There was a woman taking out trash in the early pre-dawn who was hit by an illegal alien. His car knocked out of her socks and her body was a hundred feet from her trash can. The DA decided not to press charges.
We read stories like this all the time these days. I’ve mentioned several times recently that we are living in a culture of death. That culture will climax in the moment when all the world rejoices that the Two Witnesses of the Tribulation are killed and lay putrefying in the street. They celebrate their deaths by giving gifts. As opposed to Christmas when we celebrate the life of Jesus birthed on earth in the flesh to live among us.
The dignity of life is nothing these days. The fact that humans are made in the image of God means nothing to an increasing amount of people.
We have become inured to death. There have been over 63Million abortions since it was legalized in 1973. Abortion is death. It kills a human being.
Movies and televisions shows today routinely show death, and as a culture, we are fascinated with seeing death, watching serial killers, true crime, and horror movies. Even TV show title covers and movie posters are literally dark.
I watch the Aussie TV show City Homicide which started in 2007. They begin every episode with this title card:
In today’s real world, there seems to be rare honor in preserving life, caring about life, bringing justice to a life cut short. Oh, I know it exists, but increasingly what we see in the news is that the loss of a human life just doesn’t have the same punch for people. Children raised on vicious and violent video games laugh when someone gets hurt, shot, or killed. They think it’s funny.
But God! We Christians are released from death to live life and live it abundantly! We have life eternal. We among all people know what Life IS, and what death really is. We can and should display the joy that comes with this sure knowledge.
When we are in Christ, we are In the Person who will never die. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind, (John 1:4).
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms on account of My name, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. (Matthew 19:29).
These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (Matthew 25:46).
You will make known to me the way of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. (Psalm 16:11)
You have put joy in my heart, More than when their grain and new wine are abundant. (Psalm 4:7).
So therefore let us be joyful, let our faces shine with peace and happiness that we are saved and entered into full life of joy with the savior. In a culture of death, this will stand out to those staggering under weight of sin and specter of death. As death gleefully chokes our culture with its maniacal joy, let true joy of eternal life flow out from us who know the savior.
The Bible is a serious document. It is an eternal love letter from God. it is a warning and a promise of judgment for those who rebel. It is amazing in every aspect.
But though it’s a serious document, there are occasional funny scenes in it. After all, it’s about God and His relationship with humankind, and humans are silly, funny, and childlike ridiculous at times.
Some of the scenes that make me smile are the following. See if you chuckle too.
John outruns Peter The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead, faster than Peter, and came to the tomb first; (John 20:4).
This was a funny meme:
Why is it in the Bible? Speculating on why, we do know that Peter was impulsive. Remember when he blurted out things, he lopped off the ear of the guard in the garden, and he jumped in the water to swim to shore when he saw Jesus? So when Peter heard of Jesus’s resurrection, he took off running. We believe John was the youngest disciple, so his youth perhaps outpaced Peter’s impulsiveness. Or maybe the natural competitiveness between men prior to the Spirit coming was allowed to remain in the Bible. But also remember that John was shown to hesitate at the tomb and Peter went in first, so perhaps spiritual maturity outpaced youth’s hesitancy in that instance.
Rhoda slammed the door in Peter’s face
When he knocked at the door of the gate, a slave woman named Rhoda came to answer. When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They said, “It is his angel.” But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. (Acts 12:13-16).
Imagine the scene- Peter running through the darkened streets, cloak flapping behind, knowing they will hunt for him. Panting, he arrives at John-Mark’s mom’s house and knocks loudly. Finally seeing light and safety when Rhoda opened the door, Peter thought he’d made it inside. But no. Rhoda is so startled (with shock? joy?) she flees into the house to announce Peter is out there, leaving Peter out there! Funny. Funnier is the praying believers argue with Rhoda. She “kept insisting that it was so”, v 15b; meanwhile Peter “continued knocking” v 16. I think it was Sproul (?) who said that it was harder for Peter to get into Mary’s house than it was for him to break out of jail!
And what were they praying for? Peter’s release. When their prayer as answered, they didn’t put two and two together, lol. Silly humans.
Dagon’s ‘flesh wound’
Monty Python Comedy Troupe had a skit where two knights had a sword fight in the forest. One was King Arthur and the other was the Black Knight. The Black Knight was guarding a tiny bridge that the King needed to pass. The Black knight refused. As the King was more skilled than the Black Knight, Arthur lopped off the other knight’s arm. The injured knight said “‘Tis but a flesh wound” and would not let the King pass. As the King reluctantly continued lopping off the remaining limbs, the wounded knight kept insisting he was OK, and even at the end continued screaming epithets toward the victorious King as he went on his way over the bridge.
1Now the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon, and placed it beside Dagon. 3When the Ashdodites got up early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set him back in his place. 4But when they got up early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. And the head of Dagon and both palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; only the torso of Dagon was left. (1 Samuel 5:1-4)
I always think of that when I read about Dagon. The people insisting its but a flesh wound and continuing the fight even after obvious defeat by the King.
Does your god use the toilet? Elijah’s taunts
Elijah was allowed to enter a contest with the prophets of Baal on Mt Carmel. In this corner of the ring, Elijah representing Yahweh. In this corner, Prophets of Baal. When Baal did not perform or answer in any way, despite fervent supplications from the false prophets, Elijah taunted them-
Now it happened at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or relieving himself, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.” (1 Kings 18:27 LSB).
Though the Bible is sometimes graphic, it is not crude for the sake of being crude. But here, we have a sliver of a reference to toilet activity. Ellicott’s Commentary explains, “The mockery of Elijah is apparently even blunter and more scornful in the sense of the original language—… is merely the bitter irony of sheer contempt, calling Baal a god only to heap upon him ideas most ungodlike.”
