Featured Have you heard the voice of God? Or, if He talks, what ways do you hear Him?

Actually you are in error here as I do hear from God everyday as I read His Word

 

Yeah thats because no one has. I am not saying that anyone has. I was actually staying the opposite that no one puts their writings on the same level as Scripture.

Which is why I didn't say anyone did. I was saying that I also enjoy reading dead theologians, they have good insight.

As I said before I do hear from God every time I open His Word and read it. I do find it instresting that those of us defending the Suffiency of Scripture are the ones accused of not hearing from God even though we say that God speaks through His Word.

That was not my intent as I was just trying to explain the history of the reformers battle cry. Not to mention I have intimate times with His every time I open the Bible and read it.

Well I was asked way back in post 27 how I knew that CJ Mahaney's words were not Scripture. I will have to double check the TOS as far as what you said should be reported. What derogatory alignment have I made?

I actually have no problem with the definition you posted and as far as I am concerned am well within the historical norms of the battle cry. How do you think I am expanding it?

As I just said I don't have a problem with the definition and as far as I am concerned I am with it it.

What enlargements?

 

Jerome,

Good sermon Jerome as CHS speaks of the elect hearing of God's electing Covenant love...
from the same sermon;

 

Oh, blessedwife318. You rely upon Romans 10.

So what then do you do with Romans 1:20? (NIV)

"For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."

...translated, this means that way back in 1386 some guy woke up one morning is the deepest and darkest part of Africa, gazed out over his domain and just came to realize there is a higher power.

Did he get saved at that point or did he die and currently in hell?

 

You are correct, blessedwife318, it was inappropriate for me suggest that you don't hear from God everyday because it is evident that you read His word, know (more than the typical pew sitter) His word, and rely upon His word and the enlightenment of His word by the Holy Spirit.

In my zeal, I enlarged where I should have been far more attentive.

 

General revelation is not enough to save anyone, it is enough to condemn everyone.

Here is a bit of context around your proof text.


Romans 1:18-23

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,[g] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.



There no salvation apart from Jesus Christ.

Acts 4:11-12
11 This Jesus[a] is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men[c] by which we must be saved.”

That is why we need to be telling people the Gospel.

 

Its ok, passions can run deep on subjects such as this.

 

Enough of the nonsense already!

...God, according to Blessedwife318 is a bit more than I can handle.

 

In reading over many of the posts this morning, it seemed to me that the experiences of those who have heard (be it in an audible sense, or some other impulse) was being seen as not relying upon Scriptures as the final authority and in some manner considered by some as placing such above that of Scriptures. And hence the cry, "Sola Scriptures" was made.

However, if that was not the intent, but the emphasis was to help the reader and remind the reader of the preeminence of the Scriptures that should dominate every aspect of the believer, then some of what I wrote was wrongly designed and would be inconsistent with the intentions of those posts.

Thank you for clarifying. It was most helpful.

That is certainly a joy to read. I, too, delight in His word. More than once, when interrupted by the press of the day, such interruption has distracted and silenced the fellowship of that time. What sadness it is that immediacy can demand we wait no longer on the Lord, and must attend to the temporal.

There is this sense when I read the thread that you were placing all communication by God to believers as only through the Scriptures. That any communication outside (extra) the Scriptures was wrong, and those that had such were in violation of the Sola Scriptura doctrine.

You (and another) added the words "ONLY" to the word final and that is misrepresenting "Sola Scriptura."

The Bible does not contain all answers to all matters involving humankind. However, The Scriptures ARE the final authority of all matters involving humankind, but one should consider that the Scriptures are not exclusive for They are not exhaustive.

There are matters the Scriptures do not address that God will not be silent about with the seeking believer.

The believer is to live by the principles of the Scriptures, and there is no communication from God that would ever violate those principles He established.

The mistake (imo) that modern pew sitters have is not knowing the Scriptures to the point of being able to challenge the "spirit" (John's work on discerning) and to judge if the preaching / teaching is correct (Paul's work on discerning).

