Romans: Sin, Judgment, and Gospel Foundations: Praying Against the Wicked

Are You Afraid To Hear God's Voice - Part 2 of 2

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2017-04-17

Synopsis: In this sermon, Pastor John Weaver continues his message on hearing God's voice, focusing on how God speaks. He explains that God has spoken through four means: creation and conscience (general revelation, sufficient to condemn but not to convert), and the commandments (Scripture) and Christ (special revelation, sufficient for salvation). He emphasizes that the Bible is God's voice and that Jesus Christ is the full and final revelation of God. The sermon warns against refusing to hear God's voice, as judgment will come upon those who reject His Word and His Son.

[John Weaver] All right, let's open our Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 5 today, Deuteronomy chapter 5. This thing's not ready. I don't know how to do this one. Deuteronomy chapter 5 verses 22 and 23 If you will remember 22 actually through 33 we may not read them all. But remember I began a message a couple of weeks ago, Are You Afraid to Hear God's Voice? And I did part one. Today is part two finishing that message. So look in Deuteronomy chapter 5 verse 22, These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice.

[John Weaver] And he added no more. wrote them in two tables of stone and delivered them unto me. And it came to pass when you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, for the mountain did burn with fire, that you came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes and your elders. And you said, Behold, the Lord our God hath showed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he Now, therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more than we shall die. For who is there of all flesh that heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire as we have and lived? And then they say to Moses, Go thou near and hear all that the Lord our God shall say, and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee, and we will hear it, and we will do it."

[John Weaver] In the last message I pointed out several things. First of all I told you that there were two basic presuppositions of Scripture. The first one is God is. Nowhere in the Bible does the Bible try to prove the existence of God. It just begins, in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And then the second basic presupposition of the Bible is that God has spoken. And obviously He has spoken or we would know absolutely nothing about Him. Remember a presupposition is something that you supposed to be true beforehand.

[John Weaver] So there is that which is known as presuppositional theology. Everyone has presuppositions and everyone acts upon those presuppositions. I also last time showed you five truths out of Deuteronomy chapter 5 and I want to go over those five truths right now. First of all We saw the awesome majesty and the holiness of God. God came down upon that mount and there was fire and thunder. There were trumpets. And the people understood how awesomely holy God was and how majestic God was. And they were afraid because they heard the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire. We not only saw the awesome majesty and holiness of God, but secondly we saw the sovereignty of God. Because God said, you set a boundary around this mount, and if anybody touches it, he is to be stoned or shot through, even an animal. And so God not only laid down the law concerning the mount, He also laid down the law and gave forth the law to Moses there. And then third we saw that God is to be feared and obeyed.

[John Weaver] Because the people said to Moses, You go and hear what God says. You tell us and we will do it." So God is to be feared and obeyed. And then fourthly, we saw the sinfulness and the unfitness and the depravity of fallen man. That is why they were so afraid to approach such a holy, awesome God. And I pointed out in that message how there is a vast chasm between a holy God and a depraved sinner. And then fifthly we saw the absolute necessity of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the mediator between God and men. And the Bible tells us in 1 Timothy 2 and verse 5, for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Now then ask in light of these truths, are you afraid to hear the voice of God? The truth of the matter is God has spoken. And I also shared with you that there are basically three responses that we could give to the voice of God. The first response that we could give, the way some do, is we just refuse to hear God's voice.

[John Weaver] People oftentimes do everything they can to drown out the voice of God. They do not want to hear. They have no desire to hear. They will not even position themselves so that they may hear. The second response that some people give is this. Some will hear and then they will disobey and rebel. And I showed you in Matthew 21 where our Lord told the story about the two sons where the father came and said, go to work today in my vineyard.

[John Weaver] And the first one said, I will not. But then he repented and went. And he looked to the second one and said, go to work in my vineyard. And the one said, the second one said very politely, I go sir. But he went not. And then our Lord asked which one did the will of his father and they say the first. Then of course our Lord then told the Pharisees that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you because at least they repented and they came. And then of course I pointed out that some here and some actually obeyed.

[John Weaver] Now, the interesting thing is, if you will recall, I went through and showed you that there is absolutely no salvation apart from hearing and obeying. I showed you from the Scripture where Jesus Christ, as the God-man, as the servant of the Father, heard the Father's words and He obeyed the Father's words. Thus, Jesus Christ worked out an absolute perfect salvation. Now then, Jesus Christ said in John 10 and verse 27, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. So the sheep then hear and the sheep also obey. So our Lord made this principle very plain and very simple in Luke chapter 10 and verse 16.

[John Weaver] When he sent his disciples out he said this, he that heareth you heareth me. and he that heareth me, heareth him that sent me. He that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me." So in other words you cannot have one attitude toward those who are preaching and teaching the Word of God and a different attitude toward Jesus Christ or even a different attitude toward the Father because they are all joined together. If you will not hear Jesus Christ will not hear His Father. If you do not hear the Father you will never come savingly to Jesus Christ. In John 6 and verse 45 the Bible says this, it is written in the prophets, and they shall all be taught of God, listen, every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me. So Jesus Christ said, if you have heard, if you have been taught, then you come unto me. So it's absolutely necessary that we hear the voice of God. So the question is, and I asked this question last time, how do we hear God's voice?

[John Weaver] And how does God speak to us? Well, scripture tells us that God has spoken actually in four different ways. Two of these ways are known as general revelation, and two of the ways are known as special revelation. So I'm going to cover the general revelation first. First of all, God has spoken through creation. Creation is general revelation. General revelation will give you enough light to condemn you, but not enough light to convert you. yet creation itself will hold men accountable, and answerable, and responsible to the Creator. Let me show you.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles to Psalm 19. Psalm 19, and let's begin reading there with verse 1, and we'll read through verse 6. And I want you to look at these words very carefully. Psalm 19 beginning with verse 1, The psalmist said, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out throughout all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

[John Weaver] In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strongman to run a race. going forth is from the end of heaven, and a circuit unto the ends of it, and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof."

[John Weaver] Now when he said the heavens declare the glory of God, literally he is saying the heavens announce or proclaim or make known His glory. The heavens here refers to the material heavens as they appear to the eyes. Thus we are talking about the sun, and the moon and the stars. The heavens, the Word of God declares, are the work of His hands. So the idea is that God has made the heavens with His own hands and that the firmament thus adorned with sun, moon and stars shows the wisdom and the skill in which they were made.

[John Weaver] Now if you will look please at verses 1 and 2 again. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day are his speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge." Henry Craik in 1860 gave a literal rendering of these two verses from the Hebrew and here is what he said, listen carefully. He says, the literal reading of the first and second verses may be thus given, the heavens are telling the glory of God, the firmament displaying the work of his hands, day unto day wills forth speech, and night unto night breatheth out knowledge. Thus the four distinct terms in the original are preserved in the translation, and the overflowing fullness with which day unto day pours forth divine instruction and the gentle whisperings of the silent night are contrasted in the Hebrew." So what he is saying is basically this, it doesn't matter if you look at the heavens in the day or if you look at the heavens in the night, they are both giving forth a witness to the fact that God is the Creator.

[John Weaver] Now Matthew Henry the commentator went on to say this, listen carefully, he said, the constant and regular succession of day and night, day unto day and night unto night, speak the glory that God who first divided the light and the darkness, and has from the beginning to this day preserved that established order without variation according to God's covenant with Noah, that while the earth remains, day and night shall not cease, to which covenant of providence the covenant of grace is accompanied and compared for its stability." Now listen, the counter-changing of day and night in so exact a method is a great instance of the power of God. and calls us to observe that as in the kingdom of nature, so in that providence He forms the light and creates darkness and sets the one over against the other. It is likewise an instance of His goodness to man."

[John Weaver] For he makes the outgoings of the morning and the evening to rejoice. He not only glorifies himself, but he gratifies us by this constant revolution. For as the light of the morning befriends the business of the day, so the shadows of the evening befriend the repose of the night. Every day and every night speak the goodness of God, and when they finish their testimony, they leave it to the next day and the next night to do the same." So every time you see day and night you are seeing the hand of God in creation. So if you would look in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 1 at verses 18-21 here is another passage that speaks of creation and God speaking through creation. Notice Romans chapter 1 beginning there with verse 18. Romans 1 verse 18.

[John Weaver] For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed it to them.

[John Weaver] Now watch carefully, for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse." Now in this passage, God's wrath corresponds to the revelation of God's righteousness. And He's telling us that this is an unwritten revelation, but it is plainly known. So as His creation then demonstrates His power and omnipotence, at the same time, It also demonstrates His sovereignty and His supremacy. But His acts of retribution against sin and wickedness also displays His righteousness, His power, and His holiness.

[John Weaver] Stop and think with me just for a moment. It was God who sent the flood in Noah's time. It was God who destroyed the Egyptians. It was God who rained fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the plain. It was God who destroyed the Canaanites. It was God who judged the Israelites in Amos chapter 4 because of their sins. Everywhere you look in the Old Testament and in the New Testament as well it is the judgment of God in time and in history in creation. displays not only the power of God, but His righteousness as well. And the interesting thing is in Romans chapter 1 He says, so then they are without excuse. So, what God is telling us is this, anyone with one eye and half sense can look at the creation and say, there must be a Creator. This did not just happen. There is a Creation. Now, let me just tell you this. Creation, again, is general revelation. It will not tell you that God saves. It will not tell you the basis upon which forgiveness may be received.

[John Weaver] It may not tell you that there is a Redeemer. But it does tell you there is a Creator. And it does tell you that He is powerful, and sovereign, and supreme, and righteous, and holy, and it leaves men without excuse. And it doesn't matter where you are on the earth. Which hemisphere you're in, you still see the same heavens, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and thus men are without excuse.

[John Weaver] So creation is general revelation, and it's enough to condemn you, but not enough to convert you. Now, look in Romans chapter 2. Since we're in Romans chapter 1, The second way that God has spoken is through conscience. Look if you would Romans 2 verses 14 and 15. Romans 2 verse 14 we are talking about conscience. The Bible says, For when the Gentiles, or the nations, which have not the law, that is the written law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, that is these nations, having not the written law, are a law unto themselves. which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another."

[John Weaver] Now, let me just make this exceedingly clear. No nation had the written law of God except the Israelites. So, if you will look in Romans chapter 3, verses 1 and 2, here's the question. What advantage then doth the Jew, or what profit is there of circumcision? Here's the answer, much in every way chiefly because that under them were committed the oracles of God." That is Israel had the written law of God. Now just because the Gentile nations did not have the written law of God did not excuse them because they were not without some knowledge of God in their conscience. Now, let me explain the word conscience. The word conscience is from the Greek word synodesis.

[John Weaver] Syn is a preposition which means with, adesis means to know. So synodesis, your conscience, is that which you know with. You look at the English word conscience. Con is a preposition which means with, science to know. Your conscience is that which you know with. So your conscience is basically your understanding. It's your mind. That's why when you start to do something wrong, something in you says, eh, eh, eh, eh, that's because you know better. You know what's wrong. So he talks about now their conscience either accusing them or excusing them. So conscience then, again what you and I would call general revelation.

[John Weaver] It is enough to condemn an individual, but it is not enough to convert an individual. And when he talks about in Romans chapter 2, these do by nature. Doing by nature is contrasted with specific revelation or divine revelation. So what he is saying is there is a basic knowledge still even in fallen man. has some understanding of right and wrong. And that understanding can either accuse them or excuse them. Now it is possible for your conscience, even the conscience of an unsaved individual, to convict them. You remember in John chapter 8 the woman who was taken in adultery in the very act.

[John Weaver] brought her to Jesus Christ and said, Master, Moses and the law says she is to be stolen, what sayest thou? Now they were not concerned about the woman, nor were they concerned about the sin. They were trying to snare Jesus Christ. If He said, let her go, then He is not following God's law. Wow! And if He said, kill her, then He is not a friend of sinners.

[John Weaver] So I mean they just had Him just about any way that He went. And so what our Lord did was He knelt down and He wrote upon the ground. I don't know what He wrote. I would tend to think that He might have been writing dates and times or names of when these people committed adultery. But anyhow the Bible says in John 18 verse 9, when they heard it being convicted by their own conscience, they went out one by one beginning at the eldest even to the last and Jesus was left alone and the woman standing in the midst. So a conscience can indeed convict you. These men were seeking to condemn the woman and they were guilty themselves and they were condemned by their own conscience.

