God's Moral Will

8) But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9) The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. —2 Peter 3:8-10


Question: Is there stuff that happens in the world that God doesn’t want to have happen? There’s tons of it. Every day thousands of things happen that God doesn’t want to happen. Yet even though God doesn’t want those things to happen, He uses all of them to make happen what He wants to happen. Even though men make wrong choices, God makes right choices.

Let me show you a passage of Scripture that shows God’s sovereign will together with His moral will. His moral will represents how God has chosen to intervene or not intervene in our daily lives. For example, it says in 2 Peter 3:9, “. . . not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” Is that His sovereign will or His moral will? That’s His moral will because though God doesn’t want anyone to perish, some people will perish. Everyone won’t come to repentance.

The moral instructions that fill the Scriptures are expressions of what God wants or doesn’t want us to do. They tell us His moral will. But we disobey His desires for our best and choose what is not good. In the Ten Commandments and in all of His teaching, when God says, “Don’t,” He really means, “Don’t hurt yourselves.” We don’t get to choose about His sovereign will but we do make choices involving God’s moral will every day.

The Bible says a lot about marriage. It’s God’s moral will. And if you want to be in God’s will for your marriage, do His moral will. All of God’s instructions for living make up His moral will.

2 Peter 1:3 says, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness . . .” Everything you need to make wise choices and do the moral will of God is in His Book. You can hear it from me or from someone else, but you need to study and confirm what you hear in God’s Word. All that God desires us to be and do is in the Bible. It’s God’s moral will.

Journal

What examples would I use to tell someone how I know that when God says, “Don’t,” He means, “Don’t hurt yourself?”


Prayer – Father in heaven, thank You that when we become Your children that You give us Your Holy Spirit to help us live up to Your moral will in a way we could never do in our own strength. Thank You for guiding, lifting, changing, and moving us forward toward the likeness of Your Son. Help us to follow the steps Your moral will has given to us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
 
(Via James MacDonald)
 
Be Blessed!
 
Dawn