II – EVALUATING THE TEXTS INFERRING THE LEADING OF THE SPIRIT.
Here’s the point: Fallible vessels are the conduit for the
infallible work of the Spirit and out of necessity must rely on an infallible
source to validate their claims. Opponents offer various New Testament
references that seem to refute my claim, therefore I am examining each text to
see if in fact it does. You can read the previous Blogs by clicking
here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part
5.
In this Blog
I look at 1 Thessalonians 4:9 and Colossians 3:15. Do these passage support the notion that God
leads people in such a way that they can without question say, “God told me . .
.?”
Taught of God is
one word in the original and implies that they should automatically know that
God expects them to love one another.[1] Indeed this again is a very subjective work
of God, but its goal is clear. The believer knows from within that they
are to love one another. It is
such a ‘given grace’ that one would expect that instantly upon conversion that
a new Christian would automatically
know that they are to love the Church.
“Jeremiah 31:33–34 prophesied that God would write his law on the hearts
of his people and directly teach them as part of the new covenant. Christians
already know this reality (1 John 2:27): by love they fulfill the law (Rom.
13:8–10; cf. Lev. 19:18; John 13:34).[2]
7. Colossians 3:15 (ESV) , 15 And
let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in
one body. And be thankful.
This one is commonly used. “I did
such and such because I had peace about it”. Is this verse teaching that we can discern
right choices by a peaceful disposition?
The statement "let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts" is
part of a paragraph that runs from verses 12 through 17. That paragraph begins with an exhortation for
believers to " put on" certain virtues: compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness, and above all, love, which
is the perfect bond of unity" (3:14).
The context is an appeal to Christians to put on Christ-likeness so that
peace and harmony would exist within their fellowship. To interpret this verse
as a support to subjective guidance is clearly irresponsible.
Paul Little, in his helpful pamphlet
entitled, "Affirming The Will Of God," offered a
relevant illustration. "Several years ago I knew a girl who had signed a
contract to teach. In August, she received another offer from a school closer to where she wanted to live. So she
broke the original contract. Had she acted on the biblical principle in Psalm
15:4, where God says that He is pleased with a person who swears to his own
hurt and does not change; she would not have done that. The department chairman
who told me about the Christian girl's action said her justification was `I
have a peace about it,' and he commented rather sardonically, `Isn't that
lovely? She's got the peace and I've got the pieces.’”
So when Christians
believe a certain course of action is in order and claim this verse to support
the idea that the Holy Spirit gives peace to affirm or not affirm – they are
clearly misusing the text. As would
often be the case, doing the right biblical is not peaceful!
So, as yet, I can
find no substantive text of Scripture that would permit a Christian to act on
spiritual impressions or thoughts, taking them to be authoritative and without
question. But there is one more important
chapter!
No comments:
Post a Comment