Our God is high and not like us humans. He does not sleep. He does not neglect his duty and go into retirement. He is always working. He isn’t human with human needs for food or to eliminate waste. He is GOD. He is not like is in any essence or molecule. And that is the sense Elijah was invoking here. But it must have been fun to taunt them this way.
What tickles you in the Bible? Philip’s lateral rapture where he was preaching in one place and whisked to another and still kept preaching? The young man who fell asleep at Paul’s lengthy sermon and fell out the window? The Bible displays God in all His majesty and humans in all our neediness and ridiculousness. The Bible is an honest document!
In part 1, I offered a short history of the “God told me” phenomenon (from my personal perspective). I gave some examples of highly platformed Christian celebrities who say they have conversations with God outside of scripture. Some of these ladies claim this constantly; and shockingly, very casually.
In this part let’s look at what hearing the voice of God means, if He is actually speaking outside of the Bible, and finally, how do we rebut the claim using scripture?
Most practitioners of God told me (GTM) would absolutely affirm that He speaks through scripture. But they claim He ALSO speaks individually to proffer advice for daily living, for decision making, or just for comfort, intimacy, or to have a chat.
People claim He does this through the “still small voice” of 1 Kings 19, visions, dreams, appearances, or whispers. Some even claim that it is necessary to be hearing from God outside of scripture in order to have a healthy, thriving intimacy in true faith. Others say that His personal advice is more of “an inner peace” that settled over them when making a decision or entering a crossroads.
As an aside, I’ve never been a fan of the inner peace. Some decisions are scary and actually roil the spirit with turbulence. In addition, the “inner peace” can be wrong- witness Jonah sleeping peacefully as he tried to go in the opposite direction of where God wanted Jonah to go. Some decisions may be costly, or painful for you or others. (Achan comes to mind). Of those decisions you don’t have peace about – but if your conscience is clear – then go ahead. It’s just not true that we have perfect peace all the time if we are interpreting an omen or sign correctly.
One must ask one’s self, “Why do I need to hear from God outside of scripture? What is lacking in my view of God and His word that makes me need to hear more?” Yet God already told us – in His word – that all scripture is sufficient.
All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17. This is the go-to scripture for the GTM rebuttal.
Let’s take the verse bit by bit.
All means in the Greek, all, every part, the whole. God-breathed, meaning inspired from God. If it is from God, it is perfect. Beneficial means useful, profitable What is scripture profitable for? teaching (instruction), reproof (expose discipline), training (training of children, discipline), correction (setting straight), righteousness– what kind of righteousness? righteousness of which God is the source or author, but practically: a divine righteousness.
What else IS there? Scripture does all that for us! One would have to ask the GTM lady, which part is NOT sufficient for teaching? Which part is NOT beneficial? Which scripture did God make a mistake on and has to subsequently correct, if it isn’t all God-breathed?
So that man may be fully equipped for every good work.” (“entirely outfitted”) is used in the passive voice in 2 Tim 3:17, stressing the end-impact of Scripture on the receptive believer. Indeed the Bible thoroughly fits (“furnishes”) each believer to live in full communion with God” says Strong’s Greek.
Why is the GTM lady needing more than that?
From Jim Osman in God Doesn’t Whisper, about Priscilla Shirer:
She believes subjective revelations through whispers and impressions are an essential way we enjoy an “intimate and interactive” relationship with God. She writes, “I mean, come on, do you really think He loved you enough to die for you, but not enough to talk to you?”[47] Given that she promotes private revelations in her books, it wouldn’t be unfair to say she means something akin to this: “Do you really think God loved you enough to die for you and then just leave you with the Bible?!”
Indeed, people who say they hear from God are not only angering God with their lies, but are dismissing the very Word He breathed into existence for us, preserved for us, nailed to the cross for us, shed blood over, raised up martyrs to get to us, and gifted to us out of His love.
What a slap in the face is direct revelation! What it actually is, is an attitude that God’s word is defective because it doesn’t hold personally tailored instructions for us in how to live our life in Him.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15).
God’s word doesn’t contain instructions for how to an oil change in the car, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t perfect for instructing us in daily living. Scripture does that through principles, and also of course, its direct commands.
By this we read that there is a way to accurately handle truth, and intuit that there is a way to INaccurately handle truth. If we are to believe that people hear directly from God, we cannot test what they heard against scripture. And if this is so, there is no way to tell if someone is inaccurately handling truth.
“Proverbs 8 reminds us that wisdom is possessed by God and utilized and embedded in the depths of the Earth the heights of the mountains, the way things operate and even Transcendent over the dust by which man is Created from. So what does that tell us? That tells us that to make sense of anything in life and to rightly view everything in life you must have the scripture.” ~Abner Chau, ACBC, “The Sufficiency of Scripture, link below.
2 Peter 1:20 states that “no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation.” Peter explains in the next verse that scripture was given by the Holy Spirit through men. Since Scripture is of divine origin, its meaning is fixed by divine intent. There is one interpretation based on the One author’s intent for us to know.
You can rely on the word of God which is transcendent and certain, or impressions and voices. Garry Friesen said in his book Decision Making and the Will of God, “If the source of one’s knowledge is subjective, then the knowledge will also be subjective—and hence, uncertain.”
