God Told Me...

Pastor Bill Farrow

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  How many times have I heard this from people. So many people have the idea that God speaks to them in ways that do not directly involve His Word. This is not limited to just charismatic Christians either, though they are certainly among the worst offenders. Many believers from all Theological stripes should be numbered among the offenders because many, many take the same attitude even if they would never say those words out loud.

I must confess that, though I am confident of my position on the matter, humility often makes me wonder if there might not be some sense to the other side's position. At times like this it is important to remember what the entire debate is actually about. It is about authority. Who or what is it that determines what it is that God has said? In our quieter moments, we will all agree that it is important that we all be right about what we think God says. In other words, it is important that God actually have said what we perceive Him to have said.

This is not a question of small import. We must understand that God does not speak frivolously. If every word that men speak is important enough to give account for, then certainly God's words are significant as well. If indeed God speaks then His Words are important. Because God is the ultimate authority then His Words carry that authority as well.

This is very important. God's words must never be dismissed or disregarded. Because we are talking about the words of the ultimate authority, those words are binding or all who are under that authority, namely, every human being! There is no record in the Scripture of God speaking in such a way as to be binding on one person and not on another. There is no record of God speaking privately to some and not to others. In fact, the opposite seems seems to be true. Anywhere in the Bible where God speaks, even privately, it is always binding on all men.

All of that is to say this, if God indeed speaks in the fashion that many would wish us to believe, then what He is saying is important. Here is the important port...all of it is important. Every time He speaks and everything He says is important to each and every believer. This is a fundamental problem with private communication from God. Ultimately it makes me the one who determines not only what God has said, but who He intended the message to be for.

It also puts men into a terribly tempting position with regard to the opportunity to use the ''thus saith the Lord" wrongly. It is important to remember that the OT prophet didn't get to be wrong even one time. He had to be right each and every time he spoke for God. Why is it that we think so differently now?

The biggest part of the problem is the problem of authority. God and His Word is not really our authority. We are our own authority. For most believers, it is not what God HAS said but rather what I feel like He has said that is what is most important. Obviously this is a major problem.