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I have never doubted that scripture is the truth, God created everything and runs everything. It makes me sort of giggle at men who think they are smarter than God because they discover some truth about how God works.
At the same time I often look at something men found as explaining scripture. When men sailed so far in the ocean they thought they would fall off, they discovered what God meant about the four corners of the earth when they didn't. There are expensive clinics you can go to if you have a problem with living in our world based on the scripture "think on these things", except they think they discovered the principle so they charge big bucks to teach you.
So I am not quite understanding when you say "let experience validate the word of God". My minister would agree with you, he scolds me for how I look to science, but I could never quite understand.
At the same time I often look at something men found as explaining scripture. When men sailed so far in the ocean they thought they would fall off, they discovered what God meant about the four corners of the earth when they didn't. There are expensive clinics you can go to if you have a problem with living in our world based on the scripture "think on these things", except they think they discovered the principle so they charge big bucks to teach you.
So I am not quite understanding when you say "let experience validate the word of God". My minister would agree with you, he scolds me for how I look to science, but I could never quite understand.
Like those in the world, most of us in the Church have been taught from birth that there is an acceptable, logical, and rational way in which we are expected to view situations in life. We evaluate human events based on a sensible horizon. This view of our world is drawn from life experiences and is passed down to each succeeding generation by parents and teachers. We treat knowledge as an emerging social property rather than a shared conditionality with God. Society tells us what must be regarded as useful knowledge. This philosophy has certainly had a measure of influence within the Church. Desiring to retain credibility as Christian members of society we attempt to bring our social and cultural experiences to bear upon scripture to make sense of the world around us. We tend to interpret the text dependent upon our place within society. With such an approach to the text, a farmer, a businessman, a lawyer, a doctor, and a teacher would all have formulated varying interpretations of the text based on their individual experiences. Members of society attempt to elaborate the text by mapping what society regards as acceptable knowledge onto the text. We are told that we must always engage the text in such a way that it will not come into conflict with our views of reality. We are taught that in the face of real life situations we must react to these events in a sensible and rational way because we live in a “real world” where physics and physiology must be confronted. This approach to the text embraces man as the source of causation. We attempt to manipulate a given situation in such a way as to develop all the necessary antecedents to bring about redemption from the situation. Indeed, man has always attempted to find his own answers to human problems.
As we examine scripture, we see that God repeatedly and deliberately places man in the most unfavorable circumstances to show us that redemption can never come out of circumstances, no matter how man may attempt to manipulate the relative conditions of a given situation. The overwhelming lesson of scripture is that redemption always and only comes from the Lord. The promises of God are the source of redemptive causation that He imposes upon the situation. In this way, He causes things in the natural order to come into a state of unity with His will. Redemption always stands outside of and beyond the control of man no matter how he attempts to forge a situation to his favor. We can ill afford to approach our experiences as though any kind of symmetry can exist between our situation and the sensible horizon. We must learn to ignore what we understand about physics and physiology and allow the promises of God to determine the outcome of our experiences. These elements, although real, are not determinate. In scripture, these things are never determinate factors when we consider the promises of God. The promises of God will always influence the material stream and bring it into conformity with His will no matter how overwhelming we may think the physical factors may be. It is not an easy assignment to see our place in the world through the eyes of the Almighty, yet this is what He requires of us. God calls this faith.
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It is becoming UNpopular to use scripture as Truth, because there is just Satan's evil spirits working overtime to confuse Christians . To believe in things like speaking in gibberish or rapture, just pick your poison. It's close to Antichrist arrival. and confusion is waxing worse and worse. its to the point its so bad, i wounder in what sad state Christians will be in when they see the Real Christ come to dispel the lies of Satan... People have been conditioned not to study for themselves , and rather listen to anyone, and anything that comes along. Gossip, and here say, have taken the place of reading the Bible . Those who teach ALL of the Bible chapter by chapter and verse by verse are seen as the enemy by Christians, and those that speak smooth words, that actually never get around to teaching all of the Bible, are seen as the authorities of truth. What's Truth are seen as lies, because of biblical illiteracy, and Lies are seen as Truth now.
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Surely our experience can and should often confirm what truths God has already given us in His word. I am specifically referring to the dangerous practice of letting our experience, knowingly or unknowingly, supersede Scripture. For instance, sayings things like, "Why do you rely on the Bible when God has given you His Holy Spirit?" This is flagrant! And it's horrifying!