Friesen goes on, “For in nonmoral areas, Scripture gives no guidelines for distinguishing the voice of the Spirit from the voice of the self—or any other potential “voice.” And experience offers no reliable means of identification either (which is why the question comes up in the first place). . . . Tremendous frustration has been experienced by sincere Christians who have earnestly but fruitlessly sought to decipher the code of the inward witness.“
For some, wanting to hear the voice of God personally tell them things is out of a sense of earnest obedience, though, going about it wrongly. For many others, however, it is a pride issue, an attempt to elevate themselves above the run-of-the-mill layman in having something special or extra to say. They claim to have an inside track.
However we are all grace-forgiven sinners at the foot of the cross. If you are in Christ, you are on equal ground with everyone else.
“Scripture never commands us to tune into any inner voice“, says John MacArthur. “We’re commanded to study and meditate on Scripture (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1–2). We’re instructed to cultivate wisdom and discernment (Proverbs 4:5–8). We’re told to walk wisely and make the most of our time (Ephesians 5:15–16). We’re ordered to be obedient to God’s commands (Deuteronomy 28:1–2; John 15:14). But we are never encouraged to listen for inner promptings.” ~John MacArthur
“On the contrary, we are warned that our hearts are so deceitful and desperately wicked that we cannot understand them (Jeremiah 17:9). Surely this should make us very reluctant to heed promptings and messages that arise from within ourselves.” ~John MacArthur
Conclusion:
Saying GTM violates the sufficiency of scripture, it takes God’s name in vain, sets up a two-tier system of hearers and non-hearers (a breeding ground for pride and resentment), it trivializes God, and it’s just plain wrong.
Please instead, read the word, pray to the Spirit to illuminate its meaning to you, and ask Jesus to rightly guide you into all righteousness. That is all we need, His word, prayer, and subduing the flesh.
If you want fresh revelation, turn to the scriptures with a fresh prayer coming out of your lips. Scripture never has an expiration date. The Spirit will illuminate the Bible to you.
If you reject the sufficiency of Scripture — or even if you simply look to supplement it with fresh, personal revelation from God — you cut yourself off from the only reliable source of God’s truth. ~John MacArthur
Further Resources
G3 Cessationist Conference Oct 3-5, 2024. More resources there! It is in conjunction with the Cessationist Movie.
The biggest topic I used to receive pushback on was naming a false teacher. People got angry when their favorite pet teacher was outed as false, thus, out flowed their invective. But lately the most pushback I receive is when I say that God is not speaking to us audibly or personally in these days. People are REALLY defending that one!
It’s sad how embedded the notion of God still speaking directly and audibly to people has become in such a short time. It’s particularly crushing to see that Celebrity women with large platforms are promoting this, and have been for years. Almost an entire generation now.
Is He whispering? Sending signs or omens? Should we seek intuitions, feelings, nudgings, whispers, small voices, and promptings that we might sense inside of our brain? Or even hear audibly?
Does God give new revelation today? Did He tell Beth Moore to go to a zoo and watch a napping baby koala together or build a snowman with Him? Did He respond to Sarah Young’s yearning “for more” than scripture by giving her so many personal devotions? Did He awaken IF:Gathering’s founder Jennie Allen one night and tell her to gather and equip this generation? Did He walk with HGTV’s Fixer Upper Joanna Gaines in her garden and tell her that He has a calling for her and that one day she will have a platform taking Magnolia further than she ever dreamed? Did Priscilla Shirer write an entire Bible study to teach us how we can prepare to “hear God’s voice and receive wisdom from Him”? These women have all claimed to have heard from God, AND put His alleged words in quotes.
A short history of “God told me”
I mention these particular women because they are (or were) not fringe, not in a cult, and not outside the bounds of orthodoxy when they first began claiming direct revelation. Oh, for years false prophets had been claiming God spoke to them, but they were never taken seriously. From around 90 AD when the canon was completed in the Book of Revelation to the 20th century, it was a given that the mainline church believed God’s new revelations were concluded. His final word was THE Word.
So why is it so rampant now?
top row l-r: Jennie Allen, Priscilla Shirer. Bottom row, Beth Moore, Sarah Young of Jesus Calling
Justin Peters addressed this issue at the Truth Matters conference in 2019 (one of many tmes he has addressed the problem). The title of his talk was “Hearing from Heaven: How to Know the Voice of God” He said-
I would submit to you that the resource, the book that is singularly most responsible for introducing charismatic theology into at least theoretically non-charismatic churches is Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby that came out in 1991. If you go back before 1991, at least in non-charismatic churches, almost everyone would have understood that God speaks to us through the Bible, we speak to Him in prayer. Today hardly anybody understands that; and I believe experiencing God is singularly most responsible for introducing these notions into non-charismatic churches.
I agree with this perspective. I remember when the book came to my former church. There was a huge buzz about it and immediately groups were formed to go through the study. We were told that it was going to change our life, make a huge difference in our walk, and so on.
Southern Baptist Convention member Beth Moore soon latched onto this notion that God speaks to us directly and from her earliest days promoted the idea through constant sharing of anecdotes of what He was supposedly telling her. Her very first “Bible study” called A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place was published in 1995. Every page of the 200 page workbook (!) Moore asked the student to write on the blanks the answer to the following 2 questions: [underline mine]-
“At the conclusion of each lesson you will find two questions: 1) How did God speak directly to you today? 2) What is your response to Him?”
“By the conclusion of each lesson you should be able to identify something in particular that you believe He was saying directly to you.”
Due to Moore’s large platform and general respect (back then) for the Southern Baptist Convention’s orthodoxy, her idea grew tentacles among women’s ministries and went everywhere from there.
