Q. 3. What is the Word of God?
A. The holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, the only rule of faith and obedience.
“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”
—Luke 16:19–31
This parable is an effective rebuttal to those who tout the capacity of signs and wonders to add power to the gospel. Here we see a man begging for a warning to be sent, via a dead man, to his unbelieving brothers, to turn them from their unbelief and spare them the eternal torment of hell. Surely, “if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!” No, Abraham replies, if they won’t hear the Word of God through Moses and the Prophets, not even that will dent their hard hearts.
Remember this when the next evangelistic “new measures” come around, or when the next fabulous “I’ve been to heaven (or hell)” tale hits the bookstores and tempts you to think it might effectively draw people to Christ. Forget it. Even if there was a new way, even if those stories were true, they could not succeed where the seed of the Word has fallen and died.
It is only “the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:14–17).
Get your own copy of The Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms here.
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2 Comments:
#1 || 11·04·20··04:56 || Jim Duval
As one who has had a great deal of exposure to the charismatic movement in the past, I applaud your very definitive and correct statement here. Far too many of our "brethren" are looking for additions to the gospel, when the Word is all that is needed. Thank you.
#2 || 11·04·20··07:48 || David Kjos
Thanks, Jim, my thoughts exactly.
By the way, you should add yourself to the list of incoming links.