Two Opposing Doctrines: Purpose-Driven/Dream Doctrine vs Good Works and Our Vocations

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Hello Ladies, MelbaToast here, thank you for joining me today.

It amazes me how God’s word truly edifies us. We read passages and gleen wonders, grace, and majesty every time we study it and take it in. It’s those times of reading a passage for the “who- know’s?” how many times, and realizing the implications of just ONE verse. 2Tim. 3:16-17 has continually been that verse for me. Here we go again and this verse has deep implications for this episode, that Scripture thoroughly equips us for every good work. And if it thoroughly equips then it will tell us what good works are and what our purpose is. It is when we do not believe that Scripture equips us that we look for what good works are apart from it, and usually look to men and the world to tell us what works are good and which are not. So this is why I want to discuss 2 opposing doctrines: the purpose-driven/God-sized dream vs Good Works and the doctrine of Vocation

Introduction:

In the last couple episodes we dived into Holley Gerth’s book You’re Made for a God-Sized Dream: Opening the Door to All God Has for You. And it was a pretty deep dive. 219 pages on what to do if God gives us a God-sized dream, how to get over our fear, and why we should pursue them are just some of the topics she presents in this book.

Now given, Holley Gerth is not someone popular in the American Evangelical Women’s Ministry of today. Instead she specializes in being a life Coach for women (charging $159 per session) but what she writes is an extremely popular teaching that has consumed most evangelical churches today. I know, because I spent about 5 years in this teaching, as presented in our cell groups in Church, under the study of Rick Warren’s book  The Purpose Driven Life. 

Today I thought I’d present to you two books that really opened my eyes and changed my beliefs on this very important topic that’s not talked about very well in Christian circles today. The topic of good works and the doctrine of vocation. 

For this week’s episode I will be using 4 different books, 2 for each doctrine. You’re Made for a God-Sized Dream, by Holley Gerth, The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren are 2 books that promote a Purpose/dream gospel. While Martin Luther’s A Treatise on Good Works and Gene Edward Veith Jr.’s God at Work are the 2 books I, #1- highly recommend you read, and #2- will be using to expound upon the doctrine of Vocation as laid out in Scripture.

Rick Warren’s book is so popular I don’t think I need to go into any details on it as probably most women in the American Church today have read and done it’s study. Holley Gerth’s book, on the other hand, is not as popular but it has the same assumption and philosophy that is taught in The Purpose Driven Life (you can listen to my critiques on this book which goes into deeper discussion into her claims and philosophies, link is in this episode’s details).

So what is at odds between these teachings? What are the issues with Purpose-driven teachings that conflict with Scripture? What are good works? And what is the doctrine of Vocation? 

Introduction to “A Treatise on Good Works” and “God at Work”

To start I want to give a little background on Martin Luther’s A Treatise on Good Works. Luther started writing a sermon for his congregation on the topic of good works but instead it ended up being much longer than a sermon would entail. So Martin Luther decided that his writing would become a booklet. His heart in writing  the book was for his church laity to which he had made a promise and the book is the keeping of that promise. 

We need to understand that a rumor was going around during the time Luther began writing the treaty  because of the teachings that Luther was promoting; that justification comes by faith alone. And this is very important to take note of. The “papal Church had commended herself to princes and statesmen by her emphatic teaching of good works. Luther, on the other hand, had been accused – like the apostle Paul before him (Romans 3:31)-that the zealous performance of good works had abated, that the bonds of discipline had slackened and that, as a necessary consequence, lawlessness and shameless immorality were being promoted by his doctrine of justification by faith alone” (that is from the Treatise on Good Works, Introduction;PDF format pg 4).

 Because Martin Luther preached that God directs us to Good works in his word, the Catholic Church propagated that Martin was against good works leading to lack of discipline which led to lawlessness. The Catholic Church called good works evil while calling their idea of works good. They made the claim that good works were only done in the vocation of the church. And this is where good works and vocation intertwine.

