Culture wars: For Our Names Sake

[Point ten of Jared Wilson's criticism of the "culture wars": (Index)]

Jared Wilson: "The 'culture war' is going to hell because . . ."

10. The culture war is carried out for our name’s sake, not Jesus’. I am not a fan of gay marriage or Roe v. Wade, and even though I would vote to outlaw the former and repeal the latter, neither of those actions in themselves will make a single unbeliever say “How wonderful Christ is!”

The bitter truth is that the Christian culture war is not carried out for Jesus’ glory and renown, but for ours. It makes “Judeo-Christian values” the end-game, the treasure of our mission. And that is idolatry. Nobody was ever legally or argumentatively or even culturally convinced to believe in Jesus. But millions have been loved and served and submitted to into believing.

Dying for somebody says a whole lot more than debating them.

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Culture wars: Sign "The Manhattan Declaration"? Not Me.

At the moment I am writing this line 178,536 people have signed "The Manhattan Declaration" - A Call to Christian Conscience. It is probably clear from my series on the culture wars that I will not be a signer of the Declaration - but some comments are in order.

Their website front page reads:

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Culture wars: What Jesus Did Not Do

[Point eight Jared Wilson's criticism of the "culture wars": (Index)]

Jared Wilson: "The 'culture war' is going to hell because . . ."

8. It has no root in Jesus’ ministry. Jesus knew heart change didn’t come through political power, cultural pressure, or zealotry, so he was keenly disinterested in those things.

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Evangelicalism, Politics, and the Gospel

[Crossposted from Street Prophets]

In the discussions that is going on about the Roman Catholic Church, and its change, I made a comment (I will get there in a minute). Starwoman responded with:

Thanks for this very clear and helpful comment about what the strategy is wrt Evangelicals, theology, and civil marriage laws.

I'd be interested in a diary from you on the theology behind Evangelical (and other Reformed, maybe) attitudes towards the relationship between church and state.

I can try to do that - but it may not work out.

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Culture wars: Moralism is the Medium

[Point two of Jared Wilson's criticism of the "culture wars": (Index)]
"
Jared Wilson: "The 'culture war' is going to Hell because . . ."

2. Its medium is moralism, not gospel. It makes kingdom militancy about religion, not gospel. It seeks a Christian coercion of others toward better behavior, not an incarnational sharing with others of the better Way.

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Culture wars: Foolish Expectations

[Point one of Jared Wilson's criticism of the "culture wars": (Index)]

Jared Wilson: "The 'culture war' is going to Hell because . . ."

1. Its expectation is foolish. Whether you believe America was ever a Christian nation or not, it is theologically naive and demonstrably false to think laws or policies make anyone a Christian. You cannot create or recapture a people for Christ by illegalizing sin. (Which, by the way, is not to say that certain sins shouldn’t be illegal. It is only to say that, for instance, outlawing gay marriage or repealing Roe v. Wade won’t make anybody a Christian, much less make America “a Christian nation.”)

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Culture wars: Jared Wilson Enhanced

I mentioned how much I liked Jared Wilson's "Funny, I don't Feel Neoconnish" posted at Evangel. His ten points about why the "culture wars" are going to hell --

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Romans 7:1-6 -- "Free From Law to Live By the Spirit"

[The index for the series is here.]

I am using the Pastor's titles for these posts. The appropriate links are:

• Audio file
• Note sheet

The text:

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Romans 6:8-11 "Identity: What Paul and Clark Kent Have to Say"

[The index for the series is here.]

I am using the Pastor's titles for these posts. The appropriate links are:

• Audio file
• Note sheet

The text:

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Romans 4:9-15 "Only By Faith"

[Crossposted to Street Prophets. The index for the series is here.]

I am using the Pastor's titles for these posts. The appropriate links are:

• Audio file
• Note sheet

The text:

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Romans 4:1-8 "God's Economy - Everyone on Well-fare"

[Crossposted to Street Prophets. The index for the series is here.]

I am using the Pastor's titles for these posts. The appropriate links are:

• Audio file
• Note sheet

The text:

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Is Moralism Defensible?

Joe Carter at Evangelical Outpost writes "In Defense of Moralism"

Before we discard the term, though, we should question why we would abandon such a useful word when there are so few suitable alternatives. Admittedly, moral philosophers also study morals and moral problems. But unless one has a PhD and an office in the Ivory Tower, calling oneself a philosopher is considered pretentious. The same holds true for almost every other subject worthy of study. To say a person is a theologian, bioethicist, or economist implies they are "professionals" with the necessary degrees and vocational credentials. Unless we consider morality a subject unsuitable for "amateurs", why would we want to toss aside such a useful term as moralist?

