Can We Add to God's Word? - by John MacArthur

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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This is a completely mystifying post. There are few if any Christians who believe we can add to the Bible. No one believes the canon is open. But Dr. MacArthur seems to think that somehow the canon is in danger of being violated, but he never says how. 

Yes, the crucial part of his string of logic is simply not there.

The question in the title seems to be pretty easily and obviously answered: No, we cannot add to God's word, and frankly, no legitimate Christian believes we can.

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This post was first published in July, 2016. —ed.

Over the last hundred years, the church has seen an explosion of interest in the Holy Spirit—particularly in His work of empowering God’s people and revealing His truth. This renewed interest in the Spirit’s role in our daily lives has injected excitement and enthusiasm into many churches, as the Lord seems to be revealing Himself and His power in wonderful ways.

But for believers caught up in tales of a fresh unleashing of the Spirit, it may be hard to see the difference between what God is saying and doing today and what He said and did in the days when Scripture was being written. We must ask the question: Is there a difference between God’s Word as given then and the word He is supposedly speaking to and through believers today? (Ah, so this has something to do with God speaking through believers today, aka, the gift of prophecy. We expect that Dr. MacArthur will make the necessary connection between how the closed canon might be violated by contemporary prophecy. We await the biblical explanation of this.

Sadly, this will not happen.)

I think there is a major difference, and it’s something we must keep in mind if we are to keep the authority and infallibility of the Bible in proper perspective.

The Canon Is Closed

The truth is there is no fresher or more intimate revelation than Scripture. God doesn’t need to give us private revelation to help us in our walk with Him. “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, emphasis added). Scripture is sufficient. It offers all we need for every good work. (Indeed, Scripture is certainly all this. But we ask again, what does this have to do with contemporary prophecy? 

Ironically, Dr. MacArthur doesn't believe Scripture gives us all we need, because he wrote this article containing extra-biblical information, certainly because he thinks we need it. And he stands in his pulpit every Sunday to deliver extra-biblical information, because his flock needs it. Plus, a little later in his presentation he will quote a couple of extra-biblical sources, George Lawlor and Henry Alford, because apparently we need them too. 

This means Dr. MacArthur doesn't even believe his own interpretation of 2 Timothy 3:16-17, since he himself is an extra-biblical source and he refers to extra-biblical sources.

From this we must conclude his claim is incorrect by his own practice.)

Christians—particularly charismatics, as well as those who are merely “open but cautious”—must realize a vital truth: God’s revelation is complete for good. (Most every Charismatic would agree. 

Dr. MacArthur presented 2 Timothy 3:16-17 as a proof text for the closed canon [God’s revelation is complete for good], but where in the text is this articulated? Scripture is indeed wonderful, matchless, and sufficient. But Paul does not tell Timothy anything about the canon, prophecy, or continuing revelation.)

The canon of Scripture is closed. (Yes, yes. Everyone would agree.)

As the apostle John penned the final words of the last book of the New Testament, he recorded 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; 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. (Revelation 22:18-19)

(Yes, yes, yes. The canon is closed. Everyone agrees. Move on.)

When the Old Testament canon closed after the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, there followed four hundred silent years when no prophet spoke God’s revelation in any form. (??? No revelation in any form? How does Dr. MacArthur know this? How does he know God was silent?

We don't have any Scripture written during those 400 years, but that does not mean God was silent. The very idea is preposterous. He has never stopped speaking. He voice sustains the universe [He. 1:3]. He is never silent. Just because we have no inspired writings from a prophet doesn't mean He had nothing to say.

There's a great difference between God not speaking, and what is or is not written down.

We discuss the supposed 400 years of silence here.)

That silence was broken by John the Baptist as God spoke once more prior to the New Testament age. (This is categorically false, and Dr. MacArthur ought to know better. 

John the Baptist did not break this supposed silence. Simeon [Lk. 2:25-35] spoke a prophecy before John the Baptist was out of diapers, as did John's father Zechariah [Lk. 1:67]. Mary spoke an amazing prophecy about Jesus [Lk. 1:46], as did Elizabeth [Lk. 1:42]. All this pre-dates John's status as a prophet [Lk. 7:26] by decades. 

This is a false statement leading to a false teaching which will lead to false conclusions. If Dr. MacArthur teaches falsely, does this mean he is a false teacher?)