In 2004 Sarah Young’s book Jesus Calling was published, where young outright said she heard from God. This book also made a huge impact and picking up the baton from Moore, the notion began forging new trails into the heart and mind of conservative women. It was no longer a fringe notion, since Blackaby and Moore were in conservative churches, not Charismatic nor Pentecostal…nor were either of them being chastised for their presumption that Jesus chooses special people to whom he gives special revelation directly and apart from the Bible. Sarah Young’s book became a brand and a cottage industry.
in 2014 Jennie Allen held her first IF:Gathering, in which she related to her audience that God woke her up one night to tell her, or whisper, or both, she couldn’t decide exactly, to gather and equip this generation, something not even Paul was charged with.
And now it’s 2024 and everyone and their sister seems to say, “God told me”. Luke Smallbone of the Christian musical group For King and Country said this month,
From Smallbone’s Instagram reel
It was actually a sweet moment. He was saying he had felt far from God, hadn’t dived into the Word in a while, and was repenting of that. Great. But he continued, “I felt God say to me, ‘Luke’, and I listened, and I felt him say, “I’ve missed you”.
While the sentiment is true, God does love us and wants us close to Him, it is unhelpful for Luke to claim that he heard God personally deliver the comfort. It is just plain wrong to put it in quotes. Even though Luke said ‘I felt God was saying’ it is still wrong. Luke didn’t say “I went to the scripture and the Holy Spirit, through the word, comforted me”. No he alleges he had a conversation. Tellingly, he did not turn to scripture for comfort nor did he advise his followers to do so. He just said “When life gets a little hectic, listen to what God is saying.”
A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. (Galatians 5:9).
And “God told me” IS leaven.
In the next part, what direct revelation is (leaven) and isn’t (happening now), and how to respond to people who claim to have heard from Jesus.
FurtherResources
G3 is hosting the Cessationist Conference Oct 3-5, 2024. “Join us in October of 2024 as we carefully consider key biblical arguments for the cessation of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit.”
right click to open larger in new tab. Poetry by Kay Cude
Right click the picture to see larger in new tab. Used with permission of author. Text from the picture below:
WHEN WE PICTURE THE TRINITY TO BE A SINGLE PEARL Oration 37, Gregory of Nazianzus
–I set before you the One Deity and Power, found in the Three-in-Unity, embracing the Three one-by-one, equal in essence and nature… Picture the Trinity to be a single pearl, alike on all sides, equally glistening. If any part of the pearl is damaged, the whole loveliness of the precious stone is gone. So when dishonour the Son in order to honour the Father, the Father doesn’t accept your honour. How can the Father glory in the Son’s dishonour? Likewise, if you dishonour the Holy Spirit, the Son doesn’t accept your honour. For although the Spirit doesn’t come from the Father in the same way as the Son, yet He comes from the same Father. Either honour the whole or dishonour the whole, and so have a consistent mind! I can’t accept your half-godliness. I would have you altogether godly.
Oration 37, Gregory of Nazianzus, (AD 330-390) Source: “Shapers of Christianity,” Nick Needham Banner of Truth Magazine, No. 706-July 2022
ORATION 40, CHAPTER 41 – GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS
I set before you the One Deity and Power, found in the Three-in-Unity, Embracing the Three One by One, equal in essence and nature, Neither increased nor decreased by ideas of greater or less; In every way equal, in every way the same, Just as the loveliness and hugeness of the heavens are one: The infinite oneness of Three Infinite Ones, Each of whom is God when seen individually in Himself. As the Father is God, so is the Son, And as the Son is God, so is the Holy Spirit; And the Three are likewise One God when seen together. Each is God because they are of the same essence, And they are One God because of the single principle of Deity. The very instant I conceive of the One, I am enlightened by the brightness of the Three; The very instant is differentiate them, I am carried straight back to the One. When I regard any One of the Three, I think of Him as the Whole; My sight is filled to the brim, And the greater part of what I am thinking of eludes me! I cannot grasp the greatness of One of the Three So as to reckon a greater greatness to the Others. And when I see the Three together, I see only one torch, And I cannot divide or share out the Undivided Light.
Kay Cude Author Statement:
“I [Kay Cude] was reading the July 2022-Volume 706 Banner of Truth Magazine when I came upon an article by Nick Needham, “Shapers of Christianity-Gregory of Nazianzus (AD 330-390).”
Mr. Needham begins, “The fourth century is often considered the Golden Age of the Early Church Fathers, owing to the sheer intellectual and spiritual brilliance of that century’s Christian thinkers in expounding the faith doctrinally and practically. Among its most influential figures were the Cappadocian Fathers.”
‘”This was a group of three theologians from the Roman province of Cappadocia in Asia Minor –Basil of Caesarea, his brother Gregory of Nyssa, and his friend Gregory of Nazianzus. Of the three Cappadocians, Gregory of Nazianzus came to be the most treasured by following generations. Greek speaking Christians reverentially called him “Gregory the Theologian,” as if he were the first true theologian after the apostle John. In the Greek East, the term “theologian” had special reference to the Doctrine of the Trinity. The apostle John was held to be the first great theologian in that sense, and Gregory the second.”
The Lord has plans to prosper His children. He makes continual promises that we should not fear, because He knows our needs, and He will supply them. Matthew 6:31-34 is one example. The verses say, “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
The People were wandering in the desert and had gotten mighty hungry. (Exodus 16) They began longing for the time of their captivity because at least then, they had bread and meat (Exodus 16:3). They began to grumble against Moses and against the LORD.