The obvious answer is that the term has become weighted down with too much baggage. Before we can reclaim the term it is necessary to cut loose some of the predominant misconceptions about the label:

Certainly, go read Joe's post - it is a valiant effort to reclaim the word. What follows after the fold is my comment at that post:

I suppose one could try to resurrect "moralist" as a term applying to one that studies morals - although I am not sure where the professional future of that job lies. In the secular world, ethicist would probably do better. For the follower of Christ, we probably should be looking at how the secular world we are trying to reach views our moral claims and prescriptions.

First, Christ's primary ministry was to the Jews - the religion of His birth and the community His ministry was launched in and directed to. He shared a common moral framework, and indeed a common citizenship in a theocracy - or at least one repressed by the Romans. The group of Pharisees he was most likely railing against were those calling Jews to ultra-holiness, and strict adherance to religious law and custom, in order to stave off the inroads of hellenization; and to keep Roman rule from breaking their faith community. Of course, in about 30 years, that group would combine with Zealots to start the first of three wars with Rome that would destroy Judah. So, Christ warned against the very things our current moralists and legalists attempt to organize: the creation of rules and customs to be strictly adhered to in order to stave off secularization of our religion. Indeed, we find our extremes wishing to legislate those rules and customs into ["Roman"?] law. Christ instead talked about writing these laws on our hearts, and not in stone. In being pure, not acting pure. And criticized those who would lay additional moral and legal burdens on God's people [that they themselves could, or would, not follow].

Paul would do the same as the church formed. He did not expect Pagan society to follow Christian rules - his moral prescriptions focused entirely on internal church life; and, indeed, he made it clear that we must be "all to all" in order to bring people to Christ so that the morality of God even applied to them at all. At the beginnnings of Romans 2, right after those famous verses and homosexuality and more in Romans 1:18-32, we have this chilling warning against trying to take the moral high ground:

1 Therefore you are without excuse, whoever you are, when you judge someone else. For on whatever grounds you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment is in accordance with truth against those who practice such things. 3 And do you think, whoever you are, when you judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed!

Can you have the "kindness, forbearance and patience" of God while knowing that only His kindness will lead folks to repentance? Then, indeed be a moralist. Otherwise, I think a better idea is to realize that no one cares what you think about their morality until they know you love them.

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An Oddly Positioned Postscript

There are clues to theological views - and something else struck me in reading Kevin McCullough's criticism of Hillary Clinton I first wrote about here.

I want to bore in on the emphasized phrase in the next quote. This is not so much a criticism but an examination of a real difference in my understanding of God's action in my life and what this statement expresses to me.

And for Bible believing Christians being "guided every step of the way" is a pretty gigantic claim. After all I do not know a single fellow Christian who would claim to live their life in such away as to have reflected biblical guidance through every single step.

There are some nitpicks - consider them appetizers - before the main course.

• Saying you have been "guided every step of the way" is not saying you have followed the guidance - only that it was available. I have been guided every step of the way - in my arrogance I have simply chosen to ignore the guidance and "do my own thang". This point will become part of the main point down the road


• She has just said her "faith journey" is unfinished - did this apply to her life not having "reflected Biblical guidance through every single step"

Those are nitpicks really - back to this phrase:

"reflected biblical guidance through every single step"

Folks who have read me much know that I am not shy about the Word of God being

. . . inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work. (NET Bible)

I believe the Bible is inerrant in its original autographs. However, notice that Paul presents the Bible as a tool for the Christian. How is someone to know how to use the tool if they are not instructed? Who instructs us on how to use the tool? Our pastors? Or does the tool guide us on how to use the tool? I havely certainly learned to use a few tools just by picking them up and using them - but that isn't the guidance God gave us in scripture.

According to the Word of God, our guidance is not from the Word of God directly - it is from the Word of God (the incarnate Christ and Scripture) as we discern it by the Spirit of God:

God has revealed these to us by the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the things of a man except the man’s spirit within him? So too, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things that are freely given to us by God. And we speak about these things, not with words taught us by human wisdom, but with those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people. The unbeliever does not receive the things of the Spirit of God [that is the Bible BTW], for they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The one who is spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is understood by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to advise him? But we have the mind of Christ. (NET Bible)

Kevin McCullough left out the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Now, he cannot be expected to have a complete theological dissertation in a post on Hillary Clinton - but certainly Hillary (if she is a Christian) had the guidance of the Holy Spirit "every step of the way" as we all do. And just like current vehicle navigation systems, He can tell you to turn right at the next corner all He wants - but you can choose to go straight, left, drive into a ditch, or turn around and/or go backwards. You can even just stop the car and go nowhere. Guidance does not equal obedience.

