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Romans 12:1-2, Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
What could possibly be more important than to figure out what God wants you to do every day of your remaining life? That’s exactly what Paul assures us we can discover in this passage. By refusing to let the world direct your life, but instead being transformed in your inner person by renewing your mind with God’s Word, God says you can learn to discern or prove what God wants you to do. And whatever it is, it will be good for you, pleasing to God, and complete or perfect, covering every aspect of your life, whether you’re young, old, or middle age, single, married, male or female.
GOD’S WILL IS NOT MYSTICAL OR WEIRD
How does God reveal His will to us? How does God guide us? Everyone seems to have their own ideas of how God guides them and reveals to them what to do. And there are some weird and unbiblical teachings about God’s will. The ancient Babylonians believed the gods showed them what to do by looking at the liver of a bird or shaking a quiver of arrows and seeing how they fall. Ezekiel 21:21, “For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination; he shakes the arrows, he consults the household idols, he looks at the liver.”
You probably aren’t looking at chicken livers to discern God’s will, but some of the methods people use today aren’t much different. Some say pray and listen for God’s still small voice or look for signs and amazing circumstances, like open or closed doors or getting all green lights across the Lloyd and you’ll know God wants you to go to USI instead of UE. But if there’s an accident and you must reroute onto Weinbach, you’ll know God is telling you to go to UE. Or God will give you impressions or promptings or feelings of peace in your spirit to let you know which house to buy. Or you might ask God to have that certain guy you’ve had your eye on to call you in the next ten minutes and you’ll know God wants you to get know him. That’s called putting out a fleece like Gideon did. God never tells us to put out fleeces, and that feeling of peace isn’t what Colossians 3:15 is talking about. The context is talking about being at peace with others in the body of Christ, which in fact is God’s will for your life in the body of Christ.
So, when it comes to discerning God’s will, we want to be sure we’re not basing our thinking on mystical, subjective feelings or strange and amazing experiences. God’s will cannot be known by these things. I don’t want to be critical of someone who has died, but author Sarah Young said she believed the Bible was God’s Word, but she wanted something more personal. So, she listened for Jesus’ voice and wrote down whatever He said to her, and thus we have the whole series of books about “Jesus Calling.” It seems the Christian world just craves direct voices and visions from heaven. Justin Peters tells about Katt Kerr. She has pink hair because Jesus told her to have pink hair. She’s been to heaven many times. There she sees angels with backpacks carrying body parts from heaven’s body-parts warehouse for people on earth. They carry livers and lungs and hearts, you name it. She sees Christmas Town and Jello Land where you can bounce around in heaven, even candy houses with chocolate waterfalls you can swim in. It’s not only unbiblical, but bizarre. Do people follow her? You bet. There are millions of poor souls who thrive off this kind of stuff.
John MacArthur warned about God’s will, “If you are looking for something mystical you can be fooled.” In the book Reckless Faith he added, “Scripture never commands us to tune in to any inner voice.”
WHICH WILL OF GOD?
The Bible has a lot to say about God’s will, so which will are we talking about? There are two aspects to God’s will. The first is the sovereign or decreed will of God and the second His revealed will. God has determined for all of time and for every day everything that comes to pass. Nothing happens outside of God’s decreed will. Ephesians 1:11 says God “works all things after the counsel of His will.” This includes His providential dealings. You put your house or car up for sale and in two hours it’s sold. You can thank God for His sovereign and providential dealings. But His providences aren’t always nice. You may have had an accident and were severely injured. Was this God’s providence being fulfilled in your life? Yes, it was. You see the two aspects in the famous Deuteronomy 29:29.
Deuteronomy 29:29, The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.
GOD’S REVEALED WILL IS FOUND IN THE BIBLE ALONE
In Romans 12:2 Paul is talking about the second aspect to God’s will – God’s revealed will or preceptive will. We find His revealed will in the Bible alone. Second Timothy 3:16 says your Bible is God speaking to you, “All Scripture is God-breathed,” or God speaking to you.
2 Timothy 3:16-17, All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
Paul never counsels Timothy to listen for Jesus’ voice. He tells him to continue in the Word because it is sufficient for all he needs: for teaching – what God wants you to know and do; for reproof – showing you where you’re wrong; for correction – how to recover from a spiritual fall; and for training in righteousness – disciplining yourself for godliness. This Word, your Bible, is all you need to know Christ, to know God’s will, and to live for His glory. Like Justin Peters says, “If you want God to speak to you, read your Bible. If you want to hear His voice, read your Bible out loud!”
