Hi John,
I noticed that a man in a recent correspondence wanted you and us to leave off “revelation” when it came to reasoning about the things of God, and just read the Bible and figure it out. As you have told us many of times in the past, and will tell us many more times in the future, you can take the scriptures and make them line up with whatever doctrine you want. Without revelation from the the Father and the Son, whatever someone believes about anything is just as good as whatever someone else believes. It is just an opinion, and a delusion in our own minds.
Revelation is what Jesus said he would build his congregation on: He said to them, “But you, who do you think I am?”
16. Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17. Jesus answered him, “You are a blessed man, Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but my Father who is in heaven.
18. And I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Without revelation, all we have is words. They could be true and they could a lie, but when the revelation comes from God through his spirit, that is the Word and that is truth. I am so thankful, John, that we are taught by the spirit and revelation, and not by the letter. Gods people need to know where their help comes from, and it is from on high, at the ready to help whoever is in need and to teach us all about our Father and the Son, and who we are. Thank you John I am so glad you are my pastor.
Stuart
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Hi Brother Stuart!
Revelation from God is the only thing that can possibly rescue us from human opinion. If Jesus doesn’t teach us, we are hopelessly lost. I am so thankful he has spoken to us.
jdc
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Br. John,
The “cult reponse” thing went through my mind after reading that email someone sent to you this morning, and immediately the next thought was, “Moses had ‘cult followers’, too.” Christians don’t call following the 10 commandments a “cult response” because 1) it’s been recorded in the Bible & 2) Moses is dead now. I believe the events in our lives and in Preacher Clark’s lifetime are “Bible-worthy”, and in the future, those things may be recorded and reverenced as holy. But what did evil-hearted or ignorant people say while those events were happening in Moses’ time? If people really believe God and have real faith, they have to believe that there is someone to follow because God has always given us help. Yes, He gave us His spirit, and when we follow it, it leads us to fellowship with others who are following it. And that leads us to the government of God and His leadership and protection that He has always had for His people!
Just sayin’
Cris
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Historically, even in the Old Testament, faithful children of God, not to mention the prophets and apostles, and Jesus himself, were ridiculed and ostracized by the equivalent of the “good Christians” of their time. That is standard. It is our responsibility to make certain that both we ourselves and what we are doing are acceptable to God. As the old saying goes, “The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.” Let’s move on, humbly, with the Lord.
Pastor John