“The term vocation comes from the Latin word for “calling”. The scripture is full of passages that describe how we have been called to Faith through the gospel (e.g. second Thessalonians 2:14),how God calls us to a particular office or way of life (e.g 1 Corinthians 1:1-2; 7:15 – 20). The doctrine of vocation is thoroughly biblical, as shall be seen; but, as with other scriptural teachings, it surfaced and was developed with its greatest rigor during the Reformation.

In the medieval church, having a vocation or having a “calling” referred exclusively to full-time Church work. If a person felt a calling, this was a sign that he or she might “have a vocation”, which meant becoming a priest, A monk, or a nun. The ordinary occupations of life-being a peasant farmer or kitchen-maid, making tools or clothing, being a soldier or even King-we’re acknowledged as necessary but worldly. Such people could be saved, but they were mired in the world. To serve God fully, to live a life that’s truly spiritual, required a full-time commitment. The “councils of perfection” could be fulfilled only in the holy orders of the church, in which a man or woman could devote every day to prayer, contemplation, worship, and the service of God. Even marriage and Parenthood-both recognized as good things, with marriage understood as a sacrament from God-we’re seen as incumbrances to the religious life.” (Gene Edward Veith Jr, God at work pg 17-18)

So what were the church’s teachings on good works at that time? Such things as running to the convent, singing, reading, playing the organ, saying the mass (An example of this today would be church service involvement such as: choir worship, building and church planting,  etc). praying matins (morning prayer service), vespers (evening prayer service) and other hours (an example of this today would be getting up daily at a certain hour to pray or being in our “prayer closet”). Gathering chimes, jewels, vestments, gems and treasures ( an example of this today might be raising money for church buildings and it’s necessities). The Chatholic Church also encouraged the laity to go to Rome and to the saints  (An example of this today could equate this to going to bible conferences, etc). And there were other things such as curtsing and bowing the knees, praying the rosary and the salter, etc. The Church designated these as truly good works and for this reason Luther’s highest object in this treaties was to make perfectly clear what the essence of Good works were. “Truly good works are not self-elected works of monastic or any other holiness, but such only as God has commanded, and as are comprehended within the bounds of one’s particular calling, and all works, let their name be what it may, become good only when they flow from faith, the first, greatest, and noblest of good works (John 6:29)( Martin Luther’s A Treatise on Good Works, PDF;introduction page 5). And this faith “is the true fulfillment of the first commandment, apart from which there is no work that could do justice to this commandment”(introduction Page 6).

God at Work, by Gene Edward Veith Jr., is about God’s Providence in our vocations and what the doctrine of Vocation looks like applied to our lives, the service to our neighbors through them, and God’s hidden hand in all spheres of life. “I had assumed that I knew what the doctrine of vocation was; that, yes, one can do every occupation to the glory of god. I assumed from the unassuming title that this just collected what Luther said on that subject. But both Luther and Wingren said so much more. For Luther, vocation, as with everything else in his theology, is not so much a matter of what we do; rather, it is a matter of what God does in and through us.”(Gene Edward Veith Jr, God at Work, pg.9).

And this is why I find the short booklet by Martin Luther and Mr Veith’s book such gems and   treasures that need to be taught and read among Christian women today.They rightly handle good works and faith without undermining God’s Character and ignoring His Providental work. Martin Luther himself said in writing this treatise,“for the greatest of all questions has been raised, the question of good works; in which is practiced immeasurably more trickery and deception than in anything else, and in which the simple minded man is so easily misled that our Lord Christ has commanded us to watch carefully for the sheep’s clothings under which the wolves hide themselves.”(PDF.pg 11). It is the same today. We have teachers proclaiming and pushing us towards God size dreams, purpose driven theology, urging of tithing, sowing seeds and service to the church. Even the world pushes its ideas of good works, serving the hungry, giving to the poor, environmental concerns, and even mask wearing, lockdowns, and vaccines. Ask anybody and they’ll tell you these are good works. But what does Scripture say good works are and what pleases the Lord? 