[John Weaver] Now I don't care where you go in this world you can still go to the darkest tribes And they still know the difference between murder and self-defense. I mean, they know it's wrong to take a spear and go plunge it in a man's heart, but when they take that same spear and they're defending themselves against the man who's trying to kill them, their conscience can either accuse them or excuse them.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just cover something before I go any further, an old adage that each one of us has heard. Let your conscience be your guide. That old adage is not only unbiblical, it is extremely unwise. Why? Because of that which the Bible teaches about your conscience. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 8 and verse 12 that there are weak consciences. In Titus 1 and verse 15 that there are defiled consciences. In 1 Timothy 4 and verse 2, there are some who have their consciences seared with a hot iron. And then in Hebrews 10 and verse 32, the Bible speaks about an evil conscience. Well, a conscience can also be improperly and wrongly taught.

[John Weaver] Stop and think about the pagans who would sacrifice their children to these false idols and do it with joy. because they thought they were doing something right, because that's the way they had been taught all of their lives. Their consciences were improperly taught.

[John Weaver] Now, John Gill, the old Baptist commentator, said this, talking about Romans 2, 14 and 15. He says, the matter and substance of the moral law of Moses agrees with the law and light of nature. And the Gentiles in some measure and in some sort did these things by nature. Not that men by the mere strength of nature without the grace of God can fulfill the law or do anything that is acceptable to God. And indeed what these men did was merely natural and carnal and so unacceptable unto God. And so what he's saying is there's no way that someone just out of a conscience can do anything that is pleasing and acceptable to God. Again, a conscience is general revelation, it is enough to condemn you, but it is not necessarily enough to convert you.

[John Weaver] Matthew and Henry went on to say it like this, they had that which directed them to do that by the light of nature, by the force and tendency of their natural notions, and dictates that apprehended a clear and vast difference between good and evil. did by nature the things contained in the law. That is they had a sense of justice and equity, honor and purity, love and charity, the light of nature taught obedience to parents, pity to the miserable, conservation of public peace and order, and forbade murder, stealing, lying, and perjury. Thus they were a law unto themselves." So he goes on to say that your conscience can be a witness to for you or it can be a witness against you.

[John Weaver] It can either excuse you or it can accuse you. And oftentimes, most of the time, instead of our consciences excusing us, they most often accuse us. That is for sure. But conscience is natural and it is a general revelation designed to lead, guide, and direct us to special revelation. Let me say it again, conscience is enough to condemn you, but not enough to convert you. Ok, this brings me to the last two points, and these are special revelations. How has God spoken? God has spoken through creation. God has spoken through conscience. And thirdly God has spoken through commandments. Now I'm using the term commandments in a very broad and general sense. In fact when I speak about the commandments, I am now talking about the totality of the Word of God. When you get to Psalm 19, and we did not read all of Psalm 19 earlier, There is a contrast in that psalm between general revelation and special revelation. Because when you get to verse 1, the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth its handiwork.

[John Weaver] You read all about creation down to verse 6. But when you get to verse 7, the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul, making wise the simple. And the rest of that psalm about God's Word or God's Law. Thus you have a contrast now between general revelation and special revelation. So when I talk about the commandments today, right now, I am not just talking about the Ten Commandments. It is true in the context of Deuteronomy 5 which we read last week, and in Exodus chapter 20 which we read last week. God gave the Ten Commandments, but He gave more than the Ten Commandments. He gave the ordinances. He gave the statutes. He gave the totality of His law.

[John Weaver] But the point I'm trying to make is this. Whatever God says is a commandment. Do you understand that? The entirety of the Word of God could be classified as a commandment. Why? Because God's law is a revelation for how you and I are to live our lives. It is His revealed will for our lives. So in that law, We hear the voice of God distinctly and clearly. We can hear the voice of God in creation, generally speaking. We can hear it in conscience, generally speaking. But when you come to the totality of the word of God, then God is screaming out at us. For instance, in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 1, when we have the first giving of the law, it begins like this, and God spake all these words, saying, When you get to Deuteronomy 5 verses 4 and 5 Moses said, the Lord talked with you face to face in the mount in the midst of the fire. I stood between the Lord and you at that time to show you Lord, for you were afraid by reason of the fire and went not up to the mount.

[John Weaver] Now what I could do is this, I could multiply scriptures today to show you that when God gave the law He spake with His voice. But I'm going to give you just seven passages. I want you to turn in your Bibles first of all to Deuteronomy 28. Deuteronomy 28. And I want you to follow me because over and over the Bible is speaking about the voice of God. Where do we hear God's voice? In creation generally, in conscience generally, but specifically in the Word of God. Deuteronomy, note if you would please, chapter 28 at verses 1 and 2. Deuteronomy 28 verse 1.

[John Weaver] And I started saying, yes, Pat, that's in the Old Testament. Deuteronomy 28 verse 1, and it shall come to pass if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God to observe and do all his commandments which I command thee this day Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God." So God has spoken and He has spoken in His law. He has spoken in His Word and it is called His voice. Skip down to verse 15, But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee and overtake thee. Note if you would, but it shall come to pass if thou wilt not hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God."

[John Weaver] Well, how would you hear the voice of God? To observe to do all his commandments and all his statutes, which he commands. Skip down to verse 45 in the same passage. Deuteronomy 28 verse 45, He says,"...moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed, because thou hearkenest not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded thee." Again, very plainly, He is saying that this Word is His voice. Look in verse 62, same chapter, Deuteronomy 28, verse 62. And you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven for multitude, because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord thy God. Look in Deuteronomy 30 and verse 2. Deuteronomy 30, verse 2. And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice, according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children with all thy heart and with all thy soul." Now if you would skip down to verse 10, Deuteronomy 30 verse 10.

[John Weaver] Again he says it like this, If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in the book of the law, if thou turn to the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul. Again he is talking about hearing the voice of God. How is he talking about hearing the voice of God? by His commandments, by His Law, by His Word. If you would turn right over to the book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah 26, like I say there is a multitude of passages. But let me just give you Jeremiah chapter 26 and look if you would please at verse 13. Jeremiah 26 and verse 13.

[John Weaver] And then I want to try to sum up this one point. Jeremiah 26 verse 13. Here's what the prophet Jeremiah speaks and states to the people. Therefore now mend your ways and your doings and obey the voice of the Lord your God and the Lord will repent him of the evil that is pronounced against you. Well, obey the voice of the Lord your God. How can they obey the voice of the Lord their God?

[John Weaver] The answer is by obeying His law. So let me put it to you like this. The Bible is God's Word. It is God's voice. He that will not hear the Word of God will not hear God. If you refuse to hear the Word of God expounded, explained and applied, obviously you're not going to hear the voice of God. Let me just tell you, I titled this message, Are You Afraid to Hear God's Voice? Undoubtedly, most people are afraid to hear God's voice because they never read their Bible. They never study it.

[John Weaver] They don't want to come near where it's being preached and proclaimed. So obviously, some are afraid to hear the voice of God. The Bible is special revelation. We can only know specific things about God, sin, and salvation because God has specifically revealed these things in His Word. He has not revealed them in creation. He has not revealed them in conscience. He has only revealed them in His Word. So God has spoken how? creation, through conscience, through the commandments, that is the totality of the Word of God. Fourthly, God has spoken through Christ. Jesus Christ is the full and final revelation of God. He is special revelation. He is God incarnate.

[John Weaver] He is the one that reveals the Father. He is the one that has been sent by the Father. In John 1 in verse 18, our Lord said this, No man hath seen God in any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath revealed Him. The only way that we can know God fully is because Jesus Christ has revealed the Father. Our Lord said in Matthew 11 and verse 27, listen carefully, all things are delivered of me of my father, and no man knoweth the son but the father. Neither doth any man know the father save the son, and he to whomsoever he reveal him. Isn't that amazing? The only one who knows the father perfectly is the son. The only one who knows the son perfectly is the father. And the only way you can know the father is if the son is pleased to reveal him.

[John Weaver] So let me put it like this. Jesus Christ is the living Word of God. The Bible is the written Word of God. In John 1, 1 through 3, that's a very important passage. In John 1, verse 1, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him that were made, and without Him was not anything made." Did you know that one of the names of Jesus Christ in the Bible is Logos? The Word. You know what He said in John 1 and verse 14? Listen carefully. After he got through saying, and the Word was with him, and the Word was God, when you get to John 1 and verse 14, and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And the Word was made flesh. Jesus Christ is the Divine Logos. He is the living Word of God.

[John Weaver] Hmm. Our Lord told His disciples in John 14 that He was going away. And it was Philip who said in John 14 in verse 8, Lord, show us the Father and it sufficeth us. I'll take care of everything. Just show us the Father. You know what our Lord said, Philip? Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not known me? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.

[John Weaver] I am God in the flesh. I am the living word." That's exactly what he said.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter 1. Hebrews, chapter 1. And look, if you would, please, beginning there with verse 1. Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 1, and we'll read through verse 3. Hebrews 1, verse 1, God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners, that is, different ways, spake in times past in the fathers by the prophets. So in Old Testament and some in the New Testament, God did speak in trances and dreams and special ways to them. But notice, that's how God used to do it. That's how God did it in times past. But look in verse 2, hath in these last days spoken us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.

[John Weaver] who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." God in times past spoke in many different ways, but in these last days He gave us His Son. Jesus Christ is the full and final revelation of God the Father. There's not going to be anything over, above, or beyond Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] I want you to go back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 18. If you understand Deuteronomy 18, you can understand the question that was asked John the Baptist, And you can also understand some of the things that were said about Jesus Christ. In Deuteronomy chapter 18 beginning there with verse 15 Moses is speaking and here's what Moses tells the people. The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee of thy brethren like unto me.

[John Weaver] Unto him you shall hearken. according to all that thou desirest of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more lest I die. And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.

[John Weaver] Now look what God promises, I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, that is, like unto Moses. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto my words, which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him."

[John Weaver] Now, do you remember when John the Baptist came preaching? What did the Pharisees and the scribes do? They sent word to him and they asked him, art thou that prophet? This is what they were referring to. Are you the Messiah? No. And Jesus in Matthew 16 said, Who do men say that I am the Son of Man? Well, some say that you're Elijah or Elias or one of the prophets. But what sayest thou? Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. You are the prophet of Deuteronomy chapter 18.

[John Weaver] And I want you to notice what the Bible says. You will not hear this prophet that God raises up. He will require it of you. So let me just put it to you bluntly. If you will not hear Jesus Christ, you will not hear God the Father. Jesus Christ took Peter, James, and John and went up to the mountain and was transfigured before them. And of course Moses and Elijah appeared. And Peter, speaking before he thought things through, said, Oh, Lord, it is good for us to be here. Let us build three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses, one for Elijah. All of a sudden a cloud came over and the voice came from that cloud, This is my beloved Son, you hear Him. He is my Son. He that will not hear the Son will not hear the Father. He that will not receive the Son will not receive the Father. Our Lord said it very plainly in John 13 in verse 20, Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

[John Weaver] So if you receive the messenger of Christ, you receive Christ. If you receive Christ, you receive the Father who sent Christ. You cannot get to the Father apart from Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. I want you to look at this because remember, remember in Deuteronomy 18 Moses said, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you from among your brethren like unto me. Him shall you hear, and if you will not hear God is going to require of you." Well, look in Hebrews 12 and notice if you would please verse 25.

[John Weaver] The scripture says, see that you refuse not Him that speaketh. See that you refuse not him that speaketh, for if they escape not who refused him that spake on earth, that is Moses, much more shall not we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven." What is he saying? God spoke through Moses. Moses was on earth. And those who refused to hear God through Moses were judged and destroyed. How much more will people be judged and destroyed if we refuse to hear Him who speaketh from heaven? Because Jesus Christ is God in the flesh.

[John Weaver] You know, the Bible tells us very plainly and very clearly, and without all controversy, great is the mystery of Godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, talking about Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ is the Living Word. That is why in John chapter 5 verses 22 and 23, listen carefully, the Scripture says,"...the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son."

[John Weaver] Now let me stop there. Why has the Father committed all judgment to the Son? Here is the answer, listen carefully, that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father. Now when the Bible says, that the Father judgeth no man but that he committeth all judgment to the Son, why? That all men should honor the Son even as, and the two words even as literally means equally to. You must honor the Son equally as you honor the Father." And then he goes on to say, he that dishonors the Son dishonors the Father. So if you refuse to hear Jesus Christ you refuse to hear the Father. If you dishonor Jesus Christ you are dishonoring the Father. So the question is, are you afraid to hear God's voice?

[John Weaver] You know what our Lord said? sheep, hear my voice." He speaks to us. How does He speak to us? Through His Word and by His Spirit. I want you to look at one last passage, John 12, verse 48. I could quote it, but I want you to see it. Look in John 12. John 12, verse 48. Look what our Lord says. Remember the Bible says, see that you refuse not him that speaketh from heaven. The Bible says if you refuse to hear God's prophet that He raises up, He will require it of you. Watch, John 12 verse 48.