So, “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.” (Exodus 16:4)
The economic situation these days has been long, hard, and painful. Many people, Christians included, have lost jobs, have faced foreclosure, and have had to undergo extreme austerity measures (voluntarily or involuntarily). Americans have been so used to prosperity that we have planned for it in the long-term with retirement accounts that we expected to remain full and fuller as time went on. We expected that after ten or twenty or thirty years that we would of course sell our houses and reap a comfortable profit. We were used to corporate loyalty and lengthy terms of employment, if not permanent ones, if we obtain tenure or have a strong union to back us. Long-term perspectives of our own personal wealth was the norm.
Yet, God said He would supply us. ‘My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.’ (Philippians 4:19).
It is in Matthew 6 and it is in Exodus 16. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.” and “the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day.” God IS supplying you, faithful one. He just may be doing it in a manna situation, a one-day supply instead of extra, like before. He sent the Israelites a one day portion delivered, on time, every time. He even made it so that their clothes did not wear out. (Deuteronomy 29:5).
The LORD told Moses that He was doing it to test them. Not that God didn’t know the outcome of the test, like He needed to learn something, but that He wanted to restrict their supply so that they would learn to more faithfully depend on Him. Is that your situation? It is my situation for sure.
Could you be undergoing a test so that you will learn to depend on Him to greater degree and be strengthened for trials?
Do not worry about what you will eat nor what you shall wear. Do not worry about tomorrow. He provides. Think of the Israelites. Think on His promises to keep us and provide for us. If you only have enough today, do not fret, for you are blessed with bread from heaven!
A very famous married elderly Reformed preacher was forced to confess he had been having a five-year-long affair with a woman almost 50 years younger than he. He was fired from his preaching position, ejected from the ministry he founded, and rejected in his many other ministry positions of authority and prestige.
The shock went around the world. Literally. The ensuing shock is still reverberating. Some insiders have said, “No one saw this coming.” Not that they disbelieved that anyone can sin into adultery, but no one saw it coming from this man in particular.
Al Mohler spoke about this situation, answering a question he’d been asked as to whether pastors falling due to adultery are happening more frequently these days. It seemed so to the questioner.
Moher said that he “doesn’t sense an increase in number but an increase in public damage to the church of Jesus Christ. The effect of the issue upon the church and the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is so grievous“
Mohler also quoted advice given him by an elder honorable Christian man,
You will never have sex with a woman not your wife, if you are never alone with a woman not your wife.”
In the aftermath of this news, people have been discussing the background of Mohler’s quip, the Billy Graham Rule. (BGR)
The BGR is a rule that 20th century evangelist Bill Graham instituted for himself never to be alone with a woman not his wife. As a traveling evangelist, he was subject to gossip and speculation, particularly in the wake of traveling religious men before him who had been charlatans.
“Graham tells the story of when he was walking along a quiet street with his 18-year-old daughter: the next day, the local paper printed the story that Graham was “again” seen with a beautiful, young woman, insinuating that Graham’s sexual exploits were beginning to be a problem,” explains Kurt Edwards in his dissertation “Billy Graham, Elmer Gantry, and the Performance Of A New American Revivalism“
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In this June 27, 1954 file photo, Evangelist Billy Graham speaks to over 100,000 people at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany (AP)
Graham himself had said of the issue, “There is always the chance of misunderstanding. I remember walking down the street in New York with my beautiful blond daughter, Bunny. I was holding her hand. I heard somebody behind us say, ‘There goes Billy Graham with one of those blond girls.'” (Source).
These rumors bothered Graham, who wanted to maintain a pure reputation. He had recently read the devastating book Elmer Gantry, about the perseverance, rise, and ultimate success of a corrupt preacher who was in fact a false convert. This book spooked Graham. He was concerned enough with his reputation in light of the Gantry book and subsequent movie, that in 1948 “while in Modesto, California, he [Graham] gathered close advisers, including Grady and T.W. Wilson, Cliff Barrows, and Bev Shea” wrote Edwards, to discuss how to handle this kind of attention.
The issues they were concerned about were money, sexual immorality, discord with local churches, and telling journalists the true numbers of attendees (not inflating the truth when speaking of publicity) – these “rules” were to help squash any issues with these 4 problems and became known as “The Modesto Manifesto”.
The rule Graham had about maintaining sexual purity was that he would never travel alone, nor would he meet with or eat alone with any woman other than his wife. But there is an interesting twist to that Rule many people do not know. More on that below.
It was a purposeful strategy to ignore the Elmer Gantry-ish excesses of the famous American evangelists who’d come before him. And it worked like magic. When scandals destroyed some of his imitators in the 1980s, like Jim and Tammy Bakker, Graham’s operation looked even more like a model of rectitude in comparison. (Rolling Stone, The Soul Crushing Legacy of Billy Graham).
BGR or BGR-ish Can Be Good
I have an issue with the Billy Graham Rule, and it is not what you think. I believe the wisdom behind the Rule is good. It is NOT wise for a man, clergy, pastor, counselor to meet alone with a woman. Not professionally and certainly not personally. Not even in public, as in a restaurant, mall, or park. I also believe it is not a good idea to frequently text or email or phone call a woman who is not his wife, an added caveat since new technology has been invented since Billy Graham was around.
It was not holiness that prompted Graham and his cohorts to formulate this rule. It was not to establish guardrails for the purpose of maintaining discipline so God gets the glory.
It was performance. It was to create an external appearance in order to glorify self.
Some may take issue with what I’m saying here. But I’ve done a lot of thinking about Billy Graham and even more study on his life and ministry. Much. I don’t say these things lightly or without reason or substantiation. I know some won’t like it because some idolize him. That’s fine. Their opinion. I have mine.
As a side note, I’ve read Stephen King’s The Mist, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Lovecraft…and Elmer Gantry. Let me say that Elmer Gantry out-horrored them all and was the most chilling, horrific book I ever read. It definitely leaves an impression.