In scripture faith is the ultimate good work. In fact, Scripture tells us that ALL things that are not done in faith are sins. Romans 14 “whatsoever is not done of or in faith is sin”. Faith is what makes us children of God. All other works unbelievers can do, but only a Christian can have faith. And Not just  faith as a trait or substance but faith in THE Person who came to solve THE Problem.

Issue #1: the false assumption that humanity’s problem is purposelessness

Here is where I identify issue #1 with purpose-driven/ dream doctrines: that it doesn’t identify the true problem, our sins. Instead it poses that humanity’s problem is not a lack of faith, but a lack of purpose.

It propagates the myth that the root of all evil is discontentment.

God-sized dream/purpose-driven doctrine draws us in by diagnosing our discontentment as a longing for a purpose instead of correctly identifying that our problem of discontentment is a sin, rooting from a lack of faith and contentment in Christ and what He has done. This is a result of  not understanding our problem: that we are in danger of Hell and God’s wrath due to our sin, separating us from God the ultimate Good. The purpose-driven religion identifies a problem, that  of discontentment, and says the solution is to “Believe God loves you and made you for His purposes…Receive Jesus into your life as your Lord and Savior. Receive his forgiveness for your sins. Receive his Spirit ,who will give you the power to fulfill your life purpose” (Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life, pg 61). A cursory glance, and we can think this is the Gospel, I mean, he mentions Jesus Christ and being forgiven of sins, right? But starting out in the foundation of this religion is that it is entirely focused on us and the belief that we have a problem of purpose-lessness that people like Warren and Gerth want to help us resolve. And they believe this is what Christianity solves. This problem of discontentment because of purposelessness.

Because humanity has the problem of purposelessness the gospel of this religion is the “good news” that God made you for a purpose and He has a plan for your life. And the world is saved when humanity comes to the realization that each and everyone of us was made to fulfil a purpose/ dream and make a difference in the world. We are happier, blessed, and are closest to God when we are pursuing His purpose for us.

 Did you notice that Warren claims that the Holy Spirit (I will give Warren the benefit of the doubt here, because he actually said Jesus’ Spirit, and I’m pretty sure this is a Trinitarian view that’s not quite right, but I digress) so he says that the Spirit  will give us power to fulfill God’s purpose for our life. We cannot get this statement from Scripture, instead we are told that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and righteousness and judgement (John. 16:8), regenerates and renews us by his washing (Tit.3:5-6), he sanctifies us, meaning he makes us more like Christ (1 Corin.6:11; 2Corin.3:18; 1Pet.1:2) causing us to obey the Law (Rom.8:4) and bear his fruit (Gal. 5:22-23) and turn from the flesh (Gal.5:16-17; Rom 8:5-9).

Issues #2: Solution- Preaching Purpose

Issue #2 is a fruit that comes from issue #1 and that is this: because humanity’s problem is a lack of purpose, commitment to our purpose must be preached. “Jesus told the father ‘I brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you told me to do’.Jesus honored God by fulfilling his purpose on earth. We honor God the same way. When anything on earth fulfills its purpose, it brings Glory to God” (Rick Warren The Purpose driven life pg.58)

This Is where it gets ironic. Those who teach these doctrines constantly say that our purpose is a service to God and is not about ourselves, yet to motivate, encourage, and train us into our purpose the lessons become about us and what we must do. They say that it’s “not about you”(The Purpose Driven Life, pg 21and You’re Made for a God-Sized Dream; pg 164) but  in reality it is ALL about us.

Here’s one of my biggest issues with these teachings, that the solution presented to us is entirely works based and always about what we DO for God. Jesus gets kudos for dying on the cross but now that he’s done that it’s time for us to focus on what we can do for Him. And this purpose is always relegated to this world and making a difference. See, Christ doesn’t really need to die for this, no, we just need the power of the Spirit to equip us. So Christ is not really needed in this religion, hence, why He’s not preached.

Self- assumed good works are about ourselves and what we can do for God while the good works given to us in Scripture are about our love for  God and our love for neighbor. “For Christ at the last day will not ask how much you have prayed, fasted, pilgrimaged ,done this or that for yourself, but how much good you have done to others, even the very least.