[John Weaver] Let me tie it together. Jesus Christ said, He that rejecteth me, that's the living He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, that's the written word, hath one that judgeth him. The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." You cannot maintain one attitude toward the Bible and a different attitude toward Jesus Christ. Or one attitude toward Jesus Christ and a different attitude toward the Bible. The Bible is the written word and Jesus Christ is the living word. General revelation, that is, creation in conscience, is designed to lead you to special revelation, which is the Word of God, the commandments, and then to Jesus Christ, who is the living Word.

[John Weaver] Our Lord said it very plainly, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh in the Father but by me. Has God spoken? Yes, He has. Is God still speaking? Yes, He is. How do we hear His voice? In His Word and through His prophet, through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We may hear Him faintly in creation and in conscience, but we hear Him loudly and clearly in the Bible and in Jesus Christ. So do not be afraid to hear God's voice, study the Word of God, apply the Word of God, and bow to and worship the Son of God. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to you this day. We thank you for your Word. We thank you for your truth. We ask, Lord, that you would indeed help us to hear thee, to hear thy voice, to recognize this is your voice speaking to us. Give us grace that we may serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen.

[John Weaver] so so

Are You Afraid To Hear God's Voice - Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	2a_QBeIsnI4
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Sin, Judgment, and Gospel Foundations: Praying Against the Wicked
Genre	Sermon
Date	2017-04-17
Dictation Name
Book	Book 006: Are You Afraid To Hear God's Voice — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	61

Formatted Transcript

Opening

All right, let's open our Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 5 today, Deuteronomy chapter 5. This thing's not ready. I don't know how to do this one. Deuteronomy chapter 5 verses 22 and 23. If you will remember, 22 actually through 33, we may not read them all. But remember I began a message a couple of weeks ago, "Are You Afraid to Hear God's Voice?" And I did part one. Today is part two, finishing that message. So look in Deuteronomy chapter 5 verse 22:

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 5:22-27

"These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice." "And he added no more. wrote them in two tables of stone and delivered them unto me. And it came to pass when you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, for the mountain did burn with fire, that you came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes and your elders. And you said, Behold, the Lord our God hath showed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he... Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more than we shall die. For who is there of all flesh that heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire as we have and lived?"

And then they say to Moses,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 5:22-27

"Go thou near and hear all that the Lord our God shall say, and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee, and we will hear it, and we will do it."

Review of Part One

Weaver recaps the five truths from Deuteronomy 5: God's awesome majesty and holiness, His sovereignty, the need to fear and obey Him, the sinfulness of fallen man, and the necessity of Christ as mediator. He also reviews the three responses to God's voice: refusal to hear, hearing and disobeying, and hearing and obeying.

In the last message I pointed out several things. First of all I told you that there were two basic presuppositions of Scripture. The first one is God is. Nowhere in the Bible does the Bible try to prove the existence of God. It just begins, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." And then the second basic presupposition of the Bible is that God has spoken. And obviously He has spoken or we would know absolutely nothing about Him. Remember a presupposition is something that you suppose to be true beforehand.

So there is that which is known as presuppositional theology. Everyone has presuppositions and everyone acts upon those presuppositions. I also last time showed you five truths out of Deuteronomy chapter 5 and I want to go over those five truths right now. First of all, we saw the awesome majesty and the holiness of God. God came down upon that mount and there was fire and thunder. There were trumpets. And the people understood how awesomely holy God was and how majestic God was. And they were afraid because they heard the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire. We not only saw the awesome majesty and holiness of God, but secondly we saw the sovereignty of God. Because God said, you set a boundary around this mount, and if anybody touches it, he is to be stoned or shot through, even an animal. And so God not only laid down the law concerning the mount, He also laid down the law and gave forth the law to Moses there. And then third we saw that God is to be feared and obeyed.

Because the people said to Moses, "You go and hear what God says. You tell us and we will do it." So God is to be feared and obeyed. And then fourthly, we saw the sinfulness and the unfitness and the depravity of fallen man. That is why they were so afraid to approach such a holy, awesome God. And I pointed out in that message how there is a vast chasm between a holy God and a depraved sinner. And then fifthly we saw the absolute necessity of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the mediator between God and men. And the Bible tells us in 1 Timothy 2 and verse 5, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." Now then ask in light of these truths, are you afraid to hear the voice of God? The truth of the matter is God has spoken. And I also shared with you that there are basically three responses that we could give to the voice of God. The first response that we could give, the way some do, is we just refuse to hear God's voice.

People oftentimes do everything they can to drown out the voice of God. They do not want to hear. They have no desire to hear. They will not even position themselves so that they may hear. The second response that some people give is this. Some will hear and then they will disobey and rebel. And I showed you in Matthew 21 where our Lord told the story about the two sons where the father came and said, "Go to work today in my vineyard."

And the first one said, "I will not." But then he repented and went. And he looked to the second one and said, "Go to work in my vineyard." And the one said, the second one said very politely, "I go sir." But he went not. And then our Lord asked which one did the will of his father and they say the first. Then of course our Lord then told the Pharisees that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you because at least they repented and they came. And then of course I pointed out that some here and some actually obeyed.

Now, the interesting thing is, if you will recall, I went through and showed you that there is absolutely no salvation apart from hearing and obeying. I showed you from the Scripture where Jesus Christ, as the God-man, as the servant of the Father, heard the Father's words and He obeyed the Father's words. Thus, Jesus Christ worked out an absolute perfect salvation. Now then, Jesus Christ said in John 10 and verse 27, "My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me." So the sheep then hear and the sheep also obey. So our Lord made this principle very plain and very simple in Luke chapter 10 and verse 16.

Introduction to How God Speaks

Weaver introduces the four ways God has spoken: two general revelations (creation and conscience) and two special revelations (commandments/Scripture and Christ).

And how does God speak to us? Well, scripture tells us that God has spoken actually in four different ways. Two of these ways are known as general revelation, and two of the ways are known as special revelation. So I'm going to cover the general revelation first. First of all, God has spoken through creation. Creation is general revelation. General revelation will give you enough light to condemn you, but not enough light to convert you. yet creation itself will hold men accountable, and answerable, and responsible to the Creator. Let me show you.

General Revelation: Creation

God speaks through creation, which declares His glory and power, leaving humanity without excuse. Creation is enough to condemn but not to convert.

Look in your Bibles to Psalm 19. Psalm 19, and let's begin reading there with verse 1, and we'll read through verse 6. And I want you to look at these words very carefully. Psalm 19 beginning with verse 1, The psalmist said,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 19:1-6

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out throughout all the earth, and their words to the end of the world."

"In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strongman to run a race. going forth is from the end of heaven, and a circuit unto the ends of it, and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof." Now when he said the heavens declare the glory of God, literally he is saying the heavens announce or proclaim or make known His glory. The heavens here refers to the material heavens as they appear to the eyes. Thus we are talking about the sun, and the moon and the stars. The heavens, the Word of God declares, are the work of His hands. So the idea is that God has made the heavens with His own hands and that the firmament thus adorned with sun, moon and stars shows the wisdom and the skill in which they were made.

Now if you will look please at verses 1 and 2 again. "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day are his speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge." Henry Craik in 1860 gave a literal rendering of these two verses from the Hebrew and here is what he said, listen carefully. He says, "The literal reading of the first and second verses may be thus given, the heavens are telling the glory of God, the firmament displaying the work of his hands, day unto day wills forth speech, and night unto night breatheth out knowledge. Thus the four distinct terms in the original are preserved in the translation, and the overflowing fullness with which day unto day pours forth divine instruction and the gentle whisperings of the silent night are contrasted in the Hebrew." So what he is saying is basically this, it doesn't matter if you look at the heavens in the day or if you look at the heavens in the night, they are both giving forth a witness to the fact that God is the Creator.

Now Matthew Henry the commentator went on to say this, listen carefully, he said, "The constant and regular succession of day and night, day unto day and night unto night, speak the glory that God who first divided the light and the darkness, and has from the beginning to this day preserved that established order without variation according to God's covenant with Noah, that while the earth remains, day and night shall not cease, to which covenant of providence the covenant of grace is accompanied and compared for its stability." Now listen, "The counterchanging of day and night in so exact a method is a great instance of the power of God. and calls us to observe that as in the kingdom of nature, so in that providence He forms the light and creates darkness and sets the one over against the other. It is likewise an instance of His goodness to man."

"For he makes the outgoings of the morning and the evening to rejoice. He not only glorifies himself, but he gratifies us by this constant revolution. For as the light of the morning befriends the business of the day, so the shadows of the evening befriend the repose of the night. Every day and every night speak the goodness of God, and when they finish their testimony, they leave it to the next day and the next night to do the same." So every time you see day and night you are seeing the hand of God in creation. So if you would look in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 1 at verses 18-21 here is another passage that speaks of creation and God speaking through creation. Notice Romans chapter 1 beginning there with verse 18. Romans 1 verse 18.

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed it to them." Now watch carefully, "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse." Now in this passage, God's wrath corresponds to the revelation of God's righteousness. And He's telling us that this is an unwritten revelation, but it is plainly known. So as His creation then demonstrates His power and omnipotence, at the same time, It also demonstrates His sovereignty and His supremacy. But His acts of retribution against sin and wickedness also displays His righteousness, His power, and His holiness.

Stop and think with me just for a moment. It was God who sent the flood in Noah's time. It was God who destroyed the Egyptians. It was God who rained fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the plain. It was God who destroyed the Canaanites. It was God who judged the Israelites in Amos chapter 4 because of their sins. Everywhere you look in the Old Testament and in the New Testament as well it is the judgment of God in time and in history in creation. displays not only the power of God, but His righteousness as well. And the interesting thing is in Romans chapter 1 He says, "so then they are without excuse." So, what God is telling us is this, anyone with one eye and half sense can look at the creation and say, there must be a Creator. This did not just happen. There is a Creation. Now, let me just tell you this. Creation, again, is general revelation. It will not tell you that God saves. It will not tell you the basis upon which forgiveness may be received.

It may not tell you that there is a Redeemer. But it does tell you there is a Creator. And it does tell you that He is powerful, and sovereign, and supreme, and righteous, and holy, and it leaves men without excuse. And it doesn't matter where you are on the earth. Which hemisphere you're in, you still see the same heavens, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and thus men are without excuse.

So creation is general revelation, and it's enough to condemn you, but not enough to convert you. Now, look in Romans chapter 2. Since we're in Romans chapter 1, The second way that God has spoken is through conscience. Look if you would Romans 2 verses 14 and 15. Romans 2 verse 14 we are talking about conscience. The Bible says, "For when the Gentiles, or the nations, which have not the law, that is the written law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, that is these nations, having not the written law, are a law unto themselves. which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another."

General Revelation: Conscience

God speaks through conscience, the inner knowledge of right and wrong, which accuses or excuses. Conscience is enough to condemn but not to convert, and it can be defiled or seared.

Scripture Reading — Romans 2:14-15

Now, let me just make this exceedingly clear. No nation had the written law of God except the Israelites. So, if you will look in Romans chapter 3, verses 1 and 2, here's the question. "What advantage then doth the Jew, or what profit is there of circumcision?" Here's the answer, "Much in every way chiefly because that under them were committed the oracles of God." That is Israel had the written law of God. Now just because the Gentile nations did not have the written law of God did not excuse them because they were not without some knowledge of God in their conscience. Now, let me explain the word conscience. The word conscience is from the Greek word syneidesis.

Syn is a preposition which means with, eidesis means to know. So syneidesis, your conscience, is that which you know with. You look at the English word conscience. Con is a preposition which means with, science to know. Your conscience is that which you know with. So your conscience is basically your understanding. It's your mind. That's why when you start to do something wrong, something in you says, eh, eh, eh, eh, that's because you know better. You know what's wrong. So he talks about now their conscience either accusing them or excusing them. So conscience then, again what you and I would call general revelation.

It is enough to condemn an individual, but it is not enough to convert an individual. And when he talks about in Romans chapter 2, these do by nature. Doing by nature is contrasted with specific revelation or divine revelation. So what he is saying is there is a basic knowledge still even in fallen man. has some understanding of right and wrong. And that understanding can either accuse them or excuse them. Now it is possible for your conscience, even the conscience of an unsaved individual, to convict them. You remember in John chapter 8 the woman who was taken in adultery in the very act.

brought her to Jesus Christ and said, "Master, Moses and the law says she is to be stoned, what sayest thou?" Now they were not concerned about the woman, nor were they concerned about the sin. They were trying to ensnare Jesus Christ. If He said, let her go, then He is not following God's law. Wow! And if He said, kill her, then He is not a friend of sinners.

