Four Views Of God's Will—Which Is Right?

Transcripts for Dr. Wiersbe's sermons are forthcoming. Below is an outline of his message.

Theme verse for this series is Psalm 33:11.

When you start talking about the will of God, some people are frightened and defensive, but as believers we should get excited about it.

The will of God is an expression of the love of God.

There are four views of the will of God, but only one is true.

• The mystical approach emphasizes the emotions.
  • Mystics believe there is a spiritual world behind the spiritual world.
  • Paul was a Christian mystic.
  • Mystics believe you will have a spiritual feeling for the will of God.
  • We should not lean on our own thinking, but rather trust God with our heart.
  • The danger to the mystical approach to the will of God is that feelings can be deceitful.
  • There is a place for the emotions in determining the will of God, but they should not be our only source of decision.
  • There are times when Satan appears to give us guidance and blessing but then turns and traps us.
  • You cannot determine the will of God without the mind. For example, salvation and understanding the Bible need the mind.
• The mechanical approach emphasizes a formula.
  • Mechanical approach believes the will of God is a machine and can be determined by pushing the right buttons.
  • The mechanical approach tends to replace a relationship with a recipe.
  • The Christian life is not about following all the right steps; it is a living relationship.
  • The danger of the mechanical approach is that it turns out cookie cutter Christians.
  • We don’t trust a formula for following God; we trust God.
• The dictatorial approach emphasizes Jesus’ reign.
  • The dictatorial approach means we get off the throne and Jesus runs our life.
  • Jesus reigns by giving us new life. He doesn’t reign instead of us.
  • We reign through Jesus Christ because we know we cannot run our own lives.
  • God doesn’t work instead of or in spite of us; He works in us and through us.
  • To die to self does not mean to cease to be.
• The biblical approach emphasizes wholeness.
  • All of the other approaches are fragmented.
  • The Christian approach recognizes that God has our emotions, intellect, and will.
  • The whole Bible is God’s guiding instrument for our lives, and we understand it with our intellect.
  • We use our emotions to have a personal relationship with Jesus.
  • The will of God is a product of walking with God and a relationship with Him.
  • Marriage is a picture of the relationship we should have with Jesus.
  • Our whole person must be yielded to God in the whole of our lives.
  • The result of a whole approach to the will of God is a growing relationship with God.

Wait on the Lord and He will direct you.

God’s timings are never wrong.