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Ms. Prata makes another attempt to explain why God doesn't speak to Christians, and it's really just a regurgitation of cessationist talking points, done on a rather superficial level.
Ms. Prata makes another attempt to explain why God doesn't speak to Christians, and it's really just a regurgitation of cessationist talking points, done on a rather superficial level.
Her chief verse for God's silence is
All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
She makes some other claims as well, which we will examine as they come up.
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In part 1, I offered a short history of the “God told me” phenomenon (from my personal perspective). I gave some examples of highly platformed Christian celebrities who say they have conversations with God outside of scripture. Some of these ladies claim this constantly; and shockingly, very casually.
In this part let’s look at what hearing the voice of God means, if He is actually speaking outside of the Bible, and finally, how do we rebut the claim using scripture?
(...)
One must ask one’s self, “Why do I need to hear from God outside of scripture? What is lacking in my view of God and His word that makes me need to hear more?” (Let's answer Ms. Prata's questions. "Why do I need to hear from God outside of Scripture?" Because we are commanded to:
In part 1, I offered a short history of the “God told me” phenomenon (from my personal perspective). I gave some examples of highly platformed Christian celebrities who say they have conversations with God outside of scripture. Some of these ladies claim this constantly; and shockingly, very casually.
In this part let’s look at what hearing the voice of God means, if He is actually speaking outside of the Bible, and finally, how do we rebut the claim using scripture?
(...)
One must ask one’s self, “Why do I need to hear from God outside of scripture? What is lacking in my view of God and His word that makes me need to hear more?” (Let's answer Ms. Prata's questions. "Why do I need to hear from God outside of Scripture?" Because we are commanded to:
1Co. 14:1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.
1Co. 14:26 What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.
"What is lacking in my view of God and His word that makes me need to hear more?" This question presumes a premise, that there is something lacking. We reject this on its face.)
Yet God already told us – in His word – that all scripture is sufficient.
All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17. This is the go-to scripture for the GTM rebuttal. (It is? This Scripture doesn't even address prophecy or "extra-biblical revelation.")
Let’s take the verse bit by bit.
All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17. This is the go-to scripture for the GTM rebuttal. (It is? This Scripture doesn't even address prophecy or "extra-biblical revelation.")
Let’s take the verse bit by bit.
- All means in the Greek, all, every part, the whole.
- God-breathed, meaning inspired from God. If it is from God, it is perfect.
- Beneficial means useful, profitable
- What is scripture profitable for? teaching (instruction), reproof (expose discipline), training (training of children, discipline), correction (setting straight),
- righteousness– what kind of righteousness? righteousness of which God is the source or author, but practically: a divine righteousness.
This verse tells us only about the value of Scripture. And it doesn't even use the word "sufficient." No Bible verse talks about Scripture as "sufficient." It is an accurate description of the Bible, but the word is never used in the manner in which Ms. Prata uses it.
Both charismatics and cessationists believe in the sufficiency of the Bible. They simply understand sufficiency differently. The dictionary definition of "sufficient" is enough to meet a need or purpose; adequate. By this definition we might conclude that the Bible is enough. It does the job. It's good for the purpose.
Saying the Bible is enough is not a slight. The Bible, of course, is the magnificent, supernatural, written word of God. In it is the perfect plan of God to bring salvation to a fallen race. It is the indispensable, flawless revelation of a Holy God to sinful humankind. Here we discover God's character, justice, mercy, and compassion. It is the only place where we might find testimony of the God of heaven and earth offering His only Son as the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
And it is good enough. Sufficient.
This in fact is the definition of "sufficient" accepted by charismatics. However, cessationists redefine the word. They want "sufficient" to become "all done," "nothing further, or "exclusive and no other." Therefore, the cessationist idea of "sufficient" does not actually mean "sufficient."
By way of example, if you tell your dinner host that you are sufficiently full, it does not mean there is no more food. Having enough does not exclude the existence of more, especially if dessert has yet to be served. This is a crucial understanding. We can now see how this would skew discussion. Redefining the word leads cessationists to the wrong conclusions and false doctrine.
Ms. Prata's view of "sufficient" is unbiblical.)
Scripture does all that for us! One would have to ask the GTM lady, which part is NOT sufficient for teaching? (We certainly agree Scripture is sufficient for teaching. That of course is beside the point.)
Which part is NOT beneficial? (We certainly agree Scripture is beneficial. That of course is beside the point.)
Which scripture did God make a mistake on and has to subsequently correct, if it isn’t all God-breathed? (We certainly agree Scripture has no mistakes. That of course is beside the point.)
So that man may be fully equipped for every good work.” (“entirely outfitted”) is used in the passive voice in 2 Tim 3:17, stressing the end-impact of Scripture on the receptive believer. (We certainly agree Scripture is useful for equipping. That of course is beside the point.)
Indeed the Bible thoroughly fits (“furnishes”) each believer to live in full communion with God” says Strong’s Greek. (We certainly agree Scripture connects us to God. That of course is beside the point.)
Why is the GTM lady needing more than that? (Because there is more than that.)
From Jim Osman in God Doesn’t Whisper, about Priscilla Shirer:
She believes subjective revelations through whispers and impressions are an essential way we enjoy an “intimate and interactive” relationship with God. She writes, “I mean, come on, do you really think He loved you enough to die for you, but not enough to talk to you?”[47] Given that she promotes private revelations in her books, it wouldn’t be unfair to say she means something akin to this: “Do you really think God loved you enough to die for you and then just leave you with the Bible?!”
