How to know the will of God for your life

[a brother]

Knowing the will of God is a necessity for a Christian who wants to honor God with his or her life.  How can we know the will of God for our day-to-day living and for major life decisions?  The Assembly is very clear on how saints are to be a good testimony and have a system of seeking counsel.  There are also many other books, pamphlets and even writing of the early church Christians to refer to as well to see how one might come to know God’s will.

Is it fair for people who have left the Assembly to tell others that it is God’s will for them to leave?  I am going to talk about the importance of seeking counsel.  

Brother George wrote in “The Sufficiency of the Scriptures” that ”The declaring of dogmas would create a creed, which might shut out believers who might disagree with some item of that creed, and the fellowship of the Spirit would be impossible. It would cripple spiritual growth, as such an attitude would be disloyal to Jesus Christ.”  

A few questions now:
Is the “will of God” seen as synonymous with what the Assembly believes and practices?  
Does the Assembly have standards that its members SHOULD follow to be in committed fellowship and a good testimony.
Can a typical Assembly member tell a new person who has just entered into committed fellowship what godly Christians are supposed to believe and act?  

Now recall the above words of Brother George as you read this paragraph.  The Assembly’s group belief system has become a creed over the years as new beliefs and rules were added, rules and beliefs that were labeled as “God’s will.”  (It’s not God’s will that Christian’s celebrate Christmas, it's not God's will for a group of single brothers and sisters to meet together without a married couple present, etc.)  As a result, to be in committed fellowship is only possible if you conform to the Assembly’s belief system and practices that are constantly referred to as the will of the Lord, New Testament Pattern, etc. But if you follow a group’s belief system that is deemed as “the Lord’s will” and do not discern the will of God for your own life, this cripples your spiritual growth as a Christian because you are following rules, not the Lord.

What is the will of God and how can we come to know if we are in His will?  
 
Dietrich Bonhoeffer summaries what the will of God is supposed to be in the Assembly approved book, The Cost of Discipleship: “The will of God is not a system of rules which is established from the outset; it is something new and different in each different situation in life, and for this reason a man must ever anew examine what the will of God may be.” I pointed these words out to Betty G. in a meeting once and I then asked if that meant the leading brothers were not supposed to tell us what the will of God is and that we should be individuals before God and decide the will of God for ourselves. She paused for a moment and then said something enigmatically like, ”Those words say exactly what they say.” She then quickly moved onto the next question.

I believe that seeking counsel is just one of many tools to help a person decide what God wants them to do in terms of major life decisions as well as day to day living.  A person has the Word of God, Prayer, a sense of leading or a still small voice, and asking advice from more mature Christians.  Seeking counsel is simply asking advice in mainstream Christianity, but in the Assembly the so-called "recommendation” that the leading brothers give is supposed to be followed because the “leadership has the mind of the Lord.”  As one worker said bluntly to me:  "You should not seek counsel unless you intend to do what the brothers say because they have the mind of the Lord."  And I could not tell you how many times during the meetings that people were told something along the lines of “If you have a decision to make you need to seek counsel and we’ll find the will of God together.”  Christianity beyond the bounds of the Assembly teaches YOU have to decide what the will of God is for you, as I will soon demonstrate after I show how the Assembly justifies its practice of “seeking counsel.”    

[a brother]

The Assembly's primary justification for their notion of "seeking counsel" rests on many verses in Proverbs such as "The way of a fool is right in his won eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise" (12:15, cf. 11:14 and 15:22).  However, it is clear Solomon was writing to “my son" (e.g., Prov. 1:8 and 12 other passages), the future king.  Other passages about "seeking counsel", like "For by wise counsel you will wage ware, and in a multitude of counselors there is safety" (Prov. 24:6; cf. 20:18), make it clear that the future king is supposed to consult his court counselors (e.g., 1 Kings 12:6) for ADVICE if he is going to wage war, etc.  The King of Israel certainly did not have to submit to his counselors and follow what they said as if it were God’s will.  The Hebrew words that are translated "counsel" mean "advice."  But the Assembly has created a manmade procedure that expects everyone "in committed fellowship" to "seek counsel" by going to the leadership to “find the will of God together.”  Everyone knows what I am talking about:  you get a promise, you take it to the leadership, and then you "find the will of God together."  In the Assembly, to "seek counsel' is ultimately to submit to whatever the brothers say is the will of God for you.  Yes you have a few promises, but if they don't agree how you think the Lord is leading you, they will tell you so and discourage you from going against what they say.  I talked to the most respected worker in our Assembly to see if I could get him to admit that individuals have to “understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17) for themselves. He tried to give me the Assembly rules: get a promise, seek counsel and then the will of God is confirmed by the unity of the saints who stand with the leading brothers and the individual who needs to make a decision. So we determine the will of God together and not on our own? His reply: “You need the approval of the brethren and the unanimity of the saints to know you are in God's will."  

