Does God Speak Today?

http://www.reformingchurches.org/blog/archive/solascriptura

How does God speak today? How should you go about discerning His voice? How should the church decide what to believe, teach, and promote regarding God, His Son and the gospel of Jesus Christ? How should believers seek God’s direction regarding the important issues of their lives? In what ways should we settle disputes that arise about church believe and practice? Are our beliefs and practices based on our experiences plus scripture, the private revelations from people who say they’ve heard directly from God plus the scripture or on scripture alone? This is crucial because churches, families and individuals will pursue their relationship with God based on something. We’ll submit to the guidance of our own experiences, a pastor/guru or the scriptures.

The reformers faced similar issues in their struggle against the Roman Catholic Church. From Rome’s perspective scripture along with church councils along with the pope when he spoke ‘ex-cathedra’ were all authoritative and binding for God’s people. The reformers replied that scripture and scripture alone was the rule of faith, belief and practice for God’s church and God’s people. To this end we agree with the Cambridge Declaration of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals: We reaffirm the inerrant Scripture to be the sole source of written divine revelation, which alone can bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured.

Why are we convinced that scripture alone is the only rule for faith, belief and practice for the church and its members? We believe it because the holy scripture is the inerrant, God-breathed word of God. It is the revelation of the living God and thus in and of itself all we need to know, serve, follow, obey, delight in, love and believe in Him. As 2 Tim 3:16 reads ‘All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness’.
It is therefore scripture alone, not our experience or the so-called revelations of others that can bind our conscience with respect to the things of God. No man or woman can dictate or dominate the walk of a believer simply on the basis of his or her position or private revelation.

Following the measure of scripture alone liberates us from depending on charismatic people who claim to ‘speak a word into our lives’ in order to know the will of God. All that we need to know about God’s will, walking before Him in holiness and following our Lord Jesus faithfully is found in His word. Pastors and teachers are charged with preaching and teaching the scriptures. That means that we are responsible to study, explain and apply what scripture says concerning the Covenant Lord and our relation to Him. Our appeal to God’s people regarding the way they think, speak and live to glorify God must be based solely on what scripture says. If we’re wrong and a change must be made, then let that change come about through the prayerful study of scripture.

What is true about individual believers is also true about the Lord’s church. What we teach, preach, believe, preserve and promote regarding God, mankind, sin, salvation, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the church etc. must arise from and be based on our study of scripture. The church never, ever decides to adopt a new belief, practice or doctrine because some man insists he’s got a fresh revelation from God. Belief in scripture alone means that for us God has spoken authoritatively, clearly, sufficiently and finally. Any and everything we need to know in order to serve, witness of, and live before our Covenant Lord in 21st century America has already been revealed, written and preserved in holy scripture.

Do we believe that God still speaks today? Yes we do. Whenever one of His people read, reflect on, think through, hear or study His word our God speaks loud and clear.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Heb. 4:12 (ESV)
For Christ, His Church and the Truth
Lance Lewis

What up Expo?

This apparently became a hot topic in the HCR forum. No doubt, the Word is more than enough to know God's mindset concerning doctrine and intstuction. What I was trying to get people to understand is that I was not talking about revelational knowledge like WOF does. That's heresy, because it concerns pushing and adding new doctrine that does not appear nor is backed by Scripture. What I was referring to was God's guidance on everday issues, even mundane issues, like whether my wife and I should look to buy a house or wait and save our money,or knowing what type of temperament my son would have before he was born, and how I should specifically train him up. Or better yet, whether tomorrow or the next day is a better time to approach my brother about a grievance I have with him. I don't know about other cats, but I wasn't saying to look outside of Scripture to know God's standard for doctrine and instruction, but to seek God concerning specific issues in my life that the Bible doesn't address specifically. Through prayer and waiting on God's answer, I believe thru the Spirit(who will always operate and speak according to the Word, since it Jesus who sent the Comforter and said the Spirit will teach us all things). He can speak to us on specific matters we face todayas well matters which are addressed in the Word. Also, Job 33:14 -30 says "For God does speak -one way or another - though man my not perceive it." In light of this, I can understand how some people can't fathom God speaking today thru visions, warnings, and ministering angels as well as the Word, because all these forms of communication - if they are coming from God - would be God-breathed just as much as the Word, and thus would not conflict with it. So indeed, God's people know His voice, and it's by knowing the Word that we know what is and is not his voice.

So my perspective(again, I can only speak for myself) isn't one where I'm looking to another man or another source for guidance. Matter of fact, I figure since I can go to God myself, why wait on someone else for guidance, unless the Lord is directing me to speak with someone in particular on something. I want to God's counsel on every little aspect of my life, and only His. If he doesn't tell me, or unless He inspires me to do something, I won't know, and if I do go without His counsel, I'm bound to fail sooner or later. He gave me guidance during a trying time at church where the leadership was faltering(due to issues in their marriage), and let me know the church was going to close down one way or another(which it did a month after He informed me it would), and gave me guidance on speaking to my old pastor, telling him he needs to focus on his marriage more than trying to keep a sinking ship of a church afloat, a message that clearly coincides with 1 Timothy 3:5( "If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?"). The Word clearly states my old pastor needed to see to his house before God's house, but I was unlcear whether it was my place to remind Him of that, or it was for another pastor or elder to tell him(I was a deacon at the time). I couldn't find Scripture at the time to determine that(not saying there wasn't Scripture to help me with that, there may very well could be, I just didn't find it at the time) If the Lord never told me to tell him this personally, I never would have said anything to the man.


