Question #1: "I know a preacher who says that God talks to him and tells him what he should do. Should I expect God to talk to me to tell me what to do?”

Answer...
   If God were to speak to us directly today, we would, I suppose, say that what He says is important.

   God spoke directly to Moses. If God were to write with His finger His message, we would likewise say that is important. God wrote the 10 commandments on tablets of stone.

   But God also told Moses to write. God told His prophets to "write". Should not that also be important?

   Jesus tells us how important the Sacred Writings are. The Sacred Writings of O.T. Scriptures are pointed out by Jesus to be the Message He and others were to use to resist the devil with. [Subsequently, Jesus added the New Testament to the Sacred Writings (2 Tim. 3:16, 17)].

   Jesus is our example (I Pet. 2:21; I Cor.11:1). In the Judean wilderness, (Matthew 4:1-11) Jesus was face to face with the devil with His temptations. Three times Jesus answers the challenges or trials with "It is written".

   First, Jesus, by His example, teaches us to use the Scriptures when we are faced with the decisions of life.

    Matthew 4:3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (KJV)

   Jesus was beginning His public ministry. Was He to indulge in His desires, pleasures, and fleshly wants, or was He to follow God's will? Jesus' example shows us to use what is written for our decisions of life. The words translated "answered and said" are two thoughts. The word "answered" [apokrinomai] means "to conclude for oneself, that is, (by implication) to respond" (Strong's). Jesus, using the Scriptures, gave attention to the devil's remarks, and promptly He gave His reply to the devil.

   Second, when we are faced with an interpretation of Scripture and we want to know if that is a true interpretation of the Scriptures, do as Jesus did.

     Matthew 4:5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. (KJV)

   Jesus harmonized all Scriptures on that subject. The devil quoted Scripture. But his interpretation would have Jesus violating another Scripture. And Jesus told him so. Jesus' reply is "It is written AGAIN". Truth does not contradict itself. What do we learn from Jesus versus the devil in this confrontation? We should check and see if an interpretation given to us contradicts other Scripture. Put it all together; harmonize them and then you can believe and act.

   Third, Jesus used Scripture to tell how His worship and service was to be directed.

    Matthew 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

   Worship and service is not to be directed to the devil. Nor, to ourselves. But we are to direct our worship to God. "It is [so] written." People want to entertain themselves "in worship" instead of "worshipping God". It is, "what pleases me?" Not, what pleases God.

   How do we please God? The answer is found in what "is written". If we can't give book, chapter and verse for our worship and service to God, we are in trouble.

     In conclusion: Our lives should pattern that of Jesus in responding to the challenges of life.

  1. Our decisions must be based on what "is written". Ponder over God's Will in the respective matters, decide what God would have us do, and follow that course.
  2. Our interpretation of Scripture must harmonize with all passages on the subject. Make our conclusions based on all that is written.
  3. Our worship must be based on "it is written". And all of our service to God must be Scripture based.
- Gaylon West, an elder, Auburndale, FL.




 

Question #2: Does God talk to us directly in addition to the Bible?

Answer...
I believe the following article answer this directly:

Problems with Direct Revelations

(Selections from “The Danger of Latter-Day Revelations” by Alan E. Highers , The Spiritual Sword, Vol. 38: April 2007, No. 3, pp.39f.)

1. When the apostles of Christ received direct revelations, they were able to confirm them by miracles [supernatural signs--gw]. Paul stated that the gospel which he preached came "by the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Gal. 1:12). He told the Corinthians that "the signs of an apostle were wrought among you" (II Cor. 12:12). When men claim direct testimony today from the Holy Spirit, all we have is their ipse dixit. Their own testimony is insufficient because individuals claiming direct revelation often contradict one another.

2. The Bible says the same thing now that it said before. Whatever rev­elation one claims, it does not change what the scriptures teach. The claimant had the same Bible before the alleged revelation that he had af­terwards. The same truth was available to such a person both before and after. A latter-day revelation cannot change what the scriptures teach. In truth and fact, the very claim of direct revelation from God is contrary to the scriptures because the faith was "once delivered unto the saints" Jude 3). The ASV says "once for all delivered unto the saints."

3. Any message claimed from a direct revelation would be suspicious. If it reveals something contrary to the Bible, it is false because God's word is truth (John 17:17). If it reveals something in addition to the Bible, it violates the prohibition of scripture about adding to or taking from what God has revealed (Deut. 4:2; 12:2; Rev. 22:18-19). If it reveals only what the Bible says, it is unnecessary because we have the Bible.

4. More often than not, an individual who claims the Holy Spirit has spoken to him wants to promote and advance a doctrine that he cannot find in the scriptures. There ordinarily would be no need to claim direct insight from the Holy Spirit if one could simply open his Bible and show what he is trying to prove.

5. Once a person has claimed to receive something by direct revelation, he invariably tries to prove it by the scriptures. Rick Atchley claims that he already believed instrumental music was acceptable when he re­ceived his revelation from the Holy Spirit, but his alleged revelation would have corroborated his belief and motivated him, eventually, into proclaiming it.

 

Examples of the Danger

According to their church manual, the United Pentecostal Church received a revelation in 1914 about the Godhead and baptism in the name of Jesus only. They believe and teach that it is wrong to baptize in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. They say that after they received a revelation, the Bible became a new book. They have participated in countless sermons, radio messages, books, and debates in defense of their view. What they claim to have received by direct revelation, they now purport to defend by the scriptures. But the scriptures say the same now as before their revelation. It is simply a char­acteristic of those who claim a direct revelation that they then seek bibli­cal justification of what they assert they received by revelation.

About 1847, Ellen G. White had a vision regarding the Sabbath. She was taken into the holy of holies in the heavenly sanctuary where she saw the ark, the Ten Commandments, and a halo of gold around the Sabbath commandment. Sabbath-keeping and observance of the seventh day of the week became a doctrine in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Yet, if one discusses this matter with Adventists, every attempt is made to demonstrate from the scriptures that the Sabbath is the scrip­tural day of worship. What began as a vision-a revelation from God­ended up as a contention allegedly based on scriptural teaching.

It has been my observation [Highers--gw] that one who claims a divine revelation can rarely be convinced otherwise. The alleged recipient of the vision, reve­lation, or wee small voice will almost without fail defend the illumina­tion by offering scriptural proofs. But, in almost no event will such an one ever concede that he or she did not hear the voice of the Holy Spirit or that the teaching is in error.