In The Fight by John White (a popular Christian book that has been reprinted for years) it says "When you seek counsel... don't go with the idea of letting your mentor make the decision for you.  You want a first hand, not a second hand relationship with God.  The decision must be yours.  Don't even allow yourself to worry about the approval of the person you talk to.  You are going to have to answer to God, not your counselor... Seek counsel by all means, but let the responsibility of deciding God's will to be yours."  

If you are in the Assembly, you know very well you do need the "approval of the leadership" and "the unity of the saints" or you will be seen as "not submitting to the leadership,” “acting independently,” and not doing God's will.

The Assembly claims it follows the “New Testament Pattern” but even history tells us differently:  John Chrysostom, one of the most popular preachers of his time and a contemporary of Augustine of Hippo, wrote, "We do not have 'authority over your faith,' beloved, nor do we command these things as your lords and masters.  We are appointed for the teaching of the word, not power, nor for absolute authority.  We hold the place of counselors to advise you.  The counselor speaks his own opinion, not forcing his listener, but leaving him full master of his choice in what is said."  Not the differences in concepts and practice of the Assembly:  Advice is given not permission or approval, the counselor “speaks his own opinion” not the leading brothers have “the will of God” or “the mind of the Lord,” and the person seeking the will of God is left “full master of his choice in what is said” not “submit to the leadership who have the mind of the Lord.”    

Even the Christian pamphlet entitled "Knowing God's Will from Last Days Ministries that was once on the Assembly booktable says "Counsel from those who are known to have a pure walk with God is often of great value when seeking further light on some major decision.  This counsel should be more in the area of principles, not pronouncements.  Carefully concerned and loving suggestions aren’t' necessary final or direct statements form the Lord."  No supposed “:mind of the Lord” here either; the mind you are expected to use is your own without any hindrance from others.

But Assembly members are supposed to take "the godly counsel" that the brothers give as God's will for them or they are not “submitting to God’s appointed leadership” or are “acting independently.”  Are we not, like is says in Hebrews, supposed to “obey” those in authority over us?  Hold it:  the word “obey” means “be persuaded by” and implies a choice.  Check how that word is used elsewhere in the New Testament—nowhere does it say you have to hand over your right to choose God’s will to others.  You have freedom Christ.  

And the Assembly notion of “If it is God’s will all the saints will see it and agree” is also unscriptural.  The "unity of the saints" or "the unanimity of the saints" is nothing more than the saints “standing” or agreeing with what the leading brothers have said because everyone is supposed to "submit to the leadership" and have "the approval of the leading brothers."  The saints will disagree with a person's decision to do something contrary to the leadership because such a person is "acting independently of God's appointed leadership."  Sometimes the Assembly will cite examples form Acts like all the saints were pleased with the Apostle's decision to distribute the food (Acts 6:1-5), but it also says in another place that Paul went to Jerusalem even though the saints did not agree with him (Acts 21:12-14).  And Paul was not “submitting to the leadership” in Acts 21 when they told him to shave his head/followed the law because he had done it willingly himself in Acts 18:18!   He was in agreement with their advice in that case, but he did not follow the entreaties of the brethren so “we fell silent, remarking, ‘The will of the Lord be done!” (Acts 21:14).  The brethren in the Assembly will not keep silent if they think you are not in the will of the Lord (i.e., not following what they have said to you) and others in the Assembly will exhort you and ask, “Have you gotten approval from the leadership for this decision you have made?”  Gossip ensues and soon everyone in the Assembly will know that the person is acting without the blessing of the leading brothers.  

Continued...

