The Secret of Knowing God's Will

R. Scott Clark has a great article in the midst of a series on the will of God. You should read it and can find it here.

Here is my teaser to whet your appetite- he says that listening for the still small voice leads to a two-sided tyranny and comments:

The first aspect of this tyranny is the fear that “I haven’t heard the still, small voice of God.” This leads to paralysis. It also leads to doubt.

The logic is ruthless:
1. God still speaks outside of Scripture and gives direct guidance and revelation to Christians.
2. Christian X hasn’t received such guidance and revelation.
3. Christian X is either a) not really a Christian or b) doesn’t have sufficient faith or lacks the power of the Spirit etc.

Whatever the cause, the outcome of the logic is unhappy but what if the problem is not the second premise but the first? What if the first premise is flawed?

What Clark is getting into is a question that centers on the distinction between a "revelation" from God and the "illumination" of God's Spirit. We would affirm that the Spirit illumins our minds to understand Scripture better and how it applies to our situation, but would affirm that God's "revelation" was concluded with the closing of the Canon of Scripture- the Bible.

Check it out, read the comments below it for common questions and then, discuss it with some friends.

On Sunday Morning Worship

Those of us who have paid any attention to church history and ecclesiology are familiar with the debate that existed concerning what is and what is not permitted in worship. Martin Luther's take on it was "whatever is not condemned by the Scriptures is permitted." On the other hand, John Calvin's view (none now as the "Regulative Principle") was that "whatever is not commanded by the Scripture is forbidden."

Although Calvin's view seems a bit extreme, I feel that his argument has much to commend it.

Calvin, recognizing that his view was the "tougher" of the two, wrote:

"I know how difficult it is to persuade the world that God disapproves of all modes of worship not expressly sanctioned by His Word. The opposite persuasion which cleaves to them, being seated, as it were, in their very bones and marrow, is, that whatever they do has in itself a sufficient sanction, provided it exhibits some kind of zeal for the honor of God. But since God not only regards as fruitless, but also plainly abominates, whatever we undertake from zeal to His worship, if at variance with His command, what do we gain by a contrary course?

The words of God are clear and distinct:“Obedience is better than sacrifice.” (1 Samuel 15:22)“In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men,” (Matthew. 15:9.)

Every addition to His word, especially in this matter, is a lie. Mere “will worship” (εθελοθρησκεια) is vanity. This is the decision, and when once the judge has decided, it is no longer time to debate." (Humble Exhortation—The Necessity of Reforming the Church)

I suggest that you who have a charge over a flock (both planters and pastors) not dismiss this without taking the time to consider it and those who are members of a congregation come to appreciate it.

I did not appreciate what Calvin's point was until I really mulled over the fact that God did not accept whatever it was that people offered him in the name of worship. We need only consider the "strange fire" offered by the sons of Korah or the sacrifices offered by Saul which were condemned by Samuel and led to God's removing Saul from being king. Read the passages. Wasn't Saul only doing what he thought God wanted him to do?

I'm not talking here of worship that is mere action without heart- such as that condemned in the first chapter of Isaiah. I'm talking worship that the offerer thinks God will be pleased with, yet which receives rejection instead.

Doesn't that give us cause for pause?I have gained much from meditating on this and, in particular, a book called "Give Praise to God: A Vision for Reforming Worship." With contributors Baptist and Presbyterian alike, the book has been one of the most helpful to me in terms of forcing me to think through what it is that we should be about on Sunday mornings.

Some conclusions that I came to, and have posted on our church website are:

We worship according to what the Scriptures command, not according to our own innovativeness because.... (It is actually stated that we "Preach the Bible, Pray the Bible, Sing the Bible, and See the Bible)

1) Because we believe the dictums that "we become like what we worship" and "we become like Who we worship." The way we worship contributes to our grasp of the one true God and how we approach Him in all of life.

2) Because it keeps the focus on God and not on worship itself. Too often, the way in which a church worships takes precedence over the Who a church worships. And when that happenes, teh worship can actually change the message. The purpose of worship is not to draw attention to itself, but to aid the congregation in their communion with God.

3) Because it protects the congregation. God is the One who created us to worship Him as He has revealed. It is not the church's job to create new ways to approach Him. To require the congregation, during corporate worship, to do something God has not commanded them to do, could possibly force them to sin against their own conscience as they engage in acts which they do not believe the Bible requires of them.

4) Because it helps to keep us from idolatry. John Wesley, John Calvin, and Martin Luther all warned of our tendency to create God in our own image and end up worshipping ourselves rather than God. The only way to ensure that we worship the right One is to worship accordin to His wishes. As J. Ligon Duncan observes: "The whom of worship is, of course, central to true worship (John 4:22, 24). It is what the first commandment is all about. We aim to worship the God of the Bible, God as he reveals himself, for we cannot worship him as we ought unless we know him as he is- and we cannot know him as he is except insofar as he has revealed himself to us in his word. There is a god we want and the God who is, and the two are not the same. The only way to be sure that we have the whom of worship right is to worship according to God's written self-revelation."