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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | How to teach people to hear God's voice? | John 10:4 | DocTrinsograce | 137346 | ||
This is a metaphor. People don't literally hear the voice of Christ any more than they are literally sheep. God's speaks through the scriptures to the saved. Their salvation is evidenced by their obedience to the Word. | ||||||
2 | How to teach people to hear God's voice? | John 10:4 | JCrichton | 137371 | ||
Hi, Doc! So are you saying that God has no means of communicating with us? Are you saying that aside of Biblical Text God is mute? Are you saying that anyone who claims to have some communication from God is deluting him/herself or is making things up? Personal Experience: Some years back I was struggling with my Faith... things were going well on some aspects of life but I wanted more--and fast! I had resolved that there was no God! I could not find evidence that God existed outside of "Faith;" that is, God was what people deemed God to be--Christians the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; others whatever they called him/her... I was drowning! I did not want to read the Bible! I did not want to hear a man make a speech! Yet... I was questioning Jesus! I was asking for answers! I was asking for proof! ...for several years I traveled the same path to and from work... I basically met or saw the same people on a dialy basis--sometimes more than once since I left the office during the various breaks... not once did anyone ever addressed me other than the courteous greeting that New Yorkers give each other... sure the merchants are friendly, but, mostly, people go on their own business exchanging empty smiles and glances... It was not so on this particular day! There was this one guy who I'd often seen loading and unloading cleaning equiptment and suppies who out of the blue (we had never exchange a single word prior to that fateful day) said to me: "Jesus loves you." He did not say anything more! He did not know anything about my life or my thoughts! Yet, he knew to give me a reply which I needed to hear... I wanted to know from Jesus what was up! Jesus replied: "I love you!" There were no pamplets exchanged... there were no tracts inviting me to join some ministry! It was a simple: "I am working here: I love you!" Now, there is a limitless amount of possibilities for what transpired... this fellow could have been practicing a greeting that was required of him by his congregation... he could have been slacking in his duties and decided to connect with the very next person that walked by... he could have been clairvoyant... I could have been sending out psychic messages and he could have been one of those "specially receptive" minds... he could have been a member of my Church and noticed that I had been absence for a while... I rather err on the side of Christ: "The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." (John 6:63) How do we limit Scriture to textual expression? How do we limit God to communicate with man by our finite means? True, there is no formula for teaching people to hear God's calling... even Scripture is silent on how it was done, Jesus only said that those who went to Him could have done so only if the Father sent them... there was no Bible then... the Torah and other religious text were closely guarded by the Jews to the exclusion of all non-Jews and all non-authorized (secular) Jews... how did the Father communicate with the publicans, the average Jew, the sinner? ...these people did not have access to a personal Bible nor to partial Scriptural text! Am I saying that whenever someone gets up on a pulpit and claims that he/she is speaking for God because God told him/her "x" or "y" that that person's words are Scripture? Adamantly, no! What I am saying is that we have no authority on limiting how, when, and to whom God can or cannot communicate with! God does not need to drop us to our knees, as He did with Saul, in order for His communication with us to be valid... however, any claim that contradicts Scripture is judged by the Word and is made invalid! God Bless! Angel |
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3 | How to teach people to hear God's voice? | John 10:4 | DocTrinsograce | 137425 | ||
Angel, the passion you feel over this topic has caused you to stop thinking clearly. You have read much more into my post than warranted or intended. You have also covered a huge amount of territory in your own post. I just got out of the hospital a few days ago, so forgive me for my disinclination to respond at every point right now. However, 1. How does God communicate? No, God communicates with us in a variety of ways. The scripture, however, is "the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience." The Old Testament in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek are the only were "immediately inspired by God, and by his singular care and providence kept pure in all ages, are therefore authentic; so as in all controversies of religion, the church is finally to appeal to them." Furthermore, they are "the supreme judge, by which all controversies of religion are to be determined, and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits, are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are to rest, can be no other but the Holy Scripture delivered by the Spirit, into which Scripture so delivered, our faith is finally resolved." 2. Personal experience? Personal experience is less authoritative than the Word itself, no matter how certain an experience seems. This is because I am fallible, prone to error, and easily deceived. Experience bears this out. 3. Hearing God's calling? "Hearing God's calling" is a separate issue. This is also not an audible thing, but another metaphor. We experience God's calling when He grants us the ability to see Himself and ourselves in the correct light. This can only happen by His divine and sovereign will and action. It is the only way we can accurately attribute value to God and to our own fallen nature. 4. Authority to limit? We do not have the authority to limit God. However, God has the authority to limit Himself, which He has done, for our own good. "It pleased the Lord at sundry times and in divers manners to reveal Himself, and to declare that His will unto His church; and afterward for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan, and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which maketh the Holy Scriptures to be most necessary, those former ways of God's revealing his will unto his people being now ceased." 5. Dropping to our knees? Any correct understanding of scripture does exactly this. The Word can only be spiritually discerned. When it is properly understood, it drives us to our knees. This occurs in every way just as surely as Isaiah's experience in the temple, etc. I hope that this brief response helps to clarify the point. I further hope that my pain medications have not muddled my thinking too much and that I have accurately relayed the truth as best as I understand it. May God grant us even greater clarity as we submit to Him. In Him, Doc PS Regarding evaluating a claim: Brother EdB's tradition recognizes various supernatural communications from God. He has an incredibly sound and sensible set of Biblically based rules for validating such messages. Perhaps we can persuade him to post something on this here. This is a critical issue in our day, let us not be afraid to wrestle with it, regardless of our final theological points of view. |
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4 | How to teach people to hear God's voice? | John 10:4 | Hank | 137429 | ||
Doc - Last evening I posted what I thought was a hot-shot response to Angel's post, but it got eaten by cyber-space monsters and I fervently hoped it would give them acid reflux. I was too tired and too distressed by the voracious appetites of the post-eating demons to attempt to reconstruct the post. Now, having read yours, I'm grateful that mine got chewed up, for yours is by far the better response. ..... I'm sorry to hear of your hospitalization, Doc, and pray that you're much on the mend. Best regards, --Hank | ||||||
5 | How to teach people to hear God's voice? | John 10:4 | DocTrinsograce | 137447 | ||
Thank you, Hank... I really should have annotated everything, but the meds make me lazy... plus I worry that I'll be less kind or something. Thanks for your assurances. Post-eating demons? Sounds like a job for an e-exorcist! Should we contact Henny Bin? :-) |
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