Now without doubt among the “least” are also those who are in sin and spiritual poverty, captivity and need, of whom there are at present far more than of those who suffer bodily need. Therefore take heed: our own self assumed good works lead us to and into ourselves, that we seek only our own benefit and salvation; but God’s commandments drive us to our neighbor, that we may thereby benefit others to their salvation. Just as Christ on the cross prayed not for himself alone, but rather for us, when he said,”father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,”so we also must pray for one another. From which every man may know that the slanderers, frivolous judges and despisers of other people are a perverted, evil race, who do nothing else then heap abuse on those for whom they ought to pray; in which vice no one is sunk so deep as those very men who do many good works of their own, and seem to men to be something extraordinary, and are honored because of their beautiful, splendid life in manifold good works.”(Martin Luther A treatise on good work PDF page 44-45).

In Scripture Christ is proclaimed over and over again because it is faith in Him that produces good fruit, apart from whom we can do nothing (John 15:5). When Scripture is taught and Christ is proclaimed, by God’s grace, faith grows and the fruits of the Spirit, which are always good, are produced. But there’s a rub here: and that’s this- without faith in Christ it is impossible to produce the fruit of the Spirit and it is impossible to obey God’s Law. And from this we get issues #3: the Law is not rightly taught so Christ is not rightly preached. 

Issue #3: The false view of God’s Law

Purpose driven/dream assume that God’s Law is easily accomplished and was given for our benefit. The Law is assumed as either easy to accomplish or taught as lessons on how to excel in this life. They are taught as to be obeyed so that our lives can be most comfortable bringing us the most benefit instead of teaching that sin is an affront to a holy God, first and foremost (ps. 51:4), and an offence to your neighbor (Mark 12:28-31).

The reformers taught that the Bible uses the Law/ 10 Commandments in 3 distinct ways.

1. The Pedagogical use- it reveals to us the perfect righteousness of God. This use is like a mirror to which we compare our righteousness to God’s and see if we measure up.

The Ten Commandments reveal to us our need and that which we should be striving for.“There is no better mirror in which to see your need then simply the ten commandments, in which you will find what you lack and what you should seek. If, therefore, you find in yourself a weak faith, small hope and little love towards God; and that you do not praise and honor god, but love your own honor and fame, think much of the favor of men, do not gladly hear mass and sermon, are indolent in prayer, in which things everyone has faults, then you shall think more of these faults then of all bodily harm to goods, honor and life, and believe that they are worse than death and all mortal sickness. These you shall earnestly lay before God, lament and ask for help, and with all confidence expect help, and believe that you are heard and shall obtain help and mercy.”(Martin Luther A treatise on Good works PDF page 39)

2. The Civil use- this is the law being used to restrain. Governments and those in authority use the law to direct humanity to civil obedience.
3. The Moral or Normative use- this is for believers. The law reveals to us what love does in action and what faith in God looks like in believers, or what the “works” of faith look like since faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26).

It is this third use of the law that applies to us: it shows us  what having faith in God or being faithful to God looks like.

Here’s an example: Let’s look at the third commandment. The third commandment says not to take the lord’s name in vain. The implications of this are that we are to honor God’s name. What does honoring God’s name look like? How is that acted out day by day in faithfulness to God? When we talk about God to our kids, when we correct false teaching or proclaim God’s great love and mercy, present the gospel, etc we do a good work because it is in faith and obedience to the third commandment. When I believe the truths that are told to me in scripture about God’s character, such as the promises that God will listen to my prayers and in faith I honor his word by believing the promise and going to God In prayer, that is a good work.

When we give thanks to God we are not taking the lord’s name in vain, but instead are giving God honor for what he has given us. This is a good work. As it says in Col. 3 “whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord jesus, giving thanks to God the Father”.