The deeper problem, as pointed out by Carl Palmer (as reported by me) in "How to Hear God Speak" is:

Along with the focus on the Bible was the loud and clear message that while God speaks through the Bible He now speaks ONLY through the Bible. Another weakness was what he would now call a minimizing of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. They never learned about the Holy Spirit - they never talked about Him. Very seldom did they say that the Holy Spirit is the one that inspired the Bible or that it was the Holy Spirit that enables you to understand the Bible. So it was stressed that he must be very careful not to add any other "experiences" to the word of God . . . he went astray because he didn't know how to live as a Christian. The church taught him how to come to Christ; but he wasn't taught, or didn't respond to, how to follow Jesus. Following Jesus day-to-day is all about the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

and

What happened to Carl is that as he elevated scripture from primary to only way God would speak to him, he didn't expect God to speak any other way. That inevitably led to a life centered on a book rather than a life centered on a Person. God wants us to have a life centered on a Person, and not a Book . . . The Bible is the primary revelation of God's will for us. The Book is designed to help us love God with all of our hearts, all of our souls, all of our mind, and all of our strength - and not be the object of that love (as much as we do love the Bible). . . Another thing that happened was that he was inevitably led to focusing his life around a set of doctrine - a set of rules. Carl tended to a life of legalism because it was all about what was written . . . and he was never taught how to live in Christ in his weakness

Of course, Kevin's lack of grace toward Hillary Clinton is, to me, all about his unwillingness to admit that Hillary, like me, lives in Christ in weakness. That is what Kevin does as well; and certainly I pray Kevin knows that about himself.

Christ was also the Word of God made incarnate. Jesus also made it clear to Peter that only through God, and His Spirit, could Peter have discerned that Jesus was the Christ. Again, the Word of God is spirtually discerned. Christ also made it clear that the Spirit is what leads us to truth and that the disciples should be rejoicing at His leaving because then the Helper could come to them and lead them to all knowledge.

However, here again is one of those significant divisions in Christianity as described by Carl Palmer:

The church Carl grew up in would have said: "Yeah, but that was a special time - that was then and this is now". This was taught because they believed that the Bible was finished. God's purpose was to get all of His will down in scripture, Old and New, and now He does not need to speak that way anymore. So, what you do is focus on the Bible.

Now, before I lose my creditials to the Sola Scriptura Society - Carl again:

You must test every message - by the written Scripture. God never ever says anything to us personally that is in conflict with the written word of God. That is why the Bible is there - as a record to test what we hear from God against. God does not do things that conflict with Himself. Scripture is our greatest defense against deception as we listen for God's voice in our lives

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We Need to Get Over This

I was meaning to post this long comment from an outside thread anyway because I think it is one of the clearest statements I have made to date on my view of homosexuality, sin, and how the Body of Christ needs to view it. Then, this happened:

A megachurch canceled a memorial service for a Navy veteran 24 hours before it was to start because the deceased was gay.

There is a lot of discussion in the article about what the church knew, when, and what the content of some of the pictures were. From my perspective, none of that matters. I will grant the church its entire argument for the sake of discussion:

The church’s pastor, the Rev. Gary Simons, said no one knew Sinclair, who was not a church member, was gay until the day before the Thursday service, when staff members putting together his video tribute saw pictures of men “engaging in clear affection, kissing and embracing.”

I will grant the church did a great deal to fix the situation:

He said the church offered to pay for another site for the service, made the video and provided food for more than 100 relatives and friends.

I grant this:

Simons said the church believes homosexuality is a sin, and it would have appeared to endorse that lifestyle if the service had been held there.

“We did decline to host the service — not based on hatred, not based on discrimination, but based on principle,” Simons told The Associated Press. “Had we known it on the day they first spoke about it — yes, we would have declined then. It’s not that we didn’t love the family.”

I will not argue with one word of what they said - except that they made the wrong decision: their principles are wrong. More importantly, they have interpreted Biblical principles very wrongly. I will get back to this at the end. First, that long comment yearning to be a post. [It is best if you also go read the whole thread] [there have been some modifications/clarifications to the original comment].

* * * * *

[In answer to this comment] I think exactly some of the translations say "natural use" - and the natural use, as in nature, is for our sex organs to be used in procreation - you know "tab a" and "slot b" for the purposes of making babies. I think "natural use" and "against nature" very much have to do with our biological design and function - and the nature we were originally created for.

