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Decisions, Decisions: How (and How Not) to Make Them

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Life is made up of seemingly endless decisions. We face decisions every day of our lives - some are as minor as what to wear or what to eat, while others may be huge, impacting our lives or the lives of hundreds or even millions of others. As Christians it is crucial that we understand Biblical principles on how to make decisions that will honor and glorify God. It is to this subject that the book Decisions, Decisions is dedicated.

The book approaches the subject matter first from the perspective of how not to make decisions. To illustrate how not to make decisions the author, Dave Swavely, uses several phrases and ideas that are in common use in Christian circles and shows how they do not follow Biblical foundations for decision-making. Among the ones he discusses are: "I flipped a coin," "God gave me a sign," "God told me," and "God opened all the doors."

To begin the discussion he examines revelation and shows how God's revelation to us is sufficient and complete in the Scripture. To seek God's will in certain ways, such as through signs and wonders, is futile, for God no longer operates in such ways. Similarly, to put our faith in random verses of the Bible or flips of a coin are to deny our responsibility to make decisions on our own. After several chapters outlining how not to make decisions, all of them based on things you have heard from Christian friends or may have said yourself, he turns to an examination of the Biblical principles of making godly decisions.

He first examines the prerequisites of making Biblical decisions. These are walking in the Spirit, recognizing God's sovereignty and praying for wisdom and providence. Without these prerequisites we cannot expect to be able to make godly decisions. When these prerequisites are in place he outlines four aspects of decision-making. The first key to making Biblical decisions is Scripture. Scripture rules supreme over any of the other principles. The Bible bears on every decision we make, either directly or indirectly. For example, any decision relies on motive, and the Bible has much to say about motives. Also, the other three principles of decision-making are drawn from the Bible. While the Bible does not describe exactly what to do in any given situation, it does tell us everything was absolutely need to know in order to make a proper decision. Scripture points us in the direction of the right decision, even if it does not tell us exactly what we must do.

At this point the author teaches that provided an option is not absolutely forbidden by Scripture, we would not sin by taking that option. We are given freedom in Christ to decide whether or not to proceed. So we may now be faced with two decisions: first, should we or should we not do it and second which of the options should we take.

The second key to making Biblical decisions is wisdom. He defines wisdom as "a knowledge of Scripture and the ability to apply that knowledge in your life." Wisdom is tied to Scripture since Scripture is the source of God's wisdom to us. The words are often used interchangeably in the Bible.

The third key is desire. If we are living by the Spirit and immersing ourselves in the Word of God, we see that God will plant desires in our hearts. It is good and proper, then, to do what we desire.

The fourth key is counsel. The counsel of other believers who meet the prerequisites of Biblical decision-making should play a part in each of the other aspects. Other believers can share their knowledge of Scripture, can share their godly wisdom and can interpret our desire.

These four principles, each backed with ample Scriptural support, provide the author's framework for making Biblical decisions. He presents his case well and his words are convicting. As one who has often struggled in this area, I highly recommend this book.

Decisions, Decisions by Dave Swavely is an excellent book with much food for thought - food that is very important and helpful for running our lives well. If you want to make much better decisions in your life, especially decisions that honor and glorify God, then this book is a must read. Life can be very difficult sometimes, and we need all the help we can get.

The book consists of two halves. In the first half, Swavely discusses many wrong ways in which many Christians(Xtns) go about making decisions. In the second half, he discusses how we ought to go about making decisions.

First Half:
The books basic contention is that all too often Xtns make decisions about X or Y in life on the basis of inner promptings, sudden senses of peace during prayers, still small voices speaking to them, feelings, impressions, etc. These subjective means of making decisions are wrong according to DS - if they are made without any regard to what Scriptures say or if they are given more authority than Scriptures. Note, Swavely is not saying that these decision making factors are completely to be disregarded. He is saying that Scriptures must speak first, and if these things happen to be there supporting what Scriptures have said, then great. Otherwise drop them.

In this first half, Swavely also discusses the sovereign will of God and the revealed will of God, and finally the doctrine of Providence. I found this stuff to be a bit heady, and difficult to understand. He should have given more examples.

Second Half:
The second half of the book is concerned with how to go about making right decisions. For this Swavely outlines a 3 tiered approach: 1. See what Scriptures say, 2. think about the dictates of wisdom, and 3. the "dictates" of desire.

