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"We proclaim
Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so
that we may present every man complete in Christ." |
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Doors, Dreams, and Confirmations(Part 6)A modern proverb states that “actions speak louder than words.” What we mean by that is that you can tell what a person really thinks and is by watching what they do, not what they say. This is true theologically as well. It matters little what doctrinal statement or creed a believer signs his name to; watch him live and that will tell you what he really believes. I may say that I love God and that Christ is Lord, but every sin and act of selfishness betrays my heart as a cesspool of idolatrous self love. I may say that I believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, but watch me go a week without reading, study, prayer, and meditation and you can know for sure that my words mean little. The practice of “hearing the voice of God” and “finding God’s will” that I have been evaluating in these last several issues tells us much about modern Christendom’s view of God.1 For instance, do you think God has trouble communicating? Do you think that when God desires to communicate or reveal His will to a creature that He has difficulty doing it? Does He need you and me to go along with the process and to listen carefully? You would think that that is the case by listening to the way many Christians talk about knowing God’s will. The modern method taught in so many books and tapes on finding God’s will would make you think that God has a horrible speech impediment and can’t communicate anything clearly. God has to use impressions, feelings, emotional and mental nudges. He has to “give a peace” about the decision, then confirm it with some coincidental sign. Then we may hear the “still small voice,” put out fleece, and see if God “opens the door.” All the while we are not quite sure if we are getting the right message. What if it is my flesh talking, Satan tempting, or sin alluring me? Arrrggg! It shows that we view God as some sort of Cosmic Easter Bunny, who hides His will and then drops us veiled hints hoping we will follow the clues and hear His voice. “You’re getting warmer. Now you’re hot, now you’re really hot. Oh! Now you’re getting cooler again.” We are down here on earth scratching our heads trying to put together the clues, read the signs, and hopefully, hear God speak. This whole way of thinking paints a rather belittling concept of God that is wholly unworthy of Him. I believe that when God speaks, He does so with clarity. When He makes His will known, it is not through some elaborate labyrinth of clues, hints, and signs. There is no mystery about God’s will - it is clearly revealed in Scripture. There is no mystery about where we hear God speak - in Holy Scripture! In Case You Just Tuned InSo far we have seen that the Scriptures are the Word of God and as such are totally sufficient for all of life and godliness for the people of God. We have seen that the Scriptures do not teach that we hear the voice of God through nudgings, promptings, or inner feelings. Being “led by the Spirit” has nothing to do with receiving individual revelations from God, or hearing some voice in your head. Scripture does not teach that God leads us through “inner peace.” Scripture does not teach that God leads us through “fleeces.” Scripture does not teach that God leads us through “signs.” Most importantly, Scripture does not assign the authority of divine fiat to my stray thoughts. But What About. . . ?2In the last two articles I have dealt with some of the ways that Christians today think they receive divine guidance. Let’s take a look at three more. 1) What about dreams and visions? This is a fair question since we actually have biblical precedent for people receiving divine guidance and revelation in the form of dreams and visions. Joseph was told by the angel in a dream to take Mary as his wife and to name the baby boy Jesus (Matthew 1:18-25). Paul saw a vision of Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). Cornelius was instructed by an angel in a vision to send for Peter (Acts 10:3-6). Peter received a vision to prepare him for his encounter with Cornelius (Acts 10:9-16). Paul was directed through a vision to Macedonia (Acts 16:9-10). Paul had a vision at Corinth and was told to stay there and minister (Acts 18:9-10). Christ appeared in a vision to Paul instructing him to leave Jerusalem (Acts 22:18, 21). Let’s make a few observations about visions and dreams. First, Scripture does say that certain people at certain times received divine guidance through visions and dreams. At the same time, Scripture does not teach that we should expect the same. Nowhere in all of the epistles (letters written to give instruction to churches and Christians) are we told that visions and dreams are the lot of every believer. Nowhere are we told to wait for them, ask for them, or expect them. For that matter, we aren’t even told what to do if we receive them. I would expect to find some instruction in the New Testament on how to discern if a vision is from God, self, or Satan. Yet we don’t find it. What we do find is teaching regarding the sufficiency of the revealed Word of God for the church and for individual believers. Second, the people who did receive that special divine guidance in the form of visions and dreams were unique men given unique capacities in the plan of God. For the most part, visions and dreams were related to the birth and ministry of the Son of God and the spread of the gospel through the apostolic ministry (Christ’s authoritative earthly representatives). What would make anyone assume that because God did certain things through His apostles, that