So I mean they just had Him just about any way that He went. And so what our Lord did was He knelt down and He wrote upon the ground. I don't know what He wrote. I would tend to think that He might have been writing dates and times or names of when these people committed adultery. But anyhow the Bible says in John 8 verse 9, when they heard it being convicted by their own conscience, they went out one by one beginning at the eldest even to the last and Jesus was left alone and the woman standing in the midst. So a conscience can indeed convict you. These men were seeking to condemn the woman and they were guilty themselves and they were condemned by their own conscience.

Now I don't care where you go in this world you can still go to the darkest tribes And they still know the difference between murder and self-defense. I mean, they know it's wrong to take a spear and go plunge it in a man's heart, but when they take that same spear and they're defending themselves against the man who's trying to kill them, their conscience can either accuse them or excuse them. Now, let me just cover something before I go any further, an old adage that each one of us has heard. "Let your conscience be your guide." That old adage is not only unbiblical, it is extremely unwise. Why? Because of that which the Bible teaches about your conscience. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 8 and verse 12 that there are weak consciences. In Titus 1 and verse 15 that there are defiled consciences. In 1 Timothy 4 and verse 2, there are some who have their consciences seared with a hot iron. And then in Hebrews 10 and verse 32, the Bible speaks about an evil conscience. Well, a conscience can also be improperly and wrongly taught.

Stop and think about the pagans who would sacrifice their children to these false idols and do it with joy. because they thought they were doing something right, because that's the way they had been taught all of their lives. Their consciences were improperly taught. Now, John Gill, the old Baptist commentator, said this, talking about Romans 2, 14 and 15. He says, "The matter and substance of the moral law of Moses agrees with the law and light of nature. And the Gentiles in some measure and in some sort did these things by nature. Not that men by the mere strength of nature without the grace of God can fulfill the law or do anything that is acceptable to God. And indeed what these men did was merely natural and carnal and so unacceptable unto God." And so what he's saying is there's no way that someone just out of a conscience can do anything that is pleasing and acceptable to God. Again, a conscience is general revelation, it is enough to condemn you, but it is not necessarily enough to convert you.

Matthew Henry went on to say it like this, "They had that which directed them to do that by the light of nature, by the force and tendency of their natural notions, and dictates that apprehended a clear and vast difference between good and evil. did by nature the things contained in the law. That is they had a sense of justice and equity, honor and purity, love and charity, the light of nature taught obedience to parents, pity to the miserable, conservation of public peace and order, and forbade murder, stealing, lying, and perjury. Thus they were a law unto themselves." So he goes on to say that your conscience can be a witness to for you or it can be a witness against you. It can either excuse you or it can accuse you. And oftentimes, most of the time, instead of our consciences excusing us, they most often accuse us. That is for sure. But conscience is natural and it is a general revelation designed to lead, guide, and direct us to special revelation. Let me say it again, conscience is enough to condemn you, but not enough to convert you. Ok, this brings me to the last two points, and these are special revelations. How has God spoken? God has spoken through creation. God has spoken through conscience. And thirdly God has spoken through commandments. Now I'm using the term commandments in a very broad and general sense. In fact when I speak about the commandments, I am now talking about the totality of the Word of God. When you get to Psalm 19, and we did not read all of Psalm 19 earlier, There is a contrast in that psalm between general revelation and special revelation. Because when you get to verse 1, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth its handiwork."

Special Revelation: The Commandments (Scripture)

God speaks through His Word, the Bible, which is His voice. The law and commandments are special revelation that converts the soul. Refusing to hear Scripture is refusing to hear God.

You read all about creation down to verse 6. But when you get to verse 7,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 19:7

"The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul, making wise the simple."

And the rest of that psalm about God's Word or God's Law. Thus you have a contrast now between general revelation and special revelation. So when I talk about the commandments today, right now, I am not just talking about the Ten Commandments. It is true in the context of Deuteronomy 5 which we read last week, and in Exodus chapter 20 which we read last week. God gave the Ten Commandments, but He gave more than the Ten Commandments. He gave the ordinances. He gave the statutes. He gave the totality of His law.

But the point I'm trying to make is this. Whatever God says is a commandment. Do you understand that? The entirety of the Word of God could be classified as a commandment. Why? Because God's law is a revelation for how you and I are to live our lives. It is His revealed will for our lives. So in that law, We hear the voice of God distinctly and clearly. We can hear the voice of God in creation, generally speaking. We can hear it in conscience, generally speaking. But when you come to the totality of the word of God, then God is screaming out at us. For instance, in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 1, when we have the first giving of the law, it begins like this, "And God spake all these words, saying..." When you get to Deuteronomy 5 verses 4 and 5 Moses said, "The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount in the midst of the fire. I stood between the Lord and you at that time to show you Lord, for you were afraid by reason of the fire and went not up to the mount."

Now what I could do is this, I could multiply scriptures today to show you that when God gave the law He spake with His voice. But I'm going to give you just seven passages. I want you to turn in your Bibles first of all to Deuteronomy 28. Deuteronomy 28. And I want you to follow me because over and over the Bible is speaking about the voice of God. Where do we hear God's voice? In creation generally, in conscience generally, but specifically in the Word of God. Deuteronomy, note if you would please, chapter 28 at verses 1 and 2. Deuteronomy 28 verse 1.

And I started saying, yes, Pat, that's in the Old Testament. Deuteronomy 28 verse 1,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62

"And it shall come to pass if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God to observe and do all his commandments which I command thee this day Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God."

So God has spoken and He has spoken in His law. He has spoken in His Word and it is called His voice. Skip down to verse 15,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62

"But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee and overtake thee."

Note if you would,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62

"but it shall come to pass if thou wilt not hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God."

Well, how would you hear the voice of God? To observe to do all his commandments and all his statutes, which he commands. Skip down to verse 45 in the same passage. Deuteronomy 28 verse 45, He says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62

"Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed, because thou hearkenest not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded thee."

Again, very plainly, He is saying that this Word is His voice. Look in verse 62, same chapter, Deuteronomy 28, verse 62.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62

"And you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven for multitude, because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord thy God."

Look in Deuteronomy 30 and verse 2. Deuteronomy 30, verse 2.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62

"And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice, according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children with all thy heart and with all thy soul."

Now if you would skip down to verse 10, Deuteronomy 30 verse 10.

Again he says it like this, "If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in the book of the law, if thou turn to the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul." Again he is talking about hearing the voice of God. How is he talking about hearing the voice of God? by His commandments, by His Law, by His Word. If you would turn right over to the book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah 26, like I say there is a multitude of passages. But let me just give you Jeremiah chapter 26 and look if you would please at verse 13. Jeremiah 26 and verse 13. And then I want to try to sum up this one point. Jeremiah 26 verse 13. Here's what the prophet Jeremiah speaks and states to the people. "Therefore now mend your ways and your doings and obey the voice of the Lord your God and the Lord will repent him of the evil that is pronounced against you." Well, obey the voice of the Lord your God. How can they obey the voice of the Lord their God?

The answer is by obeying His law. So let me put it to you like this. The Bible is God's Word. It is God's voice. He that will not hear the Word of God will not hear God. If you refuse to hear the Word of God expounded, explained and applied, obviously you're not going to hear the voice of God. Let me just tell you, I titled this message, "Are You Afraid to Hear God's Voice?" Undoubtedly, most people are afraid to hear God's voice because they never read their Bible. They never study it.

They don't want to come near where it's being preached and proclaimed. So obviously, some are afraid to hear the voice of God. The Bible is special revelation. We can only know specific things about God, sin, and salvation because God has specifically revealed these things in His Word. He has not revealed them in creation. He has not revealed them in conscience. He has only revealed them in His Word. So God has spoken how? creation, through conscience, through the commandments, that is the totality of the Word of God. Fourthly, God has spoken through Christ. Jesus Christ is the full and final revelation of God. He is special revelation. He is God incarnate.

Special Revelation: Christ

Jesus Christ is the full and final revelation of God, the living Word. To reject Christ is to reject the Father. Christ speaks through His Word, and His words will judge us.

He is the one that reveals the Father. He is the one that has been sent by the Father. In John 1 in verse 18, our Lord said this,

Scripture Reading — John 1:18

"No man hath seen God in any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath revealed Him."

The only way that we can know God fully is because Jesus Christ has revealed the Father. Our Lord said in Matthew 11 and verse 27, listen carefully, "All things are delivered of me of my father, and no man knoweth the son but the father. Neither doth any man know the father save the son, and he to whomsoever he reveal him." Isn't that amazing? The only one who knows the father perfectly is the son. The only one who knows the son perfectly is the father. And the only way you can know the father is if the son is pleased to reveal him.

So let me put it like this. Jesus Christ is the living Word of God. The Bible is the written Word of God. In John 1, 1 through 3, that's a very important passage. In John 1, verse 1,

Scripture Reading — John 1:1-3, 14

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him that were made, and without Him was not anything made."

Did you know that one of the names of Jesus Christ in the Bible is Logos? The Word. You know what He said in John 1 and verse 14? Listen carefully. After he got through saying,

Scripture Reading — John 1:1-3, 14

"and the Word was with him, and the Word was God,"

when you get to John 1 and verse 14,

Scripture Reading — John 1:1-3, 14

"and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

And the Word was made flesh. Jesus Christ is the Divine Logos. He is the living Word of God.

Hmm. Our Lord told His disciples in John 14 that He was going away. And it was Philip who said in John 14 in verse 8,

Scripture Reading — John 14:8-9

"Lord, show us the Father and it sufficeth us. I'll take care of everything. Just show us the Father."

You know what our Lord said,

Scripture Reading — John 14:8-9

"Philip? Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not known me? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father."

"I am God in the flesh. I am the living word." That's exactly what he said. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter 1. Hebrews, chapter 1. And look, if you would, please, beginning there with verse 1. Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 1, and we'll read through verse 3. Hebrews 1, verse 1,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 1:1-3

"God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners, that is, different ways, spake in times past in the fathers by the prophets."

So in Old Testament and some in the New Testament, God did speak in trances and dreams and special ways to them. But notice, that's how God used to do it. That's how God did it in times past. But look in verse 2,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 1:1-3

"hath in these last days spoken us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds."

"who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." God in times past spoke in many different ways, but in these last days He gave us His Son. Jesus Christ is the full and final revelation of God the Father. There's not going to be anything over, above, or beyond Jesus Christ. I want you to go back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 18. If you understand Deuteronomy 18, you can understand the question that was asked John the Baptist, And you can also understand some of the things that were said about Jesus Christ. In Deuteronomy chapter 18 beginning there with verse 15 Moses is speaking and here's what Moses tells the people. "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee of thy brethren like unto me."

"Unto him you shall hearken. according to all that thou desirest of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more lest I die. And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken." Now look what God promises, "I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, that is, like unto Moses. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto my words, which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him."

Now, do you remember when John the Baptist came preaching? What did the Pharisees and the scribes do? They sent word to him and they asked him, "Art thou that prophet?" This is what they were referring to. Are you the Messiah? No. And Jesus in Matthew 16 said, "Who do men say that I am the Son of Man?" Well, some say that you're Elijah or Elias or one of the prophets. But what sayest thou? "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." You are the prophet of Deuteronomy chapter 18.

And I want you to notice what the Bible says. You will not hear this prophet that God raises up. He will require it of you. So let me just put it to you bluntly. If you will not hear Jesus Christ, you will not hear God the Father. Jesus Christ took Peter, James, and John and went up to the mountain and was transfigured before them. And of course Moses and Elijah appeared. And Peter, speaking before he thought things through, said, "Oh, Lord, it is good for us to be here. Let us build three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses, one for Elijah." All of a sudden a cloud came over and the voice came from that cloud, "This is my beloved Son, you hear Him." He is my Son. He that will not hear the Son will not hear the Father. He that will not receive the Son will not receive the Father. Our Lord said it very plainly in John 13 in verse 20, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me."

So if you receive the messenger of Christ, you receive Christ. If you receive Christ, you receive the Father who sent Christ. You cannot get to the Father apart from Jesus Christ. Now, let me show you. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. I want you to look at this because remember, remember in Deuteronomy 18 Moses said, "A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you from among your brethren like unto me. Him shall you hear, and if you will not hear God is going to require of you." Well, look in Hebrews 12 and notice if you would please verse 25.

The scripture says, "See that you refuse not Him that speaketh. See that you refuse not him that speaketh, for if they escape not who refused him that spake on earth, that is Moses, much more shall not we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven." What is he saying? God spoke through Moses. Moses was on earth. And those who refused to hear God through Moses were judged and destroyed. How much more will people be judged and destroyed if we refuse to hear Him who speaketh from heaven? Because Jesus Christ is God in the flesh.

