Articles and Bible Questions

A few months ago, our representatives in Congress selected Mike Johnson to be the new Speaker of the House of Representatives. Many prominent journalists and media figures didn’t know much about Johnson, and so profiles and articles explaining Johnson’s beliefs and worldview began flooding the newspapers and blogs. 

Speaker Johnson, according to reports and his own words, believes in the Bible, the flood, and a literal six-day creation account, as described in Genesis chapter 1. Wisdom International aligns our teaching to the same literal reading of Genesis 1. Without apology, I believe that the earth is young, and that God created everything in six literal 24-hour days. I also believe the greater miracle wasn’t that God did it all in 6 days, but that He took 6 days to do it! 

I’m encouraged to know that a prominent leader in Washington believes the biblical account of origins, and I hope you will join me in praying for Speaker Johnson and all our representatives in Washington, as well as at the state and local levels. 

At the same time, I’ve been saddened by the ridicule Johnson has received for his beliefs. A generation ago, believing the traditional view of Scripture would have validated his integrity and wisdom, but today, Johnson has been called a conspiracy theorist and a science denier. 

Our secular culture believes that “faith” in the Bible means believing it in spite of evidence to the contrary. I strongly disagree. The Word of God can be defended historically, scientifically, prophetically, and spiritually. In fact, the more we discover in the world, the more the Bible is authenticated and validated. 

What’s even sadder to me is the growing number of pastors and church leaders who hold to the same view of faith as the rest of the world. They leave their congregations without answers and, worse yet, ignore their questions about these important topics. 

While God will not accept defiance, He welcomes our questions. Just like any earthly father, God desires His children to be inquisitive, to engage with the Bible, to seek out the truth and to bring any concerns or misconceptions to Him. After all, as we’ve seen, God knows our questions whether we express them to Him or not, so why not pray more directly, and search the Scriptures more diligently. 

Questions like, How can I know your Word is true? What is your will for my life right now? God, I’m not seeing how this is good for me, will you show me how it is? are questions that bring your Heavenly Father glory and honor. 

But you may be asking, “How will I know God’s answer to my questions?” Let’s explore that right now: 

GOD’S REVELATION WILL NOT BE AUDIBLE TODAY, AS IT WAS DURING THE DAYS OF THE PROPHETS AND APOSTLES. 

God is no longer sending angels to earth as messengers with specific words to specific people. Why not? Well, it’s not that I don’t have enough faith that God could do those things; God is all-powerful and can do anything. And it’s not that I don’t want Him to; I would love nothing more than to hear God’s voice speak directly to me. 

But the Bible tells us that Scripture, the written Word of God, will make us “equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:17). That means the Bible is entirely sufficient for every need. 

The Bible also warns that we should not “add to [God’s] words, lest he rebuke [us] and [we are] found [liars]” (Proverbs 30:6). In other words, the Bible now stands completed and the canon of Scripture is closed. 

So how do we receive answers from God today? 

First, He speaks through His Word. The Bible has been given for insight and wisdom. The Holy Spirit can apply passages of Scripture to our lives in unique ways—and we sense the pleasure of God. So, the more familiar we become with the Book, the clearer God’s voice can be “heard.” 

Second, God speaks through the preaching of His Word. A pastor isn’t necessarily smarter than you, nor does he know God’s “will” for every situation you’re facing, but as he expounds, explains, and applies passages of Scripture, God’s Spirit can uniquely apply that message to your mind and heart. That’s why it’s so important you sit under a pastor, not because they have clever insights into human nature or use a creative approach in their presentation, but because they are committed to expounding on Scripture—verse by verse. 

And third, God speaks through godly counsel. In Romans 15:14, the apostle Paul tells the believer that we are to “admonish one another.” The word he uses for “admonish” comes from nouthetein, which gives us our word, “nouthetic,” for nouthetic counseling. Nouthetic counseling is simply a biblical approach to instructing, warning, correcting, and encouraging someone else. 

Find people in your life who are dedicated to God’s Word, tell them your questions and concerns, and allow them to speak Scripture and truth back to you. Together, you can discern God’s wisdom in unique situations. 

Let me offer three cautions as well. 

AVOID THOSE WHO CALL THEMSELVES PROPHETS. 

False teachers are out there, saying they hear direct revelation from God and that they can speak to you on God’s behalf. Flee those people. You don’t need a mediator between you and God, and you don’t need an intermediary to discern His will. You can talk to God directly and let Him speak directly back through his Word. 

DON’T TEST GOD TO MAKE HIM PROVE HIS ANSWERS. 

Don’t be like Gideon, who wanted to test God with the fleece rather than trust Him. There are Christians today who might say something like, “God, if you want me to be a missionary, have someone from another country knock on my door at exactly 3 p.m. tomorrow, and then I will.” That’s a test, and often we make these tests because we are hesitating to do what we already feel God is calling us to. Resist these temptations, seek God’s will, and trust the way He leads your heart; don’t put the Lord your God to the test. 

DON’T ENGAGE IN BIBLIOMANCY. 

Bibliomancy is an occult practice in which someone closes their eyes, points to a passage in a book, and then expects their finger to land on a specific answer. Sadly, many people do this with the Bible as they seek God’s answers. They may ask a question to God, and then flip randomly to a page in the Bible and find any random passage seeking an answer. 

This practice is dangerous. Someone with a very dark sense of humor told the story of a man who was seeking God’s will, so he closed his eyes and pointed. The verse he landed on was Matthew 27:5: “Judas went away and hanged himself.” Thinking, there’s no way God wants me to do that, the man tried again. This time, his finger landed on Luke 10:37: “Go and do likewise.” Okay, God, one more time, the man thought. He flipped and pointed again, and his finger landed on John 13:27: “What you are about to do, do quickly.” 

Scripture without its context is meaningless. Pointing to a random verse and hoping to find insight for a specific need in your life is as useless as using the magic 8 ball or buying lottery tickets based on the numbers in your fortune cookie at the Chinese takeout restaurant. 

God will answer your questions and He will do so as you study the Word of God, seek biblical counseling and listen to biblically-sound preaching. 

And while we’re at it, let’s make sure the answers we look for are those that conform our will to His will, not His will to ours.