You and I, and the Bible, believe that the purposes for which we were originally created have become warped by the Fall - indeed all of nature was disrupted by the Fall: we now have no real gauge of what God intended our true natures to be other than scripture and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. We now have a "natural" (in our own nature) inclination to turn away from God and do what feels right to us - we have our sin nature, or flesh.

I think the passage in Romans tells us that due to the general idolatry and foolishness of mankind - God has "given us over" to our internal cracked natures - the "degrading passions" and "depraved minds" that we all share - in fact I think Paul included enough items so that no one could be left out [if you think you were, please feel free to amend the list]. I read the passage as making homosexuality "natural" in that sense. I have no problem, Biblically, with believing that someone could have always felt homosexuality was natural for them - and that heterosexuality is against their very nature. We all choose who we have sex with, but none of us really choose who we are attracted to. That is a very complicated stew of our experiences, etc - earned in a broken world. It wouldn't even change my analysis if it was proven homosexuality was the result of the in utero hormone bath or a particular genetic make-up - all of nature is cracked and broken. This would be just one more broken piece.

I think Paul, in Romans, identifies a number of aspects of our "nature" that God has given us over to follow. I kinda see it as a "thorn" list - mine has settled into a desire to look at naked women not my wife. To me this is far worse than homosexuality as thorns go - but the thorn isn't any less sharp on the other side of the fence. It seems to me that Romans 1:26-32 is not a list of crimes (even though they are); but the reading out of a sentence passed by God on humankind due to our historic (if not prehistoric) idolatry.

Homosexuality is perhaps the "worst" of the group because it does involve, for committed relationships, love and not lust. How indeed can two people caring and loving each other be wrong? God is love, right? Frankly, only the Holy Spirit operating in someone's life can answer that question - it is nearly impossible for me to do so; and I think foolish to try.

It is just not my job to convict others of their sin - that is the job of scripture and the Holy Spirit; or to do the work of the Holy Spirit in transforming their lives. "God is God and I am not".

This leaves the author of the diary right on the money. Are Christians going to drive gays away from Christ, God, and the Holy Spirit - the only Person that can take an effective hand in leading them out of their sin nature and toward their true nature as the human being God intended at Creation. Every single person in our churches is a sinner (probably every day) and what are a couple of guys holding hands added to the mix: just a couple of more sinners - whether homosexuality is their sin or not.

And, are we as Christians going to "question another man's servant" when gay Christians tell us that indeed they have the Holy Spirit inside of them - they are in Christ and Christ is in them; and that Spirit tells them their relationships are not wrong. Especially, when it is over - really - one or two passages in scripture; and the actions of vehemently anti-gay Christians have run against so many other important passages of scripture.

I think Christians who believe homosexuality is a sin should probably just "love their (gay) neighbor as themselves" for a very long while; and let God handle their homosexuality as He sees fit. We need to help them get to the Master Builder, and He needs to remodel their temple to His liking.

* * * * *

Paul caps off Romans 1 with the start of Romans 2:

Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

We need to get over our fixation on homosexuality, and the "homosexual lifestyle", as some special class of sin. Even if you want to say that those who choose to have homosexual sex (as opposed to choosing that type of desire) are unrepentant and continuing in their sin - so are remarried Christians who were divorced for reasons other than the adultery of their first spouse. Nearly all of our churches have folks living in that unrepentant and continuing sin.

I am not saying the church needs to accept or ignore sin in order to accept sinners. I am saying that our unrepentant and continuing demonization of one of God's loved creatures is unseemly, un-Biblical, and is driving folks who desperately need Him (as we all do) away from Christ.

Our church is supposed to bring the spiritually sick to the Great Physician so that He can heal them - not drive them away because of our legalism and moralism. It is time for this to end; and time to remember the second greatest commandment

Love your neighbor as yourself

I sent an email to the church in Texas - which you can do but I am not advocating. Just put an end to this kind of nonsense at your church.

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"The End of the Spear", gays, and Christ.

I received this email today which I am passing on along with the answer I gave:

On Friday, January 13th, I wrote an article detailing my concerns about the decision by Every Tribe Entertainment to cast an activist for the gay agenda in a leading role in the movie, "The End of the Spear." (You can access the original article here). Gauging the amount of email that I have received and the number of visitors to my blog, the issue seemed to touch a nerve. I also asked pastors who were equally concerned to add their name to a letter that I was sending to Mart Green, the CEO of ETE. The letter expressed disappointment over the decision and asked them to somehow rectify the situation. I sent the letter on Wednesday, January 18th, with the names of over one hundred pastors attached.