[a brother]

The Assembly’s notion of “seeking counsel” is a very established practice, an unwritten requirement in the Assembly.  Again, “The Sufficiency of the Scriptures” states that ”The declaring of dogmas would create a creed, which might shut out believers who might disagree with some item of that creed, and the fellowship of the Spirit would be impossible. It would cripple spiritual growth, as such an attitude would be disloyal to Jesus Christ.”  So, you gotta do what they say or be on your way.  That is why I left:  I saw that "seeking counsel"--asking advice--was just one of many ways to determine the will of God, but the brothers expected me to do what they said without question and they would call other workers to back them up.  When I asked them if I was not allowed to decide God's will for myself, I was told that finding God's will was something that we do together.  Nowhere in the Scriptures does it say that an entire group of believers has to agree that one person's decision is the will of God!  That is a cult mentality that robs people of the right to think for themselves and decide God's will for their own lives.  Contrast the words of an early church leader and preacher, John Chrysostom, with the Assembly’s coercive notion of seeking counsel:  "We are appointed for the teaching of the word, not power, nor for absolute authority.  We hold the place of counselors to advise you.  The counselor speaks his own opinion, not forcing his listener, but leaving him full master of his choice in what is said."

Dr. James Packer once wrote, "God made us thinking beings, and he guides our minds as we think things out in his presence."  We have to be transformed by the renewing of our own minds for the purpose of discerning God's will (Rom. 12:2, cf. Eph. 4:17-24, 5:15-17; 1 Pet. 1:13) NOT give our decision over to others to make our decision for us all in the name of  "seeking counsel" and "getting the approval of the leadership."  God says that HE will instruct guide and us us and we should not be like asses who have to be lead by others (Ps. 32:8-9).

For day-to-day living in the will of God, what is deemed right and wrong or “God’s will” in the Assembly is set in stone and applied to all of Christendom, not on a case per case basis as people grow and develop in Christ.  No Christmas, dating, pierced earrings, TVs, political involvement, etc. However, everyone is at different stages in their Christian growth and should not be expected to act the same or be “cookie-cutter Christians.” Action must come from the heart; good conduct has to come from conviction, not following the rules of the Assembly because you are concerned that you might get “approached by the leadership” if you do anything that violates the Assemblies notions of what a good Christian does or doesn’t do.  If you act contrary to the Assembly's belief system/creed, you are made to feel bad or rejected so people do their best to conform because it is a human need to be accepted as part of a group.  

Is the Assembly’s manmade practice of seeking the will of God a form of control?  Well, if a person does not act in a way the Assembly thinks is “a good testimony,”  they will be addressed or “approached by the leadership.”   Thus, the notion of “seeking counsel” is a form of control and unscriptural.  IT NEEDS TO BE ABANDONED and replaced with simply giving advice and encouraging people to decide God’s will for themselves.  

Brothers in leadership positions, if your sheep are just mindlessly following you, you are stunting their growth in Christ and robbing them of their freedom!  Abandon the set in stone rules of how a good Christian should live if such practices are not clear in the Scriptures.  I am not saying you should tolerate immortality or any other clear sins talked about in the Scriptures, I am saying let people decide what is right in their own Christian life, especially their social life.  A private life away from the Assembly is not “walking in darkness” or "having fellowship with darkness."  If someone wants to date or get married it is up to them—they don’t need to ask permission to “spend time” when they are in their 20s and beyond!  They are adults!  If a group of older singles wants to get together they don’t need a married couple to chaperone them!  People should feel free to raise their kids anyway they want to.  I could go on but I will not.

I presented all of this information to the lead worker in our Assembly and had a lengthy talk about it because I had to make a decision to move away from a local Assembly to work and be with my Christian wife.  Finally, after a long discussion that I did not back done in, I got him to agree that the individual was responsible for determining God’s will for their lives and that Assembly members tend to think that they have to follow whatever the leading brothers meeting says.  He also agreed that many people did not think for themselves.  However, he said I was not allowed to preach on this subject for fear that I might be misunderstood.  (I was trusted to preach on campus and was regularly exercised in the meetings so what was the problem?)  I urged him to bring ministry on this to clarify how people should find the will of God for themselves.  For the many months I stayed in the Assembly before I moved on, this issue was never addressed.  As far as I am aware, it never was.

I am thankful for my time in the Assembly.  The saints in the Assembly are a dear group of people but the will of God has already been decided for them in day-to-day life and they do not have freedom to decide God’s will for their lives because they have to get “the approval of God’s appointed leadership” thanks to the coercive practice of “seeking counsel.”  

A Voice of Concern

Here is a promise:  Eph. 5:15-17.

[Will Jones]

Amen!