What Are Your Speculations Now?

Michael Faraday (pioneer of electromagnetism, the farad is named after him) was on his deathbed when his associates asked him this question. Faraday responded that he had no speculations, only certainties. "For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him..." (2 Tim. 1:12). When our faith and hope is in the Word of God it is rock solid and on a firm foundation. It isn't what you know but who you know that matters and we can know God. It isn't the amount of faith that saves but the direction of the faith that matters. God is not looking for perfect faith but unfeigned and sincere faith. Sincerity does count, though we are not saved by sincerity alone.

True saving faith results in obedience and fruitful life, but not necessarily automatic, instantaneous, permanent assurance (it is sometimes intermittent or off and on). We grow in our faith and go from faith to faith.

God does want us to "know" that we are saved according to 1 John 5:13 and that is precisely why John wrote the epistle. Our faith is to be based on the Word of God coupled with the testimony of the Holy Spirit. (Cf. Rom. 8:16 says, "The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the sons of God.") We must examine our own fruit and search our own hearts to see if Christ dwells there--be fruit inspectors. Knowing that we are saved is not only commanded in 2 Pet. 1:10 but a boon to our well being and it enhances our sanctification so that we can go on to maturity.

Let us not waver in our faith or vacillate in our assurance, but be faithful to the light God has given us according to the faith He has bestowed on us. Our assurance is in accordance to our righteousness per Isa. 32:17, and if we are living in sin God does take away assurance, and we are in a sort of limbo or denial while we undergo divine discipline.   Soli Deo Gloria!

O Ye Of Little Faith!

NB:  He said "little faith" not "no faith."

Why did you doubt? This was the question Jesus asked Peter. Faith is a gift from God and we are to measure ourselves according to the faith God has given us (Rom 12:3). We are not to boast of our strong faith. It is not how much faith we have that gets us saved, but in the object of the faith, God has given us--our faith is given, not achieved. Faith comes by the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). If faith were knowledge, we would be saved by knowledge. For salvation, we don't "think so" or "know so" but "believe so." God wants us to "know" in a biblical sense, basing our faith on the Word of God and not experience. John writes in 1 John that he wants his readers to "know" they are saved. "I write these things to you who believe in the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13). God doesn't require perfect faith but sincere and unfeigned faith  (cf. 1 Tim. 1:5; 2 Tim. 1:5).

The "believers" who Christ disowns in Mat 7:21 are those who placed their faith in their deeds, not in Christ. "Did we not prophesy in your name?" People that say they know, that they know, that they know, are basing their "knowledge" on experience and their walk with Christ. Let us not confuse our walk and our salvation or our justification with our sanctification. Faith is indeed having assurance, but doubt is an element of faith not the opposite of it. "I believe, help thou mine unbelief," (cf. Mark 9:24)."

I have doubted my salvation in the past but I never doubted the person and work of Christ or the conviction of my sins and the truth of the gospel message itself, and I would not say I have become a Christian only recently because of my renewed faith. Assurance comes from righteousness according to Isa. 32:17. The closer we walk with Christ, the more assured we become and our faith grows. We go from faith to faith per Rom. 1:17.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Joining the Club of Those That Are Sure

I get asked quite often how sure I am of my salvation. Usually, the Inquirer says he is 110 percent sure (how can you be more than sure?) and has even heard God speak to him that enhances his certitude. Roman Catholics don't believe you have a right to be sure of your salvation, which is the sin of presumption unless you have received a divine revelation to that effect. Most Catholics are unsure and think they are headed for purgatory. God wants us to be sure and admonishes us in 2 Pet 1:10 to make sure of our election. It is a boon to our walk to be sure of a state of grace. Many believers go by feelings and as soon as they feel unsaved they doubt their salvation. This is because they are failing to take God at His Word or are ignorant of the Scriptures. According to theologian R. C. Sproul, assurance is not an automatic fruit of salvation: many true brethren doubt their salvation or lack credible biblical confirmation.

We are to base our assurance on the Word of God, not our experiences or feelings. We should take a verse like John 6:37 which says, "He that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out" and use it as our "spiritual birth certificate." Another good verse is John 1:12: ": As many as received Him, gave He the right to become the children of God, even to those who believe in His name." This is an impartial assurance that puts the ball in God's court. He has something to lose (His integrity) if we don't get saved. I like what Paul said to Timothy (cf. 2 Tim. 1:12): "For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day."

You can't be 110 percent sure because by definition 100 percent is being as sure as you can get. You don't want to just say I think I'm a Christian, but I know I am a Christian. Not "I hope so," but "I know so." As far as assurance goes, there are plenty of people who have a false assurance that they're going to heaven and they won't go there. There are many Christians who need to be reassured, and the way to do it is to enlighten them to the Word of God.