“on this is based the wonderful and righteous judgment of god, that at times a poor man, and whom no one can see many great works, in the privacy of his home joyfully praises God when he fares well, or with entire confidence calls upon him when he fares ill, and thereby does a greater and more acceptable work than another, who fasts much, praise much, endows churches, makes pilgrimages, and burdens himself with great deeds in this place and in that. Such a fool opens wide his mouth, looks for great works to do, and is so blinded that he does not at all notice this greatest work, and praising God is in his eyes a very small matter compared with the great idea he has formed of the works of his own devising, in which he perhaps praises himself more than god, or takes more pleasure in them than he does in God; and thus with his good works he storms against the second commandment and its works.”(Martin Luther A treatise on Good works PDF format page 24)

People do not think of these as good works because they, in their minds, are easy and are an inner good work, one that is done quietly and usually done privately and in honor to God. Yet if we were honest, who can praise God perfectly for the gift of natural life, not to mention all other temporal and eternal blessings? And so we are overwhelmed with this good and precious work as we should give praise and honor to God in all things, great and small, easy or hard, in times of blessings and times of sufferings, in abundance and in lacking; indeed in all things. For who, at all times and perfectly fulfills this commandment? And who not only praises God for all things at all times but also runs from any praise and honor given to his person?

Purpose driven/dream doctrines are all about receiving praise and honor through our purpose. Worldly society teaches that a woman should neglect family, home for the praise and honor that comes from making a difference in the world. Every woman is encouraged to leave her footprint in society. And it is the same for women in The purpose driven religion.

“For all heathen books are poisoned through and through with this striving after praise and honor; in them men are taught by blind reason that they were not nor could not be men of power and worth, who are not moved by praise and honor; but those are counted the best, who disregard body and life, friend and property and everything in the effort to win praise and honor. All the holy fathers have complained of this vice and with one mind conclude that it’s a very last vice to be overcome. St Augustine says: ‘all other vices are practiced in evil works; only honor and self-satisfaction are practice in and by means of good works’

Therefore if a man has nothing else to do except the second work of this commandment, he would yet have to work all his lifetime in order to fight this vice and drive it out, so common, so subtile, so quick and insidious is it. now we all pass by this good work and exercise ourselves in many other lesser good works, nay, through other good works we overthrow this and forget it entirely. So the holy name of god, which alone should be honored, is taken in vain and Dishonored through our own cursed name, self-approval and honor seeking. And this sin is more grievous before God than murder and adultery; but it’s wickedness is not so clearly seen as that of murder, because of its subtility,for it is not accomplished in the course flesh, but in the spirit.” (Martin Luther’s A treatise on Good Works, PDF pg 25-26)

As you can see, Martin Luther describes how this work, the work of fighting off praise and honor for one’s self and focusing on giving ALL praise and honor to God; as instructed to us in the 3rd Commandment; in all that is said and done, is a spiritual good work that is so easily disregarded and would be one that would take all our effort and all our actions at all times, to which; if a man merely focused on just this one commandment he would have no end of works to accomplish.

Issues #4: Scripture is not enough

And that leads exactly into issue #4 with purpose-driven/dream doctrine: that Scripture is not enough.

And what about Scripture? What is their view of Scripture?

“God has not left us in the dark to wonder and guess. He has clearly revealed his five purposes for our lives through the bible. It is our owner’s manual, explaining why we are alive, how life works, what to avoid, what to expect in the future. It explains what no self-help or philosophy book could know. The Bible says “God’s wisdom… Goes deep into the interior of his purposes…. It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest-what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us” (Rick Warren purpose driven Life page 24)-okay so apparently this verse is from 1 Corinthians 2:7 from The Message Bible translation. Notice why he is quoting this verse, and more specifically this translation. He uses this translation (and I am using air quotes when I call The Message a translation) to support his claim that the Bible is our owner’s manual. This passage in a real translation says:

But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.  None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.(1 Corin.2:7-8). This does not support his claim but instead claims the opposite: that the secret wisdom from God is the revelation of the Messiah, who if the rulers of the age had known and understood this wisdom, would not have crucified Christ. And this reveals a foundational problem with The Purpose-driven/dream doctrine’s idea of Scripture, that is a manual on how to live and bring out the best in us  instead of being about Christ. 

