Introduction: The sanctifying and strengthening power of unity is described in the Psalm that begins: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Jesus warned that “every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” (Ps. 133; Mt 12:25). Imagine the influence the Lord’s kingdom would have if all those who say they seek it first were united in doctrine and purpose. If we all spoke the same thing and there were no divisions among us, our human efforts to go into all the world to preach the gospel and to edify the saints would be mighty indeed.
In order to accomplish this unity, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to His apostles: “When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth,” “He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” (Jn. 14:26; Jn. 16:13). Thus the full content of the New Testament Scriptures are included in the “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (2Tim. 3:16). The Holy Spirit is the author of all Scripture.
Therefore Scripture is the absolute truth. The flawless and perfect standard to measure our faith and conduct! No matter how much thought, time and effort we have put into our convictions, we must measure them by the objective standard of Scripture. God said that we should have just measurements in commerce and that the same principles should apply to our use of His Word. “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. And you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the Lord.” (Lev. 19:35-36). Thus when disagreements arise regarding weight, the just scale ends the dispute and all diverse opinions are set aside. This is exactly what the Holy Spirit came to accomplish. By revealing and recording “all truth,” we have an objective scale to measure our convictions upon.
In order to accomplish this unity, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to His apostles: “When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth,” “He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” (Jn. 14:26; Jn. 16:13). Thus the full content of the New Testament Scriptures are included in the “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (2Tim. 3:16). The Holy Spirit is the author of all Scripture.
Therefore Scripture is the absolute truth. The flawless and perfect standard to measure our faith and conduct! No matter how much thought, time and effort we have put into our convictions, we must measure them by the objective standard of Scripture. God said that we should have just measurements in commerce and that the same principles should apply to our use of His Word. “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. And you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the Lord.” (Lev. 19:35-36). Thus when disagreements arise regarding weight, the just scale ends the dispute and all diverse opinions are set aside. This is exactly what the Holy Spirit came to accomplish. By revealing and recording “all truth,” we have an objective scale to measure our convictions upon.
If we follow Jesus instructions, we will be safe: We must abide in His Word. “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (Jn. 8:31). Only when we abide in his word can we know the truth and be made free.
There is a doctrine affecting multitudes of “disciples” today that actually seeks to remove the absolute standard of God’s word as our scale. Some are taking the words Jesus spoke only to His apostles and applying directly to themselves. They are convinced in their own inspiration, believe their thoughts are guided by the Holy Spirit, and expect to be followed. They take their own thoughts and ideas and place them on the same level or even above Scripture. Those who believe that their own thoughts are guided by the Holy Spirit feel confident even to set aside Scripture.
When we point out the terrible contradiction this creates, they accuse us of “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” or of not allowing the Holy Spirit to do His work. Yet there is a great dilemma. We must either set aside the absolute standard of Scripture or reject their new teaching as false. Can anyone really believe that the divine Spirit of God would contradict Himself today? Would He set aside the absolute truth revealed in the first century to teach something new or different today?
This is not the first time in the history of God’s people that this problem has occurred. There have always been those who falsely claim inspiration. Even in the days of Jeremiah there were prophets claiming to speak from God who were teaching falsehoods. God made His feelings clear about those who reject His Word in Scripture in favor of those claiming inspiration. “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; They speak a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the Lord. They continually say to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, “You shall have peace”’; And to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you.’” (Jer. 23:16-17)
God is deeply concerned that His people will be swayed by false visions or false inspiration. He warned that when any “prophet” speaks a “vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the Lord,” there is a grave danger that: “They make you worthless.” When we let go of God’s word to accept present day inspiration we become “worthless” to the Lord. These false teachers claiming inspiration say: “everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you’” Thus we must judge them by the Scripture and not the Scripture by them. Nearly 2,000 years ago the Spirit revealed that “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2Pet. 1:3). Since His divine power has already given us all things what new thing could we need today? We are commanded to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3). When someone with “inspiration” seeks to lead us from the faith once delivered to the saints we must contend against him. There is no need for inspiration today. It was once for all time delivered to the saints. There is nothing left to add today.
