I heard both terms, permissive and perfect will of God on a Christian TV channel yesterday. I know the term perfect will is found in Scriptures, but as fine-sounding as the preacher was on the issue of permissive will, I cannot find the term in the Bible. Although, there appears to be some merit to his argument, can anyone please shed some light on the matter. I just want to know that I am not being sold disobedience in the name of permissive will. Thanks

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Matthew 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire...27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Matthew 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Ephesians 5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16[b] Redeeming the time[/b], because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

Juxtaposing all of the scriptures I have quoted above, I want to say that I also do not find anywere where the word permisive will of God is used in the bible but from the meaning of the word "permissive" one can conclude that it means what God permits or allows, even though it is not his perfect will. Thus, we see from Romans 12: 2 that God's will may be good, acceptable or perfect and then Ephesians 5:16 tells us to understand the will of God for our lives and save our time from doing all kinds of things but simply do God's perfect will.

This leads us to what then is God's perfect will? God's perfect will is the scriptures. But will the scripture tell us to take up a job with Chevron or do a banking job or (for a lady, who wants to build a family), teach? No. Thus the need to know God's perfect will. the options so far may be good and acceptable but His perfect will shall come by learning to follow this dictates of God's Spirit in our hearts.

In the Matthew 5 scriptures, Jesus was speaking about things God permitted under Moses; even though his perfect will was the order way round. It is the Spirit of God alone that knows the mind of God and he alone can reveal that mind to us.

Permit me to bring a topic here that is very controversial on Nairaland. Tithing. I am convinced that if Jesus was to speak on tithing today based on the manner he spoke in Matthew 5 and 23 this is how he will put it: "Moses gave you the laws of tithing(Leviticus 27: 30-32; Numbers 18) ; and those laws are not binding on New Testament believers (Hebrew 7:12; 2 Corinthians 3:7; Galatians 3:24-27) but due to over bloated nature of organized churches, the tithes was re-introduced to the church and God permitted this because tithing is a kind of giving and every kind of giving to God will be blessed; however, God's perfect will is for the church to be supported by free will offerings that depicts the liberty of the Spirit that is the characteristic nature of the New Testament saint (Galatians 5:1; 2 Corinthians 3:17).

Thus permissive is not exactly sinful but simply permitted by God; although it has a higher tendency for abuse and it will not yield God's perfect will. But his perfect will is PERFECT and has the tendency to yield great results.

My opinion though...

There are things that are permissible and there are things that are perfect and requiring the most discipline to attain. Permissible implies that you are allowed to practice worldly values and traditions; They draw you back and distract from absolute "holiness" but you have not sinned when you do them. Permissible can be found in the bible as follows:

All things are lawful(permissible), but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful(permissble), but not all things edify. (1 Corinthians 10:23)

All things are lawful(permissible) for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful(permissble) for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. (1 Corinthians 6:12)

Note must be made that the new testament explicitly says All things.., I say this for the sake of those people who still preach the Law as christian doctrine. The law forbids a lot of things, christianity does not. In christianity, There is no sin in nature. That is why it is All things are permissible. The law on the other hand defines sin in what you eat, drink, how you dress, people you associate with, music you listen to, etc. These are not sins in true christian doctrine.

One important doctrine which nobody teaches is about marriage; marriage is a permissible will of God, but the churches preach marriage as a perfect will of God. Paul specifically states that his wish is that his followers would be like him and remain unmarried, but that if a man cannot control his passion(not se.xual urge), then he should marry. He has not sinned if he marries. Why would Paul make the emphasis that "He has not sinned if he marries.." except that marriage is a permissible will, not a perfect will.

But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you. (1 Corinthians 7:28)

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mueller:
■ I heard both terms, permissive and perfect will of God on a Christian TV channel yesterday. I know the term perfect will is found in Scriptures, but as fine-sounding as the preacher was on the issue of permissive will, I cannot find the term in the Bible. Although, there appears to be some merit to his argument, can anyone please shed some light on the matter. I just want to know that I am not being sold disobedience in the name of permissive will. Thanks

Permissive will, perfect will... these ideas only exist in the religious delusions of men. They have nothing to do with what is stated in Scripture regarding the God of Israel and His Son, Jesus Christ.