God wants me to play Playstation and not Xbox?

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strictestsect

Puritan Board Freshman
What do you guys think about Gods will "for" our lives? Does it reach to that extent? What kind of car to buy, where to live, who we should marry, should I be a doctor or a Plumber? Stuff like that. Or could God not "give a hoot" as long as we fulfill what's already in scripture. "And this is the will of God" type verses. What's up with our thinking when we say "I prayed to God and I don't think I should play Madden with you anymore"? (Madden is a football game on Playstation 2)
 
[quote:a420142e8d]What's up with our thinking when we say "I prayed to God and I don't think I should play Madden with you anymore"? (Madden is a football game on Playstation 2)[/quote:a420142e8d]


Did he say that during the game? If he did, he probably was down a few touchdowns... j/k

[quote:a420142e8d]2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. [b:a420142e8d]Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will[/b:a420142e8d] (Rom. 12:2).[/quote:a420142e8d]

What 'will' is this talking about here? I think it is interesting how many scholars believe he is talking about a 'charismatic' knowing: meaning that when he is walking in the renewel of his mind, he can know God's will in specific situations; notice it says "test" and "approve."

I think however, that he is talking about simply knowing what to do in situations based on God's will already revealed. [i:a420142e8d]But[/i:a420142e8d] there is a sense in which all knowledge of the preceptive will of God involves our being led by the Holy Spirit: which is the whole force of the above verse (renewal etc.)

Rembrandt
 
All that we need to know of God's will for us is laid out for us in the scriptures. His law is His will. It is His will that we obey His law.

The question then is whether what we are seeking to do is allowable in within the spectrum of obeying God's law.

Anything that we choose, if the choice is not a matter of breaking the law of God, then it is a matter of Christian liberty.

For example, I may ask, "should I buy a red toothbrush, or a blue one?" God's law does not say, "thou shalt not buy a red toothebrush, nor, thou shalt buy a blue toothebrush", hence, this is a matter of liberty to me, so long as either choice is not in violation to the revealed will of God.


As says the confession:

[quote:be61c69416]
2. ____God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in any thing contrary to his word, or not contained in it. So that to believe such doctrines, or obey such commands out of conscience, is to betray true liberty of conscience; and the requiring of an implicit faith, an absolute and blind obedience, is to destroy liberty of conscience and reason also.
( James 4:12; Romans 14:4; Acts 4:19, 29; 1 Corinthians 7:23; Matthew 15:9; Colossians 2:20, 22, 23; 1 Corinthians 3:5; 2 Corinthians 1:24 )

3._____ They who upon pretence of Christian liberty do practice any sin, or cherish any sinful lust, as they do thereby pervert the main design of the grace of the gospel to their own destruction, so they wholly destroy the end of Christian liberty, which is, that being delivered out of the hands of all our enemies, we might serve the Lord without fear, in holiness and righeousness before Him, all the days of our lives.

LBC1689 21:2,3
[/quote:be61c69416]
 
Also, there are many today who promote that we can know "God's perfect will for my life".

They say that, in answering such questions as, [i:dc2eb29b2e]who should I marry?, or should I take this job or the other one? or should I be a missionary to Africa, or India? that, "you just need to wait on the Lord, and He will reveal His will for you in His time. He will reveal to you that which is His perfect will for you."[/i:dc2eb29b2e] - Such is in error. The scriptures are sufficient for us; we do not need to know some "secret; hidden will that God has for us". If the scriptures do not specifically speak on it, then it is a matter of Christian liberty.

[Edited on 5-2-2004 by Dan....]
 
Dan has given some excellent counsel here.

I would recommend a very good book that lays out the Biblical case for these matters, Freisen's [u:45af4af2ae]Decision Making and the Will of God[/u:45af4af2ae].
 
Yay, Fred and Dan!!! I give your posts a big :ditto:

Also, an interesting point about those who would suggest that we "find" God's will for our lives in terms of the decisions we have to make are usually never consistent. For example, concerning where we go to college and who we marry, these folks will undoubtedly not do anything until they've gotten a "word" from the Lord as to what they should do. But what about making the decision as to what to wear that day? Do they seek God's will for that? I have never met a single person who has to pray about what clothes to wear, what to eat for breakfast, etc. etc. But why? Is God only concerned with college and marriage? And who makes these determinations as to what decision is something that requires God's specific direction and what does not? In my experience, it seems to me that it is always the decisions that people have a hard time making that require a word from God, but in making the smaller decisions of life, we feel like we're wise enough on our own apart from God.

Just an observation on my part.
 
This is also a cause for the charismatic movement's insistence on extra-Biblical revelation. It is, after all, [i:ae845eb437]so[/i:ae845eb437] much easier to get a revelatory word from God as to whom I should marry than top actually work and study the Bible to find the principles I should then apply!
 
I think a lot of people try to get us to look to the Scriptures for answers that aren't there.

We should not approach Scripture in the typical medieval way, which would suggest that you could build a functional internal combustion engine from the proper treatment of verses. Sometimes it's too easy to do that though.

Dan has given some great points, and I feel refreshed by them as well!

:thumbup::thumbup:
 
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