That's all I'm saying. It's not an attack on Scripture to say God can and does speak in many ways, because if God does speak, He only speaks according to the Word, for that is His will. And the Spirit teaches according to the Word, so any message the Spirit imparts on us would definitely be Scriptural, whether it's verbatim or not, for He would only convey a message that is backed by the Word. That's all I'm saying. I know some will probably disagree, and I feel perhaps we'll just have to disagree on this, but I understand and respect the reasons as to why they would, so I'll leave it alone after this. I just wanted to state where I was coming from and dispel any wrong about my reasons for what I believe. So if you see no response from me on this, please don't take it to mean I'm igging you guys. I just choose not to do battle on such subjects with my brothers, if we disagree we disagree, and the truth will win out eventually. But I love y'all, and the board looks great. Peace.


P.S.: Hopefully it doesn't get to the point where the theo boards get discontinued in here!

souljah77 wrote:

What up Expo?

This apparently became a hot topic in the HCR forum. No doubt, the Word is more than enough to know God's mindset concerning doctrine and intstuction. What I was trying to get people to understand is that I was not talking about revelational knowledge like WOF does. That's heresy, because it concerns pushing and adding new doctrine that does not appear nor is backed by Scripture. What I was referring to was God's guidance on everday issues, even mundane issues, like whether my wife and I should look to buy a house or wait and save our money,or knowing what type of temperament my son would have before he was born, and how I should specifically train him up. Or better yet, whether tomorrow or the next day is a better time to approach my brother about a grievance I have with him. I don't know about other cats, but I wasn't saying to look outside of Scripture to know God's standard for doctrine and instruction, but to seek God concerning specific issues in my life that the Bible doesn't address specifically. Through prayer and waiting on God's answer, I believe thru the Spirit(who will always operate and speak according to the Word, since it Jesus who sent the Comforter and said the Spirit will teach us all things). He can speak to us on specific matters we face todayas well matters which are addressed in the Word. Also, Job 33:14 -30 says "For God does speak -one way or another - though man my not perceive it." In light of this, I can understand how some people can't fathom God speaking today thru visions, warnings, and ministering angels as well as the Word, because all these forms of communication - if they are coming from God - would be God-breathed just as much as the Word, and thus would not conflict with it. So indeed, God's people know His voice, and it's by knowing the Word that we know what is and is not his voice.

So my perspective(again, I can only speak for myself) isn't one where I'm looking to another man or another source for guidance. Matter of fact, I figure since I can go to God myself, why wait on someone else for guidance, unless the Lord is directing me to speak with someone in particular on something. I want to God's counsel on every little aspect of my life, and only His. If he doesn't tell me, or unless He inspires me to do something, I won't know, and if I do go without His counsel, I'm bound to fail sooner or later. He gave me guidance during a trying time at church where the leadership was faltering(due to issues in their marriage), and let me know the church was going to close down one way or another(which it did a month after He informed me it would), and gave me guidance on speaking to my old pastor, telling him he needs to focus on his marriage more than trying to keep a sinking ship of a church afloat, a message that clearly coincides with 1 Timothy 3:5( "If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?"). The Word clearly states my old pastor needed to see to his house before God's house, but I was unlcear whether it was my place to remind Him of that, or it was for another pastor or elder to tell him(I was a deacon at the time). I couldn't find Scripture at the time to determine that(not saying there wasn't Scripture to help me with that, there may very well could be, I just didn't find it at the time) If the Lord never told me to tell him this personally, I never would have said anything to the man.


That's all I'm saying. It's not an attack on Scripture to say God can and does speak in many ways, because if God does speak, He only speaks according to the Word, for that is His will. And the Spirit teaches according to the Word, so any message the Spirit imparts on us would definitely be Scriptural, whether it's verbatim or not, for He would only convey a message that is backed by the Word. That's all I'm saying. I know some will probably disagree, and I feel perhaps we'll just have to disagree on this, but I understand and respect the reasons as to why they would, so I'll leave it alone after this. I just wanted to state where I was coming from and dispel any wrong about my reasons for what I believe. So if you see no response from me on this, please don't take it to mean I'm igging you guys. I just choose not to do battle on such subjects with my brothers, if we disagree we disagree, and the truth will win out eventually. But I love y'all, and the board looks great. Peace.


P.S.: Hopefully it doesn't get to the point where the theo boards get discontinued in here!

Nah, that won't happen. This is my board and I aim to keep this board very civil and Christ-like. If people can't handle that, they will either be banned or asked to leave.

Didn't get a chance to really dig into your post yet, but I'm glad to see you over here, bro. I pray that this will be a place of edification for you, brother.

No doubt, thanks man.