God then moved various men to record the books of the New Testament, and the last of these was Revelation. By the second century A.D., the complete canon—exactly as we have it today—was popularly recognized. Church councils in the fourth century verified and made official what the church has universally affirmed, that the sixty-six books in our Bibles are the only true Scripture inspired by God. The canon is complete. (Yes, yes, yes, the canon is complete. Everyone agrees. Please move on, Dr. MacArthur and tell us why this is relevant.)

Just as the close of the Old Testament canon was followed by silence, so the close of the New Testament has been followed by the utter absence of new revelation in any form. (Oh. Wow. It turns out that Dr. Macarthur taught falsely about the 400 years so that he could draw a false parallel to the closing of the NT canon, thus falsely inferring silence into the age in which we currently live. This is beyond bad teaching, and now falls into the category of deception.)

Since the book of Revelation was completed, no new written or verbal prophecy has ever been universally recognized by Christians as divine truth from God. ("Universally?" A not-so-clever use of words. There is literally nothing about any part of the Bible that is recognized "universally." 

It's also a very convenient statement, since Dr. MacArthur does not believe in contemporary prophecy, so of course he can say this. His contrary opinion alone makes it non-universal.

But we still wait for Dr. MacArthur to make the biblical connection as to how the closed canon excludes the possibility of contemporary prophecy.

Hopefully soon.)

Dividing Truth and Error

Jude 3 is a crucial passage on the completeness of our Bibles. (No, it's not.)

This statement, penned by Jude before the New Testament was complete, nevertheless looked forward to the completion of the entire canon: (No, it didn't.)

Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. (Jude 3)

(THIS verse anticipates the closed canon? What??? There is no mention of the Bible or the canon here. "The faith" is not "the Bible." "The faith" is not "the canon." The faith is not "Scripture."

Dr. MacArthur will manage to correctly explain "the faith" below, and he will also quote other men who also assist in explaining "the faith." Yet inexplicably, he will continue to conflate "the faith" with the completed Bible. 

Why?

It cannot be anything other than deception. A plainly stated Scripture twisted to fit one's doctrine cannot be explained any other way.)

In the Greek text, the definite article preceding “faith” points to the one and only faith: “the faith.” There is no other. Such passages as Galatians 1:23 and 1 Timothy 4:1 indicate this objective use of the expression “the faith” was common in apostolic times. Greek scholar Henry Alford wrote that the faith is “objective here: the sum of that which Christians believe.” [1]

Note also the crucial phrase “once for all” in Jude 3. The Greek word here is hapax, which refers to something done for all time, with lasting results, never needing repetition. Nothing needs to be added to the faith that has been delivered “once for all.” (Clear enough. "The faith" is the sum of that which Christians believe. Everything we believe has been completely delivered. The faith has been fully given. 

No one disagrees.)

George Lawlor, who has written an excellent work on Jude, made the following comment:

The Christian faith is unchangeable, which is not to say that men and women of every generation do not need to find it, experience it, and live it; but it does mean that every new doctrine that arises, even though the legitimacy may be plausibly asserted, is a false doctrine. All claims to convey some additional revelation to that which has been given by God in this body of truth are false claims and must be rejected. [2]

(Again, quite clear. We should not seek to add revelation to the completed body of truth. No one disagrees.)

Also important in Jude 3 is the word translated in our English Bibles as “handed down” or “delivered.” In the Greek it is an aorist passive participle, which in this context indicates an act completed in the past with no continuing element. (Yes, yes, yes. The communication of the faith in its fullness is complete. 

No one disagrees.)

In this instance the passive voice means the faith was not discovered by men, but given to men by God. How did He do that? Through His Word—the Bible. (Sigh. "The faith" was given through the Bible? What??? The apostles consulted the Scriptures to write the Scriptures?)

And so through the Scriptures God has given us a body of teaching that is final and complete. (Yes, yes, yes. Again and again, he repeats the same point. 

No one disagrees.)

Our Christian faith rests on historical, objective revelation. 

(The Scriptures are certainly historical and objective, i.e., they exist and can be examined. But they are a product of revelation; or rather, they are the record of revelation. The revelation is not objective; it cannot be examined. Only the record of revelation is available to us. 

Scripture is trustworthy, not because it's objective, but because the God who revealed it is trustworthy.