Throughout Billy Graham’s career, the evangelist sought performative manners to ensure that he would not be perceived as another “Elmer Gantry”, or huckster preacher out to win money, fame, and favor. Graham’s intent was to grow a ministry that would form a new performance paradigm for American revivalism. Graham prepared as an actor to use his gifts, train his voice and body, to write a different style of script, to capitalize on celebrity, and to embrace new media forms that would bring his message around the world thus creating a “New” revivalism while at the same time distancing himself from being seen as the character in Sinclair Lewis’ novel Elmer Gantry…” ~Dr. Ronald E. Shields, Bowling Green State University.
Why I am suspicious about the BGR
Graham decided not to sup alone, be seen with, or in any way be tainted by the notion that he was alone with a woman not his wife in public, and this included his daughters.
This is my issue and it’s why I deem it performance, a whitewashed tomb rather than a God-glorifying pursuit of purity.
He sacrificed his girls on the altar of personal reputation. It wasn’t for the glory of God. It was so people would think he was a highly moral person. We see this conceptually in the Modesto discussions, and we see in reality at the abandonment of his daughters for the sake of being well thought of.
“From that point on, Graham would not to travel, meet, or dine alone with any woman other than his wife Ruth — even his very own daughters when they came of age.” ~Edwards
Evangelists were often separated from their families during long periods of time and could be tempted with immorality (at least to do things that were disparate with what they were preaching for or against). The team pledged to avoid even the appearance of compromise. From that day forward, Graham never traveled alone, nor did he meet or eat alone with any woman other than his wife (including his teenage daughters). ~paraphrasing William Martin’s book, “A Prophet with Honor: The Billy Graham Story.
So: the entire point about me cautioning with regard to the Billy Graham Rule is —
MOTIVE
You ask and do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, so that you may spend what you request on your pleasures. (James 4:3)
All the ways of a person are clean in his own sight, But the LORD examines the motives. (Proverbs 16:2)
The Pharisees were ALL ABOUT performance. Jesus called them out on it. He said they stand on corners (busy location) so they would be seen They didn’t wash, so they would be seen. They pulled long faces at fasting, so they would be seen. When they tithed they sounded trumpets. They sought the chief seats at banquets. All so they would be praised and glorified.
Then the Lord said, “Because this people approaches Me with their words And honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me, (Isaiah 29:13).
Practicing righteousness to heap glory onto one’s self is a worthless endeavor.
Take care not to practice your righteousness in the sight of people, to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 6:1)
CAUTION
As you think about the BGR, ponder your motives. And sin being what it is, even if you’ve instituted such a rule for yourself at the start based on wanting to give glory to God through a holy lifestyle, over time it can become hardened and rigid, and become one of many rules that are void of worship and instead by now are just a performance. A rule for the sake of a rule.
For am I now seeking the favor of people, or of God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10).
That question should always be utmost in our minds. WHY do we do the things we do? Is what I am doing out of love and submission to the Savior? Am I pursuing holiness for the sake of God getting glory, or for myself so as to be well thought of? Has it become rote, and devoid of meaning and worship?
but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not intending to please people, but to please God, who examines our hearts. (1 Thessalonians 2:4)
When the sad news broke about formerly well respected Reformed preacher Steve Lawson, head pastor of a Dallas church, leader in several ministries, and Dean of the Doctor of Ministry program at The Master’s Seminary, had an “inappropriate relationship” with a woman, I wrote about it, but only the factual news and shared a few scriptures.
As I waited to see what would happen, there were several things on my mind and heart I hadn’t shared. Some were sparked by the vagueness of the original announcement from Lawson’s church (Trinity Bible Church). Some sparked by the surprisingly angry tone of some insiders tweeting, and some thoughts came to me as I pondered it over the days following. I wondered also about the swiftness Lawsons’ ministry doors closed and deleted.
One thing I spotted was this line in the church announcement-
The elders have met with Steve and will continue to come alongside him and pray for him with the ultimate goal of his personal repentance
That looks to me like he had not repented yet. Not if it is a ‘goal’. And is there any other kind of repentance than ‘personal’?
Well, yesterday, Phil Johnson @Phil_Johnson_ tweeted more details. His series of tweets are now deleted. He said he deleted in deference to Lawson’s church, who is charged biblically with handling the situation. But Johnson’s information went a long way to resolving some questions for me and for many others.
1/3 Almost. Steve himself informed the elders, but only after the girl’s father had confronted Steve and threatened exposure. This was not a noble confession of sin.
2/3 “Inappropriate” is too ambiguous—as if someone merely caught them holding hands. This was a 5-year relationship with strong romantic overtones. Both parties insist no literal fornication was involved, but their tie to one another was adulterous in spirit, if not in fact.
3/3 He is 73. She is in her late 20s. She is not a member of his church. In fact, she lives in a different state nowhere close to any of the ministries Steve served. I don’t believe any good end would be served by exposing her identity to the public.
I don’t want to be crude, but I flat out do not believe the statement about no intimacy of any kind.
Anyway, it’s even more sordid than we thought. I’m sure it will get worse. Sin always does. Remember, both the woman and the man involved were outed unwillingly. Unrepentant people caught in sin always share the least amount of facts so as to either justify their sin or downplay it. In fact, Lawson preached one last message as the situation was building to blow open publicly, and mentioned (out of context) that a man should not be judged by his one “hiccup.”
Five years is a long time to be hiccuping.
I was upset and angry. It’s a massive betrayal of his wife, family, church, ministries, and the Bride. Not to mention against Jesus.