Jesus addressed this when confronting the Pharisees about the way they viewed Scripture: as if it were a book merely on how to be righteous, how life works, what to avoid and what to expect, etc. sound familiar? 

John 5: 39-47 -You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,  yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you.  I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.  How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?  Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”- notice that Jesus states that Moses wrote of Him. The Pharisees believed Moses and held to the Law believing in  it they would find life, yet Jesus says that if they truly believed Moses they would believe in the Messiah, and would come to Christ.

 In the same way, many of the churches that teach this doctrine, so very often take Scripture out of context, allegorize it to make it about us, or teach that it is our owner’s manual: how God brings out the best in us instead of about Christ. Philosophy and worldly wisdom is used to teach and train people to pursue God’s will instead of doing the simple thing of looking at what God’s Word says we should do, come to Christ for life and obey His Commandments.

Issue #5: Pursuing Purpose please God

And because they do not go to Scripture to tell us how to please God we dive into issue #5: the myth that chasing our dreams is how we are faithful and please God. 

“Find the moments when you feel God’s pleasure, when you sense him right next to you urging you on, when your dream and your relationship with him intertwine in a flow that feels like what you’ve been made for all along. Then live in those moments as much as possible”( Holley Gerth’s; You’re Made for a God Sized dream pg.159) Pursuing the purpose or dream is how we are obedient,faithful, and please God, not what is laid out for us in Scripture. 

I believe Martin Luther tackles this issue better than I could:

“Now see how much a man has to do, if he would do good works, which always are at hand and great number, and with which you are surrounded on all sides; but, alas! Because of his blindness, he passes them by and seeks and runs after others of his own devising and pleasure, against which no man can sufficiently speak and no man can sufficiently guard. With this all the prophets had to contend, and for this reason they were all slain, only because they rejected such self-devised works and preached only God’s commandments, as one of them says, Jeremiah 7: ‘thus saith the god of Israel unto you: take your burnt offerings unto all your sacrifices and eat your burnt offerings and your flesh yourselves; for concerning these things I have commanded you nothing, but this thing commanded I you: obey my voice (that is, not what seems right and good to you, but what I bid you), and walk in the way that I have commanded you”. And Deuteronomy 12: ‘thou shalt not do whatsoever is right in thine own eyes, but what thy God has commanded thee.’

These and numberless like passages of scripture are spoken to tear men not only from sins, but from The works which seem to men to be good and right, and to turn men with a single mind, to the simple meaning of God’s commandments only, that they shall diligently observe this only and always, as it is written, Exodus 13: ‘these commandments shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes’. And Psalm 1:’a godly Man meditates in God’s law day and night’. For we have more than enough and too much to do, if we are to satisfy only God’s commandments. He has given us such commandments that if we understand them aright, we dare not for a moment be idle, and might easily forget all other works. But the evil spirit, who never rests, when he cannot lead us to the left into evil works, fights on our right through self -devised works that seem good, but against which God has commanded, Deuteronomy 28, and Joshua 23:’you shall not go aside from my commandments to the right hand or to the left'”.(Martin Luther, A treatise on good work PDF format page 27 to 28).

Martin Luther makes clear God’s instruction to focus on God’s Commandments as good works and nothing else. They are what we were made to do and they are how we are to live.

We can see this play out, especially in Women’s Ministry, over and over again. God’s instruction to women, to love husbands and children, be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to husbands is often seen as just tertiary, lower level good works, and can often be set aside in pursuit of the real good work that God has call us to do in our purpose/dream. And in it we dedicate our desires to God calling them “corban”, a service to God (Mark 7:11), instead of submitting our desires to God’s directed will given to us in Scripture. 

Jesus condemned neglecting God’s commands for traditions of men. This is why I believe we should understand what Scripture says good works are and how, it says, we please God.

Jesus tells us what we need to do to do the works of God and that is to believe in the One God has sent, Jesus Christ (John 6:28-29). For when we believe and trust in Christ we then have His teachings if we remain in Him (1John 2:27), and it is these teachings found in Scripture that train us and equip us for every good work (2Tim.3:16-17) and it all is rooted by faith in Christ.