You know, the Bible tells us very plainly and very clearly, and without all controversy, great is the mystery of Godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, talking about Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ is the Living Word. That is why in John chapter 5 verses 22 and 23, listen carefully, the Scripture says, "...the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son."

Now let me stop there. Why has the Father committed all judgment to the Son? Here is the answer, listen carefully, "that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father." Now when the Bible says, "that the Father judgeth no man but that he committeth all judgment to the Son," why? "That all men should honor the Son even as," and the two words even as literally means equally to. You must honor the Son equally as you honor the Father. And then he goes on to say, he that dishonors the Son dishonors the Father. So if you refuse to hear Jesus Christ you refuse to hear the Father. If you dishonor Jesus Christ you are dishonoring the Father. So the question is, are you afraid to hear God's voice?

You know what our Lord said? "My sheep, hear my voice." He speaks to us. How does He speak to us? Through His Word and by His Spirit. I want you to look at one last passage, John 12, verse 48. I could quote it, but I want you to see it. Look in John 12. John 12, verse 48. Look what our Lord says. Remember the Bible says, "See that you refuse not him that speaketh from heaven." The Bible says if you refuse to hear God's prophet that He raises up, He will require it of you. Watch, John 12 verse 48.

Let me tie it together. Jesus Christ said, "He that rejecteth me, that's the living He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, that's the written word, hath one that judgeth him. The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." You cannot maintain one attitude toward the Bible and a different attitude toward Jesus Christ. Or one attitude toward Jesus Christ and a different attitude toward the Bible. The Bible is the written word and Jesus Christ is the living word. General revelation, that is, creation in conscience, is designed to lead you to special revelation, which is the Word of God, the commandments, and then to Jesus Christ, who is the living Word.

Conclusion and Application

Weaver concludes by urging the congregation not to be afraid to hear God's voice, but to study the Word, apply it, and worship Christ. He prays for grace to serve God acceptably.

Our Lord said it very plainly, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh in the Father but by me." Has God spoken? Yes, He has. Is God still speaking? Yes, He is. How do we hear His voice? In His Word and through His prophet, through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We may hear Him faintly in creation and in conscience, but we hear Him loudly and clearly in the Bible and in Jesus Christ. So do not be afraid to hear God's voice, study the Word of God, apply the Word of God, and bow to and worship the Son of God. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to you this day. We thank you for your Word. We thank you for your truth. We ask, Lord, that you would indeed help us to hear thee, to hear thy voice, to recognize this is your voice speaking to us. Give us grace that we may serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen.

so so

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Holiness and Sovereignty of God

Summary: God's awesome majesty and holiness are revealed in His law-giving at Sinai, and His sovereignty is seen in His commands and judgments.

Evidence: Weaver reviews the five truths from Deuteronomy 5, including 'the awesome majesty and the holiness of God' and 'the sovereignty of God' (178.7-325.2s).

The Necessity of Hearing and Obeying God's Voice

Summary: Salvation requires hearing and obeying God's voice; Jesus Christ modeled this, and His sheep hear and follow Him.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'there is absolutely no salvation apart from hearing and obeying' and cites John 10:27, 'My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me' (389.0-440.0s).

General Revelation: Creation and Conscience

Summary: Creation and conscience reveal God's existence and moral law, leaving all without excuse, but they are insufficient for salvation.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Creation is general revelation. General revelation will give you enough light to condemn you, but not enough light to convert you' (560.6-597.7s) and explains conscience similarly (1099.3-1154.5s).

Special Revelation: Scripture as God's Voice

Summary: The Bible is God's voice, and to refuse to hear Scripture is to refuse God. The law converts the soul.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'The Bible is God's Word. It is God's voice. He that will not hear the Word of God will not hear God' (2060.4-2118.1s) and cites Psalm 19:7 (1627.8-1671.4s).

Christ as the Full and Final Revelation

Summary: Jesus Christ is the living Word, the ultimate revelation of God. To reject Christ is to reject the Father, and His words will judge us.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Jesus Christ is the full and final revelation of God' (2118.8-2180.2s) and cites John 12:48, 'The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day' (2856.1-2908.7s).

The Unity of the Written and Living Word

Summary: One cannot have a different attitude toward the Bible and toward Jesus Christ; they are united. Rejecting one is rejecting the other.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'You cannot maintain one attitude toward the Bible and a different attitude toward Jesus Christ' (2856.1-2908.7s).

Key Arguments

God has spoken, and we must hear His voice.

Summary: The Bible presupposes that God exists and has spoken. Everyone has presuppositions, and the Christian presupposition is that God has revealed Himself.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'There were two basic presuppositions of Scripture. The first one is God is... the second basic presupposition of the Bible is that God has spoken' (143.5-178.3s).

General revelation is sufficient for condemnation but not for salvation.

Summary: Creation and conscience reveal enough about God to hold people accountable, but they do not reveal the way of salvation.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Creation is general revelation. General revelation will give you enough light to condemn you, but not enough light to convert you' (560.6-597.7s) and applies the same to conscience (1197.3-1248.5s).

The Bible is God's voice, and to reject it is to reject God.

Summary: Scripture repeatedly equates God's commandments with His voice. Refusing to hear the Word is refusing to hear God.

Evidence: Weaver cites Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62; 30:2, 10; and Jeremiah 26:13, all of which equate hearkening to God's voice with obeying His commandments (1796.3-2059.3s).

Jesus Christ is the ultimate prophet and revelation of God.

Summary: Deuteronomy 18 prophesies a prophet like Moses; Jesus is that prophet. To reject Him is to incur God's judgment.

Evidence: Weaver explains Deuteronomy 18:15-19 and connects it to Jesus, saying, 'If you will not hear Jesus Christ, you will not hear God the Father' (2443.8-2599.4s).

Rejecting Christ's words brings judgment.

Summary: Jesus said that His words will judge those who reject Him. There is no escape for those who refuse the one who speaks from heaven.

Evidence: Weaver cites John 12:48 and Hebrews 12:25, warning that those who refused Moses were judged, and how much more those who refuse Christ (2649.3-2908.7s).

Scripture References

Deuteronomy 5:22-27

Context: Read at the beginning as the primary text, describing God speaking from the fire and the people's fear.

Psalm 19:1-6

Context: Cited to show that creation declares God's glory and that day and night pour forth speech.

Romans 1:18-21

Context: Used to demonstrate that God's invisible attributes are clearly seen in creation, leaving men without excuse.

Romans 2:14-15

Context: Explained to show that conscience bears witness to God's law written on the heart, accusing or excusing.

Romans 3:1-2

Context: Mentioned to note that the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God, unlike the Gentiles.

John 8:9

Context: Referenced to illustrate that conscience can convict, as the accusers of the adulterous woman were convicted by their own conscience.

Psalm 19:7

Context: Contrasted with the earlier verses to show the transition from general to special revelation; the law converts the soul.

Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62

Context: Multiple verses cited to show that hearkening to God's voice is equated with obeying His commandments.

Deuteronomy 30:2, 10

Context: Further verses equating obeying God's voice with keeping His commandments.

Jeremiah 26:13

Context: Used to show that obeying the voice of the Lord means mending ways and obeying His law.

John 1:18

Context: Cited to show that no one has seen God, but the Son has revealed Him.

Matthew 11:27

Context: Used to emphasize that only the Son knows the Father and reveals Him to whom He chooses.

John 1:1-3, 14

Context: Referenced to show that Jesus is the Word who became flesh, the living Word of God.

John 14:8-9

Context: Cited to show that seeing Jesus is seeing the Father; He is God in the flesh.

Hebrews 1:1-3

Context: Used to show that God spoke in the past through prophets but now has spoken through His Son, the exact representation of His being.

Deuteronomy 18:15-19

Context: Explained as the prophecy of a prophet like Moses, fulfilled in Christ; those who do not listen will be held accountable.

John 13:20

Context: Cited to show that receiving Christ's messengers is receiving Christ, and receiving Christ is receiving the Father.

Hebrews 12:25

Context: Used to warn that if those who refused Moses did not escape, much less will we escape if we turn away from Christ who speaks from heaven.

John 5:22-23

Context: Cited to show that the Father has committed all judgment to the Son so that all may honor the Son equally with the Father.

John 12:48

Context: Used to show that the word Jesus spoke will judge those who reject Him on the last day.

Historical References

Henry Craik (1860)

Context: Weaver quotes Craik's literal rendering of Psalm 19:1-2 from the Hebrew, emphasizing the continuous witness of creation.

Matthew Henry

Context: Weaver quotes Matthew Henry's commentary on Psalm 19, explaining how day and night speak of God's glory and goodness.

John Gill

Context: Weaver quotes John Gill's commentary on Romans 2:14-15, noting that the moral law agrees with the light of nature but cannot save.

Matthew Henry (on Romans 2)

Context: Weaver quotes Matthew Henry again, explaining that the Gentiles had a sense of justice and morality by nature, being a law unto themselves.

Important Quotes

Creation is general revelation. General revelation will give you enough light to condemn you, but not enough light to convert you.

Significance: This succinctly defines the purpose and limitation of general revelation, a key concept in the sermon.

The Bible is God's Word. It is God's voice. He that will not hear the Word of God will not hear God.

Significance: This emphasizes the direct identification of Scripture with God's voice, central to the message.

Jesus Christ is the full and final revelation of God the Father. There's not going to be anything over, above, or beyond Jesus Christ.

Significance: This highlights the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ as special revelation.

You cannot maintain one attitude toward the Bible and a different attitude toward Jesus Christ. Or one attitude toward Jesus Christ and a different attitude toward the Bible. The Bible is the written word and Jesus Christ is the living word.

Significance: This ties together the unity of the written and living Word, a crucial application.

My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.

Significance: Quoting John 10:27, this establishes the mark of true believers as those who hear and obey Christ.

Discussion Questions

What are the two basic presuppositions of Scripture mentioned, and why are they important for understanding how God speaks?

Context: Weaver states that the Bible presupposes God's existence and that He has spoken (143.5-178.3s).

How does general revelation (creation and conscience) leave people without excuse, yet fail to save them?

Context: Weaver explains that creation and conscience reveal enough to condemn but not to convert (560.6-1248.5s).

In what ways does the Bible equate God's voice with His commandments, and what does this imply for our reading of Scripture?

Context: Weaver cites multiple Old Testament passages where hearkening to God's voice means obeying His law (1796.3-2059.3s).

Why is Jesus Christ called the 'full and final revelation' of God, and how does this affect our understanding of other revelations?

Context: Weaver discusses Hebrews 1:1-3 and John 1:18, emphasizing Christ's unique role (2118.8-2397.1s).

What does it mean that 'you cannot maintain one attitude toward the Bible and a different attitude toward Jesus Christ'?

Context: Weaver argues for the unity of the written and living Word, citing John 12:48 (2856.1-2908.7s).

How does the warning in Hebrews 12:25 about refusing Him who speaks from heaven apply to us today?

Context: Weaver contrasts the judgment on those who refused Moses with the greater judgment for rejecting Christ (2649.3-2700.6s).

Applications

Do not be afraid to hear God's voice; instead, study and apply His Word.

Summary: Weaver urges the congregation not to fear hearing God's voice but to actively study the Bible and apply its truths.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'So do not be afraid to hear God's voice, study the Word of God, apply the Word of God, and bow to and worship the Son of God' (2909.9-2993.2s).

Recognize that the Bible is God's voice speaking to you.

Summary: Believers should understand that when they read or hear Scripture, they are hearing God's voice directly.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'The Bible is God's Word. It is God's voice' (2060.4-2118.1s).

Honor the Son equally with the Father.

Summary: Because all judgment is committed to the Son, we must honor Jesus Christ equally with God the Father.

Evidence: Weaver explains John 5:22-23, 'that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father' (2738.5-2796.9s).

Do not refuse Christ's words, for they will judge you.

Summary: Weaver warns that rejecting Christ's words brings judgment, so we must receive and obey them.

Evidence: Weaver cites John 12:48, 'The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day' (2856.1-2908.7s).

