Modern Prophets Verses the Spirit

A discussion with a pastor friend of mine reminded me of a conversation I had with a Pentecostal woman many moons ago. This Pentecostal woman believed she had the gift of prophecy, and therefore, was some kind of woman prophet in our local church. I realize that the idea of prophesying brings up a whole host of questions, but I mainly want to deal with a question that my pastor friend is dealing with.

We [the prophet and I] had discussed Chuck Swindoll’s style of preaching. According to my “prophet friend”, she thought he was being too intellectual and missing the meaning of the Bible by getting too much into the meaning of words and technical stuff. Although I had not seen Swindoll’s preaching as being overly technical, she did. How should we approach people, who think pastors are being overly studious in their approach to Scripture?

First, the question should be asked, “Why do pastors need to study the Scriptures and if possible in their original languages?” The answer is quite simple. They are responsible before God to be as accurate as possible in their understanding of God’s Word. They are also responsible in their teaching and preaching of that Word.

Quite often, a pastor that is attempting to be faithful to the text of Scripture is seen as being an intellectual snob. Although this does happen, those men, who are faithful, are attempting to communicate the truths of Scripture to the people of God. Men do not need moralistic mumbo jumbo that makes them feel good, but the Gospel proclaimed consistently and faithfully.

Therefore, to answer the first question, we must understand the Spirit of God has given to us everything we need for doctrine in the Scriptures. Yes, the Spirit has given us other gifts besides the Scriptures. However, those gifts are governed by the absolute Authority of the Spirit as expressed in the Book He wrote.

To claim all we need is the Spirit at the loss of the meaning of the Text is to divorce the Spirit’s work. This is dangerous. I have personally seen the road that this leads churches. Once again, those of you, who pastor churches, must remain faithful in season and out of season. These false prophets will come and go, but the Word of our Lord remains.