The First Condition

The First Condition, You Must “Trust in the Lord.”

For the unsaved, it is God’s will that you get saved. God has a decreed will and a permissive will. God has decreed some things that will happen. The death of Christ for our sins was decreed by God before the foundation of the world. In Acts 2:22-23, wicked men carried out the predetermined plan of God when they crucified Christ. Even the decreed will of God does not eliminate human responsibility for which these wicked men are accountable to God.

God also has His permissive will or what He desires but does not decree. God desires the salvation of all people. 2 Peter 3:9 says clearly the “Lord…is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

You must trust Christ as your Savior. You cannot attempt to know God’s will in other areas until this issue is settled.

The Second Condition, You Must “Trust in the Lord, with all your heart.”

First, we must be saved and next we must be surrendered to know His will. Paul says a similar thing in Romans 12:1-2. The question is, “Is it possible to be saved and not surrendered?”

Paul calls for our surrender in Romans 12 not Romans 1.

In Romans 1-3, Paul convinces all that they are sinners.

In Romans 3-5, Paul says the convinced sinner can be justified by faith.

In Romans 6-8, Paul informs the justified believe how to live the holy life.

In Romans 9-11, Paul comforts us with God’s sovereign control of our lives.

In Romans 12, Paul finally challenges us to “present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God….that you might prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of

C., when his car stalled in front of the Philippine Embassy. He took that to mean that he should be a missionary to the Philippines. Then there was the woman who wasn’t sure she ought to go on a trip to Israel. One night she was reading through the travel brochures and tour information and noticed that the flight was to be on a 747. She woke up the next morning, 7:47 was on her digital clock, and took that as a sign she should go to Israel. This sort of nonsense is what I call ‘voodoo theology.’ It is nothing more than superstition….God has spelled out many of His directives very clearly in Scripture” (Charles Swindoll. The Mystery of God’s Will, page 39).

In God’s Word you will find Precepts or Specific Commands.

These verses are like the traffic sign, “Speed Limit 35.” These are the specific commands in regard to God’s will. For example, Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:3 wrote, “This is the will of God, that you should abstain from fornication.”

In God’s Word you will find also Principles or General Guidelines. These verses are like the traffic sign, “Drive Carefully.” The meaning of this sign will vary according to road conditions. When I was praying about getting married, there was no verse that commanded, “Tim White, thou shalt marry Becky Bender.” But there is a general principle in 1 Corinthians 7:40 that I am to marry “only in the Lord.” With this general guideline and others, I knew it was God’s will