HOW TO DISCERN WHAT GOD WANTS YOU TO DO
This morning we’re going to find out how God wants to change your life by His Word and then how you can know you are doing the will of God. First, you’ve got to reject the world’s false values and lies and godless agenda. Don’t be conformed to this age and all its false and godless teaching. You won’t discern God’s will if you are trying to live a double life – some Christianity and some worldliness. James 1:8 calls that man a “double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
Then, you must keep on being transformed in your inner being (your character) by renewing your mind, restructuring your way of thinking, driving the truths and convictions of God’s Word deep into your inner man. Paul commended the Thessalonians.
1 Thessalonians 2:13, For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.
Now you’re ready to discern God’s will for your life. There’s nothing mystical or weird about it.
Romans 12:2c, So that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good, and acceptable, and perfect (complete).
“So that…” is a purpose clause. Why be transformed by renewing your mind? So that you can discern what God wants you to do. Christ died on that cross not only to give you a place in heaven forever, but also so you can discern and do God’s will. This is God’s purpose for you: your daily progressive sanctification as you learn to discern what God wants you to do every day of the rest of your life. Every day when you get up, you are getting up to a divine purpose. As we’ll see, there isn’t a moment or detail in which God doesn’t have purpose for you. That is very exciting, and there’s nothing weird or mystical about it.
God’s will is all about transforming your character to make you more like Christ. He brings stuff into our lives to humble us, to help us grow, to teach us to wait on Him, to develop those beatitudes in our lives: spiritual beggars, mourning over sin, hungering for righteousness, pursuing heart purity, quick to forgive and make peace with offenders, rejoicing when we suffer or are insulted for being a Christian.
So, God’s will is first of all about your character. And He will give you daily grace through your faith in His Son to fulfill His will. Lay Hebrews 13:20-21 right beside Romans 12:2.
Hebrews 13:20-21, Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, 21 equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
IS GOD’S WILL A DOT OR A BOX?
“Okay, I get it, but you still haven’t told us what God wants us to do each day.” First, patience is God’s will for you, so you have to work with me here. Some people see God’s will as a dot. If you hit the dot, you’re good to go. If you miss the dot, you may have to settle for God’s second best. Actually, God’s will is often a box of legitimate choices as defined by Scripture. Outside the box is not God’s will. God told Adam and Eve, “You may freely eat from any tree except one.” Eve didn’t have to pray, “Lord, show me which fruit I should pick for dinner tonight.” She should have prayed, “Lord, thank you for the abundance of God-glorifying choices we have for dinner.” She should have prayed, “God, give me your strength and wisdom to resist that snake’s temptation.”
Here’s an example of how this works. God says in 1 Corinthians 7:39 that a woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. That’s God’s revealed will. But if he dies and she wants to remarry, God gives her two guidelines. First, be sure that handsome fellow is a Christian. Dave, Fred, and Aaron are all Christians. She prays, “Which one of these three should I marry?” She wants a direct word from God. He gives it in 1 Corinthians 7:39, “A wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband is dead, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.” She has freedom in the box of God’s will. Which one do you like? Marry him. “You mean God doesn’t have that special someone for me?” Yes, in His good providence He does, but you don’t know who that is until you are married. After you say “I do” to Aaron, you know he’s that special someone and what God has joined together let no man separate! That’s God’s will. But there’s another choice. In the next verse Paul encourages her to consider not marrying again at all. 1 Corinthians 7:40, But in my opinion she is happier if she remains as she is; and I think that I also have the Spirit of God.
So how do you determine what God wants you to do? God lays the responsibility on you to prove or discern God’s will, based on biblical principles or clear commands. Ephesians 5:10 says, “Trying to discern or learn what is pleasing to the Lord.” So here you are living one day at a time. Every day you’re building a spiritual grid in your mind by feeding on God’s Word, hearing God’s Word, fellowshipping around God’s Word, praying for wisdom to understand God’s Word, being transformed by God’s Word. As you move through a typical day, you’ll face any number of challenges that you will process through your mind that is being renewed and informed by God’s Word. You are thinking biblically.
