The Will of God
Colossians 1:1-11

The Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity

           Predicting the future and making decisions has long smitten the mind of man. Wizards and fortune-tellers have ventured to design methods to discover what will happen in the future. The Azande tribe of Sudan had a way for making choices. In order to get guidance they consulted the termites. How did this work? They would go to a termite hill, and ask their questions. For instance, a hunter might inquire, “In which forest will I encounter the best hunting?” Or “Will the evil spirits steer the beasts into my nets today or away from my nets?” Then the man would poke two sticks into the termite hill and leave them for a day. The termites would answer in one of four ways. If one stick was eaten that was a yes; if the other stick was eaten that was a no; if the termites ate both sticks it was an emphatic yes; and when the ants ate neither stick it was an emphatic no.

            The civilized world does little better. Some people check their daily horoscope, or have their palm read. What is this about reading the tealeaves? Are the Harry Potter stories going to revive the practice of divining the future based on the way the tea leaves come to a rest on the bottom of one’s cup after drinking it?

            You and I must make tough decisions, and we often wonder what the future holds for us once we make those decisions. “What is the will of God for me?” We want to know. Today our epistle lesson invites us to grapple with the doctrine of God’s will. It can be a confusing subject. Let us read Colossians 1:1-2; 9-11. [Read them.]

            In the first verses Paul states to the readers of his epistle that he is an apostle on account of “the will of God.” Then in verses nine through eleven of the same chapter the apostle prays for them that they be filled with the knowledge of the will of God. What is the will of God? How can we know the will of God? There are several aspects of it.

            Theologians speak of the decretive will of God and the preceptive will of God. What are they? What is the difference? The decretive will of God has to do with His decree, His providential plan. God has decreed the things that will take place tomorrow, one year from now, and one hundred years from today. Some liberal scholars claim that God doesn’t know the future, but the orthodox faith has always held that God does know it. And if God can foresee the future that means He has foreordained it. He has decreed it and no human action can set it aside. We see an example of the decretive will of God in Colossians 1:1. Paul was made an apostle. That was an amazing fact considering his persecution of the Church. Who would have guessed at the time of Deacon Stephen’s stoning as Saul held the cloaks of those throwing the stones that Paul would one day preach the Gospel of Christ as an apostle? But he did. God’s foreordination in eternity that Paul should become an apostle made that event inescapable. You and I have been predestined to salvation in a similar way. It was God’s plan. The decretive will of God will come to pass; there is no stopping it. Yet to seek the decretive will of God; to pull some magic trick in order to peak at the decretive will of God is a vile curiosity. To attempt to look behind the veil at what God has not been pleased to reveal is to tamper with holy things that are out of bounds.

            The preceptive will of God is quite different. It is good to seek the perceptive will of God. The preceptive will of God is found in His law, His precepts. That is why it is called the preceptive will of God. The preceptive will of God has to do with precepts and commandments: the commandment to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength; to love your neighbor as yourself; to obey the Ten Commandments. We see an example of the preceptive will of God in Colossians 1:9-12. [Read them.]

            This is the preceptive will of God. In his book on God’s will and the Christian, R.C. Sproul makes a helpful comparison of the decretive will of God and the preceptive will of God. He writes:

            “One of the great tragedies of contemporary Christendom is the preoccupation of so many Christians with the secret decretive will of God to the exclusion and neglect of the preceptive will. We want to peek behind the veil, to catch a glimpse of our personal future. We seem more concerned with our horoscope than with our obedience, more concerned with what the stars in their courses are doing than with what we are doing.

            With respect to God’s sovereign will, we assume we are passive. With respect to His preceptive will, we know that we are active and therefore responsible and accountable. It is easier to engage in ungodly prying into the secret counsel of God than to apply ourselves to the practice of godliness. We can flee to the safety of the sovereign will and try to pass off our sin to God, laying the burden and responsibility of it on His unchanging will. Such characterizes the spirit of Antichrist, the spirit of lawlessness, or antinomianism, that despises God’s law and ignores His precepts.” [Close quote. pp. 17-18.] The doctrine of the decretive will of God guarantees that God sovereignly controls all things. But the doctrine is no grounds for blaming God when we selfishly sin, and get into trouble.

            Is there another way in which the word will is used in theology? Yes. The free will discussion. We often try to harmonize man’s free will and God’s sovereignty. But that is a discussion for a different sermon. Let ‘s stick to God’s decretive and preceptive will today. God’s preceptive will is clear. It is already revealed to us. It has to do with morality and is found in His Word. Obviously the Lord desires that we refrain from theft and lying because that is what He commands. We read it in the Decalogue. If you want to know His moral (preceptive) will for your life you have it already in Holy Scripture. Study that. Obey it. But to know what is the “center of God’s will,” so to speak, for your personal life in the next day or year is asking too much. That is God’s decretive will. The Lord does not regularly reveal such things. He wants you to grow in wisdom and maturity, and with the knowledge of His preceptive will, make your decisions.
What are the hardest decisions? Marriage and vocation are the most difficult. Should I marry? Whom should I marry? Then there is work. What should I do with my life? What kind of job should I pursue? What has God Called me to do? How do we make good decisions in these areas, and others?
1.         Prayer is the most important exercise. Take everything to God the Father. Tell Him about it. Ask others to pray for you. Prayer is one avenue. It is a necessary avenue.

2.         Research is another route for making wise decisions. Moses sent in the twelve spies to scout out the Promised Land, and later Joshua dispatched intelligence agents to check out the city of Jericho. Before Moses and Joshua acted, they sized up and studied their options. If you feel that God is calling you to missionary work, you research it. If you think God is calling you to plumbing do some reading on it, try your hand at it. Do you have the skills and talents? You investigate to see where you think you could best use your God-given gifts.

3.         Self evaluation is important. You ask yourself:

“What can I do?
What do I like to do?
What would I like to be able to do?
What should I do?       These questions will help guide you.

4.         Let’s not forget the counsel of others. The book of Proverbs stresses the value of seeking out wise counselors. Proverbs 15:22 says, “Without consultation, plans are frustrated, but with many counselors they succeed.” It is surprising how seldom people seek the spiritual insight of respected Christians. This flies in the face of Scripture. Proverbs 11:14 says, “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.”

5.         Another source of God’s perceptive will is creation itself. One should become a student of life. God has built His wisdom into nature and we would do well to reflect on the practical habits that creatures perform by instinct: the hard work of ants, the harmlessness of doves, the flight of sparrows, and the laziness of the sloth.

            St. Augustine had a word for difficult decisions. He said in effect, “Do what you want. As long as the other things are in place, do what you want. You have pursued wisdom in prayer, Bible reading, research, and the counsel of others. You are humbly obedient to Scripture. God often gives you the desires of your heart. So do what you think is best.” Hopefully, it was a good decision. Did it turn out wrong? Evaluate the results of your decision. St Paul prays in Colossians 1:10 “that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work…” What are the consequences of the decision you made? Is your course of action bearing fruit and pleasing to God? If not, change course if possible and try again. Don’t stand still. The Lord will more quickly guide you to your proper calling if you keep moving.

            The search for the will of God is a labor of love, born not from a godless curiosity but from a desire to please Him. He delights in our obedience. By following His precepts, we honor and glorify Him. Jesus summed up the matter perfectly: if you love Me, keep My commandments. [Sproul. P. 95.]
Let us pray.

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