One of the favorite arguments of the Hardshells in support of their "direct voice" speaking of Christ in regeneration is to say that the only way to hear the voice of God, or the voice of Christ, is not to hear it in the reading of the word of God, or in the oral communication of it, but in personal talk from God and Christ (where they somehow directly speak to souls on the sub conscious level). Many times you will hear their preachers say something like this in regard to hearing the voice of Christ in regeneration (for eternal life) - "You are hearing the words of God in my preaching but you are hearing my voice and not the voice of Christ."
Such an argument is weak and worthless. It shows an ignorance that is unworthy of any who claim to be teachers and exegetes of the word of God. First, observe that the Greek word for voice is phōnē from which we get many of our English words, like telephone. According to Strong and Thayer and others, the "Outline of Biblical Usage" for that word includes
1. a sound, a tone
of inanimate things, as musical instruments
2. a voice
of the sound of uttered words
3. speech
of a language, tongue
The word denotes, when referring to human speech, "the voice of words."
The definition given by Hardshells on the meaning of "voice" is not valid or cogent and the above text proves it conclusively. The "voices" of the prophets were heard in the reading of the word of God! But, that is an impossibility according to the Hardshell definition of "voice." By their definition the only way to hear the "voices of the prophets" is to have been one of those who heard the prophets speak while they were here in the flesh. Don't you see?
We can hear the voices of dead people today thanks to the invention of recording devices. But, those were not available in the first century when the voices of the prophets were being heard in the reading of their written words.
Now, the conclusion is simple. If the voices of the prophets can be heard in the reading of their words, then why can we not hear the voice of Christ in the reading of his words?
What think ye?
LUKE 16:27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
ReplyDelete28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them HEAR them.
30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31 And he said unto him, If they HEAR not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Obviously"Let them hear them" means the written word. Perfect proof that Jesus definitely thought the written word was enough to keep one from the grips of Hell. Nuff said.
Amen! Bingo! They heard Moses and the prophets even though they were dead! Do the Hardshells think the ghosts of those men were directly speaking to them? Or, do should they not more reasonably see how the people in Christ's day were still hearing the voices of Moses and the prophets in the hearing of their words. They did not have tape recordings of Moses to hear his voice sound and tone.
ReplyDeleteThese Hardshell aberrations were developed out of necessity, and not from honestly thinking the Word of God taught such. The inventors of the anti-means paradigm had committed themselves to the belief that the world was full of unconverted regenerates, and were left scrambling with redefining words and points of doctrine in an attempt to make it harmonize with the scripture.
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