Bible Discussion Thread

i. Law and testimony each refer to God's word. We might say that law refers to God's holy commands, and testimony refers to His dealings with His people as recorded in His Word. But that may be slicing it too thin, because often similar terms for God's word are repeated, not for the sake of distinction, but for the sake of emphasis.

ii. How it needs to be proclaimed to our preachers today:

Enough with the over-use of anecdotes and jokes. Enough with the emphasis on entertainment and sappy stories. Enough with the catering to itching ears. Enough with the hobbyhorses and pet peeves. To the law and to the testimony.

iii. "Let us remember, as ministers of the Gospel, what M'Cheyne beautifully said; 'Depend upon it,' said he, 'it is God's Word not man's comment upon God's Word, that saves souls;' and I have marked, that if ever we have a conversion at any time, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, the conversion is rather traceable to the text, or to some Scripture quoted in the sermon, than to any trite or original saying by the preacher. It is God's Word that breaks the fetters and sets the prisoner free, it is God's Word instrumentally that saves souls, and therefore let us bring everything to the touchstone." (Spurgeon)

c. If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them: If there is a disagreement between God's word and the word of the messenger, it isn't hard to figure out who is wrong. The messenger is wrong. The word judges the messenger; the messenger doesn't judge the word.

d. They will be driven into darkness: When they forsake God's word and trust in mediums and wizards and the dead, they are courting darkness, not light.

Bind up the testimony,Seal the law among my disciples.And I will wait on the LORD,Who hides His face from the house of Jacob;And I will hope in Him.Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel From the LORD of hosts,

Who dwells in MT Zion.