How does God speak to men?
God certainly has not restricted himself to using the Bible to pass on his truths. He does communicate to us through nature and through characteristics we admire in other people.
Early in his letter to the Romans Paul makes this point strongly. Man is culpable because he does not listen to what he can clearly understand from the world we are in.
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Romans 1:18-20
The obvious fact that there are laws in nature, that there is a mind behind creation, that everything is planned to work together to make a pleasant habitable world, and that all people admire kindness, integrity, honesty and love, instincts within us all, tells us all that there is a creator. Mankind has, like Adam and Eve, become naturally rebellious. Admiral Nelson at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 was ordered by his commander to withdraw using a system of signal flags. He famously put a telescope to his blind eye and said, “I really cannot see the signal”. God says that people have no excuse if they refuse to see the signals that indicate his claim on our lives.
However God’s words, given in the Scriptures, are essential as they are God’s verbal message to us. They are, as Paul emphasises,
“ . . .the very words of God.” Romans 3:2
Some have taken this to mean that the Bible ‘trumps’ all other ways that God communicates with man. By this they usually mean that their understanding of the meaning of the words of Scripture has all authority. Such thinking in the past has had serious consequences, as the next chapter discloses, as people thought the Bible teaches both that the earth is flat and that the earth is the physical centre of the universe.
Later in Romans Paul emphasises the role of Scripture,
“For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our message?’ Consequently faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:16-17
The question is where is the word of Christ to be found that everyone can hear. Paul then goes on to support this argument by quoting from the Old Testament,
“But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: ‘Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.’” Romans 10:18
Paul’s argument is that everyone has heard the voice of God calling mankind to return to him. This Old Testament quote is from Psalm 19 which is a fascinating Psalm that emphasises how God speaks to people. The first half of the Psalm emphasises that God speaks to mankind through nature, the second half emphasising that God also speaks through his written word. The Psalm begins,
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” Psalm 19:1-4
This is very important. The passage that Paul quotes in Romans 10 about how God communicates with all people is from this Psalm which teaches how God has communicated with all people of the world. Our experience of nature and all that is in it shouts that there is a loving creator who is concerned about all people. It is therefore a travesty for some to claim that their interpretation of Scripture trumps new discoveries about our world. As both nature and the Scriptures come from the same source, God himself, they must be in harmony and to suggest otherwise is to discredit and undermine the Lord’s work. As the next chapter explains, Augustine of Hippo had to wrestle with such conflicts but his advice is timeless.
The second half of Psalm 19 goes on to emphasise the vital importance of the written Word of God. The written word explains and clarifies the principles we see in nature. It is in the Scriptures that we learn about how a relationship with the God, whom we have rejected, can be restored. The importance of Scripture cannot be overemphasised,
“The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring for ever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” Psalm 19:7-11
Job also understood that God speaks to people in various ways. our problem is that we cannot or will not hear or see what he is saying:
“For God does speak—now one way, now another— though no one perceives it.” Job 34:14
There can therefore be no conflict between sincere, substantiated science, whoever has discovered it, and a right understanding of Scripture. One does not trump the other, they have a harmonious message. Any conflicts must come from misunderstandings or a wilful determination not to listen to God.
BVP