True assurance is based on the Word of God coupled with the testimony of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 1:16 says, "For the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God"). We must individually examine our own fruit and the condition of our own heart to see if it is consistent with the Word of God. It takes the work of the Holy Spirit to produce a genuine love for Jesus, and this is a prime example of fruit. In summary, it is unbiblical to ask someone how sure they are of their salvation, but do they have assurance period. Faith grows and doubt is an element of faith, not the opposite of it.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Unproductive Christians?

Jesus said in John 15:16 that he has appointed us to bear fruit and that our fruit would endure. We are destined for fruit, but what kind of fruit? I agree that some Christians won't get any reward in heaven because their works will be burned up like wood, hay, and stubble (cf. 1 Cor. 3:15). Likewise, some Christians remain baby believers and never mature or grow up spiritually. Many believers never win souls for Christ and reproduce fruit in this sense also. But Hosea 14:8 says our fruitfulness comes from God. Our patience is not our gift to God, but his gift to us.

The fruit of the Spirit is from God and God gets the glory. A branch that doesn't bear fruit is taken away and burned and so a Christian that isn't producing isn't abiding in the vine (Jesus). Jesus cursed the fig tree that bore no fruit--that's what he thinks of a fruitless or dead tree. Not bearing fruit means one is dead and not abiding. All believers bear fruit such as love, joy, and peace, if not at salvation, afterward. I would put no stock in a believer that isn't bearing fruit--and we are to be fruit inspectors. In conclusion, we will know them by their fruits.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Examples Of Flaky Brethren

Let us refer to communication from God rather than hearing from God because God treats us all as individuals and in a unique way, but the primary means is the Word of God. ("He revealed Himself to Samuel through the Word..," says 1 Sam. 3:21).

It is my observation that the believer who depends on external means, circumstances, or signs to get a word from God has not yet learned to attend to the Word of God, which is paramount. Who would call Augustine weird because he said that he heard God through the voice of a child--we know what he means. However, there are ways God speaks to everyone including the conscience and getting convictions; but the conscience is not always right--we should, nevertheless, heed its voice [Remember Jiminy Cricket telling us to always let our conscience be our guide. This is good advice if we are like Martin Luther saying, "My conscience is captive to the Word of God, to go against conscience is neither right nor safe.]

When God is speaking: We can quote Him verbatim--it is only in using a broad definition of the phrase (i.e., loosely speaking) that God speaks to us circumstantially and by means other than the Scriptures as a rule of thumb. The key is confirmation or verification. "For whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, to him it is sin" (cf. James 4:17). ("He carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers," says Isa. 44:26--Cf. Jer. 1:12 and Isa. 55:11).

I know of a sincere believer who tells me he is a prophet, yet I've never heard him prophesy so I can judge his spirit, to see if it is of God--we must test the spirits. I heard the story of a believer that was thinking of doing missions in Mexico and he claimed God was calling him there. God always verifies and confirms His Word. For instance, what if his friend had approached him and asserted: "Friend, I think God wants you to do missions in Mexico!" There are no coincidences with God and one would have to strongly believe God is calling him. Some believers go by hunches or premonitions (even nonbelievers get these) and they can become so mystical that they get many private messages from God that no one else seems to get. Remember that God does speak through His Word and expects us to make that our number one source of information and direction or leading. I do not believe that just because we have the written Word that God has retired dreams, visions or audible transmissions, but this is the exception to the rule and we are to be skeptical. I am purely going by personal experience in this manner from my encounters with Pentecostal brethren. Remember, there is a difference between what God can do and what He does do.

God plays no favorites and someone is not God's buddy that God should treat him special. "God is no respecter of persons." In my experience, due to a number of memorized verses, God speaks to me by the recollection of passage and this is legitimate. Sometimes it seems that God speaks through me when I preach or teach or write, but I would not be dogmatic on this, but God can do this. Believers today have become spiritually hard-of-hearing and need to open up to what God is saying: "Let him that has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches...." I have heard of people claiming an existential experience form secular writing ("Oh, I got goosebumps or the chills!") and claim it is God--what it does prove is that you are human.

Indeed, the Mormons claim they get a burning in the bosom from their Scriptures and this is proof it is from God. They are elevating experience above teaching. God couldn't be speaking to them something contrary to the Word, which they claim their books supersede. Some Christians have indeed gone off the deep end and believe in things contravened by sound doctrine unbeknownst to them, just because of their experience. Satan is able to counterfeit almost any spiritual experience and can lead one astray if he is not anchored in the Word and in fellowship with other believers.

