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Ms. Prata continues her dive into doctrines she knows nothing about, ostensibly to teach us why the Bible doesn't tell us what it tells us.
We combined part one and two here.
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I’m presenting a series of essays and podcasts that scripturally rebut the notion that God is still speaking to people individually today. (Yes, yes, let's hear the Scriptural case. But today's article doesn't quote a single relevant Scripture. Ms. Prata throws in a couple of irrelevant Scriptures at the very end, but spends the entire article making claim after claim after claim without proof or documentation of any kind.)
Despite the glut of people, many of them women Bible teachers, who claim He speaks to them, dispenses life advice, or just whispers sweet assurances all day long, He is not speaking now.
Now, for the past two parts in this series, I have been firm on the notion that God is not speaking to individuals today. I looked at where the Bible says He is not, (Ms. Prata was unable to produce a Scripture that says this.)
at why He is not, and if this voice is not from God, then who is speaking? Today I want to look at the difference between God speaking audibly to people versus the Spirit’s inner work of sanctification, versus intuition and promptings.
4. What is the difference between hearing audible voices and claims that God “spoke to your heart?”
God speaking to my heart, or as often heard, “God laid it on my heart” is another shorthand like “God told me.” But it’s often an unwitting shorthand for a true doctrine- the doctrine of Providence. Just because God is not speaking directly to us today, does not mean He isn’t working in our lives. He is. How? Providentially. God is at work personally and intimately in each and every thing that happens on earth and in each person’s life, even if He isn’t telling us His business directly and even when He isn’t personally answering life questions like where to get a job or who to marry. God speaking today is not a question of His voice and how to hear it, but a question of HOW He works in our lives. We can read the definition of providence from Phil Johnson,
Providence is God’s continuous involvement with his creation whereby he preserves and governs all his creatures (from the greatest to the least)—so that in accord with his perfect will and design, he sovereignly orders everything he has made to accomplish everything he intends for his own glory. (Source) (We critiqued this here. Mr. Johnson was barely able to quote Scripture in over 9000 words.
Now comes a long and undocumented explanation of what intuition is. No biblical principle will be invoked, no Scripture will be referenced, and no exposition of truth will be undertaken.)
Phil Johnson then goes on to speak about our intuition. It’s a tricky business to attribute our hunches and intuitions to God speaking to us directly, He doesn’t, but it IS true that He is working in our lives. We just cannot say that since an intuition turned out to be correct that it was direct revelation that prompted us. Phil Johnson goes on to explain.
Phil Johnson then goes on to speak about our intuition. It’s a tricky business to attribute our hunches and intuitions to God speaking to us directly, He doesn’t, but it IS true that He is working in our lives. We just cannot say that since an intuition turned out to be correct that it was direct revelation that prompted us. Phil Johnson goes on to explain.
[W]hat about those rare occasions when our intuition proves correct? Something we dreamed about seems to correspond to something in real life? A sense of foreboding motivates us to change plans, and it turns out to be a good thing?
Most of us have had experiences like that. Everyone has unexplained thoughts that seem to leap from nowhere into the mind. Most people likewise have hunches and instincts. Sometimes you just feel like you know a thing is true, but you can’t give an account for how you arrived at that knowledge rationally.
Most of us have had experiences like that. Everyone has unexplained thoughts that seem to leap from nowhere into the mind. Most people likewise have hunches and instincts. Sometimes you just feel like you know a thing is true, but you can’t give an account for how you arrived at that knowledge rationally.
But how do we understand that inner sense, especially when God seems to use it to prompt us to pray, or witness, or duck and run at precisely the right moment? Because let’s be honest: that kind of thing does happen to most of us from time to time.
Here’s the point: I do believe that God might providentially use a spontaneous thought in my head to accomplish something wonderful. But that’s what it is, and no more. It’s a remarkable providence, not a prophecy. As I have been saying, God ultimately controls and uses everything providentially.
