The Word, the Spirit and how God speaks to us

Matthias Media’s Publishing Coordinator, Emma Thornett, introduces one of our new Brief Books: God of Word by John Woodhouse.

Evangelicals are sometimes accused of worshipping God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Bible. Over the years, I’ve heard this criticism in many forms. For example:

• Evangelicals spend so much time studying Scripture that we don’t actually live it out. All we do is talk about it, priding ourselves on our academic and intellectual rigour.
• Evangelicals focus only on the renewal of the mind, ignoring or downplaying anything to do with the heart, and with feelings and emotions. Our kind of Christianity is dry, cerebral and, frankly, boring.
• Evangelicals emphasize Scripture so much that we exclude the Holy Spirit; we don’t allow room for his work in the Christian life. We don’t know what to do with the Spirit, so we ignore him and focus on the Bible instead.
• Evangelicals don’t allow for new words from God. We are suspicious of anything that’s not written down in the Bible, and so we effectively confine God’s revelational power to words on a page written down centuries ago.

These kinds of arguments can leave us feeling incomplete as Christians, not to mention confused. Many of us can sense some truth in at least some of these criticisms. We can end up feeling very insecure, asking questions like:

• Do we put too much emphasis on words? Have I become someone who only hears the word but does not actually do it (Jas 1:22)?
• Do we ignore matters of the heart? Am I a joyless Christian?
• Do we ignore the Holy Spirit? Do I limit his work in my life?
• Does God reveal himself in new ways today? Does the ‘word of God’ equal ‘the Bible’? Should I be seeking to know God through ways other than reading Scripture?

These are all very good questions to be asking ourselves. But the insecurity provoked by these criticisms can also be very harmful. It can cause faithful Christians—people who genuinely trust in the saving work of Christ—to doubt whether they are Christian at all, simply because they haven’t had the same emotions or experiences as others.

So how does God reveal himself and how does he work in our lives?

In this new Brief Book, former Moore College Principal, John Woodhouse, helps you sort through the insecurities that arise in your own heart and mind, and gives you confidence in your knowledge of God.

God of Word is available now from Matthias Media (AU), Matthias Media (US) and 10ofThose (UK).