How to Identify Explicit Declarations and Directives from God

When the doctrine of Scripture is explicitly declared, the only response acceptable to God is faith. God’s existence and character, the incarnation of His Son, and the sinful nature of man are explicitly revealed to be received by faith. Again, the declaration of what I and my fellow believers are to be and do often is explicitly revealed—follow Jesus, pray always, forgive our neighbors. The response to the explicit directives of Scripture is obedience.

When a doctrine is clearly taught, we are called to faith. That means more than simply agreeing that a doctrine is true. For example, to apply the truth of God’s sovereign control over all things means to think through the implications of that truth for applicability to present circumstances. Am I fearful? Is some Christian friend constantly worrying about the future? Application means that we clearly face the implications of each doctrine we say we believe, and learn to respond to it in faith.

The Bible is filled with promises for all of God’s people.

The Bible is filled with promises for all of God’s people. Our responsibility is not merely to make sure of the meaning by analyzing the text and relating the promise to other teachings of Scripture, such as those that might qualify the promise. No, God has promised to supply all our needs, but until my mind is tranquil and my life reflects contentment, I have not fully applied that promise.

Not only are there truths to believe and promises to claim, there are commands and instructions to obey. For example, it might be difficult to actually consider others better than myself. But until I examine my attitude toward each person in my life and ask God’s assistance in obeying such a command, I have not begun to apply it to my life. Are there those in your congregation who hold a grudge? Is there a formal relationship among the members that does not go deeper than friendly church suppers? God says we must forgive one another if we desire His forgiveness, and that we should love one another with fervency. The leader of the church who does not search out all the biblical teaching on relationships among believers and does not constantly seek ways to correct wrong or inadequate relationships has stopped short of the final and indispensable step in Bible study—application.

Discerning God’s desired response is not always as clear in the case of principles as in the case of explicit directives.

In the case of explicit declaration of doctrine or some directive for life, the implications for faith and obedience are usually clear enough, though perhaps difficult to follow. But what of teaching that is not explicit? Does it have less authority? Are the demands of faith and obedience weaker when the teaching is not in the form of an explicit command? No, for the Bible is a book of general principles as well as of explicit directives. Note that principles of Scripture have the same authority as explicit directives. For example, one should refrain from saying not only “Raca” (Matt. 5:22) but any other derogatory term as well. However, the specific teaching itself is normative as is the principle behind it, unless the condition of the teaching is not mandated in Scripture and it does not exist in the situation at hand. In 1 Timo-thy 2:2, to pray for the king is the specific teaching. To pray also for the governor or the U.S. president is the principle applied. You do not have to anoint a king to obey the command—just obey the principle. But if you do have a king, obey the specific command and pray for him. Wash your brother’s feet if they are dirty (John 13) but serve him in other ways if he does not need such help at the moment.

Note one other guideline for relating explicit commands to principles in Scripture. No general principle, such as love, can be used to set aside an explicit directive of Scripture, as situationists would do. If the Bible commands a person to stay married, he cannot seek a divorce by appealing to the principle of love. He has no authorization to deduce a principle from an explicit directive forbidding polygamy and then apply that principle to violate the specific command itself. In this case, that would not only permit polygamy but require it under certain circumstances. No, both the specific teaching and the principle inherent are normative, requiring faith and obedience of all people of all times.

Discerning God’s desired response is not always as clear in the case of principles as in the case of explicit directives. So the task is to recognize the full authority of each biblical principle; to carefully determine what it is; to reflect seriously on the implications of that principle; and to put it into practice.