On Friday I received a call from Mart Green and Jim Hanon, the director of the film. We had a cordial conversation. I brought up my two primary concerns with the movie: the casting of a gay activist and the lack of the Gospel message in the movie. (I will hold off on reporting what they said about the Gospel message until I publish an article on Wednesday regarding that entire topic.)

On the casting issue, I asked them several key questions. My first question was directed to Mart Green. "Do you feel that what you did in casting a gay activist in this role was wrong?" I received a quick "no." I moved on.

I wanted to clear up a discrepancy between Chad Allen's and ETE's versions of the casting decision. The public perception has been that ETE was unaware of Allen's homosexuality until after he was already on board. This is an important point to many. A representative from a large, pro-family organization even called me on Friday afternoon to make sure that I was aware of this. WorldNetDaily interviewed ETE President Bill Ewing, who said that "he was not even aware of Allen's homosexuality, let alone his activism, when the actor was chosen for the part." Baptist Press reported in an article last Thursday that "the producers have said they were not aware of Chad Allen's homosexuality when they gave him the role of Steve Saint in the film but decided to stick with him once they were told of his sexual practices." It's obvious that ETE would like people to know that they were unaware of Allen's homosexuality and his activism. This is significant, because if they were truly unaware, then perhaps, the reasoning goes, they should be forgiven for not doing their homework and we should all move on.

Mart Green and Jim Hanon clarified the process for me. According to them, they had offered him the role but had not signed the contract with him when they learned of his gay lifestyle. In spite of that, they still proceeded with the signing of the contract. Now, you may be thinking, "To not offer him the job at that point would amount to discrimination." You're probably right.

But it doesn't matter.

They would do it all again even with prior knowledge of Allen's activist agenda.

I asked the question to Mart, "If you knew before the casting process began what you know now, would you still have hired Chad Allen?" I rephrased it just so they knew what I was getting at. If you were to do another movie just like 'The End of the Spear' and you were fully aware of Allen's activism, would you hire him?" Mart responded that he would like both Jim Hanon and himself to answer the question. Jim Hanon said, "Yes." And then I heard him say something like "We are going to open up the door to anyone who wants to act unlike you, Jason, who wants to be exclusive." I asked Mart Green what he would do. He responded, "I would stand behind my director."

That's it. We no longer have a company who was sloppy with their research and made an error in judgment. We have a film-making company that presents itself as Christian who sees absolutely nothing wrong with casting one of Hollywood's most popular gay activists in the role of an evangelical missionary martyr.

I told him that I believed he would lose the support of much of the evangelical community if they knew this. He disagreed. He mentioned that Jerry Falwell and Ted Haggard are behind the movie, as well as many others.

I mentioned this conversation to the man who called me from the pro-family organization. His words summed up my thoughts, "That's not good."

Would you do the following?

1. Email this information to as many Christians as you know.
2. Email Mart Green and let him know how you feel -- mgreen@everytribe.com.
3. Contact pro-family organizations and church leaders and ask them to contact Mart Green and express their concerns. Perhaps they can talk to him. From all I have read, Mart is a good Christian man with a desire to please the Lord.

Some people have questioned my motivations in writing on this and continuing to write on it. I am doing so because I believe it is important. The loss of discernment is evident in all corners of evangelicalism, and there comes a time when people need to say something.

Jason Janz

And my response

Brother,

Actually, I will not. I will link my position on homosexuality just to show you I am not totally "apostate" on this issue (that was sarcasm). Frankly, I think the conservative Christian community makes far too much of the sin of homosexuality; and gay marriage. It is not the worst sin, or the even the worst sexual sin; nor is gay marriage the worst threat to God's institution of marriage. I will go with pride; adultery; and men, particularly, not loving our spouses as Christ loved us for those awards.

We live in a secular society where some people simply do not believe what we believe. Christians being so adamant over a negative issue, rather than, say, being fired up over doing something for the "least of these" only makes us appear moralistic and legalistic - neither of which Christ was. He probably would have eaten with tax collectors, sinners, and gays were He here today. Would you be asking Him why He did so?

In homosexuality, we are talking about people who from their earliest sexual memory were generally attracted to the same sex. I agree with you that this is not God's design. However, whatever "nurture" got them to this point from their earliest sexual memory is not going to be counteracted by our ostracism and persecution. It is going to be counteracted by Christ's love; and Christ living in them - which as His representatives we are too show and bring them too.

Or in this case not show and drive them from. Would we be equally concerned if the actor had been divorced once; and it was he that had committed the adultery that ended the first marriage. I sincerely doubt it.

I will end with Romans 1:28 - 2:3, right after the strongest denunciation of homosexuality in the New Testament:

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?