He would do the same through us? The apostles were not normal men; nor were they chosen for a normal ministry; nor is what happened to them to be considered normal. I would expect for God to give special divine guidance to prophets, apostles, and Joseph. I am none of the above and neither are you. Third, the visions and dreams in Scripture were clear. Don’t miss that. There was no uncertainty with Joseph regarding what he saw and what he was told. Paul didn’t misunderstand. Cornelius knew what God wanted after his vision, and Peter got the point! They didn't have to wonder if God was trying to tell them something. When God speaks, it is clear! God certainly could use visions and dreams to direct His people today, however, I have no reason to expect it. I had an “experience” during my second year at Bible College. Dorm life offered me little time for sleep and so I would oftentimes return to my room at 9:40 AM when chapel was over for a 15 minute nap before my 10 AM class. The dorm was quiet since the other students were either taking their own 15 minute nap or having coffee and refreshments in the dining hall. I had been asleep for a while when I was awakened by what I thought was someone in my room talking to me. I heard the words, “You are called because I have called you.” It was loud. I lifted my head and looked around my room. I was all alone. I got up and walked out in the hall and there was nobody on the entire top floor of the dorm. I had no idea then what it was, and I have no idea now! If God was trying to tell me something He didn’t do a very good job. He certainly wasn’t very clear! Did the “call” refer to my calling to salvation, my vocation (job), or some special call to ministry? Was I to wait to be “called” on in class? Or was I to expect a phone call later that day? Or was this a phone call I had already received? Now if you are like me then you have all kinds of silly and even stupid thoughts, ideas, and sounds that run through your mind as you are sailing off to Slumberland. I have been awakened by thinking I heard gunshots, Diedre talking or even cars in my bedroom! So what do I make of the “voice” saying, “You are called because I have called you?” Absolutely nothing. I ignored it. It is not at all a clear directive. It is not unmistakable. It is nothing like what happened in the New Testament, so I will simply ignore it. When I want to know what God has called me to do, I go to Scripture! There I will find all that God has revealed for me in unmistakable, clear print. 2) What about confirmations? Supposedly, when God has whispered His will in your ear by some nudging or when you “feel led” to do something, God will confirm it with some sign. For example, you are praying about buying a new car. So you throw out a fleece and ask God that if He wants you to buy a car, then there will be a sale at some dealership in the month of January. Low and behold if the dealership right down the street from your work isn’t having a New Year’s sale! You are starting to think that it is God’s will for you to buy a new car. Then you opened this morning’s paper before you rushed off to work and there on the front page of the business section was an article on car sales for the previous year. That must be your “confirmation.” That must be the sign God gave you to confirm that it was His will for you to buy the car. How about another scenario: maybe your wife is pregnant and expecting in under two weeks. You still haven’t settled on a name for the baby. When you arrive at work you find that the boss has hired a new receptionist to fill in for the previous one who is gone on maternity leave. Her name is Sue. It must be a sign from God! The receptionist is going to have a baby. Your wife is going to have a baby. The person hired to replace the receptionist is named Sue. God must want you to name your new baby Sue. So you pray, “Lord, if you want me to name the baby ‘Sue,’ please confirm it to me.” During your lunch hour, you click to your favorite news website and the headline reads “Government Sues Microsoft.” There is that word “sue” again. The Lord gave you a “confirmation.” You go downstairs to the cafeteria and find that the special today is sushi. Sushi, Sue. . . could it be? God must be trying to tell you something!!! Now, that may all sound very silly to some of you, and I hope it does. But you would be amazed at how many people make life-altering decisions using the exact same superstitious methodology. Maybe we should ask, “Does the Bible teach that God leads us through ‘confirmations?’” The idea of having something “confirmed” by two or three witnesses is mentioned four times in the New Testament (Matthew 18:15-16; 2 Corinthians 13:1-2; 1 Timothy 5:19-20; Hebrews 10:28). You can look those references up for yourself. You’ll discover two things. First, they are all a quotation of two identical verses in the Old Testament - Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15. The verses in Deuteronomy have to do with the judicial function of the law in Israel. The Deuteronomy references have to do with not convicting a person of a crime unless there was adequate testimony against him/her. There must be witnesses to confirm the allegations. Second, in the New Testament the same principle is used for dealing with sin or crimes within the church. The concept of having something “confirmed” by witnesses has to do with adjudicating matters within the church. Yet how often do you hear of Christians speak of “confirmations” in this sense? I bet never! These verses have nothing to do with decision making, or discerning the convergence of divine hints. The passages have nothing at all to do with receiving divine direction for decisions or hearing the voice of God. This is another sad example of Christians taking a biblical phrase or word, redefining it and then using it to prop up unbiblical practices. The Bible does not teach that we get divine direction through “confirmations.” 