Disclaimer: Some postings contain other author's material. All such material is used here for fair use and discussion purposes.

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

"The Spirit speaks only in and through the inspired word." - Ferocious Truth. *updated*

Found here.
------------------


Our latest installment from the self-appointed Doctrinal Police.

Before we proceed, we should note that the reason we have a problem with folks like these isn't their commitment to their doctrine, it's their scorched-earth approach. As you read through their various posts, you find precious little in the way of edification or encouragement. If someone was interested in walking out faith in way more pleasing to God, that person would have to look elsewhere. If someone wanted a model of how brothers and sisters in the faith should interact, it would not be found at Ferocious Truth. If someone was hurting, doubting, or confused, there is nothing for that person here.

And, if someone who leaned charismatic wanted to find out why people are cessationists, that person would not find a measured, sympathetic voice among the Doctrinal Police. Why? Because they're out to destroy. They mock, belittle, impugn, and attempt to devastate their doctrinal adversaries.

*update* This was posted just now:

There are many today who wish we would just sit down and shut up. We get it... Confrontation is never easy. 
But we are called to "contend earnestly for the faith."
 We're going to nit pick. Ferocious is term-switching. "Confrontation" is not synonymous with "contend."
That means fight; fight with all you've got, speaking the truth in love in hopes that the Gospel - the power of God unto salvation - will be received and the hearers will come to Christ in faith.
The suggestion here is that charismatics are not Christians, and what Ferocious is supposedly doing is ministering to these lost people in a loving way. However, take a look at their FB feed and see for yourself if this is true.
Contending for the faith also means speaking out against false teachers. False teachers like #PatriciaKing who - in this video - speaks of her "trip to the wine cellar in heaven."

We must not be silent on this but there definitely are people who must be silenced (Titus.)
Ferocious is apparently referring to Tit. 1:10-14, which reads
For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. 11 They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach — and that for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 Even one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith 14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth.
Here we are reading Paul's instruction to Timothy regarding a church Timothy is working in. There are people in that church who are rebelling, who apparently were Judaizers. From this context we see a couple of things.
  1. Timothy is receiving advice regarding an issue in this particular church
  2. The people in question are part of this church
  3. Timothy has a leadership role in this church
  4. Timothy has authority to discipline these people
Now compare that to Ferocious. They have none of these. The passage isn't even relevant.
***

Okay, moving on. Ferocious Truth's favorite hashtag is #notinmyBible. The statement in the meme, which ironically is also #notinmyBible, was taken from this article, which I examined here. Interestingly, in this very same article Tom Pennington writes that charismatics
"...say the New Testament nowhere directly states that the miraculous gifts will cease during the church age. But that argument cuts both ways because the New Testament doesn’t directly say they will continue either." 
So on one hand Mr. Pennington is absolutely sure, but on the other hand he isn't.

Let's look at some Scriptures that contradict him.
Ga. 4:6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
Ep. 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
2Th. 3:5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. 
He. 3:7-8, 12 So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert... 12 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
Clearly there is another element in operation besides "the inspired Word," none other than the Holy Spirit.

We are told to be led by the Holy Spirit:
Ga. 5:25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the power at work in us to lead a life pleasing to God:
2Ti. 1:14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you — guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
1Th. 1:5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.
Ga. 3:3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
Ga. 5:16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
Ga. 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
The Scriptures lead us to obedience, but the Holy Spirit empowers us to live in obedience:
2Ti. 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 
It is therefore a false assertion to suggest that the Holy Spirit speaks only through the Scriptures.

No comments:

Post a Comment