By adding "only" to the definition it became expanded.

But then you did state:

So, either God does "speak" by answering prayer, or He ONLY speaks through the Scriptures. Which is it that you actually hold?

I hold that God will never give any message that is contrary to the Scriptures, but that God can and does communicate as He desires to Humankind.

I quote from the statement I made on Sola Scriptura:

 

So I quote the Bible and it is more then you can handle. That speaks volumes.

 

But the Scripure is our Only Authority for faith and practice. You seem to be ignoring the faith and practice part. Of course it's not the only authority on physics and no one claims it is. But when it comes to what we are to Believe and how we are to Live the Bible is the only authority. That's because it is objectives and is not subjective like an experience, thought, feelings, etc are.

As far as the prayer thing as I said most prayer request are for action so maybe the more accurate way of saying it is that God moves in either having something happens or not having it happen.

The canon is closed. There is no more extra Biblical revelation. It is the Word of God that works in people's lives. It is the Word of God we should be directing people to, for growth and understanding, not mystical experience that are subjective.

 

"But the Lord has a way of sometimes speaking to the heart by His Spirit—I think not usually apart from His Word—but yet there are feelings and emotions, tenderness and trembling, joys and delights which we cannot quite link with any special portion of Scripture laid home to the heart, but which seem to steal upon us unawares by the direct operation of the Spirit of God upon the heart. You who know the Lord must sometimes have felt a strange delight which had no earthly origin. . . .I think we are not half as mindful as we ought to be of the secret working of the Holy Spirit upon the mind. There are certain fanatics who get delirious and dream that they are prophets, and I know not what. But we just put them to the side. This is a very different thing from being guided by the Spirit of God in all the actions of life so as to obey the will of the Lord. . . .One may be a child of God, like Eli, and yet so live that God will not speak with Him. And, on the other hand, one may be a child like Samuel—obedient, beautiful in character and watchful to know God’s will, praying, “Speak, Lord; for Your servant hears”—and then God will speak to you. It is not to all that He speaks, but He would speak to all if they were ready to learn what He had to say." —Charles Spurgeon, "Speak, Lord!"

 

HAMel
Hello Hamel,

We should believe it with understanding.

yes....and he quickly made an idol that does what he wanted the idol to do;

Psalm 115King James Version (KJV)

115 Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.

2 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?

3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.

5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:

6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:

7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.

8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

9 O Israel, trust thou in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.

10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.

11 Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.

12 The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.

13 He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great.

14 The Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your children.

15 Ye are blessed of the Lord which made heaven and earth.

16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.

17 The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.

18 But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the Lord.

he perished in unbelief

 

[RegaardingHearing From God]..."Retire from the world each day to some private spot. Stay in the secret place till the surrounding noises begin to fade out of your heart and a sense of God’s presence envelops you. Deliberately tune out the unpleasant sounds and come out of your closet determined not to hear them. Listen for the inward voice till you learn to recognize it." ~A.W. Tozer

 

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.
Psalm 19:1-2 NIV

Does God speak to us through nature? I say yes.

Sent from my Motorola Droid Turbo using Tapatalk.

 

No one denies general revelation and as Romans 1 makes clear it is enough to condemn every single person, but it is not enough to save a single person. General revelation does not tells us what to believe and how to live, Only the Bible does that. Only the Bible is Sufficient for Faith and Practice.

 

I can agree with that. But the thread title was
If He talks, what ways do you hear Him?

I'm not going to trawl back through the thread but it seems to me that you were arguing that the only way someone can hear from God was through the scripture.

 

General revelation points to God, I wound not consider it hearing from God. Reading or listening to the Bible is how we hear from God.

 

Should anyone believe that A.W. Tozer and Charles Spurgeon have attacked the doctrine of Sola Scriptura?

 

...the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;

You read these verses and you contend that is not hearing from God?