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Finding God's Will?
Life is full of choices! Can we know what we are choosing is actually God's will for us? God has not left us to wonder. He has revealed principles by which we can confidently choose according to His direction.
94 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 24, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 21, 2024
2024: Great, succinct and practical read!
June 28, 2025
This review is of the Second Edition, published under the title "Can I Know God's Will?" The author has added another chapter to the contents, "Do All to the Glory of God," chapter 5.
The author is a friend, one whom I've enjoyed lunches with on occasion and debated on and off online in the past.
Overall, I think the book is excellent and a useful guide to Christian decision making. However, I disagree with the author on the underlying premise of the book. You can find this on page 12 of the 2nd Edition: "God knows not only every event that occurs, but also every event that will occur. Sometimes he causes those events directly. Other times He causes them indirectly by permitting bad things to happen. If He wished, He could prevent those bad events. Consequently, whatever happens is within His providential will. At some level we can say, 'This is God's will for me,' even when we are facing persecution or dreadful calamity. We are never outside God's providential will. We cannot be."
Now, I agree that we cannot be outside God's providential will. But there are some mistakes in the way this is stated. First, God's providence isn't limited simply to "permitting bad things to happen" - God's providence rules over good and bad things. Second, providence (0r foreknowledge) isn't directly causative. God knows all things that will happen, but he doesn't thereby cause them. If he does, everything that happens is directly caused by God and we reduce God to a personal form of Fate. Thus, no one could ever be outside of God's will in any sense, if God's providential control means God directly acts in every case. Further, God would become the author of sin if God's providence is directly causative. That idea is of course unbiblical, but when theologians make providence (or foreknowledge) causative, one cannot escape that conclusion.
So. The premise underlying the book's title, "Can I Know God's Will?" is flawed. The assumption that God must have an individual will for every person because "providence" puts you in the realm of fatalism and if that is true, there is no point in answering the question. Everything that happens (in that case) is God's will.
After explaining the premise, however, the author goes on to discuss how one can make decisions within God's will. His answers are essentially the same as mine if I were teaching on how to make wise and godly decisions. His advice here is sound and takes one out of the trap of seeking some mystical spiritual experience to "know" God's will, instead pursuing wisdom and obedience to God's revealed will as the key factors.
If the book had been titled, "How can I make godly decisions?" it would fit the content better (leaving off the first couple of chapters). I would rate the rest of the book five stars, but the central premise at the beginning drags the overall effect down a notch and makes it a little confusing. If you look past the beginning, though, you can find good help for decision making in the book.
The author is a friend, one whom I've enjoyed lunches with on occasion and debated on and off online in the past.
Overall, I think the book is excellent and a useful guide to Christian decision making. However, I disagree with the author on the underlying premise of the book. You can find this on page 12 of the 2nd Edition: "God knows not only every event that occurs, but also every event that will occur. Sometimes he causes those events directly. Other times He causes them indirectly by permitting bad things to happen. If He wished, He could prevent those bad events. Consequently, whatever happens is within His providential will. At some level we can say, 'This is God's will for me,' even when we are facing persecution or dreadful calamity. We are never outside God's providential will. We cannot be."
Now, I agree that we cannot be outside God's providential will. But there are some mistakes in the way this is stated. First, God's providence isn't limited simply to "permitting bad things to happen" - God's providence rules over good and bad things. Second, providence (0r foreknowledge) isn't directly causative. God knows all things that will happen, but he doesn't thereby cause them. If he does, everything that happens is directly caused by God and we reduce God to a personal form of Fate. Thus, no one could ever be outside of God's will in any sense, if God's providential control means God directly acts in every case. Further, God would become the author of sin if God's providence is directly causative. That idea is of course unbiblical, but when theologians make providence (or foreknowledge) causative, one cannot escape that conclusion.
So. The premise underlying the book's title, "Can I Know God's Will?" is flawed. The assumption that God must have an individual will for every person because "providence" puts you in the realm of fatalism and if that is true, there is no point in answering the question. Everything that happens (in that case) is God's will.
After explaining the premise, however, the author goes on to discuss how one can make decisions within God's will. His answers are essentially the same as mine if I were teaching on how to make wise and godly decisions. His advice here is sound and takes one out of the trap of seeking some mystical spiritual experience to "know" God's will, instead pursuing wisdom and obedience to God's revealed will as the key factors.
If the book had been titled, "How can I make godly decisions?" it would fit the content better (leaving off the first couple of chapters). I would rate the rest of the book five stars, but the central premise at the beginning drags the overall effect down a notch and makes it a little confusing. If you look past the beginning, though, you can find good help for decision making in the book.
December 1, 2024
This short and simple book was very helpful and practical. The chapters moved and flowed very smooth, and the authors train of thought was easy to follow. The author didn’t necessarily attempt to thoroughly define Gods will or distinguish the various theological aspects of Gods will before going into what we ought to be pursuing or attempting to discern. But overall, this would be a great book to read and reference on a practical and counseling/advising level.
February 25, 2023
Where was this book when I was in high school? Though not the most polished little book, Finding God's Will is nevertheless a helpful one. Bauder cuts through the stupid and unbiblical ideas we often have about God's will and lays out a process for finding God's will according to His word and wisdom. Practical and accessible.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews