Divine guidance

I’m going to comment on Grudem’s concept of special guidance, using this article as my point of reference:

http://www.waynegrudem.com/a-response-to-o-palmer-robertson-the-final-word-1993/

In response to Robertson, I think Grudem has the better of the argument. I say that despite the fact that I don’t agree with Grudem’s overall position. And I say that despite the fact that I think Robertson is a more significant, insightful writer than Grudem.

But I’d like to focus on one aspect of Grudem’s argument:

I suspect that Dr. Robertson, with his strong confidence in the sovereignty of God, might agree (though I have not asked him) that God can work through unusual or remarkable circumstances (or “unusual providences”) to direct and guide us in the way we should go. But many times it takes a combination of two or three or four unusual circumstances before we have increasing confidence that God is leading us through them in a certain direction or another. 

But at other times a pastor whom I respect, or a close friend whom I have known for years, or a fellow elder in my church, or my wonderful wife Margaret, have come to me saying that they think the Lord has shown them something that they should share with me regarding my life. In these cases, when such words come from mature Christians whom I know well, I pay more careful attention. On a number of occasions God has spoken through these words to encourage me in a direction in which I was headed but with some uncertainty, or to encourage me when I was getting discouraged about some ministry activity, or to make me to reconsider some ordering of priorities in my life…

My response to this is to say that if God chooses to guide us through subjective reading of the Holy Spirit, or through the contemporary gift of prophecy, then, yes, we are not free to ignore guidance from the Lord himself.

To give an example, I was convinced at one point in my life that God was leading me to cancel my subscription to the Chicago Tribune, mainly because I was spending too much time reading it each morning.  I did cancel it, and I thought I was doing so out of obedience to God.

i) I’m struck by how vague these are. If God wants to send a message, why resort to such ambiguous means? Isn’t that counterproductive?

ii) I’m also struck by how mundane these examples are. Grudem didn’t see a vision. Or have a premonitory dream. No angel appeared to him.

How unlike examples of special guidance in Acts. For instance:

And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams (Acts 2:17).

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza” (Acts 8:26).

About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius” (Acts 10:3).

9 The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. 10 And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance 11 and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat” (Acts 10:9-13).

And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16:9).

And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent” (Acts 18:9).

23 For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, 24 and he said, “Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you” (Acts 27:23-24).

Grudem’s examples of divine guidance are indistinguishable from ordinary providence. There’s nothing distinctively charismatic about his illustrations.

iii) On a related note, take the business about canceling the Chicago Tribune. Why attribute that to divine leading? For that matter, why is divine leading necessary? Isn’t that just a case of making a common sense judgment about time-management? About being a responsible steward of our God-given time and opportunities?

Once again, there’s nothing distinctively prophetic about that conclusion. It’s just a case of using your natural intellectual to make a reasonable decision.