Pneumaticism - Spirit led or lead by the scriptures? Proverbs 11:1 A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight. It is a such great irony when people that over-exalt experience and the leading of the Spirit go to the scripture to prove that exalting the scriptures above experience is wrong. In plainer words, what is your authority? Experience or the word of God? If it is truly experience then why go to the word of God to prove a point? To be logically consistent, this imbalanced pneumatic position would lead one to prove that experience is exalted above scripture using experience, no? For example. I want to prove that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. Now I should be able to prove this from experience if this is my stance. So, how does one go about proving this from experience? Honestly, I do not know how this is possible. Would you proceed to look to history or science, which things are fallible, and neglect the infallible word of God? Would you trust in your experience only or the experience of others? And how can you trust that those experiences are accurate? If you werent there at His conception, baptism, miracles, death, burial, and resurrection, where would you get your information concerning these events? Come now, let us reason together... How would we go about arguing for a young earth, the one way to heaven through Jesus Christ, against drunkenness or the sin of lust and heresy and pride, etc.... Or how would one prove that we should prove all things and hold fast that which is good? First off, how do we even know that this is necessary apart from 1 Thes. 5:21 (and other similar scriptures)? Also, how do we know what is good in order that we may hold fast to it? Pretty hard to do if you ask me. Consider the absurdity of such a position and think about the effects of applying it consistently. You are left without a foundation and without authority. This is dangerous and it leads to confusion, false doctrine, and instability. Is there any wonder why we are in such bad shape these days as this imbalance has crept into the church? Leaven has been introduced and the outcome is hypocrisy and lukewarmness. The answer is (or should be) very clear. The word of God is the foundation for the Christian and must not be destroyed. After all, though the very name of God is exalted above all blessing and praise, God has magnified His word even above His name (Neh. 9:5 & Ps. 138:2). Job esteemed Gods words above his necessary food. David extolled Gods word over and over in his writings (which were, of course, inspired by the Holy Ghost). In Psalm 119, the word of God is given a prominent place in every single verse of the 176 verse chapter (longest chapter in the bible which might just be a hint that it is important). The word of God was precious in the days of Eli and Samuel, and Samuel did let NONE of Gods words fall to the ground. It was the finger of God that wrote the ten commandments on the tables of stone for man to see it written. The bible says that man shall not live by bread alone but by EVERY WORD OF GOD. Jesus said, He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. Do you have His words? Surely He would not tell us to live by His words and judge us by His words and then withhold them from us? Jesus upbraided the Sadducees, saying, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. Yes, the Spirit of God is emphasized, but how would we know what emphasis to put upon the Holy Ghost without Gods word to teach us to do so? For that matter, how would we even know whether there be any Holy Ghost (Acts 19:2) without Gods word to instruct us? How shall we try the spirits whether they be of God? The answer is given in the BOOK above all books. The prescription for trying the spirits is to see whether they line up with the scriptures, whether they are pure, yea, whether they be altogether a spirit of truth or a spirit of error (1 John 5) Why do we emphasize the word of God to the degree that we do? Because we are placing the emphasis upon it that God does, IN HIS WORD! The word of God is the foundation and erecting a building without that foundation is building upon the sand, which will end in destruction and a great fall. Consider the apostle Peter, who was with the Lord Jesus on the holy mount with James and John. There he saw the Lord transfigured and heard the voice of God directly from heaven, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. If pneumaticism be the emphasis, Peter will assuredly shew us the way of God more perfectly (see Acts 18:25-26 & 17:2-3). But in his second epistle, Peter instead points us to the scriptures as a MORE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY than the very voice of God! Hows that for over-emphasizing the bible? 2Pe 1:18-21 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. How about the noble Bereans? Although they received the word of God with all readiness of mind, they were commended in that they searched the scriptures daily whether the teachings of the Apostle Paul (whose doctrine was certainly NOT in error) were true. The light of Gods counsel is so much brighter than any experience you will ever have. Not to say that we do not experience God! But without the bible we have no objective standard whereby we may judge our subjective experiences by. And this is VERY dangerous! I dare say, if one is not close to the word, he will not be close to the Word, God manifest in the flesh. Scripture affirms it and there is no greater appeal than that of, What saith the scripture? (Rom. 4:3, Rom. 11:2, Gal. 4:30) or, it is written. The Lord Jesus Christ, our greatest example, appealed to the scripture. He has given us the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, to fight the good fight of faith as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. So, study to shew thyself approved unto God; rightly divide the word of truth; seek ye out of the book of the Lord and read; search the scriptures; receive the engrafted word which is able to save your souls; meditate upon His law day and night; hide the word of God in your heart; keep His commandments; consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ; receive them as they are in truth, the word of God, which effectually work in you that believe; desire the sincere milk of the word; grow in skill in the word of righteousness and thereby excersize your senses to discern both good and evil; and buy the truth and sell it not! (2 Tim. 2:15-16, Is. 34:16, Acts 17:11, Jam. 1:21, Ps. 1:2, Ps. 119:11, John 15:10, 1 Tim. 6:3, 1 Thes. 2:13, 1 Pet. 2:2, Heb. 5:12-14, Prov. 23:23) Psalms 119:89 LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Psalms 119:93 I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me. - Peter J. Schultz
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 02:40:38 +0000
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