If you are reading this and are in Christ Jesus, think about that anger for a moment. Why, when faced with new information, did so many people trip from ‘sad, it could have been me, let’s forgive’, to ‘I’m furious and upset and will never, ever listen to him again’ ? More on that below.
As I watched social media since the news broke, there was shock, and from the pagans, mocking of Calvinism, accusations of coverup, parsing about adultery. Many people urged compassion, they focused on forgiveness, there were debates about restoration, and so on. One man wrote,
“Steve Lawson’s sin is that he deceived others while practicing a sin. That doesn’t make me better than him, it just makes me disappointed in him.” from Twitter.
No. It’s worse than just “disappointment.”
Phil’s was actually helpful information. Why? Because the length of time the sin went on, covered and glorying in it, trips the benchmark from a pastor who sadly chose to briefly sin, to the hypocrite, living a lying double life and potentially a false convert. It deepens the lawlessness exponentially.
The one thing I didn’t see was talk of what I consider the main thing.
HYPOCRISY
GOD HATES HYPOCRISY. I’d dare to say that He hates hypocrisy worst of all sins.
The anger we felt when learning the further details exposed Lawson as a hypocrite. Hypocrites make the Spirit in us angry. We become angry, righteously, I hope, but if righteously, then it’s right to be mad.
Hypocrisy is the gap between external appearance and internal character. It is someone who says one thing in the name of the Lord and does another privately. Kevin DeYoung describes it this way–
“the gap between public persona and private character. Hypocrisy is the failure to practice what you preach. Appearing outwardly righteous to others, while actually being full of uncleanness and self-indulgence—that’s the definition of hypocrisy.“
Of course someone preaching holiness and righteousness but all the while cheating on his wife is a hypocrite. The damage is untold when a hypocrite is unmasked. It’s an abomination because he had used the Lord to cover his sin, he had co-opted Jesus into his sin at the pulpit. He had uttered out of two sides of his mouth, blessing and cursing at the same time. It’s putrid, and it makes God extremely angry.
The hypocrite is the Christian who uses the veneer of public virtue to cover the rot of private vice. ~Kevin DeYoung
The Bible speaks much about hypocrisy. It is always with anger, condemnation, and even curses and woes.
You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you, by saying: THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. (Matthew 15:7-8a)
James says a hypocrite’s religion is worthless!
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. (James 1:26)
A hypocrite may even be denied entry to heaven!
Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 6:1)
A married man who for years indulged his lusts privately but preached holiness, warned of sin and hell, is a man practicing righteousness before other people, NOT pursuing it for himself. Only judgment is in store!
Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? (Romans 2:3)
At heart, hypocrisy is theatrical religion, religion as a means of personal enrichment or enhanced reputation. It is an abomination to the God who sees and knows the heart. ~Tim Challies
Steve Lawson is a hypocrite. Of course, if he humbly repents, not lip-service repentance, but true heart-baring public self-denial and apology to Jesus and to his people, Jesus will forgive. But personally in my opinion, someone with such a thorough knowledge of the scriptures while indulging in adultery for five years, has a seared conscience about it.
As for the rest of us, sitting here thinking about our own decisions, what it all means, next moves…a layman named Boyd Kendrick replied to Phil Johnson’s post on Facebook, saying,
God is still on His throne, and His ongoing global redemptive works will not be undone. Yet, even so, the seismic aftershocks of this catastrophic moral failure will be felt for generations and may yet affect the lives of many. Such is the long shadow of shame cast by a public ministry with such long tenure and such global reach when it falls.
Hypocrisy is devastating. Absolute corruption. It is where unaddressed sin leads. Be warned!
It is pretty simple. There are only two options, accept the Lord’s offer of pardon for sins by repenting and gain heaven, or refuse it and gain hell and eternal judgment. Stay strong. I have observed that the longer people go in Christianity the wobblier they get on the basics. Some of them. For example, here are three quotes from people in their unscriptural beliefs which you may not be aware. Who said it? None of these are from Rob Bell or Joel Osteen. The answers may surprise you.
This first quote speaks of Annihilationist doctrine, the doctrine that Hell is not eternal and punishment does not happen-
1. “Scripture points in the direction of annihilation, and that ‘eternal conscious torment’ is a tradition which has to yield to the supreme authority of Scripture.”
2. “All who live a just life will be saved even if they do not believe in Jesus Christ … “The gospel teaches us that those who live in accordance with the Beatitudes… ‘the poor in spirit, the pure of heart, those who bear lovingly the sufferings of life’ will enter God’s kingdom.”
3. “…there’s the Body of Christ. This comes from all the Christian groups around the world, outside the Christian groups. I think everybody that loves Christ, or knows Christ, whether they’re conscious of it or not, they’re members of the Body of Christ … And that’s what God is doing today, He’s calling people out of the world for His name, whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world, or the Christian world, or the non-believing world, they are members of the Body of Christ, because they’ve been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus, but they know in their hearts that they need something that they don’t have, and they turn to the only light that they have, and I think they are saved, and that they’re going to be with us in heaven.”
These are the people who said it: 1. Prominent and influential Evangelist John R.W. Stott, in the book, Essentials pp. 306-326, discussed here. 2. Pope John Paul II, the pope everyone liked. 3.Billy Graham, American evangelist
Are you surprised that Billy Graham, formerly the world’s most famous evangelist, thought that Muslims who don’t know Christ are in the body of Christ? That people who live a good life with a longing heart knowing they vaguely ‘need something they don’t have’, will meet Jesus as his friend? I listened to the interview where Graham had said that. He went on to say that his ‘views had softened with age’, that he ‘used to be more fiery and brimstone-like’, but he’d ‘mellowed’.