Indeed, people who say they hear from God are not only angering God with their lies, but are dismissing the very Word He breathed into existence for us, preserved for us, nailed to the cross for us, shed blood over, raised up martyrs to get to us, and gifted to us out of His love. (This of course is hyperbolic and quite false. God is not angry with Christians who want to hear what He says.)
What a slap in the face is direct revelation! What it actually is, is an attitude that God’s word is defective because it doesn’t hold personally tailored instructions for us in how to live our life in Him. (Believing in the spiritual gift of prophecy in no way negatively impacts any aspect of Scripture.)
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15).
God’s word doesn’t contain instructions for how to an oil change in the car, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t perfect for instructing us in daily living. Scripture does that through principles, and also of course, its direct commands. (Yes, yes, everyone agrees.)
By this we read that there is a way to accurately handle truth, and intuit that there is a way to INaccurately handle truth. If we are to believe that people hear directly from God, we cannot test what they heard against scripture. (??? This is an astounding claim. What someone said they heard can't be tested? What about by comparing it to Scripture? Ms. Prata has already acknowledged that we can do this by quoting Jim Osman's evaluation of Pricilla Shirer. Did she forget what she wrote?)
And if this is so, there is no way to tell if someone is inaccurately handling truth. (??? We are even more puzzled. At what point did Ms. Prata lose her gift of discernment, which she has touted frequently on her blog?)
“Proverbs 8 reminds us that wisdom is possessed by God and utilized and embedded in the depths of the Earth the heights of the mountains, the way things operate and even Transcendent over the dust by which man is Created from. So what does that tell us? That tells us that to make sense of anything in life and to rightly view everything in life you must have the scripture.” ~Abner Chau, ACBC, “The Sufficiency of Scripture, link below.
2 Peter 1:20 states that “no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation.” Peter explains in the next verse that scripture was given by the Holy Spirit through men. Since Scripture is of divine origin, its meaning is fixed by divine intent. There is one interpretation based on the One author’s intent for us to know.
You can rely on the word of God which is transcendent and certain, or impressions and voices. Garry Friesen said in his book Decision Making and the Will of God, “If the source of one’s knowledge is subjective, then the knowledge will also be subjective—and hence, uncertain.” (We do not accept the idea that prophetic utterance is subjective. It can be tested, weighed, and discerned, just like a pastor's teaching.)
Friesen goes on,
“For in nonmoral areas, Scripture gives no guidelines for distinguishing the voice of the Spirit from the voice of the self—or any other potential “voice.” (This is false. Apparently this man does not understand the gift of discernment, the ministry of the Body to weigh what is said, or even, the ability to open one's Bible to see if what was said is true.)
And experience offers no reliable means of identification either (which is why the question comes up in the first place). . . . Tremendous frustration has been experienced by sincere Christians who have earnestly but fruitlessly sought to decipher the code of the inward witness.“
For some, wanting to hear the voice of God personally tell them things is out of a sense of earnest obedience, though, going about it wrongly. For many others, however, it is a pride issue, an attempt to elevate themselves above the run-of-the-mill layman in having something special or extra to say. They claim to have an inside track. (This is a common feature of every sort of issue facing Christians. The gift of prophecy is certainly not unique in this.)
However we are all grace-forgiven sinners at the foot of the cross. If you are in Christ, you are on equal ground with everyone else. (No one disagrees, Ms. Prata.)
“Scripture never commands us to tune into any inner voice“, says John MacArthur.
(He. 3:7 So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, He. 3:8 do not harden your hearts...
Ac. 15:28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements...
1Co. 14:1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.
1Co. 14:5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy.
1Co. 14:26 ...All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.
1Co. 14:39 Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy...)
“We’re commanded to study and meditate on Scripture (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1–2). We’re instructed to cultivate wisdom and discernment (Proverbs 4:5–8). We’re told to walk wisely and make the most of our time (Ephesians 5:15–16). We’re ordered to be obedient to God’s commands (Deuteronomy 28:1–2; John 15:14). But we are never encouraged to listen for inner promptings.” ~John MacArthur
“On the contrary, we are warned that our hearts are so deceitful and desperately wicked that we cannot understand them (Jeremiah 17:9). Surely this should make us very reluctant to heed promptings and messages that arise from within ourselves.” ~John MacArthur
Conclusion:
Saying GTM violates the sufficiency of scripture, it takes God’s name in vain, sets up a two-tier system of hearers and non-hearers (a breeding ground for pride and resentment), it trivializes God, and it’s just plain wrong.
Please instead, read the word, pray to the Spirit to illuminate its meaning to you, and ask Jesus to rightly guide you into all righteousness. That is all we need, His word, prayer, and subduing the flesh.
If you want fresh revelation, turn to the scriptures with a fresh prayer coming out of your lips. Scripture never has an expiration date. The Spirit will illuminate the Bible to you.
If you reject the sufficiency of Scripture — or even if you simply look to supplement it with fresh, personal revelation from God — you cut yourself off from the only reliable source of God’s truth. ~John MacArthur
Further Resources
G3 Cessationist Conference Oct 3-5, 2024. More resources there! It is in conjunction with the Cessationist Movie.
Ligonier – Does God Speak to Christians Audibly?
G3- Please Stop Saying ‘God told me’
G3: Beware of lowercase r- revelation
Book – Decision-Making and the Will of God, Garry Friesen, J. Robin Maxson
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