Because God has promised to speak through His Word primarily, doesn't preclude the fact that He still does speak audibly on occasion--we are just not to expect is as normative.  
   Soli Deo Gloria!

Issues Concerning Hearing God

"In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams" (Joel 2, Acts 2).
We cannot be dogmatic about a lot of issues concerning someone who says he hears God. First, was it with his ear as an audible voice, or an inner voice? The Bible gives no examples of someone hearing an inner voice and the still, small voice that Elijah heard was audible, though quiet. When one hears from God he can quote God verbatim and has no doubt it is God--there is no mistake. Sometimes we tend to say that we think God is telling us something. Does it contradict Scripture or is it in line with sound thinking?

To be sure, we must realize that God has chosen to speak through His Word and we are to learn to depend on this medium. However, there are exceptions to the rule and we cannot preclude God doing whatever He chooses to and breaking the mold, so to speak. Heb. says that God has in these last days spoken to us by His Son. I believe we live in the latter days, though I do not necessarily believe the rapture is imminent because of the revived state of Israel, among other fulfillments of prophecy. John says, "...it is the last hour" (cf. 1 John 2:18).

I believe that the prophecy of Joel 2 was fulfilled at Pentecost as Peter asserted. However, the closer we get to the 2nd coming of Christ, the more we may see these phenomena again. I do not believe God has retired dreams or visions and have had personal experience of brothers having these. We must remain skeptical, however, and be Bereans and not base any doctrine on them. I refuse to call some brother a liar, but still, take it with a grain of salt. The tendency is to jump to the conclusion that brothers who have so-called experiences in the Spirit are spiritual giants or have special favor from God--this is not so as they may be baby Christians even. God is God and can do as He pleases and what He wants and we must humbly accept this.

A Christian who has a vision or hears a voice may also be mentally unstable (mentally ill), may be deceived by Satan, a liar, or just honestly mistaken. Some people who hear voices are cured by medication and some are set free by prayer or intervention by Christians. If someone has a message from God, it cannot be a new revelation, as the canon of Scripture is closed and everything we need to know is the Bible. The people I have heard do not claim any of this but simple messages like "I want your cigarettes," "I love you this much...." If they said, "I have a new interpretation or revelation about the dinosaurs," I would be incredulous.

There are some Christian leaders today, a la John MacArthur and Charles Colson who have been called modern-day prophets; however, they are just redefining the term and these men are not the equals of biblical prophets. These men are not receiving messages from God, but are just gifted in spiritual insight. Being a member of a charismatic, Pentecostal church I recognize all the gifts of the Spirit except someone who says he's an apostle (the Bible says apostles are to demonstrate miracles and signs as verification). I have seen brethren prophesy or speak in tongues (glossolalia). My doctrinal interpretation is strictly experiential and not because I can prove or disprove it from Scripture--I am aware of the position of cessationists (who say this has ceased), like John MacArthur and their positions. I would simply invite him to visit a Pentecostal church and see if he can judge them.

To hear God, we must learn to listen to Him and realize that God doesn't make cookie-cutter Christians and treats us all as individuals and we must see how God speaks to us. The most obvious way with me is to have an existential encounter or "Aha!" moment with Scripture and the impression it makes on me is not in doubt. God speaks through preaching by convicting the sinner, et alia. I have many times said, "Boy, God sure spoke to me in that sermon!" Rom. 10:17 says, "Faith comes by hearing and by hearing of the Word of God." To be sure, no matter how clever the sermon or articulate the speaker, God honors His Word and we are to depend on that and not our own wording. I've heard it said that God can speak through the air conditioning vent if He wants to but count on Him speaking through the Word itself. The more we pay attention to the Spirit "speaking" to us the more sensitive we get and our spiritual ears are tuned in to God. Jesus said, "Let him that has an ear, hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

In conclusion, don't let someone bully you are spiritually one-up you by claiming so-called spiritual credentials of experience (though we all can experience God in a manner of speaking). I can fully understand why God treats me the way He does: He has given me a sound minc and expects me to use it. Would I rather me otherwise just to hear a voice? Jesus said to Thomas that they are blessed who have not seen and yet believe; it can be deduced that they are blessed who believe despite not hearing a voice.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Can We Tell a Crackpot?

The real McCoy is out there, so beware!

God says, "Call to Me and I will answer you.." (Jer. 33:3). There will come a time when the people of God will no longer hear the word of the Lord (a famine of the Word as in Amos 8:11). God says, "When I called you did not answer, so when you call I will not answer [this is a warning]" (Zec 7:13). You, yourself have heard from God when you had that "Aha!" moment in the Scriptures and God made His divine impression on you.


