G.K. Wallace
Theologians refuse to admit or approve the law of God. They think they have the right to set aside what God says for how they feel or believe. We have lost our Bible. Most people in America own and often carry a Bible but it is nullified in various ways. The word of God is vetoed or set aside in the following ways:
Claims To Special And New Revelations
The Bible teaches that the word of God is complete (2 Tim. 3:17). The word of God furnishes the man of God completely unto every good work. Any work not authorized by the Bible is not a good work.
God’s divine power has granted us everything that pertains to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3). Paul says in Ephesians 4:13 that we have “the unity of the faith.” That means that when the New Testament was finished we had all the faith. Any claim to a new or extra revelation other than what the apostles taught incurs the wrath of God. Paul says, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema” (Gal. 1:8). The curse of God rests on all who claim to have messages that were not received and preached by the apostles. Claims to new revelations veto the word of God.
Men Veto The Word Of God By Their Consciences
Some allow the word of God to be set aside in favor of their conscience. Conscience cannot be a safe guide because it may be mistaken.
Paul’s conscience was clear while he persecuted the church (Acts 23:1). Paul thought he should do things contrary to the will of God but he was wrong (Acts 26:9). Conscience may be hardened (1 Tim. 4:2). Conscience may be weak and defiled (Titus 1:15). Conscience is a creature of education. It approves what we believe to be right and disapproves what we believe to be wrong. It is not believing that saves, but what you believe. “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
Experiences And Feelings Veto The Word Of God
Many are heard to say, “I don’t care what the Bible says, I know how I feel.” Feeling is not an act of obedience, but the result of a viewpoint. The new birth is an act that takes one out of the realm of Satan and into the kingdom of God. A change of state is an act and not a sentiment or feeling. One feels good because he has done what he believes to be right. If what he does is not right, feeling good will not make it right.
Those who rely upon feelings rely upon their own judgment. The final decision is upon man’s judgment and not the word of God. If feelings are placed above the word of God, then anything can be considered the will of God.
Ignoring the word of God for feelings, or what is called “the obedience to the spirit,” spells anarchy. This is true because there are as many “inner spirits” as there are “outer bodies.” To reject the word of God is to reject God. There is no such thing as “accepting Christ” while at the same time rejecting his revealed will.
So-Called Personal Encounters Veto God’s Word
When religious services are made up of personal testimonies, these testimonials relate how Jesus or the Holy Ghost came to them and spoke peace or gave directions. These testimonials ignore the fact that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16). Too, those who testify veto God’s law about the operation of God’s power to save. Jesus Christ is forbidden to speak directly to mankind. When Jesus wanted Saul to be an apostle he appeared to him on the Damascus highway (1 Cor. 15:8). However, he told Saul to go to Damascus to learn what to do to be saved (Acts 9:6). The Holy Spirit cannot tell a man what to do to be saved except through the revealed will of God. God’s will for man is revealed and no one has a personal encounter.
Some years ago I was preaching in a certain city and staying in a hotel near the meeting house. On the way there, a person stopped me and asked, “Are you a Christian?” I replied, “Yes, I am a Christian and a gospel preacher. Come and go with me to the service at the meeting house.”
He replied, “Sir, I am sorry but the Holy Ghost spoke to me and told me to ask you that.”
I replied, “That is odd as the Holy Ghost knows that I am a Christian, as I was baptized in His name. There is a ghost after you and he is not Holy.”
In the last days there will be “seducing spirits” to lead men astray (1 Tim. 4:1). If you have had some personal encounter it was with some spirit other than the Holy Spirit. So-called “testimonials” are not only misleading, but they are outlawed by the word of God. Paul says we are not to preach ourselves (2 Cor. 4:5). When one is testifying, he is preaching himself. If you wish to tell us what God says, say on. If you wish to preach yourself, please excuse me as I have something better to do than listen to revelations from evil spirits.
Internal authority leads to self-worship. Modernists tell us that our conception of God comes not from revelation, but intuition. Paul said man made God in his own image (Rom. 1:23). The sin of setting self-will above the will of God is that which caused the downfall of the human race (Gen. 3). Religious worshippers have no way of knowing what God wants except through what God says. To accept any source of internal authority is a denial of God. “It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jer. 10:23). Those who accept special revelation, inner light, and personal encounters reject the word of God as a “dead letter” and depend wholly upon their own feelings. In so doing, they veto the word of God.
There is only one source of authority. This authority is in Jesus Christ. He has all authority (Matt. 28:18-19). The source of this authority is God who gave it to Christ. God and Christ have revealed themselves through the Holy Spirit, in the Bible. The Bible is the revelation of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Does God speak to man directly or through the word of God? The answer is clear. Deity speaks through the word of God. When men accept the Bible as the full and complete will of God, they are not far from the kingdom of God.