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-04T21:12:30Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-05T22:15:10Z

Clean Transcript

Are You Afraid To Hear God's Voice - Part 2 of 2

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

All right, let's open our Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 5 today, Deuteronomy chapter 5. This thing's not ready. I don't know how to do this one. Deuteronomy chapter 5 verses 22 and 23. If you will remember, 22 actually through 33, we may not read them all. But remember I began a message a couple of weeks ago, "Are You Afraid to Hear God's Voice?" And I did part one. Today is part two, finishing that message. So look in Deuteronomy chapter 5 verse 22: "These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice."
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"And he added no more. wrote them in two tables of stone and delivered them unto me. And it came to pass when you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, for the mountain did burn with fire, that you came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes and your elders. And you said, Behold, the Lord our God hath showed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he... Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more than we shall die. For who is there of all flesh that heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire as we have and lived?" And then they say to Moses, "Go thou near and hear all that the Lord our God shall say, and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee, and we will hear it, and we will do it."
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In the last message I pointed out several things. First of all I told you that there were two basic presuppositions of Scripture. The first one is God is. Nowhere in the Bible does the Bible try to prove the existence of God. It just begins, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." And then the second basic presupposition of the Bible is that God has spoken. And obviously He has spoken or we would know absolutely nothing about Him. Remember a presupposition is something that you suppose to be true beforehand.
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So there is that which is known as presuppositional theology. Everyone has presuppositions and everyone acts upon those presuppositions. I also last time showed you five truths out of Deuteronomy chapter 5 and I want to go over those five truths right now. First of all, we saw the awesome majesty and the holiness of God. God came down upon that mount and there was fire and thunder. There were trumpets. And the people understood how awesomely holy God was and how majestic God was. And they were afraid because they heard the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire. We not only saw the awesome majesty and holiness of God, but secondly we saw the sovereignty of God. Because God said, you set a boundary around this mount, and if anybody touches it, he is to be stoned or shot through, even an animal. And so God not only laid down the law concerning the mount, He also laid down the law and gave forth the law to Moses there. And then third we saw that God is to be feared and obeyed.
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Because the people said to Moses, "You go and hear what God says. You tell us and we will do it." So God is to be feared and obeyed. And then fourthly, we saw the sinfulness and the unfitness and the depravity of fallen man. That is why they were so afraid to approach such a holy, awesome God. And I pointed out in that message how there is a vast chasm between a holy God and a depraved sinner. And then fifthly we saw the absolute necessity of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the mediator between God and men. And the Bible tells us in 1 Timothy 2 and verse 5, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." Now then ask in light of these truths, are you afraid to hear the voice of God? The truth of the matter is God has spoken. And I also shared with you that there are basically three responses that we could give to the voice of God. The first response that we could give, the way some do, is we just refuse to hear God's voice.
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People oftentimes do everything they can to drown out the voice of God. They do not want to hear. They have no desire to hear. They will not even position themselves so that they may hear. The second response that some people give is this. Some will hear and then they will disobey and rebel. And I showed you in Matthew 21 where our Lord told the story about the two sons where the father came and said, "Go to work today in my vineyard."
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And the first one said, "I will not." But then he repented and went. And he looked to the second one and said, "Go to work in my vineyard." And the one said, the second one said very politely, "I go sir." But he went not. And then our Lord asked which one did the will of his father and they say the first. Then of course our Lord then told the Pharisees that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you because at least they repented and they came. And then of course I pointed out that some here and some actually obeyed.
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Now, the interesting thing is, if you will recall, I went through and showed you that there is absolutely no salvation apart from hearing and obeying. I showed you from the Scripture where Jesus Christ, as the God-man, as the servant of the Father, heard the Father's words and He obeyed the Father's words. Thus, Jesus Christ worked out an absolute perfect salvation. Now then, Jesus Christ said in John 10 and verse 27, "My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me." So the sheep then hear and the sheep also obey. So our Lord made this principle very plain and very simple in Luke chapter 10 and verse 16.
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When he sent his disciples out he said this, "He that heareth you heareth me. and he that heareth me, heareth him that sent me. He that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me." So in other words you cannot have one attitude toward those who are preaching and teaching the Word of God and a different attitude toward Jesus Christ or even a different attitude toward the Father because they are all joined together. If you will not hear Jesus Christ will not hear His Father. If you do not hear the Father you will never come savingly to Jesus Christ. In John 6 and verse 45 the Bible says this, "It is written in the prophets, and they shall all be taught of God, listen, every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me." So Jesus Christ said, if you have heard, if you have been taught, then you come unto me. So it's absolutely necessary that we hear the voice of God. So the question is, and I asked this question last time, how do we hear God's voice?
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And how does God speak to us? Well, scripture tells us that God has spoken actually in four different ways. Two of these ways are known as general revelation, and two of the ways are known as special revelation. So I'm going to cover the general revelation first. First of all, God has spoken through creation. Creation is general revelation. General revelation will give you enough light to condemn you, but not enough light to convert you. yet creation itself will hold men accountable, and answerable, and responsible to the Creator. Let me show you.
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Look in your Bibles to Psalm 19. Psalm 19, and let's begin reading there with verse 1, and we'll read through verse 6. And I want you to look at these words very carefully. Psalm 19 beginning with verse 1, The psalmist said, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out throughout all the earth, and their words to the end of the world."
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"In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strongman to run a race. going forth is from the end of heaven, and a circuit unto the ends of it, and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof."
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Now when he said the heavens declare the glory of God, literally he is saying the heavens announce or proclaim or make known His glory. The heavens here refers to the material heavens as they appear to the eyes. Thus we are talking about the sun, and the moon and the stars. The heavens, the Word of God declares, are the work of His hands. So the idea is that God has made the heavens with His own hands and that the firmament thus adorned with sun, moon and stars shows the wisdom and the skill in which they were made.
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Now if you will look please at verses 1 and 2 again. "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day are his speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge." Henry Craik in 1860 gave a literal rendering of these two verses from the Hebrew and here is what he said, listen carefully. He says, "The literal reading of the first and second verses may be thus given, the heavens are telling the glory of God, the firmament displaying the work of his hands, day unto day wills forth speech, and night unto night breatheth out knowledge. Thus the four distinct terms in the original are preserved in the translation, and the overflowing fullness with which day unto day pours forth divine instruction and the gentle whisperings of the silent night are contrasted in the Hebrew." So what he is saying is basically this, it doesn't matter if you look at the heavens in the day or if you look at the heavens in the night, they are both giving forth a witness to the fact that God is the Creator.
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Now Matthew Henry the commentator went on to say this, listen carefully, he said, "The constant and regular succession of day and night, day unto day and night unto night, speak the glory that God who first divided the light and the darkness, and has from the beginning to this day preserved that established order without variation according to God's covenant with Noah, that while the earth remains, day and night shall not cease, to which covenant of providence the covenant of grace is accompanied and compared for its stability." Now listen, "The counterchanging of day and night in so exact a method is a great instance of the power of God. and calls us to observe that as in the kingdom of nature, so in that providence He forms the light and creates darkness and sets the one over against the other. It is likewise an instance of His goodness to man."
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"For he makes the outgoings of the morning and the evening to rejoice. He not only glorifies himself, but he gratifies us by this constant revolution. For as the light of the morning befriends the business of the day, so the shadows of the evening befriend the repose of the night. Every day and every night speak the goodness of God, and when they finish their testimony, they leave it to the next day and the next night to do the same." So every time you see day and night you are seeing the hand of God in creation. So if you would look in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 1 at verses 18-21 here is another passage that speaks of creation and God speaking through creation. Notice Romans chapter 1 beginning there with verse 18. Romans 1 verse 18.
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"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed it to them."
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Now watch carefully, "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse." Now in this passage, God's wrath corresponds to the revelation of God's righteousness. And He's telling us that this is an unwritten revelation, but it is plainly known. So as His creation then demonstrates His power and omnipotence, at the same time, It also demonstrates His sovereignty and His supremacy. But His acts of retribution against sin and wickedness also displays His righteousness, His power, and His holiness.
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Stop and think with me just for a moment. It was God who sent the flood in Noah's time. It was God who destroyed the Egyptians. It was God who rained fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the plain. It was God who destroyed the Canaanites. It was God who judged the Israelites in Amos chapter 4 because of their sins. Everywhere you look in the Old Testament and in the New Testament as well it is the judgment of God in time and in history in creation. displays not only the power of God, but His righteousness as well. And the interesting thing is in Romans chapter 1 He says, "so then they are without excuse." So, what God is telling us is this, anyone with one eye and half sense can look at the creation and say, there must be a Creator. This did not just happen. There is a Creation. Now, let me just tell you this. Creation, again, is general revelation. It will not tell you that God saves. It will not tell you the basis upon which forgiveness may be received.
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It may not tell you that there is a Redeemer. But it does tell you there is a Creator. And it does tell you that He is powerful, and sovereign, and supreme, and righteous, and holy, and it leaves men without excuse. And it doesn't matter where you are on the earth. Which hemisphere you're in, you still see the same heavens, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and thus men are without excuse.
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So creation is general revelation, and it's enough to condemn you, but not enough to convert you. Now, look in Romans chapter 2. Since we're in Romans chapter 1, The second way that God has spoken is through conscience. Look if you would Romans 2 verses 14 and 15. Romans 2 verse 14 we are talking about conscience. The Bible says, "For when the Gentiles, or the nations, which have not the law, that is the written law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, that is these nations, having not the written law, are a law unto themselves. which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another."
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Now, let me just make this exceedingly clear. No nation had the written law of God except the Israelites. So, if you will look in Romans chapter 3, verses 1 and 2, here's the question. "What advantage then doth the Jew, or what profit is there of circumcision?" Here's the answer, "Much in every way chiefly because that under them were committed the oracles of God." That is Israel had the written law of God. Now just because the Gentile nations did not have the written law of God did not excuse them because they were not without some knowledge of God in their conscience. Now, let me explain the word conscience. The word conscience is from the Greek word syneidesis.
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Syn is a preposition which means with, eidesis means to know. So syneidesis, your conscience, is that which you know with. You look at the English word conscience. Con is a preposition which means with, science to know. Your conscience is that which you know with. So your conscience is basically your understanding. It's your mind. That's why when you start to do something wrong, something in you says, eh, eh, eh, eh, that's because you know better. You know what's wrong. So he talks about now their conscience either accusing them or excusing them. So conscience then, again what you and I would call general revelation.
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It is enough to condemn an individual, but it is not enough to convert an individual. And when he talks about in Romans chapter 2, these do by nature. Doing by nature is contrasted with specific revelation or divine revelation. So what he is saying is there is a basic knowledge still even in fallen man. has some understanding of right and wrong. And that understanding can either accuse them or excuse them. Now it is possible for your conscience, even the conscience of an unsaved individual, to convict them. You remember in John chapter 8 the woman who was taken in adultery in the very act.
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brought her to Jesus Christ and said, "Master, Moses and the law says she is to be stoned, what sayest thou?" Now they were not concerned about the woman, nor were they concerned about the sin. They were trying to ensnare Jesus Christ. If He said, let her go, then He is not following God's law. Wow! And if He said, kill her, then He is not a friend of sinners.
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So I mean they just had Him just about any way that He went. And so what our Lord did was He knelt down and He wrote upon the ground. I don't know what He wrote. I would tend to think that He might have been writing dates and times or names of when these people committed adultery. But anyhow the Bible says in John 8 verse 9, when they heard it being convicted by their own conscience, they went out one by one beginning at the eldest even to the last and Jesus was left alone and the woman standing in the midst. So a conscience can indeed convict you. These men were seeking to condemn the woman and they were guilty themselves and they were condemned by their own conscience.
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Now I don't care where you go in this world you can still go to the darkest tribes And they still know the difference between murder and self-defense. I mean, they know it's wrong to take a spear and go plunge it in a man's heart, but when they take that same spear and they're defending themselves against the man who's trying to kill them, their conscience can either accuse them or excuse them.
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Now, let me just cover something before I go any further, an old adage that each one of us has heard. "Let your conscience be your guide." That old adage is not only unbiblical, it is extremely unwise. Why? Because of that which the Bible teaches about your conscience. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 8 and verse 12 that there are weak consciences. In Titus 1 and verse 15 that there are defiled consciences. In 1 Timothy 4 and verse 2, there are some who have their consciences seared with a hot iron. And then in Hebrews 10 and verse 32, the Bible speaks about an evil conscience. Well, a conscience can also be improperly and wrongly taught.
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Stop and think about the pagans who would sacrifice their children to these false idols and do it with joy. because they thought they were doing something right, because that's the way they had been taught all of their lives. Their consciences were improperly taught.
