Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way’ (Exodus 33.13).

Steps for Guidance

Only thirty years ago the question that heads this opening chapter would never have been asked by Bible-believing Christians, because the need to seek God's guidance in all the major decisions of life was firmly fixed in the minds of those who followed Christ. But the great decline of the quality of Bible teaching in the last few decades has brought with it the rejection of this precious and fundamental principle – that God has a specific plan and purpose for the life of each of his children, and that they should seek his direction in all the great issues of life.

The first chapter of this book will look at the new view, and prove that the old view is the true biblical position. Clearly, if we want to know about God's guidance, this issue must be settled first. Does God guide his people or not? Should we seek his will in the pivotal decisions of life, or should we make up our own minds? Seeking God's guidance does not mean that the details of his way for us will always be made known to us, but that we will conscientiously seek his direction, by appealing to him to guide and help us as we subdue selfish desires, weigh pros and cons, apply the principles of the Word, and heed the advice of godly associates.

This first chapter is different from the rest of the book because several leading contenders for the new view are named and quoted, as there seemed to be no other way of making the issues clear. Although this chapter will firmly refute the ideas of those named, nothing is implied against their personal faith and sincerity. However, this writer believes that the new view is a grave error and must be resisted strenuously as it is utterly destructive to biblical obedience and discipleship.

The ‘New View’ is Launched

The full public 'launching' of the new view occurred in 1980, when two American evangelicals, Garry Friesen and Robin Maxson, issued their 452-page challenge to the traditional view of guidance under the title, Decision-Making and the Will of God. [See endnote 1] Overnight, this book became one of the most influential publications in the evangelical world. The authors set out to present 'a biblical alternative to the traditional view', and began by sweeping away the time-honoured teaching that God has a particular will for each of his children.

The same tune was soon taken up by other writers, an example being a book by an evangelical academic, Arthur Johnson, entitled – Faith Misguided: Exposing the Dangers of Mysticism. [See endnote 2] Much of this book was wholesome material, defining and exposing mysticism, and showing how it had penetrated evangelicalism (particularly through the teachings of Watchman Nee and the charismatic movement). However, the author also fired a massive broadside at the traditional view of guidance, quoting Friesen and Maxson with approval, and both misrepresenting and decrying the traditional approach.

It has been disturbing to see an increasing tide of opinion now running against ‘specific’ personal guidance. To some extent this has come about as a reaction to the brash claims of some believers that they have the direct leading of the Spirit to guide them, but it has been very wrong to deny God’s role in guidance altogether.

In their book, Friesen and Maxson assert repeatedly that 'the idea of an individual will of God for every detail of a person’s life is not found in Scripture.' But in making such statements, they show how much they have missed the point of the traditional view, for this has never said that God guides in every little detail of life, but in the major issues, as we shall explain. Friesen and Maxson dismiss almost contemptuously the numerous biblical instances of how God has given guidance to his servants, arguing that these represented unique occurrences, and were infrequent and sporadic. In other words, they are not relevant for today. We most strongly disagree, believing with the overwhelming majority of historic Christian teachers that the purpose of these biblical examples is to teach that the Lord does guide his people.

Friesen and Maxson dismiss well-loved texts such as Proverbs 3.5-6 – 'Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.' This passage, they claim, has nothing at all to do with guidance, but their ‘exposition’ is horrendously shallow, failing even to account for Solomon’s choice of words – ways and paths. (The significance of these words will be examined later in this chapter.)