Issue #6: Faith is in God bringing our purpose/dream to fulfillment instead of in His mercy and promises as given to us in Christ.

Outer works are hailed as good and needed yet there are no outer good works without that which makes works-good, faith. Faith is the chief work and  those striving for purpose and dreams neglect this foundational teaching. “You shall thank God with all your heart that he thus reveals to you your weakness, through which he daily teaches and admonishes you how much you need to exercise yourself and daily strengthen yourself in faith. For how many do you see who habitually pray, sing, read, work and seem to be great saints, and yet never gets so far as to know where they stand and respect of the chief work, faith; and so in their blindness they lead astray themselves and others; think they are very well off, and so unknowingly build on the sand of their works without any faith, not on God’s mercy and promise through a firm, pure faith.. no one knows what a great thing it is to trust God alone, except he who attempts it with his works.”(Martin Luther’s treaties on Good works PDF page 38).

Issue #7: God’s will and work though Providence

The final issue I have with this teaching is the lack of Providence. WHen our purpose is preached instead of Christ, it is preached as though God’s will is only accomplished by pursuing our dreams. So our purpose must be proclaimed so that God’s will on Earth will be done.”You are chosen by God for a particular purpose, and he promises to see it through to completion IF YOU’LL ONLY SAY YES to what he is whispering in your heart- and your heart alone ( Holly Gerth, You’re Made for a God sized dream pg 157)

 Instead, Woven tightly into the doctrine of vocation is the doctrine of Providence for without Providence vocation has no standing. Because it is understanding Providence in and through our vocations that teaches that our God provides and answers prayer through the service and works of others : “before you ate, you probably gave thanks to God for your food, as is fitting. He is caring for your physical needs, as with every other kind of need you have, preserving your life through his gifts. ‘he provides food for those who fear Him'(psalm 111: 5); also to those who do not fear him, ‘to all flesh'(136:25). And he does so by using other human beings. It is still God who is responsible for giving us our daily bread. Though he could give it to us directly, by a miraculous provision, as he once did for the children of Israel when he fed them daily with manna, God has chosen to work through human beings, who, in their different capacities and according to their different talents, serve each other. This is the doctrine of vocation.

To use another of Luther’s examples, God could have decided to populate the Earth by creating each new person from the dust, as he did Adam. Instead, he chose to create new life through the vocation of husbands and wives, fathers and mothers. God calls men and women together and grants them the unfathomable ability to have children. He calls people into families, in which-through the love and care of the parents-he extends his love and care for children. This is the doctrine of vocation”( Gene Edward Veith Jr., God at work, page 13-14).

“The truth is, God does indeed transcend his creation, but he also governs it. ‘he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything,’says the apostle paul. ‘he is not actually far from each one of us, ‘for in him we live and move and have our being'(acts 17:25, 27-28)”(Gene Edward Veith Jr. God at work pg. 26)

A look at how vocation plays out in the Bible: Romans 13:1-6-

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.  For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.  Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.  For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 

Notice in these verses that scripture says God is operative in human callings even in those who do not acknowledge Him. So we can see that “there is no authority” that God has not “instituted” and this can include other non-political and non-judicial authorities such as parents, teachers, church leaders, supervisors, and the like. Basically God calls people into their vocations in which they either honor the authority given to them by God by obeying his commands or dishonor, abuse, or transgress the authority given to them by God thereby  acting outside of their calling. Furthermore the Romans 13 passage describes those in authority as not only as servants but instruments of God, “agents of God’s wrath” against evil doers.

And just as the civil magistrate was instituted by God to provide  and execute justice, so does God provide other means through vocations such as healing through doctors and other occupations in the medical professions, training and teaching through parents and those in pedagogy and the educational field, our daily bread through those in the food industry, other supplies and needs as given by occupations such as carpentry, building and design, inventions and ideas, and many other professions that provide daily needs and activities, and, finally, God’s Word and sacraments through Church ministry. Our vocations are God at work through us.