I think the laundry list of sins attached right after homosexuality (notice where "haters of God" is. Think the list is in order of importance?) and Paul's admonition not to judge because we have all done these things is something those who believe homosexuality is sin should keep well in mind

In Christ,
John Howell

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Back to Basics: How to Hear God Speak

[Number six in a series]

Up to this point it is important that you read the series in order. The first six have been on the ministry of the Holy Spirit (primarily) and now the voice of God as we attempt to love God with our all and love our neighbor as ourselves (The Great Commandment). After this message, there is a change of direction (no spoilers)

Has God ever spoken to you through a song? Carl was sitting on the front row listening to the song before the sermon (I do not know which one) when he remembered again an amazing fact: The greatest Person in the Universe loves him – and us. Did you think of that this last week: The most wonderful being in the Universe – the One that made it all – loves you. God knows and loves YOU. That was free: it was not part of the sermon.

“How to Hear God Speak”
Carl Palmer, Pastor-Teacher; John 10:27; October 23, 2005

As Carl grew up he cannot remember a time when he wasn’t in church: Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. It got to be he knew the church better than his own house. It was a good church and it had so many strengths - and so many things Carl realized that he wasted because of his youth. One of those strengths was a focus on the Bible. His church deeply believed that Bible is the word of God and our guide for life.

Of course, along with the strengths were some weaknesses. Carl realizes now some of those weaknesses and how his upbringing harmed him in developing a full life with Christ. Along with the focus on the Bible was the loud and clear message that while God speaks through the Bible He now speaks ONLY through the Bible. Another weakness was what he would now call a minimizing of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. They never learned about the Holy Spirit – they never talked about Him. Very seldom did they say that the Holy Spirit is the one that inspired the Bible or that it was the Holy Spirit that enables you to understand the Bible. So it was stressed that he must be very careful not to add any other “experiences” to the word of God. One of the things Carl appreciates about the church of his youth is that they really concentrated on the fundamentals; and so he was truly converted and gave his life to Christ. Then, he went astray because he didn’t know how to live as a Christian. The church taught him how to come to Christ; but he wasn’t taught, or didn’t respond to, how to follow Jesus. Following Jesus day-to-day is all about the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said

John 8:47 "He who is of God hears the words of God . . ."

Carl pointed out there is not way to cover the whole topic of how God speaks to us today. This is a brief, short course: not only is God so huge, and the way He speaks so huge; but also Carl really has no clue about the whole thing. He is still learning, and in fact unlearning some of the weaknesses of his past. So, today he is going to try to briefly answer three questions:

1. Does God speak today, and to us?;
2. how can I hear God’s voice in my life; and
3. how does God speak today?

We must answer these questions accurately, because if we answer them wrongly we could get into all kinds of deception and be really confused. If we can answer them correctly and rightly, then this could be one of the most wonderful things that has ever happened to us - if we go deeper into what God wants to do to help you hear Him speak.

Does God speak today; and does He speak to us?

You cannot read the Bible without realizing that it gives a clear and consistent pattern for how God has spoken to people since the very beginning to the very end. We think of these people as great saints, but in very many ways they were just ordinary people – and God speaks to them. Many of you have read Henry Blackaby’s book ”Experiencing God”. Blackaby did a study of how God spoke in the Bible and wrote them down. In the Old Testament He spoke through:

creation, angels, prophets, dreams, visions, casting lots, the strange thing called the urim and the thummin, a gentle voice, fire, a burning bush, preaching, judgments, symbolic actions, signs, miracles, writing on a wall, a donkey, trumpets, thunder and lightning, smoke and storms, a fleece, sound of marching in the treetops, sometimes face to face, in personal guidance, plus various unspecified ways.

In the New Testament He spoke through:

Jesus, the Risen Christ, nature, angels, dreams, visions, prayer, prophets, signs and wonders, preachers, scripture, an unbeliever, the church, sometimes a direct word from God, the Holy Spirit, plus various unspecified ways

The only point of that is to say that God did not speak in one simple way in the Old Testament or the New.

The church Carl grew up in would have said: “Yeah, but that was a special time – that was then and this is now”. This was taught because they believed that the Bible was finished. God’s purpose was to get all of His will down in scripture, Old and New, and now He does not need to speak that way anymore. So, what you do is focus on the Bible. They would also warn him, especially in Bible college, that if you think God speaks to you, personally, then you are opening yourself up to all sorts of strange things. Someone, especially in a pulpit, says that God spoke to them and of course you have to agree: who are you to argue. Deceivers say this. Then they would say: “How can you protect yourself from strange doctrine, and protect the authority of scripture, if you think God speaks today?” The revelation that God has said to you would take authority over the word of God, and then you would be in big trouble: right? Yes. There are some serious warnings here; and Carl is very concerned as he says the things to come that you do see the danger here.

