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NASB | Psalm 119:105 ¶ Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Psalm 119:105 ¶ Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. [Prov 6:23] |
Bible Question:
Claiming to receive personal messages from God on a regular basis places subjective experience on the same level as Scripture. "A Private Hot Line to God?" by Gregory Koukl 'Does God talk to you personally? Would you bet your life on it? Claiming to receive personal messages from God on a regular basis places subjective experience on the same level as Scripture, Greg argues. This is the claim of a prophet, and not even Old Testament prophets did so unless they were willing to die for the claim. 'I've made what I think is a telling observation about those who hold to a dual source of special revelation. Whenever an organization says, "We believe the Bible is inspired plus we believe our leadership is inspired," or "We believe the Bible is inspired plus we believe this other book of ours" (like the Book of Mormon, for example) "is inspired," the Bible always ends up taking the back seat instead of being on equal footing with these other sources of special revelation. 'I think most Christians will be comfortable with that assessment. This, though, raises a question about Evangelical claims to multiple sources of special revelation. For all our talk about sola Scriptura, many also hold that God speaks to them on a regular basis giving true information about Himself and specific directions for their lives. Their claim is, essentially, "I believe the Bible is a bona fide source of information and the Spirit also gives private information directly to me." The second step frequently follows the first: The personal, subjective sense of what a person thinks God is telling him trumps the objective Scripture. 'I was teaching from the Bible recently in a large Evangelical church here in Southern California, and I was publicly opposed by a woman who challenged my view not on the basis of a better interpretation of Scripture (she completely ignored my exegesis), but on the basis of what she was convinced the Holy Spirit had told her. She called me a heretic and said I was sinning because I was "analyzing and dissecting the Bible" instead of letting the Holy Spirit speak to me. My view was merely "man's interpretation." You'd be amazed at how often I run into that kind of response by otherwise orthodox Christians. 'Note that I have a very robust doctrine of the Holy Spirit. I'm charismatic in that I believe in the perpetuity of spiritual gifts and in energetic worship. The real question is-- and this is vital-- Are we justified in claiming that our personal, private, first-person, subjective experiences give us authoritative knowledge about God, or about what God wants us to do? 'If a woman said, "God told me to marry this man," that wouldn't be contrary to Scripture unless he was a non-Christian or already married. Even if he was a Christian, though, the statement begs a different question: Does Scripture give us the liberty to assign the authority of divine fiat to our subjective experiences? 'My answer is nowhere does the Bible give us that liberty. It does not enjoin us to assess our feelings and then judge whether they are a manifestation of the voice of God or not.' ____________________ This is an excerpt from the article. To read more go to: ID# 85421 at this website (StudyBibleForum) and/or: (http://www.str.org/free/commentaries/life/aprivate.htm). |
Bible Answer: Radioman, I have a question.. Gregory Koukl said: "'Note that I have a very robust doctrine of the Holy Spirit. I'm charismatic in that I believe in the perpetuity of spiritual gifts and in energetic worship. The real question is-- and this is vital-- Are we justified in claiming that our personal, private, first-person, subjective experiences give us authoritative knowledge about God, or about what God wants us to do?" Scripture speaks in regard to Spiritual gifts: 1 Corinthians 12:8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: The gift of the word of knowledge is a revelatory gift. It is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit (God) speaking to somenone revealing something to them regarding someone or some situation. Also the gift of prophesy is a revelatory gift which is to 'reveal' a word or message from God. The gift of 'interpretation' is also revelatory. If we believe the gifts are still active today in the body of Christ, then what do you suppose Gregory Koukl meant when he concluded with,"'My answer is nowhere does the Bible give us that liberty. It does not enjoin us to assess our feelings and then judge whether they are a manifestation of the voice of God or not.'" I believe he is attempting to warn us to not be led by feelings, but the fact is believers are constantly learning to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit. And since Jesus used the word 'voice' when He said, "My sheep shall know(recognize) My voice.." Scripture does indeed tell us to obey the Spirit and if the Spirit says speak, we must speak and acknowledge it is from God. Gregory asks, "The real question is-- and this is vital-- Are we justified in claiming that our personal, private, first-person, subjective experiences give us authoritative knowledge about God, or about what God wants us to do? My response, We are justified to make this claim if the Holy Spirit has directed us. In light of Romans 8 verse 14 we the SONS are led by the Spirit. I would say that this scripture alone gives the sons of God the justification to say "God spoke to me and directed me to..." or "God is leading me to do...". To anyone who knows they have 'heard' the word 'spoke' is an accurate description. Romans 8:14 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. KJV 14 14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. NAS The prophesy, the word of knowledge, any word from God to a believer must be subject to SCRIPTURE. Anyone who says otherwise is either very young in the Lord (and the Lord will discipline His own)or an emmisary from Satan sent to sow discord and deception in the body of Christ. God bless God bless |