Here’s the problem: that’s as true of my sins as it is of the thoughts in my head. God can and does use them all for His own purposes. The fact that He uses an idea in my mind to achieve some good purpose doesn’t make the idea itself inspired. It also doesn’t make a bad idea good, just because God uses it for good.
Now, think this through with me: Since intuition is fallible—and almost everyone agrees that it is actually far more often wrong than right—we shouldn’t make much of it. Furthermore, since intuition is fallible, it cannot be considered “revelation,” even when it happens to be uncannily right in an instance or two. And if one or two of your guesses happen to prove accurate alongside a gaggle of dozens of failed prognostications, you should still be wary of granting your premonitions the status of a supernatural “spiritual gift.”
People who think moments of intuition are God speaking with a private message invariably become extremely superstitious. They foolishly order their lives by their feelings. They commit the sin of trusting too much in their own hearts.
Now, the ‘God spoke to my heart’ phrase could just be a casual shorthand for someone saying, “I have read the pertinent Bible passages and I now have a settled conviction that my decision to do X is consistent with God’s will.” But usually that is NOT what people mean when they say it.
Usually people mean it as a shorthand way of saying “God spoke to me and this is what He said I must do.” The latter is a way to escape accountability for their decisions.
Assigning to God the catalyst for your personal life decisions is a dangerous thing because it puts words in His mouth He didn’t say and pridefully indicates you know God’s mind at any given moment.
Phil Johnson, Shepherds Conference 2002, “Super Seminar: Private Revelations” said-
Now, does the Spirit of God ever move our hearts and impress us with specific duties or callings? Certainly. But, even in doing that, He works through the Word of God. Experiences like this, impressions and all, are not in any sense prophetic or authoritative except as they echo what the Word already says. They are not revelation. Those sensations, those impressions, those feelings you get are not revelation, but they are the effect of illumination. When the Holy Spirit applies the Word to our hearts, and opens our spiritual eyes to His truth. And, we need to guard carefully against allowing our experiences and our own subjective thoughts and imaginations to eclipse the authority and the certainty of the more sure Word of God. This is a very practical application of the principle of Sola Scriptura. Think about this…to what ever degree you seek private messages from God outside His Word, you have abandoned the principle of Sola Scriptura.
Part of decision making is trust- trusting God, trusting that He is in control of our lives, and trusting providential out-workings from our decisions. You will not ruin His plan if you make a life-decision. So go ahead and turn left instead of right, marry that person, go to the college you want to go to, take the job in another city. As long as you are adhering to the general, biblical principles outlined in the Bible, you can safely fill in the blanks with your own decisions. God knows how to merge our decisions with His fore-ordained plan.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:6)
Judas decided freely in his own will to steal from the purse, to betray Jesus, to reject His miracles. Yet all was consistent with foreordained scriptures and was fulfilled exactly. God maintains that balance and we don’t have to know how.
In 2006 I decided to move to Georgia. I could have decided on Columbus Ohio, Honolulu Hawaii, or Anchorage Alaska, and it would have been the same. He established me in a church, found me a job, knit some friends into my life, gave me a dwelling place, and continued to sanctify me.
The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all. (Psalm 103:19)
God does speak to our heart, because the Spirit dwells in us and transforms the evil desires of our heart to holy desires of God. But we can’t and don’t know at any given moment that this particular idea or thought is God’s. What we do know is that Romans 8:28 is true:
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28).
(And this woman fancies herself a Bible teacher.)
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Now for part 4. Finally Ms. Prata manages to crack open her Bible and produce some relevant Scriptures.
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Question: I’ve heard Christian women claim “voices from God” promised them a large following, or popular ministry, or a specific calling. How does this go against what’s written in God’s word? And should we avoid their “ministries?”