3) What about open and closed doors? Often Christians see an “open door” as God’s clear leading. By “open door” we usually mean that when we are faced with a decision, we may find that one of the choices appears open to pursue, the other may be riddled with obstacles. It is the practice of some to look for the “open door” and then take that as a divine directive. There is nothing wrong with taking open doors and pursuing a course of action. The problem comes when we equate the open door with divine guidance. This becomes obvious when we look at the two passages in the Bible that speak of open doors. The first is in 1 Corinthians 16:8-9 - “But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost; for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” The wide door for effective service that opened to Paul was the opportunity to teach at the school of Tyrannus for two years and thus spread the Word of God throughout the entire region of Asia (Acts 19:8-10). The Jews who had opposed him in the synagogue were the “many adversaries.” Paul took advantage of this opportunity and remained in Ephesus for nearly 3 years (Acts 20:17, 31). By the way, notice that there was an “open door” and “many adversaries.” Paul did not equate the presence of opposition, resistance, or adversaries with a “closed door.” Often times we see opposition in our way and say, “Closed door! Can’t go through.” It was the opposite for Paul. All the open door was to Paul was an opportunity to serve effectively. Did the open door equal divine guidance and direction? Did Paul see an open door as God revealing His will and giving Paul direction on what to choose? Let’s look at the second reference to open doors. 2 Corinthians 2:12-13 - “Now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord, I had no rest for my spirit, not finding Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I went on to Macedonia.” Did you see that? When Paul arrived in Troas he found another “open door in the Lord.” Instead of taking it as God’s guidance, Paul left them to go to Macedonia to find Titus. What is going on here? Paul had sent Titus to Corinth with a letter. Things were falling apart in the Corinthian church and Paul was working to correct the situation. He left Ephesus for Troas and was supposed to meet Titus there. In Troas Paul was faced with a decision. He had an open door for service that he could take advantage of, or he could leave for Macedonia to find Titus. Paul left Troas. How can Paul pass up an open door? Didn’t God clearly reveal His will to Paul by giving him the open door? The answer is no! There was a situation in Corinth that was pressing. Paul wanted to find Titus and get an update on the Corinthian situation and then to proceed to Corinth to deal with the problems in person. “But Paul! God gave you an open door!” “Yeah, so? I wanted to go see Titus, so I left.” The open door was merely an opportunity to stay and serve. Paul did not view the open door as a divine directive and neither should you. The opportunity to serve was weighed in light of wisdom and circumstances and Paul chose to pass it up. As Greg Koukl so aptly puts it, “Although God may have given him an opportunity, Paul did not consider the opportunity itself as a directive from God.”3 All we can say about “open doors” in Scripture is that they are “opportunities to serve.” They do not constitute divine guidance or direction. An open door is an opportunity that can be acted on or ignored depending on other factors. Thinking we receive divine guidance from open and closed doors presents all kinds of problems in application. For instance, how do I know whether it was God or Satan that opened the door? Maybe the devil is trying to lure me away from God’s best by presenting an open door. Maybe the open door is a trap set by the devil; a trap cleverly disguised as God’s will. It might be that God wants me to push a little on some closed doors. Then when it opens up for me, was it God that opened it, or was it me? Maybe if I had waited, God would have opened it up, or opened another door. But how do I know when I have waited long enough? What if I am waiting for another door to open and the open door closes? Did I miss God’s best? Am I guilty of disobeying His directive? What if I push open a door that God didn’t want open? What if Satan opens one? Can Satan close an open door? What if I am not paying attention and I don’t see the open door? Am I in sin for not hearing God’s voice to me in the open door? Unbiblical methods always break down in the application. Scripture does not teach that we receive divine guidance from dreams, confirmations, and open and closed doors. I know that so far I have talked a lot about what Scripture does not teach and you are probably wondering, “What does the Bible say about how God does guide me? What does the Bible say about decision making?” I will flesh that out for us next month. Till then. . . Without Wax- Jim Osman Footnotes: 1. You can read previous articles in this series on
this subject posted on this website in our Column
Archives. 2. I am greatly indebted to Decision Making and the Will of God by Greg Koukl from Stand to Reason Ministries for his thoughtful and thorough evaluation of these practices. I highly recommend his tape series Decision Making and the Will of God available from Stand to Reason. I would also recommend a book by the same title, Decision Making and the Will of God by Gary Friesen published by Multnomah (also available through Stand to Reason Ministries). 3. Decision Making and the Will of God audio CD #1. |
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