Leaving Beyond – Grounded In Scripture

Written by: April J. Buchanan

It is almost certain that any man who sets the Spirit against doctrine does not understand the true work of the Spirit. He harbors doctrinal error and seeks to conceal it by diverting attention away from biblical teaching and toward unbiblical experience. Such a man does not draw people by the means the Spirit actually uses, but by other means altogether. The Spirit works through the faithful preaching of the Word.

Men who cannot endure doctrinal testing minimize doctrine, oppose the Spirit to doctrine, and redefine discernment from biblical examination to subjective feeling and experience. Trust no man who draws hearts while quietly turning them away from Scripture. He will not do this openly. When examined, he will make orthodox claims. Yet in the next breath he will divide the church by insisting that others merely have doctrine while he and those like him possess “the power of the Spirit.”

He shows himself ignorant every time he handles a text of Scripture. His opposition to the true work of the Spirit is revealed precisely when he attempts to handle the Word. He uses Scripture, but he does not exposit it, for careful exposition would expose that what he teaches is not what the Spirit has actually said. He preaches what is in his own heart rather than what is written. He reads a text, but he does not preach it. Scripture becomes a pretext for saying what he already intended to say. In doing so, he demonstrates that he is unqualified for the task of preaching.

A man who is called to preach must be able to teach and must be able to rebuke those in error. He can do neither, because to do so honestly would require him to rebuke himself.

Many within the church are drawn to what is claimed to be the work of the Spirit but is, in reality, a counterfeit. They boast of operating in the Spirit’s power, yet it is not His true work. They do not know or experience the power of God because they do not hear God speak, though they are convinced He is constantly giving them new revelation. They are not spiritually discerning; they are deceived.

To anyone who understands the One who authored Scripture and the true work of the Spirit, such claims are utter foolishness. The Spirit works by means of the Word He Himself inspired. He does not contradict Himself. Only a man who fears sound doctrine, because it would expose his error, sets the Spirit against doctrine.

Where the Word of God is not faithfully preached and rightly exposited, there is a church that has set itself against the true power and true work of the Spirit. This is not an either-or matter. It is both and. The Spirit works through the Word. To reject faithful exposition is to reject the very means by which the Spirit brings light, conviction, repentance, and faith.

Let no man rob you of sound doctrine, no matter how much he promises in God’s name. Some of these men are deceived; others know exactly what they are doing. But the result is the same. The Spirit will never set hearts against the Word. He will never set hearts against sound doctrine.

Grace and peace, y’all.
Soli Deo Gloria