Answer: Because that is what satan promises. The first time we hear satan speak in the Bible he is making false promises that raise up sin in Eve; sins of the pride of life, sin of the flesh, covetousness of the world. That is what satan promises. When God speaks in His word, is it about Himself (see Job) it is about His redemptive Plan or about sin & holiness (see the Prophets) it is of His law (see Moses), it is about His Son (see John the Baptist). And so on. He doesn’t speak to us about our daily needs and wants. He just says trust me to give you clothes and food, and as for the rest, He says in Proverbs 3:6 in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Peter did have a large following but what Jesus told Peter was that he would be crucified. Paul became renowned not only in his time but ever after, but what God told Paul was that he must suffer for the sake of His name in every city, first, without telling him of the fame and adulation to come in succeeding epochs. Job was restored double what he lost but God didn’t tell him that ahead of time, instead the communication Job received was a majestic rebuke starting in chapter 38. John & James asked for fame/exaltation, but what they received was a warning that the first shall be last and the last shall be first.
When God spoke to His people or Jesus to His disciples, it was not to tell Mary Magdalene that she’d marry Aaron down the street or revealed to Peter his career prospects or the woman at the well to go on a play date with him at the zoo (as Beth Moore Claims Jesus said to her). Even saying this sounds silly when we substitute the names of the biblical characters but many women go around saying these stupid things and more. Avoid all ministers that are founded on, teach, or accept direct revelation.
In fact, Charles Spurgeon, the noted preacher from the 1800s, called people who claim direct revelation variously, hypocrites or maniacs, Semi-lunatics, madcaps, idiots, and their messages stupid.
I don’t advise being as harsh or direct as Spurgeon, but we can refer ladies to two verses in the Bible that show that the Lord takes seriously adding to His words. One is from the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 4:2, “You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.” (If this Scripture means what Ms. Prata thinks it means, then how did we get the writings of the prophets? How did we get Proverbs and Psalms? They were all written after this admonition from Deuteronomy and added to the Scripture.)
Part of decision making is trust- trusting God, trusting that He is in control of our lives, and trusting providential out-workings from our decisions. You will not ruin His plan if you make a life-decision. So go ahead and turn left instead of right, marry that person, go to the college you want to go to, take the job in another city. As long as you are adhering to the general, biblical principles outlined in the Bible, you can safely fill in the blanks with your own decisions. God knows how to merge our decisions with His fore-ordained plan.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:6)
Judas decided freely in his own will to steal from the purse, to betray Jesus, to reject His miracles. Yet all was consistent with foreordained scriptures and was fulfilled exactly. God maintains that balance and we don’t have to know how.
In 2006 I decided to move to Georgia. I could have decided on Columbus Ohio, Honolulu Hawaii, or Anchorage Alaska, and it would have been the same. He established me in a church, found me a job, knit some friends into my life, gave me a dwelling place, and continued to sanctify me.
The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all. (Psalm 103:19)
God does speak to our heart, because the Spirit dwells in us and transforms the evil desires of our heart to holy desires of God. But we can’t and don’t know at any given moment that this particular idea or thought is God’s. What we do know is that Romans 8:28 is true:
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28).
(And this woman fancies herself a Bible teacher.)
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Now for part 4. Finally Ms. Prata manages to crack open her Bible and produce some relevant Scriptures.
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Question: I’ve heard Christian women claim “voices from God” promised them a large following, or popular ministry, or a specific calling. How does this go against what’s written in God’s word? And should we avoid their “ministries?”
Answer: Because that is what satan promises. The first time we hear satan speak in the Bible he is making false promises that raise up sin in Eve; sins of the pride of life, sin of the flesh, covetousness of the world. That is what satan promises. When God speaks in His word, is it about Himself (see Job) it is about His redemptive Plan or about sin & holiness (see the Prophets) it is of His law (see Moses), it is about His Son (see John the Baptist). And so on. He doesn’t speak to us about our daily needs and wants. He just says trust me to give you clothes and food, and as for the rest, He says in Proverbs 3:6 in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Peter did have a large following but what Jesus told Peter was that he would be crucified. Paul became renowned not only in his time but ever after, but what God told Paul was that he must suffer for the sake of His name in every city, first, without telling him of the fame and adulation to come in succeeding epochs. Job was restored double what he lost but God didn’t tell him that ahead of time, instead the communication Job received was a majestic rebuke starting in chapter 38. John & James asked for fame/exaltation, but what they received was a warning that the first shall be last and the last shall be first.