If people who enter the kingdom not knowing Jesus as Graham stated, (which is actually impossible) makes a lie of this verse: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Mt 7:21-23).
You HAVE to know Jesus.
People who believe that hell isn’t eternal and that there is a way to heaven aside from Jesus suffer from one problem: a high view of sin and a low view of His holiness. It is simple. It all boils down to sin, holiness, repentance – and eternal justice for the unrepentant. It began with sin in Genesis 3, it ends with sin in Revelation 20:11-15 at the Great White Throne judgment of sinners for all time. Sin-judgment-repentance-salvation, that is the foundation of His work in the world. Period.
Be careful of incremental chipping away of your faith and belief in the foundational doctrines Jesus taught us in the bible. There is one way to heaven. It is narrow. “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.” Stay praying and stay in the Word and stay being built up by brethren at regular worship services! It is a dangerous time for us all, spiritually.
“The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life…. He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” (Rev 22:17, 20)
I wrote recently that for a Bible times person to travel, there were only 3 ways. By ship, like Jonah did when fleeing God, on an animal like Balaam on his donkey, and by foot, like the two walking on the road to Emmaus. In fact, walking was the most frequent way people went from here to there.
A day’s journey for people walking in those times was 20-25 miles (according to historian Herodotus).
Mary and Joseph had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the Census. It’s about 90 miles from Point A to point B. It’s a journey that normally took around 4 days, but since Mary was in her third trimester, the going would likely have been slower, whether they were on foot or if Mary was in fact riding an animal. Did you know that there is no verse that states Mary was riding a donkey on their journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem? She might have, but we just don’t know.
It has been estimated that Jesus walked over 3,100 miles in His ministry time, others have estimated during his entire lifetime (including all those thrice yearly trips to Jerusalem) it was between 15,000 and 20,000 miles.
The Bible speaks of feet fairly frequently. I read of people washing feet, Jesus’ sandals that John the Baptist was too unholy to untie, the sandals of the wandering People that did not wear out… it got me thinking about footwear and feet. These are the things I think about. I think everything about the Bible, in the Bible, and Bible times is interesting.
A shoe or sandal in Bible times was a simple piece of leather tied on the foot with the serōkh, so easy of construction that its low cost was proverbial (Am 2:6; 8:6; Sir 46:19; cf Gen 14:23), and to be without it was a sign of extreme poverty (2 Ch 28:15; Isa 20:2), says The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia.
Please note this, bearing in mind the above fact that a sandal-less person is in extreme poverty:
But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet; Luke 15:22,
No sandals on the Prodigal’s feet. Interesting fact that we now know indicated his extremely impoverished state.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia has a long entry on “FOOT”. Here it is-
“The dusty roads of Pal and other eastern lands make a much greater care of the feet necessary than we are accustomed to bestow upon them. The absence of socks or stockings, the use of sandals and low shoes rather than boots and, to an even greater degree, the frequent habit of walking barefoot make it necessary to wash the feet repeatedly every day. This is always done when entering the house, esp. the better upper rooms which are usually carpeted. It is a common dictate of good manners to perform this duty to a visitor, either personally or through a servant; at least water for washing has to be presented (Gen 18:4; Lk 7:44). This has therefore become almost synonymous with the bestowal of hospitality (1 Tim 5:10).”
Egyptian sandal
“At an early date this service was considered one of the lowest tasks of servants (1 S 25:41), probably because the youngest and least trained servants were charged with the task, or because of the idea of defilement connected with the foot. It was, for the same reason, if rendered voluntarily, a service which betokened complete devotion.”
“Jesus taught the greatest lesson of humility by performing this humble service to His disciples (Jn 13:4–15). The undoing of the latchets or leather thongs of the sandals (Mk 1:7; Lk 3:16; Jn 1:27) seems to refer to the same menial duty.”
“The roads of the desert were not only dusty but rough, and the wanderer was almost sure to ruin his ill-made shoes and wound his weary feet. A special providence of God protected the children of Israel from this experience during the long journey through the wilderness.”
“Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years…. And I have led you in the wilderness for forty years; your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot.” (Dt 8:4; 29:5).”
“In the house shoes and sandals were never worn; even the most-delicate would put on shoes only when going out (Dt 28:56). The shoes were left outside of the house or in a vestibule.”
“Numerous are the phrases in which the word “foot” or “feet” is used in Bib. language. “To cover the feet” (1 S 24:3) is synonymous with obeying a call of Nature. “To speak with the feet” is expressive of the eloquence of abusive and obscene gesticulation among oriental people, where hands, eyes and feet are able to express much without the use of words (Prov 6:13). “To sit at the feet,” means to occupy the place of a learner (Dt 33:3; Lk 10:39; Acts 22:3). Vanquished enemies had to submit to being trodden upon by the conqueror (a ceremony often represented on Egyp monuments; Josh 10:24; Ps 8:6; 110:1; cf Isa 49:23).”
“Frequently we find references to the foot in expressions connected with journeyings and pilgrimages, which formed so large a part in the experiences of Israel, e.g. Ps 91:12, “lest thou dash thy foot against a stone”; 94:18, “My foot slippeth”; 121:3, “He will not suffer thy foot to be moved,” and many more. Often the reference is to the “walk,” i.e. the moral conduct of life (73:2; Job 23:11; 31:5).” –end dictionary entry
Source: Luering, H. L. E. (1915). Foot. In J. Orr, J. L. Nuelsen, E. Y. Mullins, & M. O. Evans (Eds.), The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia (Vols. 1–5, pp. 1125–1126). The Howard-Severance Company.
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