I have much experience in the mental institutions and have heard it all. Heard about the shrink who told his patient that he was cured? "Well, what do you mean? When I cam here I was Abraham Lincoln, and now I'm nobody!" There are many crackpots who make all sorts of claims but it is easy to spot a phony--he doesn't have the credentials or credibility to back his claim, sort of like Elvis impersonators who are fooling no one. Many people claim to hear voices and some say others are just jealous because they don't hear them. Isn't it odd that certain drugs will cure them of this phenomenon? God is not the author of confusion and they are very confused individuals apparently. The mind is capable of playing tricks on you and make you think you hear something and sometimes it is a case of demon possession or oppression. Christians can be harassed by demons, though not possessed.

When you hear from God you are sure of it and have no doubt and can quote Him verbatim. You don't just say, "I think God is telling me to move to California, for instance." God speaks primarily through the Word. 1 Sam. 3:21 says, "The Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord." Ezra committed himself to study the Word of God (cf. Ezra 7:10). David, himself heard from the Lord on occasion, but that didn't keep him from relying on the Word and studying it and meditating on it. My pastor and others in my church have heard from God personally, but it is not new revelation per se, but something like 'I want you to put all your money in the offering as an act of faith" and so forth. God has not retired visions, dreams and directly speaking to us in this dispensation.

But before you accept someone's authority as having heard from the Lord make sure you test it according to Scripture and make sure it is in the Spirit. I do not blame skeptics that may call themselves cessationists, but they generally stay away from the Pentecostal and charismatic churches and are unfamiliar with the gifts of the Spirit--let them directly confront these Spirit-filled believers themselves before they judge. The gist is that God wants you to learn to depend on the Word and only after you do that can you expect to hear from God personally; he doesn't do it just to increase your faith or to make you better than someone else.

Are We Hearing From God?

N.B. Reformed theologians do not believe God is revealing new revelation in our age, but I am not talking about a new doctrine or message per se, but something that can be confirmed by other believers and the Scripture and does not conflict with any known doctrine, et cetera Also note well that having an experience with God in the Word or hearing a voice doesn't make one a better Christian and he can brag about it. Blessed are those who have not [heard] and have believed (cf. John 20:29).

I don't want to dishearten any soul that believes God is speaking to their heart in a sermon. "Faith comes by hearing and by hearing of the Word of God" (Rom 10:17). God honors His Word and it will bear fruit.

One of the leading theologians of the twentieth century, Karl Barth, said that the Bible becomes the Word of God when one has an existential experience with it. Mormons believe they get a burning in the bosom to verify that the Book of Mormon is inspired. I have had experiences reading John Grisham novels and this doesn't prove anything divine per se. I also recall that Aurelius Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, heard the voice of God through a child--or what he thought so to be.

Many a believer claims to have heard a word from the Lord in some notion.  The Quakers listened to their "inner light" and got quite mystical.  If you get a hunch or premonition or thought from somewhere outside your head be sure to test it by Scripture--the devil put evil thoughts into Peter's mind and Jesus said, "Get behind me Satan!"  Francis Schaeffer wrote on the subject,  "He is there and He is not silent."  God is alive and well in His communication to us and hasn't retired dreams or visions speaking of which will be more numerous in the latter days.  We don't want to become mystics who rely on feelings or secretive thoughts that others aren't confirming.

God speaks to us sometimes audibly but there will be no doubt it is Him!   God can speak through the air vent if He desires but His primary methodology is through the Word; so learn to seek God's word to you in the Holy Writ itself because this is better than relying on sporadic or infrequent messages from heaven.   God never contradicts Himself and all words from the Lord must be tested by the standard of Scripture.

Normally God isn't going to tell you something that He isn't telling others because by the same token "no Scripture is of any private interpretation" and this goes for instructions from God that involve others.  To sum it up, we may be hearing from God--I don't want to discourage the seeker of God's will--but it also may be the pizza, if you know what I mean. I believe Christians may hear from God, but it is not normative and God's SOP (standard operating procedure) is to illuminate the Word and confirm it.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Friends Closer Than Brothers?

The Bible assures us there is a friend closer than a brother and that is the biblical standard of affection and we call it brotherly affection or philia in Greek. Christians are capable of agape love for each other and for God and this is shed abroad in our hearts per Rom. 5: 5. Jesus is the closest possible friend we can have and is the ideal friend. But look at David and Jonathan whose souls were knit together and the tie surpassed that of women. They were called "bosom friends." Sometimes our brother is called to admonish us gently and to remind us that we are still human and do err! The Holy Writ also tells us that the wounds of a friend are better ("faithful") than the kisses (flattery) of an enemy.