This is exactly what John said: “We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” (1Jn. 4:6). Only the writers of the New Testament Scriptures are “of God.” All who hear these writers know God. Those who set aside these writings in favor of their own so called “inspiration” are not of God. This is the true difference between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Those who accept the writings of Scripture are in the midst of the spirit of truth and those who reject their writings to hold to their own “inspiration” are in the spirit of error. It can’t get any simpler than that.
Jesus is the cornerstone and the inspired apostles and prophets are the foundation true disciples are built upon: “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone”. Paul described the exact method that brought truth into the world: “how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:” (Eph. 2:20; 3:3-6). What was “at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit.” (Heb. 2:3-4).
Conclusion. Can nearly 2000 years of God’s clear and absolute standard (Scriptures of the New Covenant) be set aside today in favor of today’s “new revelations?” Are those who follow the “dictates of their own heart” and calling it inspiration anything else but false teachers in the grip of error? The Holy Spirit revealed they do not have God: “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.” (2Jn. 9).
There is a doctrine affecting multitudes of “disciples” today that actually seeks to remove the absolute standard of God’s word as our scale. Some are taking the words Jesus spoke only to His apostles and applying directly to themselves. They are convinced in their own inspiration, believe their thoughts are guided by the Holy Spirit, and expect to be followed. They take their own thoughts and ideas and place them on the same level or even above Scripture. Those who believe that their own thoughts are guided by the Holy Spirit feel confident even to set aside Scripture.
When we point out the terrible contradiction this creates, they accuse us of “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” or of not allowing the Holy Spirit to do His work. Yet there is a great dilemma. We must either set aside the absolute standard of Scripture or reject their new teaching as false. Can anyone really believe that the divine Spirit of God would contradict Himself today? Would He set aside the absolute truth revealed in the first century to teach something new or different today?
This is not the first time in the history of God’s people that this problem has occurred. There have always been those who falsely claim inspiration. Even in the days of Jeremiah there were prophets claiming to speak from God who were teaching falsehoods. God made His feelings clear about those who reject His Word in Scripture in favor of those claiming inspiration. “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; They speak a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the Lord. They continually say to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, “You shall have peace”’; And to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you.’” (Jer. 23:16-17)
God is deeply concerned that His people will be swayed by false visions or false inspiration. He warned that when any “prophet” speaks a “vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the Lord,” there is a grave danger that: “They make you worthless.” When we let go of God’s word to accept present day inspiration we become “worthless” to the Lord. These false teachers claiming inspiration say: “everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you’” Thus we must judge them by the Scripture and not the Scripture by them. Nearly 2,000 years ago the Spirit revealed that “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2Pet. 1:3). Since His divine power has already given us all things what new thing could we need today? We are commanded to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3). When someone with “inspiration” seeks to lead us from the faith once delivered to the saints we must contend against him. There is no need for inspiration today. It was once for all time delivered to the saints. There is nothing left to add today.
This is exactly what John said: “We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” (1Jn. 4:6). Only the writers of the New Testament Scriptures are “of God.” All who hear these writers know God. Those who set aside these writings in favor of their own so called “inspiration” are not of God. This is the true difference between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Those who accept the writings of Scripture are in the midst of the spirit of truth and those who reject their writings to hold to their own “inspiration” are in the spirit of error. It can’t get any simpler than that.
Jesus is the cornerstone and the inspired apostles and prophets are the foundation true disciples are built upon: “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone”. Paul described the exact method that brought truth into the world: “how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:” (Eph. 2:20; 3:3-6). What was “at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit.” (Heb. 2:3-4).
Conclusion. Can nearly 2000 years of God’s clear and absolute standard (Scriptures of the New Covenant) be set aside today in favor of today’s “new revelations?” Are those who follow the “dictates of their own heart” and calling it inspiration anything else but false teachers in the grip of error? The Holy Spirit revealed they do not have God: “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.” (2Jn. 9).