What happened to Carl is that as he elevated scripture from primary to only way God would speak to him, he didn’t expect God to speak any other way. That inevitably led to a life centered on a book rather than a life centered on a Person. God wants us to have a life centered on a Person, and not a Book. Now, this is being said in Cedar Mill Bible Church. Do we believe in the Bible? Absolutely! The Bible is the primary revelation of God’s will for us. The Book is designed to help us love God with all of our hearts, all of our souls, all of our mind, and all of our strength – and not be the object of that love (as much as we do love the Bible). We cannot always be in the word of God; and God surely speaks to us when we are not reading His book.

Another thing that happened was that he was inevitably led to focusing his life around a set of doctrine – a set of rules. Carl tended to a life of legalism because it was all about what was written. Carl looked at the Bible and it said too many things he couldn’t do; and he couldn’t live like that. He didn’t have that kind of power, or ability; and he was never taught how to live in Christ in his weakness. He was never taught how to look at the life of Jesus and not have the life of Jesus discourage him. We have to let Jesus fill us with His own power and enable you to live the life He wants you to live. You cannot live life in a set of doctrine or rules – you must live life in Jesus.

Over the years Carl realized a few things. First, in the Bible God never said He was going to stop speaking. He also realized that the Holy Spirit, who inspired the scripture, is the one that enables us to understand it. So He is speaking to us as we read it; and it is pretty clear in the Bible that we cannot read the Bible and understand it in our own ability: the Bible says the truth of the Bible is “spiritually discerned”. That is why someone else can read the same scripture as us and come to completely different conclusions. One of the amazing things is that a child with Christ in the hearts can read the Bible and understand it; and we can read it our whole life and never plumb its depths. Please love the Bible (do not misunderstand Carl); but the normal Christian life is to hear God speak. Jesus said: “My sheep hear My voice and they follow me”.

How can I hear God’s voice in my life?

You must believe God is great; and not silent. Our unbelief does not make God silent – our unbelief makes us deaf. Have you ever looked back in your life and now you can see how God turned things, and changed things – but while you can see it now you couldn’t see it then? We realize when that happens the God intervened in our lives and we didn’t get it while it was happening. We must listen better.

Carl got to the place in his life when he was a teenager when he hated the words “personal relationship with Christ” because he didn’t know what they meant. The personal relationships he wanted were the ones where someone speaks and he could hear them. After all, a relationship is really all about communication. This is the first thing the church talks about in classes for people planning to get married – communication. Does God have a good relationship with us? If He does then He must communicate. We do not pray to a book. We do not pray to a religion. We pray to a person – a person who is quite capable of speaking, and speaks. Again, the Bible is one of the primary places, if not the primary place, you will hear the voice of God – but it is God you are listening for. Consider what Jesus said to the Pharisees here:

John 5:39 "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; 40 and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.”

These verses changed Carl’s life when he actually began to meditate on what these verses meant. You can read and study the Bible diligently and not hear from, or go to, Jesus. Carl did it for years. Carl wasn’t a Pharisee – he wasn’t that good – but he still missed it somehow. Jesus wasn’t talking to them about a one-time salvation experience; but about life – an active day-by-day personal communication with God. He was talking about a confidence in, dependence on, and intimacy with God. The purpose of God and the Bible is for us to go to Jesus; not the Bible.

You must ask Him to speak - to you personally; and actively seek His will. The same way your spouse will say “Let’s talk”, or “talk to me” – you must say to the Lord: “Talk to me”. People say the want the will of God; but the will of God is something you must actively seek.

You must expect Him to speak; and listen! Here is where you do an analysis of your life schedule: do you have any listening time for God? Is there any time set aside in your life for your relationship with God?

You must test every message – by the written Scripture. God never ever says anything to us personally that is in conflict with the written word of God. That is why the Bible is there – as a record to test what we hear from God against. God does not do things that conflict with Himself. Scripture is our greatest defense against deception as we listen for God’s voice in our lives.

You must obey what you have already heard.

How does God speak today?