To be sure, simply knowing solid, empirical, biblical facts are not the decisive aspect to saving faith, but Scripture is key to properly discerning and testing our experience. I'll give an example, suppose someone I know begins to show signs of saving faith in Christ, through repentance, new desires, etc. that person can and should go to Scripture where he will find through God's truth, he is indeed showing signs of genuine rebirth and regeneration, for which he will likely immediately praise God.
Conversely, suppose, like I sometimes do, that I forget that Christ is my righteousness and begin to rely on my own efforts to be seen as justified, soon after feeling the impossible weight of that undertaking, I run to Scripture and find the refreshing truth of Galatians 2:20-21, where I am reminded of the truth, God's truth that I am perfectly His, and so by His grace I may deny my flesh seizing the opportunity to ruin me.
To be sure, simply knowing solid, empirical, biblical facts are not the decisive aspect to saving faith, but Scripture is key to properly discerning and testing our experience. I'll give an example, suppose someone I know begins to show signs of saving faith in Christ, through repentance, new desires, etc. that person can and should go to Scripture where he will find through God's truth, he is indeed showing signs of genuine rebirth and regeneration, for which he will likely immediately praise God.
Conversely, suppose, like I sometimes do, that I forget that Christ is my righteousness and begin to rely on my own efforts to be seen as justified, soon after feeling the impossible weight of that undertaking, I run to Scripture and find the refreshing truth of Galatians 2:20-21, where I am reminded of the truth, God's truth that I am perfectly His, and so by His grace I may deny my flesh seizing the opportunity to ruin me.
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Jesus seemed to think Scripture was more than a good idea. In fact, in Matthew 4:4 Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:2 when He says, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" How can you live by the Spirit if you are not putting spiritual food (Holy Scripture) in your body?
And yes, walking by the Spirit does not permit room for sin, in fact it puts it to death. But how can you even know that it is possible to walk in the Spirit if you are not letting the word of God dwell in you? (Colossians 3:16) ...You cannot, no one can.
And yes, walking by the Spirit does not permit room for sin, in fact it puts it to death. But how can you even know that it is possible to walk in the Spirit if you are not letting the word of God dwell in you? (Colossians 3:16) ...You cannot, no one can.
Nathan, you seem very sure of yourself in this. But not all things are as you see it. true we should read and know scripture but the problem with that is some people get big headed about knowing the bible so well and look down upon others who do not or people who do not agree with their point of views. some of my experiences with God I don't know where in scripture I would find it but it was real and happened never the less.
Hi Blain. You know I have nothing but the profoundest respect and love for ya, and many of your threads have been an inspiration to me, but feelings and experiences that are extra-biblical or cannot be verified by the bible, are not necessarily from God. There should be some scriptural support for them. Just because it was real does not make it something that was from God. This is why scriptural knowledge IS important.
About the people with big heads - that is true to an extent, but there are just as many without knowledge of scripture whose' pride is just as great. It would be folly to say just because I might get a big head, I shouldn't even study. It's even worse to teach others that. Without knowing the scripture, how do we know the things we are listening to, or the visits we are having by what we want to think of as God or angel, are in fact God or from God? There would be no way to know. Without personal study of scripture, it's incredibly easy to be misled by preachers who are not preaching from the bible, even more so by deceptive spirits.
If we don't know the bible, how do we know that the preacher is even teaching us from the bible? I had an unnatural fascination with the occult for many years and much of what I read about satanism sounds -exacly- like biblical things. In fact, much of what is involved in satanism is stolen from the bible and warped in such a way that makes it uncannily similar. We simply have to test all things against scripture and if it can't be verified, it shouldn't be heeded.
About the people with big heads - that is true to an extent, but there are just as many without knowledge of scripture whose' pride is just as great. It would be folly to say just because I might get a big head, I shouldn't even study. It's even worse to teach others that. Without knowing the scripture, how do we know the things we are listening to, or the visits we are having by what we want to think of as God or angel, are in fact God or from God? There would be no way to know. Without personal study of scripture, it's incredibly easy to be misled by preachers who are not preaching from the bible, even more so by deceptive spirits.
If we don't know the bible, how do we know that the preacher is even teaching us from the bible? I had an unnatural fascination with the occult for many years and much of what I read about satanism sounds -exacly- like biblical things. In fact, much of what is involved in satanism is stolen from the bible and warped in such a way that makes it uncannily similar. We simply have to test all things against scripture and if it can't be verified, it shouldn't be heeded.
John 14:26But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
Deut 8 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
John 16:13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
John 3:34For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.
Matthew 4:4Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
John 6:35Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Deut 8 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
John 16:13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
John 3:34For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.
Matthew 4:4Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
John 6:35Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