Swavely's suggestion is that we first consult the Scriptures and see what they have to say. If Scriptures give direction, then go with what they say. Also - if what Scriptures say seems to contradict what circumstances, feelings, inner promptings, burdens, apparent wisdom, and personal desires say - then go with what Scriptures say instead. Scriptures are primary. Ideally however wisdom and desire will hopefully also support what Scriptures have to say to you.

Sometimes however, Scriptures will not readily give you direction. Or it will not be readily apparent to you from your reading. Then you need to do some thinking and see what wisdom has to say. If its not readily apparent from Scriptures, and you have been praying about it, then go with what wisdom says. Moving on one step further, if its neither apparent from Scriptures or from wisdom, then follow your desires. Desire is the tie breaker. Your desires are often the means by which God gets things accomplished in your life. (Philosophical aside: Desire is central to a theory of free will known as compatibilism, which I believe to be biblical. Very interesting.)

All that said, I would now like to move to some criticisms of the book:

1. I really wish Swavely gave more examples of how this stuff is applied in life. Examples are so much easier to understand than theories.

2. I dont entirely buy his arguments for Cessationism. This is because I have seen some pretty strong arguments for non cessationism being made. Personally while I am skeptical of most of the non-cess. phenomena that I see today, I feel that it is still around, albeit rare. Contra Swavely, I also feel that non-cess phenomena does not neccesarily convey extra-biblical information. They might just simply be reinforcing a point already found in Scriptures.

3. Swavely does not address another problem - and this is a problem of hermeneutics. Sometimes Scriptures are in fact very difficult to understand and apply. In my own life, I have misinterpreted and misapplied Scriptures on many an occasion. Interestingly enough, both to my good and my detriment. (Thank God for His grace !) Swavely should have discussed more how Scriptures speak to us today;how they give us guidance. How do the scriptures communicate to us today ? -to do X or to do Y.

4. I think that to the list of things to avoid in terms ofmaking decisions, I would also add - negative thoughts. Far too often Xtns make decisions based on negative thinking. They give their negative thinking more authority over Scriptures. However this is out of scope, I guess.

5. I find myself more than a bit skeptical over his claim that God's sovereign will, and providence (which is part of Gods Sovereign Will) cannot be known and therefore cannot be a basis for our decision making process. My inkling is that God does in fact let us in on His Sovereign Will on rare occasion. This is not normative, but I do believe that it happens. And if it happens, it happens side by side with Scriptures. I.e. the semantic content of what He reveals will not be extrabiblical in scope.

6. I am really really iffy about his use of the term "coincidence" to describe what might possibly be of God. This is because I am more used to hearing atheists use the term. Perhaps I have misunderstood him here.

So this is a summary of the book. I strongly recommend reading the book. At times, it will move you out of your comfort zone, as it did me. However do you want to live life properly or shoot yourself in the foot ? My recommendation is that you first skim read the book really quickly, so that you can begin to start applying what it teaches. Then you read it again much more slowly and contemplatively.

So grow in wisdom ! Grow in your understanding of God's word ! Align your desires with God's ! Go for gold ! Make the right decisions, and live a life that is pleasing in Gods sight.

God Bless !

Author Dave Swavely has written a very helpful book concerning a topic which all believers must confront on an almost daily basis: how to make godly, biblical decisions.

A particularly valuable aspect of the book is the helpful distinction which it makes between God's sovereign will and His moral will.

His sovereign will cannot be thwarted by our decisions (Rom. 8:28)--whether good or bad, godly or ungodly. God alone is in control of history and works all things after the counsel of His will (Eph. 1:11).

"[W]e should not try to make decisions by finding out what God has planned in his sovereign will; rather we should concern ourselves with the revealed will of God in the Scriptures. But although the sovereignty of God has no direct bearing on the activity of decision making, our understanding and acceptance of it is essential to our attitude in the process of decision making."[1]

This sovereign will of God is hidden in His secret counsel and all attempts by us to find it out are doomed to frustration and even dangerous-as they lead us into subjective means of decision making which go beyond that which God has revealed.

Although we cannot determine the sovereign will of God, we are held responsible for that which God has revealed-His moral will. One of the theme verses for this book, Deuteronomy 29:29, recognizes this distinction: "The secret [things belong] to the LORD our God, but those [things which are] revealed [belong] to us and to our children forever, that [we] may do all the words of this law."

