Family Matters Conference Pastor Neil Mina

1. DCCC FAMILY CONFERENCE 2012
APRIL 6, 2012
BIBLICAL DECISION MAKING
PASTOR NEIL Q. MIÑA

2. PREFATORY
 Salvation is no different to making decisions.
Though it’s a done transaction, sinners are
called to come to Christ, enter the narrow
gate, repent and believe, and to trust and
obey.
 We decide every day, even trivial decisions.
The gravity of importance of decisions made
depend on who’s deciding.
 On the other hand, to be able not to decide is
a wrong decision.

3. "Indecision is the seedling of fear."
Napoleon Hill
 By the way, there are right decisions with
wrong consequences and wrong decisions
with right results.
 To be able to make the right decision, you
must be born again, and that’s a given. If
you’re a Christian, there is no Christian that
is foreign to you.

4. I. SATURATE YOURSELF WITH THE WORD (COL. 3:16)
 Matt. 28:20; Acts 20:20; Ps. 119:1-176; Josh. 1:8: Ps.
1:1,2
 Jer. 9:23, 24 - Knowing the Lord is knowing His mind and
heart.
 We have the resources we need to know the mind of
God. We have the indwelling Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9) who
teaches and leads us to all truth (John 14:26; 16:13). We
have the infallible word of God (Ps. 19:7-9). We have the
mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16; cf. Phil. 2:5), and the eternal
purpose of God - predestinating us to be conformed to the
image of His Son - cannot be thwarted (Rom. 8:29). He
also gave gifted men to the church to equip us (Eph.
4:11, 12).
 That reality is inescapable. We are headed toward that
direction. That is our intended end. God, His Word and
even the world expect us to live like Christ, to think like

5. A. BIBLICAL DOCTRINES (2 TIM. 3:16-17)
 As you saturate yourself with the Word of God for
the purpose of knowing Him, you will inevitably end
up learning doctrines. So within the framework of
biblical teachings you will be guided and be able to
decide.
 Illustration: The Decalogue
 Earnest C. Reisinger, in his book Whatever
Happened to the Ten Commandments? states,
God’s law comes from His nature. It is what God is
like that determines what is right, and his will
imposes that standard upon all his creatures as a
moral obligation. The law is therefore perfect (Ps.
19:7), because it reflects the perfection of his nature.

6.  Every believer should be a theologian. He or she
must take every opportunity to learn the Word or
theology.
 Theology will create a conviction in a person. His
principles will be guided by that conviction and will
stand (decide firmly) on that principle. (Example of
Manny Paquiao)
B. SEEK BIBLICAL COUNSEL
(Ps. 119:24; Prov. 11:14; 15:22; 24:6; cf. Isa. 1:26)
 In the unfathomable wisdom of God, He chose to use
human instruments to give us directions and help us
make wise decisions.

7. C. CONSIDER CONSCIENCE (1 COR. 10:23-33;
CF. 6:12, 13; ROM. 14; CF. 1 TIM. 4:3-5)
 Every decision you will make will have
immediate and future consequences that will
directly or indirectly affect others especially
the ones you intend to protect.
 Illustration: Fiesta: Would you go or not?
 It would be better to offend the unbeliever
who invited us than a weaker brother.

8. D. CONSIDER THE LAWS OF THE LAND
(ROM. 13:1-7; MATT. 22:16-22)
 3 Hebrew children – Daniel 3:3-6, 10-18
 Daniel – Dan. 1:6-12
 Jesus and Peter – Matt. 17:24-27
"A decision without the pressure of consequence is
hardly a decision at all.“ Eric Langmuir
 If a government ordinance doesn’t violate
God’s revealed will, we are free to obey it.

9. E. CONSIDER COMMON SENSE AND PRUDENCE
(PROV. 8:5)
 When using common sense in decision making, you have to
recognize certain elements:
1. You don’t have full knowledge of the situation. Since you have
limited facts, weigh the options and decide accordingly. “Choose
the lesser evil.” So they say. Jacob in Gen. 32 esp. vv. 6-8.
2. Sometimes the better option is not the best option, so it’s wiser to
wait and stay and be content (as in applying for another job, or
relocating to another place)
3. Because God is sovereign, everything is under his providential
permission. All things work together for our good and for his glory
in the end. God can even use the “bad” things that happened to
us to bring about his eternal purpose (the story of Joseph - Gen.
50:20).
Trivial and major decisions are often if not always the result of
overlapping of theology, wise counsel, conscience and common
sense.

10. II. BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT (EPH. 5:18)
 Being saturated with the Word is the result of
being filled with the Spirit. The Spirit’s ministry is
to reveal the deep things of God to us. If you
neglect the Word, for sure you’re not filled with
the Spirit. If you are controlled by the
Spirit, definitely, you are a man of the Word.
 So if you will decide, as a Spirit filled
person, your highest consideration is the glory
of God, because the Spirit’s primary goal is to
give glory to Christ (John 16:14).

11. PRAYER AND FAITH
 A life of prayer is a life of dependence in
God (Ps. 37:3-5; Prov. 3:5-7).
 The steps of a good man are ordered by the
Lord (Ps. 37:23).
 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every
decision is from the LORD (Prov. 16:33).

12. CONCLUSION
"Our lives are a sum total of the choices we
have made." Wayne Dyer
 Moses - Deut 30:19-20
 Joshua - Josh 24:14-15
 "Be willing to make decisions. That's the
most important quality in a good leader. Don't
fall victim to what I call the Ready- Aim-Aim-
Aim Syndrome. You must be willing to fire.“
T. Boone Pickens

13. WHAT THEN IS BIBLICAL DECISION?
A godly decision considers the nature and
character of God, values the wise counsel of
others, does not disregard human
ordinances nor violates conscience but
conscientiously and prayerfully submits to
the loving control and the unsearchable
wisdom of the Holy Spirit in order to glorify
God and our Lord Jesus Christ.