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 The
current wave of ascetic utterances, “speaking with/in tongues”,
which has swept parts of the country and made inroad among some
brethren, is directly related to the increase in a subjective
approach to authority. External authority, exemplified in the
written word and approached objectively, has been eroded by “no
pattern” arguments, and replaced by an appeal to majority
practices. Even “good judgement” looks inward, and is not
“good” at all when it ignores the divine revelation.
One
of the early fruits of such thinking is a rejection of
hard-core, straight-line Bible preaching. Those who try to blend
“direct spirit” operation with scriptures may contend that
these must be “spiritually discerned” — and smugly
conclude that you must not “have the spirit” since you do
not “see” them as do they. But recent claimants are more -
likely to pride themselves in their “spirituality” which
finds “unity in diversity.” If we remove the idea of God’s
word, sufficiently understandable to all, and to which all are
subject, we have no standard for unity in “the faith”, and
all truth becomes relative.
Who,
or what, can test the “feelings” of another? None —
nothing! The one making such claims may be happily satisfied but
his hope is subjective, wholly within himself. I would not deny
that he had a feeling, but would insist that its interpretation
must be measured by a fixed standard, the truth taught by the
apostles and prophets of the N.T. (Jn. 4:6)
When
we cut loose from this mooring, we are adrift on the sea of
human wisdom. There
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is no limitations except as they
are self-imposed, and the person who accepts “direct spirit
guidance” in one field, may go (or encourage others to go) to
the extreme of “tongue speaking.” Once we step beyond the
influence of the inspired (Spirit-breathed) word, that direct
influence becomes a matter of degrees, with little to control
our imagination.
Isaiah
wrote, “And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that
have familiar spirits and unto the wizards, that chirp and that
mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? On behalf of
the living should they seek unto the dead? To the law and to
the testimony! If they speak not according to this word,
surely there is no morning for them.” (Isa. 8: 19-20
emphasis mine, rt) God is no respecter of person, but deals with
each of us by appealing to common faculties. Each can hear,
learn, and come unto God. (Jn. 6: 45) As free agents we may
reject His word, or we may “see with our eyes, and hear with
our ears, and understand with our heart, be converted, and
healed.” (Cf. Matt. 13: 15-16) This is not only the process
for becoming Christians, but also for growth and development as
children of God. (1 Pet. 2:2)
Such
basic principles are so completely scriptural, and so much a
part of preaching once common among churches of Christ, it seems
absurd to have to repeat this for brethren today. Ours is a “new”
generation, and woe to him who is tied to the party, instead of
to Christ.
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