The subtitle of the book, "How Not to Make Decisions," calls attention to one of the most valuable aspects of the book-identifying common, even popular ways in which Christians frequently make decisions. The importance of discussing how not to make decisions is seen in the division of the book into two halves, with the discussion of decision making pitfalls occupying the first half of the book.

Most readers will find themselves smiling wryly (or perhaps even frowning) as they read this section and recognize some of their own decision making foibles along with many others which will be frequently heard in any group of believers. It is our view that a particularly valuable contribution of this book is its identification of common decision making practices which lead to confusion and result in great damage, both individually, and to the body of Christ at large.[2]

As the author notes, not all will agree with his cessationist position.[3] Yet even charismatics will find this book helpful because it establishes the clear priority of Scripture as the foundation for understanding and following God's will. And non-charismatics will come to see numerous ways in which their decision making reflects charismatic theology-even though they may not have been aware of it.

The recommended process of biblical decision making is summarized by a helpful chart (p. 141) which establishes a "line of freedom" based on the Scriptures. On one side of the line, the decisions of the believer are entirely constrained by Scripture. These are the areas where Scripture speaks directly and which God holds us responsible for learning and obeying. On the other side of the line there is Christian freedom and we can freely make decisions among a variety of choices based upon principles of Scripture, wisdom, and personal desire. The entire decision making process is subject to walking in the Spirit, praying for wisdom and providence, and recognition of God's Sovereignty.

The author is at his best when explaining that there is no one perfect path that Christians must strive to identify and fulfill in the plan of God. The distinction between God's sovereign will (which He alone knows and brings to pass) vs. His moral will (which we are responsible to know and obey) frees the believer from the fear of somehow making a godly decision based on Scripture, yet somehow frustrating what God intended. In the realm of His moral will, we have the full freedom to pick among various alternatives without fear so long as we recognize and apply biblical principles. We must believe in the ability of God's providence (which includes our God-given desires) to direct us in these areas of freedom.

ENDNOTES:

[1] p. 105.

[2] This reviewer remembers a mission trip where one woman on the trip was "prophesied over" that she would meet her future husband on the trip. From that point on, her trip was a disaster. Everywhere we went she was constantly on the alert wondering if the bellhop, waiter, clerk, etc. might be that one which she would eventually marry. When we boarded the airplane for our return flight, she broke down under the realization that this "revelatory gift" had contributed toward great disappointment and could have led to very poor decisions with serious consequences.

[3] Cessationism holds that certain revelatory gifts were primarily given to the fledgling church during the period of her establishment, but ceased some time thereafter (1Cor. 13:8-10). There are three main views as to when these gifts ceased: (1) at the completion of the canon of Scripture-the position of the author (p. 23); (2) with the passing of the original Apostles; (3) when the church reached a level of maturity (1Cor. 13:10).

David Swavely has put together the most thorough book on Biblical decision making that I have read. He summarizes much of what is said in Garry Friesen's excellent work: Decision Making & the Will of God: A Biblical Alternative to the Traditional View. But Friesen's work is a much larger book and (I believe) no longer in print.

Swavely emphasizes the Bible as the primary and only inerrant source of guidance and then properly places wisdom second and desires third as additional means of guidance. His insight that counsel happens at all three levels (rather than as a separate source) is very valuable.

I was especially thankful to see Swavely place the steps of guidance within a relationship with God: walking in the Spirit, recognizing God's sovereignty, and praying for wisdom and providence. Too many writers act as if guidance and decision making for a Christian is simply a matter of following steps or checking boxes.

Swavely puts it all these ideas together in a extremely valuable diagram. I've used his diagram on Biblical decision making many times with others. They comment on how easy the chart is to recall and use.

Like others who have written reviews on this book, I do not share Swavely's view on the complete cessation of supernatural gifts and guidance. The two chapters on this subject use the common arguments for cessation and (in my opinion) the common fallacies of exegesis. This detracts from the book, but the author's main point is to place God's Word as the primary and only objective source of guidance.

As with any book, the reader must separate the bones from the meat as they consume. With only that one caution, I would recommend this work above all others for readability, insight, and usefulness.