Brothers must learn that they are brothers first and buddies second or they will lose their credibility. It is fine to be best buds or pals and hang out together but a big brother has responsibilities and after they are grown the roles don't always stay the same--sometimes a younger sibling assumes the role of big bro. Nowadays "big bro" is derogatory and people call the government by that name, but some of us were glad to have a big bro growing up whether we want to admit it or not now. 

There is a responsibility, to be honest first and to speak the truth in love, as Paul says. Jesus said in Matt. 5:22 that one who is angry at his brother or insults him "(the psalmist says that "the insults of those who insult [God] have fallen on [him])"  is in danger of judgment! You don't say, "You are arrogant" (that is judging). You say, "That seemed an arrogant thing to say, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt anyway." I am very sensitive about being labeled "crazy," "unbalanced," "off my rocker," "gone off the deep end," "gotten carried away," "taken leave of my senses," "beside myself," etc. and any connotation thereof gets my goat. I overreact and go on the defensive and am oversensitive because of my personal background, but it takes a brave friend to point out the error of one's way. Sometimes our best friends are blind to our faults and perhaps that is why they are so close to us; our brothers really know the true self we portray and we can't fool them because they really know us and also when we need intervention or help or counsel.

"He who does not love his brother abides in death," according to John. This caveat to heed from John: If we don't love our brother whom we have seen how can we love Christ who we haven't seen; these are sobering thoughts.    Soli Deo Gloria!

Is God Equal Opportunity?

In America we are obsessed with the Jeffersonian ideals of equality and that God created all men equal--this is our American way of thinking. This works fine for the government to give liberty, justice and equal rights to all, but God doesn't work that way--sorry to say. Do you think that the aborigine in Australia has the same opportunity as an American to hear the gospel? "How can they believe if they haven't heard?" says Paul in Romans 8. The clearly says in Rom. 1:20 that they are without excuse whoever they are-they have enough light in creation itself to condemn them and they also knowingly go against their own conscience, being self-condemned.

Did Sodom have the same chance as Capernaum which saw many signs and miracles? No. Did everyone at the time of Abraham in Ur have equal opportunity to respond to God's call, or did God single out him and call him in a special way as his chosen one? Evangelicals who believe in a chosen people (Israel) have a hard time admitting that God can choose individuals as well and that we are elect or chosen even before we are born. Did Esau have the same opportunity as Jacob whom God loved before he was born, while He hated Esau?

Revelation 3:20 is often quoted to say that God is standing at the door (i.e., of everyone's heart) and knocking for permission unto salvation. Let's look at the other verses in the letter to Laodicea while we quote this verse as it is often quoted out of context. Actually, Jesus says, "As many as I love I rebuke and chasten, be zealous therefore, and repent." Doesn't this mean Jesus discriminates? He is standing at the door of the church to read it in context and is addressed to the lukewarm believer who is out of fellowship--just being saved doesn't mean fellowship!  Jesus has no fellowship with unbelievers either, so the "cold" person may not refer to an unbeliever, but to a believer distancing himself from Christ. Do Christ and Belial have anything in common that they should fellowship? The believer that offends Christ is the lukewarm, complacent one. Jesus said to one inquirer, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." Psalm 119:155 says, "Salvation is far from the wicked...." If salvation is far then how can they have equal opportunity with those to whom it is near? [A paradox!]

The "whosoever" of John 3:16 is often cited out of context as evidence that anyone can get saved. Actually, Christ said that "No one can come to the Father unless it has been granted him of the Father" (John 6:65). And "the Father draws [the wooing of the Holy Spirit] him" in John 6:44. You see, if God does woo all people the same, then the only way to get saved is by being better than someone else (But Scripture says in 1 Cor. 4:7, "Who makes you to differ? What do you have that you didn't receive?" Jonah says, "Salvation is of the Lord." This means it is not a cooperative venture where we do our best and God helps us. It's all grace and God gets all the glory. Soli Deo Gloria. This implies no merit system.

 Does anyone still not believe that the Holy Spirit doesn't take many times to sink in? The "whosoever" implies that anyone who believes will be saved but it doesn't say all can believe. "If anyone wills to do His will he shall know of the doctrine..." (John 7:17). Ultimately, our salvation is in God's hands and He chose us--we didn't choose him. ("I chose you and you didn't choose me..." as Jesus says in John 15:16.) (Cf. Eph. 1:5,11 [predestination] and Rom. 8:29-30.)   Soli Deo Gloria!