God is invisible – we do not see Him. Do we hear His voice audibly? Carl doesn’t; but you might. Over the years Carl has had a number of people (increasing BTW) that come up to him and say: “I do not hear God’s voice audibly but I had this one experience . . .” Just this week someone on the staff told him a story about asking God to lead him in some way (Carl thinks it was painting); and though he was alone he had to turn around because he heard a voice speak clearly to him as if He was in the same room. While Carl has heard this again and again, he has personally never heard the voice of God audibly. However, he has heard some things so loudly in his mind and spirit that he was sure God was speaking to him then. Carl leaves this to us because this is about us figuring out our “personal relationship with God”

Even though God does many things the same His relationship with each of us is unique. There is no formula for how God speaks to us – even though Carl is going to give us five ways He speaks to us. We just love formulas and processes. If Moses was living today he would have a seminar on “Hearing God in a Burning Bush”. Balaam’s wonderful book, “How to Hear God Through Your Donkey”, would be a best seller. We want formulas – those “three easy steps”; but this is about a relationship with God and it is huge. God can speak however He wants whenever He wants to whomever He wants in whatever method He wants. Why? He is God and we are not. So we say “God I submit to you” and even in those things we think are certain we say “Lord I submit to you”.

God speaks to us by His Spirit enabling us to understand and personally apply His word (the Bible). Consider:

1 Corinthians 2:14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

We need the Spirit of God to understand the word of God – it is not done in our own power. Not only do we understand the Bible by the Spirit; but we apply it to our lives by the Spirit. Jesus said:

John 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”

When you take the Bible in your hands and give yourself to it, the author of the Book is present to help you understand it, receive it, and apply it. That is what makes the difference between running through three chapters in the morning (because you “have to finish your devotional”); and sitting down with the author and asking Him to speak to you and guide you to what you need to understand from it. What Carl asks is this:

”Lord speak to me in this time. Lord, help me to understand. Lord, give me something that I know is from You to me so that I will be able to understand Your word, and do what You ask me to do.

When Carl prays like that God does it every single time. Sometimes He does not tell Carl what Carl wanted to hear and sometimes it is no where near as exciting as Carl wished. Sometimes it is repetitious stuff He has told Carl before and he is still not doing.

God speaks to us by His Spirit putting His thoughts into our minds - especially as we pray. Prayer is a great privilege God has given you; and He will put His thoughts in your mind while you pray. A caution here: Everything you think God has put into your mind must be checked against the word of God. That is our protection and guardian against deceit and error.

Prayer is not a one way communication: God will speak to us during prayer. So again, do you have any quiet time with God? So many times God speaks through a “still quiet voice” and we are so busy and our lives so “noisy” that we have Him drowned out. We are busy rushing here and there and wonder: “Why don’t I know what God wants?” Carl tells you to test God on this one: Find a half of hour of quiet time in God’s word, and ask Him to speak to you, and then come back and tell Carl He didn’t speak. Carl has yet to have a man or woman come back and say that God didn’t speak to them. So:

1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray without ceasing”

God speaks to us through circumstances. Again, we have to be careful here – sometimes the message is unclear. You have to ask God what He is saying in this circumstance. Sometimes it is difficult to discern this. Many times people have come up to Carl and said: “This is happening in my life and it just stinks. It has been going on for a long time and it just hurts”. Then the question that almost always comes: “What is God trying to say to me Pastor; because if you can tell me what He is trying to say I will learn the lesson AND HE WILL TAKE IT AWAY”. Is that your experience? First of all, we do not even know what the lesson is while it is going on; and sometimes it is seemingly unrelated to the circumstances. Then, when it dawns on us what He is trying to say and we begin to learn it – He doesn’t take it away. Have you noticed? What is it about this God?

God is deeply concerned about your character more than He is with your comfort. The very difficult circumstances in life are the ones that shape our character; and our faith. Almost every single time what God is saying to you is “believe in Me now”. In cancer, divorce, death: Believe in Me now. He is simply saying “Trust Me”. So many times when you ask “why” He will not answer that. That is one of the frustrating things about God: He doesn’t tell us why. He does tell us Who – Who to trust. Sometimes it isn’t until years later that we can look back and see what God was trying to teach us; and even then it isn’t always clear.

God speaks to us through people. You have to be cautious here too; but if God can speak through a donkey He can speak through us. God will speak through your children; the person you married; close friends; small groups; and the church. This is why God gave us spiritual leaders, pastors, shepherds, and elders. You should not be able to walk into your worship service and not have God speak to you through someone. You should ask Him to speak; and every time you ask Him to He will. God will speak into your life through people in ways you will not even get from (although it will agree with) the Bible.

God speaks to us in our obedience to His ways. He may speak to us in our disobedience. Many have heard that – He yells. However, the longer we are disobedient the deafer we become. We cover up and block Him out. This is a pattern that you must break: when you agree with God and obey Him you will hear His voice more clearly; and when we disobey Him we will become more and deafer.

1 Samuel 3:19 Thus Samuel grew and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fail. [NIV=”fall to the ground”]

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