First you face your own personal issues: getting out of bed may be the first thing. You know the Bible says don’t be a sluggard, so up you go. You don’t need to ask God if that’s His will. You just thank him for a new day. Then you begin dealing with temptations, desires, your family, people at work, your boss. Stuff happens you weren’t prepared for. We call them accidents or crises. Your wife calls you to inform you the water heater is leaking. How will you respond? You face pains and decisions and opportunities and conflicts, blessings, nice people, not so nice people. Every day is the unfolding of God’s providence in your life, God giving you opportunities to handle situations in a God-honoring way. If you lose your job, God says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 if you don’t work you don’t eat. So, as Jay Adams says, your job now is to find a job. God never told us when we turn 65 we quit working. We’ve got a crew of retired men here who are great examples of investing your later years in serving the Lord in various ways.
If you handle a situation biblically, praise the Lord. If you mess up, praise God, there’s that wonderfully gracious 1 John 1:9 reboot button. You confess your sin and He is faithful and just to forgive you. You don’t have to go all the way back to the beginning of your Christian life and start all over, like that annoying Chutes and Ladders game. You land on a chute and zuuuump, way back down you go. You may stumble in your Christian life, but you don’t stay down on the ground. You get back up and keep going because you have a loving Savior going with you.
So, you walk by faith, processing each day through this growing mental grid of God’s truth, and you are learning to make choices and decisions that please God. There’s nothing mystical here. No lining up green lights or trying to read providential tea leaves.
Ephesians 5:15-17, Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Test everything by Scripture. Walk carefully, wisely. Satan hides traps along the way. Ask yourself, “What does God say about this?” Are there biblical principles I can apply? Has God equipped me to pursue this calling in my life? Is this young man or lady seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? What kind of person does the Bible tell you not to marry? It’s in Proverbs: don’t go with a lazy, angry, selfish man with no fear of God who lacks self-control. The epistles are full of God’s will, but here are several God flat out says are His will and there’s nothing wacky about them.
Pursue purity – 1 Thessalonians 4:3, For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality.
Grow in wisdom and bear fruit in good works – Colossians 1:9-10, For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Work heartily – Ephesians 6:6, not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, which means do your best.
Employ your RPG – I love this one. You can use it to process everything you meet every day, and blow Satan away with your RPG. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, 16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
THE BLESSINGS OF GOD’S WILL
Paul gives us three descriptions of the effects of discerning and doing God’s will.
- Good or beneficial – God’s will is always good or beneficial for you. You’ll never be sorry you followed God’s will. Even if His will is hard, like Christ dealt with facing the cross, it is good.
- Acceptable or pleasing – The will of God is acceptable or pleasing to God. Paul said he made it his goal to be pleasing to God. R.C Sproul wrote, “A passion to please God should be the focus of every Christian’s life.”
- Perfect or Complete – The will of God is perfect or complete. There’s nothing lacking in it. God’s will is always moving you forward to the goal of becoming like Jesus Christ. John Murray wrote, “There’s not a moment of life that the will of God does not command, no circumstance that it does not fill with meaning if we are responsive to the fullness of His revealed counsel for us.”
Here are three applications.
God’s will is good, pleasing, and perfect for husbands. In 1 Peter 3:7 God says to live with your wife in an understanding way, be thoughtful of her, learn what makes her tick, treat her gently as a valuable, fragile vase, and with great honor every day.
God’s will is good, pleasing, and perfect for wives. In 1 Peter 3:1-6. God says you are to nurture a gentle, quiet spirit which is precious in God’s sight. And don’t preach at him if he isn’t saved. Just love and submit to him.
God’s will is good, pleasing, and perfect for children. Ephesians 6:1-3 says obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor them. Show them respect. That’s not just a good idea. That’s God’s will for you.
SO WHAT?
What a great verse to establish the pattern of progressive sanctification, growing and changing as a believer to become more like Christ. Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners. He went to the cross to bear the penalty of death in the place of guilty sinners. And He rose again to give us eternal life. If you’ve come here this morning and you know you’re not a Christian and you have to admit you’ve never surrendered your heart and life to Christ, God’s will for you is to turn from your sin and receive His Son. Will you do that now?