God Told Me...?

Hebrews 1:1-2 says, "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world."

That's something to keep in mind any time someone says that God told them something. Everything we could ever want to hear God say has already been said in the Bible. God spoke through His prophets who gave us the Old Testament. And in these last days, He has spoken through His Son Jesus Christ, whose apostles gave us the New Testament.

Now the Bible is not just a record of what God said in the past. When we read the book of Hebrews, the writer quotes the Old Testament as something that God is saying to us right now:

"Of the angels He says, 'He makes His angels winds, and His ministers a flame of fire.' But of the Son he says, 'Your throne O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom." Hebrews 1:7-9

We read in Hebrews 4:12 that "the word of God is living and active." God does speak to us. He speaks through the Scriptures. He does not speak to us through visions or inner voices.

If a person says to you, "God told me..." what comes next should be a passage from the Bible. Otherwise, what they're claiming is that the subjective voice they heard in their head is equally as reliable and authoritative as the Bible.

Proverbs 28:26 says, "Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool." Proverbs 3:5 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." Psalm 119 says that God's word is firmly fixed. It is by His word we can test all other words.

As Justin Peters has said, if you want to hear God speak to you, read the Bible. If you want to hear him speak to you out loud, read the Bible out loud. We hear the very word of God when we understand the text!