted above, commands and invites us to rejoice, not in the great things that He gives (at least, not primarily) but in the fact that we have salvation through Him and that, as a result, our names, my name, is written in heaven.

How wonderful us this! That because Christ came down from heaven, leaving the riches of His Kingdom to enter into the poverty of this earth, to suffer and eventually die in my place for my sins because He Himself was the only perfect substitution for me and all others who place their faith in Him; because of this, I have eternal life!

Second, it has been a major oversight on my behalf that I do not rejoice in this daily. I fail to see how great my sin is and how much in need of a Savior I am. I fail to see how much it cost Christ to purchase my salvation, and I fail to see the joy that I now have as a result of being saved.

One thing that was revealed to me as I mediated on this is that, because I was thanking God for these temporary blessings and these only, my joy was based in these. I noticed today that my life has been devoid of the joy that it should have. This is because I am looking for things that are temporary to provide me joy, and, being that they are temporary, they can only provide me joy for a short time. Thus, when they cease to provide the joy I expect, I am rendered joyless.

Yet, the salvation, which Christ has purchased, is eternal and my name is written in heaven, His home, where, when I die, I will go to enjoy eternity with Him and with all my brothers and sisters who have likewise trusted in Him. This joy is not temporary but eternal and is the only thing that can give true joy because it is not a thing, it is a person: Jesus Christ. He will never leave nor forsake any of His children, but is faithful to them forever. This is the gift I have been given; this is the reason I have for rejoicing!

Introductory Remarks

I have resisted blogging for some time now, but I feel compelled to join the many who are blogging today. My goal with this blog is to work towards writing one blog per week, with a word count less than or equal to 600. My goal is to provide succinct summaries of different doctrines or ideas in a clear manner. I hope to improve my writing style as I blog and solidify the lessons that I am learning in my private study. I hope also to develop teaching abilities by teaching others what I myself am learning.

The title of my blog may seem odd, yet it has profound meaning for me. The quote is taken from the theologian B.B. Warfield. I found this quote in Louis Berkhof's Systematic Theology. The full quote is as follows: "[General Revelation] is addressed to all intelligent creatures, and is therefore accessible to all men; [Special Revelation] is addressed to a special class of sinners, to whom God would make known His salvation" (37). I find that this has a twofold application to the Christian. First, we are reminded that we are no different from non-Christians in the sense of our inherent worth. We are all created in God's image and are not superior to the non-Christian; an attitude which I believe plagues the Church at times. The second application is a reminder that we are in no way responsible for our salvation, as if we accomplished it. God, in His grace, revealed Himself to us and took the sole role in salvation such that we have only to respond in faith.

Thus I begin my blog. To any who are so kind to follow, I would encourage any feedback you would have to offer, whether positive or negative, whereby I may learn and grow in my ability to communicate effectively and graciously.

In Christ,

Heath