Ok, so, after a continual and repeated hammering about the closed canon, Dr. MacArthur is finally done with it, thankfully. Or is he?

In any case, we have now arrived at the critical juncture of his presentation.  

Now, will he tell us how the closed canon comes to bear on the possibility of contemporary prophecy? Astonishingly, no. He just make the leap without explanation and moves on. 

Yup, he just skips it.)

That rules out all inspired prophecies, seers, and other forms of new revelation until God speaks again at the return of Christ (cf. Acts 2:16-21; Revelation 11:1-13). (There, he said it. But why does historical, objective revelation rule out prophecy? 

What happened here? It's like falling asleep during a movie and waking up in the middle. We're missing a crucial part of the movie plot. What happened in between? All that previous talk about the closed canon, yet Dr. MacArthur did not tell us why contemporary prophecy is ruled out.

Dr. MacArthur references two passages. The first:

Ac. 2:16-21 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 “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. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Peter explained the unusual events of Pentecost by quoting this prophecy. He used it to justify what happened. Pentecost, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, means the Last Days have begun. This includes prophecy, dreams, and visions, wonders in the heavens, and a great Last Days harvest. 

These Last Days, which we are currently in.

So the obvious question is, how does Joel's prophecy mean there is no more revelation? The passage tells us your sons and daughters will prophesy in the Last Days. But Dr. MacArthur says this passage rules out contemporary prophecy. 

These are completely opposite ideas. 

How does a Bible teacher arrive at the exact opposite conclusion of what the verse teaches?

We won't quote the second passage, since it has to do with the two prophetic witnesses of Revelation. We won't deal with it because Dr. MacArthur previously wrote: God’s revelation is complete for good. Contrast that with his new statement that new revelation is ruled out until God speaks again at the return of Christ. 

We wish he would get his story straight, because if God’s revelation is complete for good, Then God cannot speak again at the return of Christ. 

And we are still left to wonder, what does "the faith," "the canon," and Scripture have to do with contemporary prophecy? We're almost to the end.)

In the meantime, Scripture warns us to be wary of false prophets. Jesus said that in our age “false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24). Even extraordinary signs and wonders are no proof that a person speaks for God. John wrote, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

Ultimately, Scripture is the test for everything; it is the Christians’ standard. (Yes, yes, yes, yes. No one disagrees.)

In fact, the word canon means, “a rule, standard, or measuring rod.” The canon of Scripture is the measuring rod of the Christian faith, and it is complete. (Sigh.  Yes, yes, yes. No one disagrees. 

We thought he was done hammering the closed canon, but he back at it yet again. 

Sadly, we are at the end his article. We think Dr. MacArthur should have titled it, "The Canon is Closed." That's all he actually explained.

But ultimately, Dr. MacArthur has explained nothing. He did not explain how the closed canon excludes contemporary prophecy. So it falls to us to explain Dr. MacArthur's point for him.

He belief can be expressed as a syllogism:

• Everything God speaks, including prophecy, is authoritative revelation. 
• Everything in the Bible is authoritative revelation.
• Authoritative revelation must be included in the Bible. 
• Contemporary prophecy, if spoken by God, is authoritative revelation.
• Contemporary prophecy, if spoken by God, must be included in the Bible. 
• But the canon is closed, so it cannot be included in the Bible. 
• Therefore, contemporary prophecy is not spoken by God.
• Therefore, contemporary prophecy is not authoritative revelation.
• Therefore, contemporary prophecy must be rejected as false.

The assertion that authoritative revelation must be included in the Bible is false. We know this is false by the testimony of Scripture. This concept is not found in the Bible. There is no Bible verse that talks about authoritative revelation. There is no Bible verse that tells us everything God says is found in the Bible. There is no Bible verse that tells us prophecy must be added to the Bible.

There is much prophecy that has not been included in the Bible. 

Saul's prophecies are not found in the Bible [1Sa. 10:10]. None of Philip's daughter's prophecies are included in the Scriptures [Ac. 21:9]. The prophecies of Judas and Silas are not recorded [Ac. 15:32]. Not even all of what Jesus did and said was included in the Holy Writ [Jn. 21:25].

The syllogism is biblically and logically false.

Having carefully examined Dr. MacArthur's presentation, we have decided we cannot accept his false teaching.)