ALL THE TREES IN THE GARDEN

Here is a great thought for pastors seeking to counsel their members on knowing God's will:

"You may freely eat any fruit in the garden, except..." (Genesis 2:16 NLT).

From this verse, we remember what Adam and Eve were NOT supposed to eat, but we totally ignore the first part of this sentence. For the first part of this command is a life-giving, and freeing verse of Scripture, which is often under-emphasized when we talk about God's will.

God has made us free and sovereign agents to execute His will on earth. Gary Friesen in his great book Decision Making and the Will of God explains the "principle of freedom" which is "freedom of choice within the stated limitations". God has presented us with normative law which expresses His will on certain matters. Within the realm of God's expressed will, He has given humanity the freedom to roam casually and eat freely of any trees He has not specifically forbidden.

This is a very freeing concept if your people understand it. In this view, God is no longer the One who says 'you can not...'; rather the emphasis is upon "You may freely...". The focus is on freedom and choice. Freedom says, "You may freely eat..." and Choice says "... of any fruit". Take your pick (except for one). The focus is on Freedom and Choice.

So when counseling on many matters, people need to understand that within the realm of God's stated law there is tremendous freedom to choose. What car should you drive? What clothes should you buy? What person should you marry? What school should you attend? Should I send my kids to a Christian school, public school, or home school them? What music does God want me to listen to? What radio station? TV show?, etc.

Now, there are certainly Biblical principles that apply to every one of these questions, but within the boundaries of those Biblical principles, there is still tremendous freedom. We have a tendency as human beings to focus upon what we may not do, not what we are free to do. That is why Satan's technique at diversion is so effective with us.

Satan said to Eve, "Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?" (Genesis 3:1 NLT) Notice that Satan's focus was on the negative, what we may not eat.  Eve fell for this trick when she replied, "It's only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God says we must not eat it or even touch it, or we will die." (Gen. 3:3 NLT) She herself added the additional restriction, "... or even touch it..." to God's commandments. This addition to God's word is perhaps one factor that led to her downfall, for when she touched it, we can presume that nothing happened. Not until she ate of it, were her eyes opened to evil. (...Then he ate it, too. 7 At that moment, their eyes were opened... (Gen. 3:6-7 NLT).

So when teaching about God's will, two things need to be kept in mind, first the emphasis on Freedom and Choice. But secondly, we must be careful to not draw the boundary lines tighter than God has drawn them. This is the danger of legalism. Sometimes, out of a zeal for God's holiness some teach stricter interpretations of God's Word than the text warrants. (Pick any topic that has been debated and you will find examples of this.) But when this is done, we actually fall into Satan's first trap, which is to over-emphasize what cannot be done, thus setting up humanity for the Fall.

Imagine a "morality fence" around the Garden of Eden. Within that fence, humanity is free to roam and play, all within the bounds of God's law.  Except for that one tree, we may enjoy all of God's blessings within the Garden, as long as we stay in the Garden of God's Will, we are safe. Then imagine that some well-meaning soul, out of zeal for God's holiness comes along and says, 'That morality fence around the garden is too close to the evil outside the garden. Just to be extra-safe and careful, let's move that fence into the garden by say another 50 feet, just to keep us really safe.'

What happens then? The children of God have been robbed of some of their God-given freedom, out of a fear.  God has said you may freely eat within the garden, and someone else has said you may not freely eat of any trees that are within 50 feet of the perimeter.  There is a name for this: it is called Legalism.  And it is the trick that Satan started with on Eve, "Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?" (Genesis 3:1 NLT).

The Word of God, however, emphasizes the freedom which God has entrusted to every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ to make the right choices in His name in a God-honoring way.  God trusts us with freedom!

One of the Core Values which I emphasize at our church is Freedom.  Here is how it is expressed: "While maintaining Biblical integrity, we shall allow people to have freedom in the areas of conscience."   We believe that giving people a combination of  Responsibility plus Authority plus Accountability is the most biblical way to disciple people.

-- Dr. Bill