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What's Wrong With Experiencing God?

The keynote speaker's list of spiritual qualifications was not lengthy. There were no references to his academic letters, theological acumen, skill at biblical living, or personal holiness.

Instead, he was simply introduced as "a man who hears from God." It was the ultimate sign of spiritual competency. The implication for the audience was clear: He listens to God; they should listen to him.

It's hard to think of anything that has captured the imagination of Christians recently as aggressively as the idea of hearing the voice of God. The notion is, to many, so obviously Christian, so undoubtedly Biblical, that its truth is beyond question.

To challenge it is akin to spiritual treason. For many, such an intimacy is central to personal relationship with the Almighty, the core of vibrant Christianity. Without it genuine closeness to the Savior is not possible.

It's not surprising, then, that a book promising to lead the believer into such intimacy would be a best-seller. The book is simply entitled Experiencing God, by Henry Blackaby and Claude King. It's subtitled, "How to Live the Full Adventure of Knowing and Doing the Will of God."...

The Assignment

The concept of divine "assignment" is central to everything Blackaby has written. He mentions it more than 100 times. This is what he means by "God's will" and by God "speaking."

...How does God speak to us? "God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. He uses the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church (other believers). No one of these methods of God's speaking is, by itself, a clear indicator of God's directions. But when God says the same thing through each of these ways, you can have confidence to proceed"....

Blackaby is intentionally vague on the manner of this communication. The method differs from person to person. In general, the goal of the Christian is to develop the ability to "sense" God's "leading."

Blackaby describes it this way: "I sensed God's call..." (p. xiii); "I prayed and sensed that God wanted me to..." (p. xiv); "I began to sense a great urgency from God..." (p. xiv); "We decided that God had definitely led us..." (42); "We began to sense God leading us..." (69); "...the direction you sense God leading you..." (10); "...[he] felt led of God..." (111); "Our church sensed that God wanted us to..." (120); "One of our members felt led to..." (121); "Review what you sense God has been saying to you..." (143).

...A failure to receive such assignments is a failure in one's love relationship with God (97). "Once you have an intimate love relationship with God, He will show you what He is doing" (69). "If the Christian does not know when God is speaking, he is in trouble at the heart of his Christian life!"...

No Divine Assignment

For balance we must also note other important decisions not directed by God. There are many examples in Acts when the disciples make decisions marking significant events in the life of the early church. They are the kind many would think require a word from the Lord. They entail decisions about the how, when, where, why, and who of ministry. Yet there is no evidence of any directive from God, and no indication the disciples even sought one. They simply weighed their options in light of circumstances and then chose a judicious course of action consistent with the prior general commands of the Lord.

Notable examples include Philip's ministry in Samaria (8:5), resolving the complaint about the Hellenistic widows (6:1-6), and Barnabas and Saul establishing a teaching ministry for a year in Antioch (11:26). Elders are appointed in the new churches (14:23). The Jerusalem council resolves the problem of the Judaizers and the Galatian heresy (15:7-29). Paul embarks on his second and third missionary journeys (15:36, 18:23). Paul sets up shop as a tentmaker and starts a ministry in Corinth (18:3). Paul establishes a discipleship training program for two years at the school of Tyrannus (Acts 19:9). Paul has a healing ministry on the island of Malta for three months (Acts 28:9-11).

According to Blackaby's teaching, each one of these decisions are illicit because none was a special "assignment" from God. Rather, each was the result of a unilateral decision by the disciples using wisdom to respond to the circumstances confronting them.

And these are just the tip of the iceberg. Altogether I found 70 such instances in the book of Acts alone, contrasted with the 14 occasions of specialized direction during that same time.[6]

Even more can be found in the epistles. Paul chastises the Corinthians for not working out their own legal differences (1 Cor. 6:3-6). He does not counsel them to seek a decision from God. Instead he asks, "Is there not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren?"

In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul gives the most thorough instruction to be found in the Bible on the issue of marriage. He details pros and cons of single life over married life. He solemnly notes the moral obligations of both. He then leaves the decision in the hands of the believer. There is no hint in this passage that a believer must "hear from the Lord" even on the weighty matter of choosing a spouse....

A Fundamental Question

...I'll close with a fundamental question. Must I hear the voice of God and receive personalized direction--special assignments for my life--in order to experience an authentic love relationship with God? Blackaby answers "yes" (132, 137). The Bible answers "no."

Experiencing God involves only three things. First, it requires accurate information about God (true knowledge). Second, we must live according to that truth (active faith). Third, we experience the effects of truth as God transforms our lives and the lives of others we touch (sanctification and ministry).

Contrary to what is taught in Experiencing God, you are not substandard if you don't "hear God's voice." The Bible does not teach that receiving personal revelations from God is ordinary, expected, or necessary for optimal Christian living. There are dozens of references to pursuing truth and sound doctrine, but none to hearing the voice of God in that sense.

It's perilous to construct doctrine from historical material alone. However, this is largely Blackaby's approach. It's more sound to first develop one's theology from the less ambiguous material in the Epistles. Then one can look for applications of those principles in the historical texts like Acts, the Gospels, or the Old Testament.

Blackaby can find no support for his doctrine of hearing the voice of God in the place where all essential disciplines of Christian living must appear: the Epistles. Search for verification in the writings of any disciple. You'll find nothing but silence. Why are the Apostles unanimously reticent on a capability that's allegedly at the core of the Christian life?

The Bible never teaches us to wait for an assignment before making decisions, nor did the disciples model this concept. Instead, the Scripture gives page after page of assignments....