The
Holy Spirit directly convicts, leads, directs, and edifies the human mind only
through the Word of God!
Let
me say to all that may read this article that there are no scriptures that lead
us to believe the Holy Spirit convicts, leads, directs, and edifies by any
other way than through the Word of God!
These are statements that have appeared in each of
the last two lessons. Why? In the religious world, men’s imaginations
seem to lose all ability to think rationally when it comes to the subject of
the Holy Spirit. Their emotions and
imaginations seem to kick into high gear with all sorts of reckless assertions
about what the Holy Spirit is telling them or doing through them.
I had a dear friend who preached at a large baptist
church in Florida until his untimely death in 2008. Among the many things that he and I disagreed
on doctrinally,
I once heard him say that the “Spirit moved him” to change the topic of his
talk one Sunday morning. My friends, if
that were true, it would go against EVERYTHING the Lord told us about the work
of the Holy Spirit and the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures.
For many years, there has been much discussion
regarding whether the Holy Spirit operates directly on the heart of a child of
God separate and apart from the Word of God.
While numerous debates have occurred, I feel this question is easily
answered if we would answer the question regarding the origination of our faith
in God. Where does our faith come from?
Hebrews
11:6 states, “And
without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing [unto him]; for he that
cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that
seek after him.” It is impossible to
please God without faith. From where are
we to derive our faith? Are we to rely
on the Holy Spirit to “touch” our heart or is there some other means?
Romans
10:17 tells us, “So
then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Our faith is to be found in hearing
(listening to the word through our heart as we read the sacred pages) the Word
of God. What is so special about the
Word of God that it is the only source of our Faith?
Jesus answers this question in John 17:17 when, in prayer to God, he says, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” God’s word is truth! It is the basis on which our faith is
built. It was given to us by God as he
spoke to the writers of the New Testament through the Holy Spirit. How many times was it given? Jude
1:3 answers, “Beloved, when I gave
all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me
to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the
faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” “The Faith” talked about here is the gospel
and it was delivered once!
How is the word of God able to build our
faith? Hebrews 4:12 tells us, “For
the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and
marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” No other source can convict us of our sinful
state except the Word of God. Paul
states in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “Every scripture inspired of God [is] also
profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is
in righteousness. That the man of God
may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.” The passage says “complete, furnished
completely”, that means there is no need for anything else, what was given is
all sufficient.
My friends, if we insist that the Holy Spirit
operates directly on the heart of a child of God separate and apart from or in
addition to their hearing, understanding and making application of the Word of
God in their lives, then we are stating that 2 Timothy 3:16-17 is false.
If 2 Timothy 3:16-17 is
false, then nothing about the bible can be considered true.
Is that what we believe? God has told us he has delivered the means by
which we attain our faith only once, and it will make us complete if we study
it, accept it, obey it and apply it in our lives. Paul declared that the Word
of God is able to build us up and take us to Heaven if we will only follow it (Acts 20:32). There is no need for “other guidance.”
Those who proclaim that God speaks to them (through
the Holy Spirit) ignore the clear teachings of Acts 10:34. Peters states, “…Of a truth I perceive that God is no
respecter of persons…” A respecter
of persons is one who receives or treats others, not according to what they
are, but according to their outward circumstances, such as wealth or social
position, nationality, or color, etc.
All men need salvation; God loves all men and Christ died for all (John 3:16). There is ONE and the SAME plan of salvation
for all (Ephesians 4:4-6), thus
those who faithfully comply with the terms of salvation, which has been ONCE
REVEALED (Jude 3), will be saved.
A second misconception is that the Holy Spirit
roams the earth performing miracles. This
issue is not one to be decided by the subjective testimony of those who “feel”
that God is working signs today; rather, it turns upon the critical examination
of the facts in the light of plain Bible teaching.
The New Testament teaches that miracles occupied a
special place in God’s redemptive plan, and they have not been extended
throughout the Christian dispensation.
Wayne Jackson, in his must read article “Miracles”,
beautifully describes the purposes, characteristics, objectives, etc. of miracles
in the scriptures. He ends this
incredible article by stating, “There is
abundant evidence that genuine miracles were performed by divinely appointed
persons in the first century, but there is no proof whatever that such wonders
are being replicated in this modern age.”
My friends, what occurs today are not miracles but
the Providence of God Almighty working. Providence
has to do with:
1. The
Creator’s maintenance of the functional balance of the natural world;
2. The
fulfillment of the divine purpose in the regulation of international affairs;
3. God’s
special operation in the lives of those who seek to do his will.
Wayne Jackson continues in his article “A Study of Divine Providence”
to correctly examine how God’s Providence works. Providence
is the activity of God as accomplished through law. It stands in contrast to
the miraculous, by which the Lord operates independent of law. In providence,
Jehovah manipulates his own laws for the accomplishment of his ultimate
purpose. God respects man’s free will, and he will never overpower our freedom
of choice in the use of providential activity; nevertheless, the Bible clearly
affirms divine activity in the providential mode. It is a process that we simply
cannot explain from our limited vantage point. We accept it because of our
confidence in the credibility of the biblical record.
I encourage you to read each of the articles I have
referenced, and hyperlinked, as you will find no better resources on the
subject.
Understanding what the Holy Spirit doesn’t do, we
will investigate in our final article next week, what the Holy Spirit does for
a Christian today.