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Discerning the Voice of God
By Chris Esty
When I was new to the faith I had had an encounter with a professed Christian who criticized me for some of the things that I believe about God. I tried to share scripture with her to show her that her criticism of my beliefs was unwarranted by the Bible; but then she snapped at me and told me something that was quite shocking to me! She informed me that she didn’t need the Bible, because she could hear the voice of God speaking to her. Now, I wasn't so much shocked that she would say she could hear the voice of God as I do believe it is possible for God to speak to us in this way. What was shocking to me was that she—a Christian—had said that she didn't need the Bible. In fact, that comment led me to conclude that she really wasn’t listening to the voice of God, but to something else that was claiming to be God. Having been new to the faith, I really didn’t know what to say to her at that point. And to make matters worse she became hostile towards me. Eventually, I just decided that it would be best to end the dialog, because she was just simply being mean and I didn’t want any part of it. But now that I look back on that experience I can’t help but pity her for having been so deceived. After all, how is it that when the inspired writers of the New Testament borrowed heavily from Old Testament Scriptures to inculcate their ideas, she was claiming to have direct contact with God, and didn’t need to read the Bible? Surely, if the prophets of the Bible had spent a great deal of time studying the Holy Scriptures, shouldn’t she do the same? Would she dare say that she had more of the Holy Spirit than those who wrote the books and letters that are in the Bible? She might try to make that argument, but even Jesus quoted from the Scriptures on many occasions when He sought to make a point. And if He had felt the need to use them, how much more should we do the same? The bottom line here is that it is likely that it wasn’t God who spoke to her. For, if it were, I am sure He would have said something similar to this: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV) Unfortunately, there are a number of professed Christians who think like her. My question to them is how do you know the voice that you hear is God’s voice and not some impostor? Unless you study the Holy Scriptures you won’t know the difference when it comes to discerning the voice of God from that of an imposter; nor will you know the difference between the true gospel of Jesus Christ and a cheap gospel that is not in agreement with the truth as it is in Jesus. Keep in mind that there is a reason why the New Testament is filled with many references to the Old Testament. It is because the writers of it wanted to emphasize the point that they ought to be regarded as important because they testify of Jesus Christ and the teachings that He lived by and expects us to uphold as sacred. Moreover, they are important because they open our eyes to the truths that are necessary for our knowledge to discern evil, and thus safeguard us from the wiles of Satan who is capable of appearing as “an angel of light” (2Cor. 11:14). Therefore, don’t blindly assume that you hear God speaking to you without taking what you hear to the
Bible for examination; instead, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV) And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free from the deceptive influences of the evil one!
This intel first appeared on: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1312813
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This intel was contributed by cvdesty
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May, 2012
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