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Now, John Gill, the old Baptist commentator, said this, talking about Romans 2, 14 and 15. He says, "The matter and substance of the moral law of Moses agrees with the law and light of nature. And the Gentiles in some measure and in some sort did these things by nature. Not that men by the mere strength of nature without the grace of God can fulfill the law or do anything that is acceptable to God. And indeed what these men did was merely natural and carnal and so unacceptable unto God." And so what he's saying is there's no way that someone just out of a conscience can do anything that is pleasing and acceptable to God. Again, a conscience is general revelation, it is enough to condemn you, but it is not necessarily enough to convert you.
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Matthew Henry went on to say it like this, "They had that which directed them to do that by the light of nature, by the force and tendency of their natural notions, and dictates that apprehended a clear and vast difference between good and evil. did by nature the things contained in the law. That is they had a sense of justice and equity, honor and purity, love and charity, the light of nature taught obedience to parents, pity to the miserable, conservation of public peace and order, and forbade murder, stealing, lying, and perjury. Thus they were a law unto themselves." So he goes on to say that your conscience can be a witness to for you or it can be a witness against you.
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It can either excuse you or it can accuse you. And oftentimes, most of the time, instead of our consciences excusing us, they most often accuse us. That is for sure. But conscience is natural and it is a general revelation designed to lead, guide, and direct us to special revelation. Let me say it again, conscience is enough to condemn you, but not enough to convert you. Ok, this brings me to the last two points, and these are special revelations. How has God spoken? God has spoken through creation. God has spoken through conscience. And thirdly God has spoken through commandments. Now I'm using the term commandments in a very broad and general sense. In fact when I speak about the commandments, I am now talking about the totality of the Word of God. When you get to Psalm 19, and we did not read all of Psalm 19 earlier, There is a contrast in that psalm between general revelation and special revelation. Because when you get to verse 1, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth its handiwork."
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You read all about creation down to verse 6. But when you get to verse 7, "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul, making wise the simple." And the rest of that psalm about God's Word or God's Law. Thus you have a contrast now between general revelation and special revelation. So when I talk about the commandments today, right now, I am not just talking about the Ten Commandments. It is true in the context of Deuteronomy 5 which we read last week, and in Exodus chapter 20 which we read last week. God gave the Ten Commandments, but He gave more than the Ten Commandments. He gave the ordinances. He gave the statutes. He gave the totality of His law.
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But the point I'm trying to make is this. Whatever God says is a commandment. Do you understand that? The entirety of the Word of God could be classified as a commandment. Why? Because God's law is a revelation for how you and I are to live our lives. It is His revealed will for our lives. So in that law, We hear the voice of God distinctly and clearly. We can hear the voice of God in creation, generally speaking. We can hear it in conscience, generally speaking. But when you come to the totality of the word of God, then God is screaming out at us. For instance, in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 1, when we have the first giving of the law, it begins like this, "And God spake all these words, saying..." When you get to Deuteronomy 5 verses 4 and 5 Moses said, "The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount in the midst of the fire. I stood between the Lord and you at that time to show you Lord, for you were afraid by reason of the fire and went not up to the mount."
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Now what I could do is this, I could multiply scriptures today to show you that when God gave the law He spake with His voice. But I'm going to give you just seven passages. I want you to turn in your Bibles first of all to Deuteronomy 28. Deuteronomy 28. And I want you to follow me because over and over the Bible is speaking about the voice of God. Where do we hear God's voice? In creation generally, in conscience generally, but specifically in the Word of God. Deuteronomy, note if you would please, chapter 28 at verses 1 and 2. Deuteronomy 28 verse 1.
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And I started saying, yes, Pat, that's in the Old Testament. Deuteronomy 28 verse 1, "And it shall come to pass if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God to observe and do all his commandments which I command thee this day Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God." So God has spoken and He has spoken in His law. He has spoken in His Word and it is called His voice. Skip down to verse 15, "But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee and overtake thee." Note if you would, "but it shall come to pass if thou wilt not hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God."
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Well, how would you hear the voice of God? To observe to do all his commandments and all his statutes, which he commands. Skip down to verse 45 in the same passage. Deuteronomy 28 verse 45, He says, "Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed, because thou hearkenest not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded thee." Again, very plainly, He is saying that this Word is His voice. Look in verse 62, same chapter, Deuteronomy 28, verse 62. "And you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven for multitude, because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord thy God." Look in Deuteronomy 30 and verse 2. Deuteronomy 30, verse 2. "And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice, according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children with all thy heart and with all thy soul." Now if you would skip down to verse 10, Deuteronomy 30 verse 10.
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Again he says it like this, "If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in the book of the law, if thou turn to the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul." Again he is talking about hearing the voice of God. How is he talking about hearing the voice of God? by His commandments, by His Law, by His Word. If you would turn right over to the book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah 26, like I say there is a multitude of passages. But let me just give you Jeremiah chapter 26 and look if you would please at verse 13. Jeremiah 26 and verse 13.
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And then I want to try to sum up this one point. Jeremiah 26 verse 13. Here's what the prophet Jeremiah speaks and states to the people. "Therefore now mend your ways and your doings and obey the voice of the Lord your God and the Lord will repent him of the evil that is pronounced against you." Well, obey the voice of the Lord your God. How can they obey the voice of the Lord their God?
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The answer is by obeying His law. So let me put it to you like this. The Bible is God's Word. It is God's voice. He that will not hear the Word of God will not hear God. If you refuse to hear the Word of God expounded, explained and applied, obviously you're not going to hear the voice of God. Let me just tell you, I titled this message, "Are You Afraid to Hear God's Voice?" Undoubtedly, most people are afraid to hear God's voice because they never read their Bible. They never study it.
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They don't want to come near where it's being preached and proclaimed. So obviously, some are afraid to hear the voice of God. The Bible is special revelation. We can only know specific things about God, sin, and salvation because God has specifically revealed these things in His Word. He has not revealed them in creation. He has not revealed them in conscience. He has only revealed them in His Word. So God has spoken how? creation, through conscience, through the commandments, that is the totality of the Word of God. Fourthly, God has spoken through Christ. Jesus Christ is the full and final revelation of God. He is special revelation. He is God incarnate.
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He is the one that reveals the Father. He is the one that has been sent by the Father. In John 1 in verse 18, our Lord said this, "No man hath seen God in any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath revealed Him." The only way that we can know God fully is because Jesus Christ has revealed the Father. Our Lord said in Matthew 11 and verse 27, listen carefully, "All things are delivered of me of my father, and no man knoweth the son but the father. Neither doth any man know the father save the son, and he to whomsoever he reveal him." Isn't that amazing? The only one who knows the father perfectly is the son. The only one who knows the son perfectly is the father. And the only way you can know the father is if the son is pleased to reveal him.
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So let me put it like this. Jesus Christ is the living Word of God. The Bible is the written Word of God. In John 1, 1 through 3, that's a very important passage. In John 1, verse 1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him that were made, and without Him was not anything made." Did you know that one of the names of Jesus Christ in the Bible is Logos? The Word. You know what He said in John 1 and verse 14? Listen carefully. After he got through saying, "and the Word was with him, and the Word was God," when you get to John 1 and verse 14, "and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." And the Word was made flesh. Jesus Christ is the Divine Logos. He is the living Word of God.
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Hmm. Our Lord told His disciples in John 14 that He was going away. And it was Philip who said in John 14 in verse 8, "Lord, show us the Father and it sufficeth us. I'll take care of everything. Just show us the Father." You know what our Lord said, "Philip? Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not known me? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father."
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"I am God in the flesh. I am the living word." That's exactly what he said.
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Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter 1. Hebrews, chapter 1. And look, if you would, please, beginning there with verse 1. Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 1, and we'll read through verse 3. Hebrews 1, verse 1, "God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners, that is, different ways, spake in times past in the fathers by the prophets." So in Old Testament and some in the New Testament, God did speak in trances and dreams and special ways to them. But notice, that's how God used to do it. That's how God did it in times past. But look in verse 2, "hath in these last days spoken us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds."
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"who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." God in times past spoke in many different ways, but in these last days He gave us His Son. Jesus Christ is the full and final revelation of God the Father. There's not going to be anything over, above, or beyond Jesus Christ.
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I want you to go back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 18. If you understand Deuteronomy 18, you can understand the question that was asked John the Baptist, And you can also understand some of the things that were said about Jesus Christ. In Deuteronomy chapter 18 beginning there with verse 15 Moses is speaking and here's what Moses tells the people. "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee of thy brethren like unto me."
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"Unto him you shall hearken. according to all that thou desirest of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more lest I die. And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken."
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Now look what God promises, "I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, that is, like unto Moses. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto my words, which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him."
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Now, do you remember when John the Baptist came preaching? What did the Pharisees and the scribes do? They sent word to him and they asked him, "Art thou that prophet?" This is what they were referring to. Are you the Messiah? No. And Jesus in Matthew 16 said, "Who do men say that I am the Son of Man?" Well, some say that you're Elijah or Elias or one of the prophets. But what sayest thou? "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." You are the prophet of Deuteronomy chapter 18.
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And I want you to notice what the Bible says. You will not hear this prophet that God raises up. He will require it of you. So let me just put it to you bluntly. If you will not hear Jesus Christ, you will not hear God the Father. Jesus Christ took Peter, James, and John and went up to the mountain and was transfigured before them. And of course Moses and Elijah appeared. And Peter, speaking before he thought things through, said, "Oh, Lord, it is good for us to be here. Let us build three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses, one for Elijah." All of a sudden a cloud came over and the voice came from that cloud, "This is my beloved Son, you hear Him." He is my Son. He that will not hear the Son will not hear the Father. He that will not receive the Son will not receive the Father. Our Lord said it very plainly in John 13 in verse 20, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me."
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So if you receive the messenger of Christ, you receive Christ. If you receive Christ, you receive the Father who sent Christ. You cannot get to the Father apart from Jesus Christ.
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Now, let me show you. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. I want you to look at this because remember, remember in Deuteronomy 18 Moses said, "A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you from among your brethren like unto me. Him shall you hear, and if you will not hear God is going to require of you." Well, look in Hebrews 12 and notice if you would please verse 25.
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The scripture says, "See that you refuse not Him that speaketh. See that you refuse not him that speaketh, for if they escape not who refused him that spake on earth, that is Moses, much more shall not we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven." What is he saying? God spoke through Moses. Moses was on earth. And those who refused to hear God through Moses were judged and destroyed. How much more will people be judged and destroyed if we refuse to hear Him who speaketh from heaven? Because Jesus Christ is God in the flesh.
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You know, the Bible tells us very plainly and very clearly, and without all controversy, great is the mystery of Godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, talking about Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ is the Living Word. That is why in John chapter 5 verses 22 and 23, listen carefully, the Scripture says, "...the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son."
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Now let me stop there. Why has the Father committed all judgment to the Son? Here is the answer, listen carefully, "that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father." Now when the Bible says, "that the Father judgeth no man but that he committeth all judgment to the Son," why? "That all men should honor the Son even as," and the two words even as literally means equally to. You must honor the Son equally as you honor the Father. And then he goes on to say, he that dishonors the Son dishonors the Father. So if you refuse to hear Jesus Christ you refuse to hear the Father. If you dishonor Jesus Christ you are dishonoring the Father. So the question is, are you afraid to hear God's voice?
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You know what our Lord said? "My sheep, hear my voice." He speaks to us. How does He speak to us? Through His Word and by His Spirit. I want you to look at one last passage, John 12, verse 48. I could quote it, but I want you to see it. Look in John 12. John 12, verse 48. Look what our Lord says. Remember the Bible says, "See that you refuse not him that speaketh from heaven." The Bible says if you refuse to hear God's prophet that He raises up, He will require it of you. Watch, John 12 verse 48.
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Let me tie it together. Jesus Christ said, "He that rejecteth me, that's the living He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, that's the written word, hath one that judgeth him. The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." You cannot maintain one attitude toward the Bible and a different attitude toward Jesus Christ. Or one attitude toward Jesus Christ and a different attitude toward the Bible. The Bible is the written word and Jesus Christ is the living word. General revelation, that is, creation in conscience, is designed to lead you to special revelation, which is the Word of God, the commandments, and then to Jesus Christ, who is the living Word.
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Our Lord said it very plainly, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh in the Father but by me." Has God spoken? Yes, He has. Is God still speaking? Yes, He is. How do we hear His voice? In His Word and through His prophet, through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We may hear Him faintly in creation and in conscience, but we hear Him loudly and clearly in the Bible and in Jesus Christ. So do not be afraid to hear God's voice, study the Word of God, apply the Word of God, and bow to and worship the Son of God. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to you this day. We thank you for your Word. We thank you for your truth. We ask, Lord, that you would indeed help us to hear thee, to hear thy voice, to recognize this is your voice speaking to us. Give us grace that we may serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen.
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so so
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-04T21:12:30Z

