God Told Me

 

In some Christian circles, there is a lot of emphasis on what “God told me.” They don’t mean that they were reading a passage of Scripture and felt convicted by it. It’s not as though they were reading James 4:3, for example, where it says, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts,” and felt the Lord showing them that they had been asking amiss. They mean that they had an inward sense, feeling, or conviction that they are certain came from the Holy Spirit. But in my experience, they rarely mean simply that the Holy Spirit brought some verse or biblical truth to mind. Instead, they mean that God told them to do something, go somewhere, or say something.

And when they say it like that, how can you argue with them?  I wonder whether, in some cases, that is the point. You aren’t supposed to. 

They might readily acknowledge that their words should be tried by Scripture, but really they expect others to accept what they are saying as coming from God. And who is going to argue with God?

But what if they are wrong? After all, our only rule for faith and practice is Scripture. Scripture alone is infallible. And so we are to try the spirits (1 John 4:1), and we are to be Bereans, seeing if these things are so (Acts 17:11). The problem I have encountered is that people in these circles sometimes come with a level of certainty that can seem almost on par with that of the apostles. They speak as if they are as sure of the things God has ‘told’ them as they are of the truths of the Bible. And you can almost understand their perspective. If God told them, surely that settles it…

And so they go about telling people, “God told me,” “the Holy Spirit said to me,” and I worry that many of them do not expect others to disagree with them, any more than they would disagree with God.

Many other believers from a variety of backgrounds will say at times that they “felt led to do” this or the other thing, or they “felt led to say” something. But they do not say such things with authority. They may believe the Holy Spirit is speaking to them but they remain teachable. They humbly accept that they could be wrong, they listen to a multitude of counsellors (Proverbs 11:14), and they are willing to receive correction. What they understand is something that seems to be lost on parts of the Church. It is something Charles Spurgeon pointed out. I cannot remember where I read it, so I will do my best to paraphrase. In essence, he said that some believers, recognizing that the Spirit dwells in each of us, are quick to rely on what the Holy Spirit has told them, but fail to have the humility and wisdom to listen to what the Holy Spirit has told others. And so they do not read the writings of men from previous generations, nor do they pay attention to the warnings given by pastors and teachers, because they are convinced that they can safely rely on the Holy Spirit within them.

This is pride.

Consider the following:

Proverbs says, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise (Proverbs 12:15)." “The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise. He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding (Proverbs 15:31–32)." “Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee (Proverbs 9:8)."

Peter writes, “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5)."

Similarly, Paul says, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves (Philippians 2:3)." “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith (Romans 12:3)."

Aside, then, from humbly listening to the counsel of others, how do we know if a word, a feeling, a sense, or some other thing is of God? Suppose you went to a worship service or an event of some kind and saw wonders and miracles and felt the presence of God. Is that sufficient? Not according to the Bible. Remember that Satan himself can come as a minister of light (2 Corinthians 11:14–15), and that false prophets can show great signs and wonders (Matthew 24:24). And feelings cannot be trusted as a reliable test of whether something is from God. 

So how do we know? We go to the Bible and test it. The Bible says, for example, that if a prophet prophesies falsely, he is not to be feared (Deuteronomy 18:21–22). In short, his false prophecy exposes him as a false prophet. Most so-called prophecies today are vague enough that they cannot be falsified. That in itself is a red flag. But when a prophecy is specific enough to be tested and does not come to pass, this is a clear indication that the prophet is false.

Similarly, even if a prophet prophesies correctly and performs wonders, he is not to be followed if he leads people away from God (Deuteronomy 13:1–3). Moreover, if a prophet or teacher leads people away from the truth, he is not to be trusted. As Isaiah says, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20).

Paul warns against those who teach a different doctrine (1 Timothy 1:3–7), condemns those who preach a different gospel (Galatians 1:8–9), and urges Timothy to take heed to both himself and his doctrine (1 Timothy 4:16). More than that, he tells Timothy to withdraw from those who suppose that gain is godliness (1 Timothy 6:5), and instructs Titus to reject a heretic after the first and second admonition (Titus 3:10). 

Of course, Paul did not mean that every difference in doctrine makes someone a false teacher. Scholars and theologians have historically recognized a distinction between essential and non-essential doctrines.* But when someone teaches doctrine that contradicts the essential truths of the faith—such as the deity of Christ—or makes claims that undermine the authority of Scripture, we are to mark and avoid them (Romans 16:17). Similarly, when men or women make false prophecies or deliberately tell lies about miracles and strange phenomena, such as gold dust, they are guilty of the very dishonesty Paul said he had renounced (2 Corinthians 4:2), and they should be held accountable.

Over the years, I have learned to be more charitable toward pastors and teachers than I was at first. I can tolerate differences that I wasn't ready to tolerate in my youth. But even so, there are pastors, teachers, and so-called prophets and apostles whom I have marked and will avoid. I don't avoid them based on hearsay, nor do I avoid them because they are a little bit different. Rather, I have heard enough to recognize those who preach another Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:4), deny the true Christ (1 John 2:22; 4:2–3), teach the doctrine of demons (1 Timothy 4:1), and/or preach another gospel (Galatians 1:6–9).

What worries me about those who tell us “God told me” is that they sometimes seem unwilling to hear counsel, receive instruction, try the spirits, do the work of a Berean, or simply ask, “Is this in keeping with God's word?” Nor are those listening always doing the work of a Berean themselves.

Jesus’ warning is worth remembering: “Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?” (Luke 6:39).

* See, for example, the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and the Definition of Chalcedon.