While purpose driven dream doctrines say that God is at work through our individual specific dream or purpose, vocation says God is at work in the biggest and even the smallest of jobs, such as taking out the trash, washing dishes, changing diapers, paying bills, etc. And this is why vocation matters because the doctrine teaches that we love our neighbor through our works done in our vocation meaning that we can love and do good to our neighbor even in our homes, in our hobbies, or the most menial of jobs.

Conclusion:

These are just some of the issues I see with the very popular doctrine of Purpose and being given God-sized dreams. They are so very self focused, disguising our dreams and goals as our pursuit to bring Glory to God at the negligence of God’s very word and instruction into what pleases Him.

Gene Edward Veith Jr explains, I believe, why the doctrine of vocation trumps the purpose/dream doctrine beautifully: 1) based on Scripture, the doctrine of vocation encompasses and equips Christians in life, no matter the circumstance, because it is comprehensive: 

“It is odd that such a liberating, life enhancing doctrine has become all but forgotten in our time, passed over in our seminaries, sermons and Bible classes. But the doctrine of vocation makes up an important part of the spiritual heritage that contemporary Christians have, unfortunately, cut themselves off from and are in such great need of recovering. It is more than an understanding of work, more than the slogan that we should do all things for the glory of god, more than a vague theological platitude. The teachings on the subject by the old Reformation theologians are remarkably specific and realistic, giving practical guidance for how this doctrine can be lived out in the real, fallen world. But more than that, the doctrine of vocation amounts to a comprehensive doctrine of the Christian life, having to do with faith and sanctification, Grace and good works. It is a key to Christian ethics. It shows how Christians can influence their culture. It transfigures ordinary, everyday life with the presence of God.” (Gene Edward Veith Jr, God at work pg 16-17)

2) Based on Scripture, the doctrine of vocation emphasizes God’s hand in and through the means of each and every calling that God gives in life:

“What is distinctive about Luther’s approach is that instead of seeing vocation as a matter of what we should do-what we must do as a Christian worker or a Christian citizen or a Christian parent-Luther emphasizes what God does in and through our vocations. That is to say, for luther, vocation is not just a matter of law-though this is a part of vocation that neither Luther nor this book will neglect; rather, above all, vocation is a matter of gospel, a manifestation of God’s action, not our own. In this sense, vocation is not another burden placed upon us, something else to fail at, but a realm in which we can experience God’s love and grace both in the blessings we receive from others and in the way God is working through us despite our failures.

Luther goes so far as to say that vocation is a mask of God. That is, God hides himself in the workplace, the family, the church, and the seemingly secular society. To speak of God being hidden is a way of describing his presence, as when a child hiding in the room is there, just not seen. To realize that the mundane activities that take up most of our lives-going to work, taking the kids to soccer practice, picking up a few things at the store, going to church-are hiding places for God can be a revelation in itself. Most people seek God in mystical experiences, spectacular miracles, and extraordinary acts they have to do. To find him in vocation brings him literally down to earth, makes us see how close he really is to us, and transfigures everyday life. (Gene Edward Veith Jr God at work pg 23-24)

What a beautiful teaching, what a beautiful thought. And see the difference in who receives the glory? Vocation and good works as taught in the bible, is God’s work, not ours. Vocation and good works as taught in Scripture is a result of faith in Christ our Lord and Savior.

Vocation is the Holy Spirit in us,through our faith, producing the good works of God’s Commandments lived out in our daily lives.

And because of this, I pray that you, in faith, Glorify God in your daily tasks, serve and love your neighbor by washing dishes, respecting your husband, loving your children, working hard for your employer, buying groceries, sharing the gospel with others, thanking Our Lord for what he has given, worshipping and receiving from Him:r His word, his body and his blood in the gathering of His Church, and all the other activities that come day by day, week after week, month after month, till God takes you home. And I pray, in faith, you go to God in prayer and find Christ in Scripture… I pray that you are in His Word.

MelbaToast