Are You Afraid To Hear God's Voice - Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this sermon, Pastor John Weaver continues his message on hearing God's voice, focusing on how God speaks. He explains that God has spoken through four means: creation and conscience (general revelation, sufficient to condemn but not to convert), and the commandments (Scripture) and Christ (special revelation, sufficient for salvation). He emphasizes that the Bible is God's voice and that Jesus Christ is the full and final revelation of God. The sermon warns against refusing to hear God's voice, as judgment will come upon those who reject His Word and His Son.

Opening

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 5:22-27

"These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice." "And he added no more. wrote them in two tables of stone and delivered them unto me. And it came to pass when you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, for the mountain did burn with fire, that you came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes and your elders. And you said, Behold, the Lord our God hath showed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he... Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more than we shall die. For who is there of all flesh that heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire as we have and lived?"

And then they say to Moses,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 5:22-27

"Go thou near and hear all that the Lord our God shall say, and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee, and we will hear it, and we will do it."

Review of Part One

Introduction to How God Speaks

Weaver introduces the four ways God has spoken: two general revelations (creation and conscience) and two special revelations (commandments/Scripture and Christ).

General Revelation: Creation

God speaks through creation, which declares His glory and power, leaving humanity without excuse. Creation is enough to condemn but not to convert.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 19:1-6

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out throughout all the earth, and their words to the end of the world."

General Revelation: Conscience

God speaks through conscience, the inner knowledge of right and wrong, which accuses or excuses. Conscience is enough to condemn but not to convert, and it can be defiled or seared.

Scripture Reading — Romans 2:14-15

Now, let me just make this exceedingly clear. No nation had the written law of God except the Israelites. So, if you will look in Romans chapter 3, verses 1 and 2, here's the question. "What advantage then doth the Jew, or what profit is there of circumcision?" Here's the answer, "Much in every way chiefly because that under them were committed the oracles of God." That is Israel had the written law of God. Now just because the Gentile nations did not have the written law of God did not excuse them because they were not without some knowledge of God in their conscience. Now, let me explain the word conscience. The word conscience is from the Greek word syneidesis.

Special Revelation: The Commandments (Scripture)

God speaks through His Word, the Bible, which is His voice. The law and commandments are special revelation that converts the soul. Refusing to hear Scripture is refusing to hear God.

You read all about creation down to verse 6. But when you get to verse 7,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 19:7

"The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul, making wise the simple."

And I started saying, yes, Pat, that's in the Old Testament. Deuteronomy 28 verse 1,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62

"And it shall come to pass if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God to observe and do all his commandments which I command thee this day Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God."

So God has spoken and He has spoken in His law. He has spoken in His Word and it is called His voice. Skip down to verse 15,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62

"But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee and overtake thee."

Note if you would,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62

"but it shall come to pass if thou wilt not hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God."

Well, how would you hear the voice of God? To observe to do all his commandments and all his statutes, which he commands. Skip down to verse 45 in the same passage. Deuteronomy 28 verse 45, He says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62

"Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed, because thou hearkenest not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded thee."

Again, very plainly, He is saying that this Word is His voice. Look in verse 62, same chapter, Deuteronomy 28, verse 62.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62

"And you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven for multitude, because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord thy God."

Look in Deuteronomy 30 and verse 2. Deuteronomy 30, verse 2.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62

"And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice, according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children with all thy heart and with all thy soul."

Now if you would skip down to verse 10, Deuteronomy 30 verse 10.

Special Revelation: Christ

Jesus Christ is the full and final revelation of God, the living Word. To reject Christ is to reject the Father. Christ speaks through His Word, and His words will judge us.

He is the one that reveals the Father. He is the one that has been sent by the Father. In John 1 in verse 18, our Lord said this,

Scripture Reading — John 1:18

"No man hath seen God in any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath revealed Him."

So let me put it like this. Jesus Christ is the living Word of God. The Bible is the written Word of God. In John 1, 1 through 3, that's a very important passage. In John 1, verse 1,

Scripture Reading — John 1:1-3, 14

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him that were made, and without Him was not anything made."

Did you know that one of the names of Jesus Christ in the Bible is Logos? The Word. You know what He said in John 1 and verse 14? Listen carefully. After he got through saying,

Scripture Reading — John 1:1-3, 14

"and the Word was with him, and the Word was God,"

when you get to John 1 and verse 14,

Scripture Reading — John 1:1-3, 14

"and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

And the Word was made flesh. Jesus Christ is the Divine Logos. He is the living Word of God.

Hmm. Our Lord told His disciples in John 14 that He was going away. And it was Philip who said in John 14 in verse 8,

Scripture Reading — John 14:8-9

"Lord, show us the Father and it sufficeth us. I'll take care of everything. Just show us the Father."

You know what our Lord said,

Scripture Reading — John 14:8-9

"Philip? Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not known me? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father."

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 1:1-3

"God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners, that is, different ways, spake in times past in the fathers by the prophets."

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 1:1-3

"hath in these last days spoken us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds."

Conclusion and Application

Weaver concludes by urging the congregation not to be afraid to hear God's voice, but to study the Word, apply it, and worship Christ. He prays for grace to serve God acceptably.

so so

Are You Afraid To Hear God's Voice - Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	2a_QBeIsnI4
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Sin, Judgment, and Gospel Foundations: Praying Against the Wicked
Genre	Sermon
Date	2017-04-17
Dictation Name
Book	Book 006: Are You Afraid To Hear God's Voice — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	61

Lecture Guide

Outline

Review of Part One: Weaver recaps the five truths from Deuteronomy 5: God's awesome majesty and holiness, His sovereignty, the need to fear and obey Him, the sinfulness of fallen man, and the necessity of Christ as mediator. He also reviews the three responses to God's voice: refusal to hear, hearing and disobeying, and hearing and obeying.
Introduction to How God Speaks: Weaver introduces the four ways God has spoken: two general revelations (creation and conscience) and two special revelations (commandments/Scripture and Christ).
General Revelation: Creation: God speaks through creation, which declares His glory and power, leaving humanity without excuse. Creation is enough to condemn but not to convert.
General Revelation: Conscience: God speaks through conscience, the inner knowledge of right and wrong, which accuses or excuses. Conscience is enough to condemn but not to convert, and it can be defiled or seared.
Special Revelation: The Commandments (Scripture): God speaks through His Word, the Bible, which is His voice. The law and commandments are special revelation that converts the soul. Refusing to hear Scripture is refusing to hear God.
Special Revelation: Christ: Jesus Christ is the full and final revelation of God, the living Word. To reject Christ is to reject the Father. Christ speaks through His Word, and His words will judge us.
Conclusion and Application: Weaver concludes by urging the congregation not to be afraid to hear God's voice, but to study the Word, apply it, and worship Christ. He prays for grace to serve God acceptably.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

God has spoken, and we must hear His voice.

The Bible presupposes that God exists and has spoken. Everyone has presuppositions, and the Christian presupposition is that God has revealed Himself.

Weaver says, 'There were two basic presuppositions of Scripture. The first one is God is... the second basic presupposition of the Bible is that God has spoken' (143.5-178.3s).

General revelation is sufficient for condemnation but not for salvation.

Creation and conscience reveal enough about God to hold people accountable, but they do not reveal the way of salvation.

Weaver states, 'Creation is general revelation. General revelation will give you enough light to condemn you, but not enough light to convert you' (560.6-597.7s) and applies the same to conscience (1197.3-1248.5s).

The Bible is God's voice, and to reject it is to reject God.

Scripture repeatedly equates God's commandments with His voice. Refusing to hear the Word is refusing to hear God.

Weaver cites Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62; 30:2, 10; and Jeremiah 26:13, all of which equate hearkening to God's voice with obeying His commandments (1796.3-2059.3s).

Jesus Christ is the ultimate prophet and revelation of God.

Deuteronomy 18 prophesies a prophet like Moses; Jesus is that prophet. To reject Him is to incur God's judgment.

Weaver explains Deuteronomy 18:15-19 and connects it to Jesus, saying, 'If you will not hear Jesus Christ, you will not hear God the Father' (2443.8-2599.4s).

Rejecting Christ's words brings judgment.

Jesus said that His words will judge those who reject Him. There is no escape for those who refuse the one who speaks from heaven.

Weaver cites John 12:48 and Hebrews 12:25, warning that those who refused Moses were judged, and how much more those who refuse Christ (2649.3-2908.7s).

Scripture References

Deuteronomy 5:22-27: Read at the beginning as the primary text, describing God speaking from the fire and the people's fear.
Psalm 19:1-6: Cited to show that creation declares God's glory and that day and night pour forth speech.
Romans 1:18-21: Used to demonstrate that God's invisible attributes are clearly seen in creation, leaving men without excuse.
Romans 2:14-15: Explained to show that conscience bears witness to God's law written on the heart, accusing or excusing.
Romans 3:1-2: Mentioned to note that the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God, unlike the Gentiles.
John 8:9: Referenced to illustrate that conscience can convict, as the accusers of the adulterous woman were convicted by their own conscience.
Psalm 19:7: Contrasted with the earlier verses to show the transition from general to special revelation; the law converts the soul.
Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62: Multiple verses cited to show that hearkening to God's voice is equated with obeying His commandments.
Deuteronomy 30:2, 10: Further verses equating obeying God's voice with keeping His commandments.
Jeremiah 26:13: Used to show that obeying the voice of the Lord means mending ways and obeying His law.
John 1:18: Cited to show that no one has seen God, but the Son has revealed Him.
Matthew 11:27: Used to emphasize that only the Son knows the Father and reveals Him to whom He chooses.
John 1:1-3, 14: Referenced to show that Jesus is the Word who became flesh, the living Word of God.
John 14:8-9: Cited to show that seeing Jesus is seeing the Father; He is God in the flesh.
Hebrews 1:1-3: Used to show that God spoke in the past through prophets but now has spoken through His Son, the exact representation of His being.
Deuteronomy 18:15-19: Explained as the prophecy of a prophet like Moses, fulfilled in Christ; those who do not listen will be held accountable.
John 13:20: Cited to show that receiving Christ's messengers is receiving Christ, and receiving Christ is receiving the Father.
Hebrews 12:25: Used to warn that if those who refused Moses did not escape, much less will we escape if we turn away from Christ who speaks from heaven.
John 5:22-23: Cited to show that the Father has committed all judgment to the Son so that all may honor the Son equally with the Father.
John 12:48: Used to show that the word Jesus spoke will judge those who reject Him on the last day.

Historical References

Henry Craik (1860): Weaver quotes Craik's literal rendering of Psalm 19:1-2 from the Hebrew, emphasizing the continuous witness of creation.
Matthew Henry: Weaver quotes Matthew Henry's commentary on Psalm 19, explaining how day and night speak of God's glory and goodness.
John Gill: Weaver quotes John Gill's commentary on Romans 2:14-15, noting that the moral law agrees with the light of nature but cannot save.
Matthew Henry (on Romans 2): Weaver quotes Matthew Henry again, explaining that the Gentiles had a sense of justice and morality by nature, being a law unto themselves.

Important Quotes

Creation is general revelation. General revelation will give you enough light to condemn you, but not enough light to convert you.

This succinctly defines the purpose and limitation of general revelation, a key concept in the sermon.

The Bible is God's Word. It is God's voice. He that will not hear the Word of God will not hear God.

This emphasizes the direct identification of Scripture with God's voice, central to the message.

Jesus Christ is the full and final revelation of God the Father. There's not going to be anything over, above, or beyond Jesus Christ.

This highlights the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ as special revelation.

You cannot maintain one attitude toward the Bible and a different attitude toward Jesus Christ. Or one attitude toward Jesus Christ and a different attitude toward the Bible. The Bible is the written word and Jesus Christ is the living word.

This ties together the unity of the written and living Word, a crucial application.

My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.

Quoting John 10:27, this establishes the mark of true believers as those who hear and obey Christ.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What are the two basic presuppositions of Scripture mentioned, and why are they important for understanding how God speaks?

[Context]

Weaver states that the Bible presupposes God's existence and that He has spoken (143.5-178.3s).

[Question]

How does general revelation (creation and conscience) leave people without excuse, yet fail to save them?

[Context]

Weaver explains that creation and conscience reveal enough to condemn but not to convert (560.6-1248.5s).

[Question]

In what ways does the Bible equate God's voice with His commandments, and what does this imply for our reading of Scripture?

[Context]

Weaver cites multiple Old Testament passages where hearkening to God's voice means obeying His law (1796.3-2059.3s).

[Question]

Why is Jesus Christ called the 'full and final revelation' of God, and how does this affect our understanding of other revelations?

[Context]

Weaver discusses Hebrews 1:1-3 and John 1:18, emphasizing Christ's unique role (2118.8-2397.1s).

[Question]

What does it mean that 'you cannot maintain one attitude toward the Bible and a different attitude toward Jesus Christ'?

[Context]

Weaver argues for the unity of the written and living Word, citing John 12:48 (2856.1-2908.7s).

[Question]

How does the warning in Hebrews 12:25 about refusing Him who speaks from heaven apply to us today?

[Context]

Weaver contrasts the judgment on those who refused Moses with the greater judgment for rejecting Christ (2649.3-2700.6s).

Applications

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