Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 140:557 (Jan 1983)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Anonymous

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BSac 140:557 (Jan 83) p. 76

Book Reviews

Decision Making and the Will of God. By Garry Friesen with J. Robin Maxson. Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1980. 452 pp $11.95.

This book has engendered and certainly will engender much discussion. It is an important work because of its practical implications in determining God’s will for individual decisions. The dust cover bears the endorsements of such men as Haddon W. Robinson, president of the Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary of Denver; Ian Hay, general director of the Sudan Interior Mission; H. Phillip Hook, director of Pine Cove (TX) Conference Center; and Zane C. Hodges, New Testament professor at Dallas Theological Seminary.

This work is well written and rests on a good exegetical foundation. Friesen and Maxson know the traditional view on this subject better than most traditionalists. Though the authors disagree with the traditional view, they display no rancor or sharpness; the book evidences their love and genuine character.

The thesis of the book is very pointed and clear: God does not have a specific will for Christians in nonmoral decisions; in areas outside of right and wrong, believers in Christ are to use biblically based wisdom. The book has four main points: a presentation of the traditional view; a critique of this approach; a setting forth of a biblical alternative which the authors call “the wisdom view”; and applications of the latter view to marriage, vocational choice(s), and doubtful things.

In presenting the traditional view Friesen and Maxson see three uses of the phrase “will of God”—God’s sovereign will, His moral will or desire, and His individual will for Christians. God’s individual will is “that ideal, detailed life-plan which God has uniquely designed for each believer” (p.35). Traditionalists, according to the writers, defend their concept of

BSac 140:557 (Jan 83) p. 77

an “individual will” in a number of ways. First, there is reason: God is a God of order and therefore must have a detailed plan for each Christian. Second, experience: God’s individual leading is seen in the lives of such God-blessed ministries as those of John Wesley, Adoniram Judson, and a host of others. Third, biblical examples: Paul, Philip, and the servant of Abraham are discussed. Fourth, Scripture passages: Proverbs 3:5–6 and Romans 12:2 and others teach God’s specific direction for individuals.

The authors also discuss the traditional view on how God’s will is discerned. It is recognized by basic direction from the Bible, by circumstances, by an inner witness, by mature counsel, by personal desires (

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