THE PERFECT WILL OF GOD!

Saturday, August 8, 2020

 

THE PERFECT WILL OF GOD!

 

Rom 12:1-2

12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

 

           Nothing dulls the teeth of a certain portion of Scripture quite like familiarity. Our text today is very familiar to many but misunderstood by most. Verse one seems to establish the requirements for a fully agreeable relationship with God, which is to be a “living victim.” This idea of yielding not only the hard things but everything to God is foreign to our modern thinking. The very idea of a living sacrifice is repulsive to the self-willed.

 

           Verse two seems to describe three levels of acceptability regarding knowing and doing the will of God. In reality, knowing and doing God’s will incorporates all three terms. Good, agathos, acceptable, euarestos, and perfect, teleios. The goal is both to climb to the third level without abandoning the first two in the process.

 

           There is little effort needed to choose between the good and the bad. The problem comes in choosing between the good, the better, and the best. The question is which of the “fully agreeable” choices is the “perfect” will of God? I may choose either and be in agreement with God, but there is a perfect and specific course to be chosen. This is what robs us of sleep.

 

           In Acts 16:7, Paul thought to go into Bithynia “but the spirit suffered him not.” The idea here is that it might have been a good plan but Paul’s “gut feeling” was not agreeable. He was unsettled and uncertain. Then, in verse 10, we read the words “assuredly gathering.” This means to weigh the facts and the options and to make an informed decision. This is what is hard! The perfect will of God often requires divine intervention which is satisfying only to the one making the choice.

 

Dear Lord, many stand at crossroads and are frozen with indecision. Let us weigh every evidence and inference. Let us “gather” them and sort them until they make perfect sense to us. Guide us clearly, Lord, for we want your perfect will. AMEN