As we continue to focus on developing our devotional life, we want to approach every passage of Scripture as a Word from the Lord. There are many who misinterpret verses out of ignorance or by design. For example, John 10: 44 reads: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me...." This verse is used wrongly to support the idea that God is giving someone personal extra-Biblical revelations. We have seen previously, that is how the following churches were formed from "new material" outside of His Word: Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Scientists, the Jim Jones cult and even Muslims. The context for verse 44 is found in the immediately preceding and following verse. Verse 43 reads: "But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you." So the context is that Christ is talking to nonbelievers. This is confirmed when looking at verse 45: "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." Verse 44 is not about Jesus whispering guidance to you about who to marry, what job to take or what clothes to wear. Instead, He is talking about the effectual call that the Holy Spirit gives to those chosen before the foundation of the world. God's elect hears His voice and responds. John Wesley called it prevenient grace and John Calvin called it irresistible grace. The point is that the Lord Jesus Christ was describing how one receives the call to be saved through the grace of God. The Bible is so clear when it is studied correctly. God did not intend to make you follow breadcrumbs to get direction. The Bible is His Word, that is it.
No comments:
Post a Comment