Decision making is not one of those hot-button theological issues, but when you read Swavely's book, it relates to at least two of the most perennial debates amongst Christians; Cessasionism vs Continualism; and Arminianism vs. Calvinism. If you are a Continualist, a.k.a., Charismatic and an Arminian or an Opentheist, you may not like this book, but I would not be quick to dismiss it, because there are still lessons of immense importance to learn from it. Though used to be a Cessasionist, I have been leaning these days toward the middle, not in the sense that there is still further extra divine revelation beyond the canon of the Scripture, but the Holy Spirit is still fully at work, no longer to inspire, but to illuminate and validate the preaching of the gospel, which could include supernatural manifestations. The middle position that I am talking about is in line with John Owen's whose details the readers can find in Prof. Kelly Kapic's dissertation, for example, "Communion with God: The Divine and the Human in the Theology of John Owen." What I hold also agrees with John Piper's position in this regard. This is the only part that I disagree with Swavely who seems to be a hard Cessasionist; the danger of which is to give credit of "right" decision making to man's godliness, not to the sovereign goodness of God, even though he points out over and over again the utmost importance of the Scripture as the starting point of every decision making process.

When Luther had to decide whether or not to stay or flee when the Vatican put a bounty on his head, there is no specific instruction in the Bible as of what to do. But his decision to escape was attributed ultimately to the sovereign plan of God to spare him through his irresistible influence to draw him toward this decision. According to Swavely, this is when you cross the line of wisdom and desire by considering what the wisest choice is and this consideration should include getting counsels from other people which I don't deny. God gives us brain to be used, as he wrote. Human beings are doubtless responsible for our actions. But who is the ultimate agent beyond every decision but God? And how is God still working today other than through the Holy Spirit? I said this without intending to accuse God of being guilty for evil, not at all. Divine sovereignty is compatible with human responsibility. This is one of the most beautiful mysteries one can ever learn. There is a danger therefore, when claiming that a decision is made through wisdom, desire and counsel, though these are tremendously important, to boast in one's wisdom and godliness, even the wisdom in consulting the Scriptures or doing it the right way; the Swavely way; while the truth is, ultimately it is God, who wills and to act according to his good purposes (Phil 2:13). Or "For by him (referring to Christ") all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things were created through Him and for Him" (Col 1:16), or "For from Him, through Him and through Him are all things; to Him be glory forever. Amen" (Rom 11:36). In addition, perhaps there needs to be an analysis as well why a Christian would not want to base their decision on the Bible, which after learning from Swavely, may be caused by either ignorance, unbelief, or laziness or a combination of these. But the few concerns I just brought up should not in any way cause readers to shy away from getting this book and put the principles that Swavely teaches into actions. I find the closing statement of book for Christian readers most worth pondering and is no less important than all the steps, warnings, and examples of a proper biblical decision making process,

"And if you want to please the Lord in your life, you will find that many times the best decisions are also the hardest. Going God's way will often lead you into risk and trouble, and if you follow the principles in this book, even your process of decision making itself will not be easy. It requires the hard work of self-evaluation, biblical study, and wisdom learned by experience. But what makes it all worthwhile is knowing that your decisions will be pleasing to the one who loved you and died for you" (p.176).

Swavely provides a simple, readable manual outlining the so-called wisdom approach to biblically based decision making. He offers a popular presentation of Garry Friesen's well-known work, Decision Making and the Will of God. The book is helpful for those who desire a simplified version of the wisdom approach and was beneficial as a resource for teaching a series on the topic in an Adult Bible Fellowship in our church.

I think this book tries to make a very valid point: That our single and most important reference point, the Bible, is not used nearly enough as a foundation for God-centered decision making. However, the author's approach is not well articulated, he has a consistent condemning tone towards anything outside of his particular opinion, and I personally thinks he misuses many of the biblical references he quotes in the first half of the book. When I looked up the verses myself, my interpretation of them often skewed wildly with the conclusions the author is trying to make (primarily in his case for cessationism), and I'd strongly recommend that anyone reading this book also make sure to look up passages themselves to see if they agree in meaning when they see a verse in context of the larger passage.

Personally, I found the author's views on cessationism to be a little too extreme for me, and I decided to stop reading his misinterpretations after flipping through the book and looking at all of the disagreeing notes I made in the margins. Other reviewers have found value in reading on in the book, and they are fair in their reservations (which should have translated into fewer stars in my opinion), but overall I would express caution on the part of new readers, and encourage them to test the authors conclusions while reading this book.