When God spoke to His people or Jesus to His disciples, it was not to tell Mary Magdalene that she’d marry Aaron down the street or revealed to Peter his career prospects or the woman at the well to go on a play date with him at the zoo (as Beth Moore Claims Jesus said to her). Even saying this sounds silly when we substitute the names of the biblical characters but many women go around saying these stupid things and more. Avoid all ministers that are founded on, teach, or accept direct revelation.
In fact, Charles Spurgeon, the noted preacher from the 1800s, called people who claim direct revelation variously, hypocrites or maniacs, Semi-lunatics, madcaps, idiots, and their messages stupid.
I don’t advise being as harsh or direct as Spurgeon, but we can refer ladies to two verses in the Bible that show that the Lord takes seriously adding to His words. One is from the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 4:2, “You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.” (If this Scripture means what Ms. Prata thinks it means, then how did we get the writings of the prophets? How did we get Proverbs and Psalms? They were all written after this admonition from Deuteronomy and added to the Scripture.)
And we read in the New Testament in Revelation 22:18-19 where the Bible is closed out with this warning,
“I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.” (The gift of prophecy does not add to the Bible.)
God often commanded Jeremiah to warn against false and lying prophets. He says here in Jeremiah 29:23,
because they acted foolishly in Israel, and committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and falsely spoke words in My name which I did not command them. I am He who knows, and a witness,” declares the LORD.’”
God is holy and guards His holiness. When people attribute words to Him He did not say, these are lies, and the false revelator is including the Trinitarian God in his lie. Spurgeon said,
“I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.” (The gift of prophecy does not add to the Bible.)
God often commanded Jeremiah to warn against false and lying prophets. He says here in Jeremiah 29:23,
because they acted foolishly in Israel, and committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and falsely spoke words in My name which I did not command them. I am He who knows, and a witness,” declares the LORD.’”
God is holy and guards His holiness. When people attribute words to Him He did not say, these are lies, and the false revelator is including the Trinitarian God in his lie. Spurgeon said,
"If you feel your tongue itch to talk nonsense, trace it to the devil, not to the Spirit of God. Whatever is to be revealed by the Spirit to any of us is in the word of God already— he adds nothing to the Bible, and never will. Let persons who have revelations of this, that, and the other, go to bed and wake up in their senses. I only wish they would follow the advice, and no longer insult the Holy Ghost by laying their nonsense at his door.”
Yes, avoid any ministry from any man or woman who claims to have heard directly from God. He or she is leading you away from the word of God as written in the Bible, and bringing you down a primrose path of lies, and eventually judgment. The Jeremiah verse above promises death to false prophets and their example of judgment a curse on those tho (sic) tread in their direction. Commentator Matthew Henry says of the Jeremiah verse,
Yes, avoid any ministry from any man or woman who claims to have heard directly from God. He or she is leading you away from the word of God as written in the Bible, and bringing you down a primrose path of lies, and eventually judgment. The Jeremiah verse above promises death to false prophets and their example of judgment a curse on those tho (sic) tread in their direction. Commentator Matthew Henry says of the Jeremiah verse,
" Jeremiah foretells judgments upon the false prophets, who deceived the Jews in Babylon. Lying was bad; lying to the people of the Lord, to delude them into a false hope, was worse; but pretending to rest their own lies upon the God of truth, was worst of all."
God took the time to reveal to us what He wants us to know, and took the care to preserve that word for all time. He sent His Son Jesus to speak that word as THE WORD to His sinful people. 1 John 5 says
I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
You can trust the written word of God as all sufficient. It should be enough.
God took the time to reveal to us what He wants us to know, and took the care to preserve that word for all time. He sent His Son Jesus to speak that word as THE WORD to His sinful people. 1 John 5 says
I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
You can trust the written word of God as all sufficient. It should be enough.
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