WORDS OF FAITH
“… nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine …”
1 Tim. 4:6
Central Church of Christ Naples, FL
September 18, 2011
Number 55
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“God Said” Is the Basis of Prophecy
We have also a more sure word of prophecy;
whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that
shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star
arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of
the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the
prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy
men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost
(2 Peter 1:19-21).
And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know
the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a
prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing
follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the
LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it
presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him (Deu. 18:21-22).
Moses declared the failure of the prophecy of false prophets
was proof that God had not spoken through them, but this also was
proof that what the true prophet spoke was from God. The reason
modernists try to re-date all the prophets is they do not believe in
inspiration or revelation in the sense in which the Bible uses these
words. This is the reason the modernist attacks the book of Isaiah.
The prophetic element in Isaiah is too much for modernism to
swallow. Remember that “God said” is the basis of prophecy. If
God could announce the promised seed, Christ, in Genesis 3 (verse
15 – Ed.), why should one have any problem with his speaking through
Isaiah and announcing the virgin birth seven hundred years before
it happened? Isaiah 7:14 is what “God said.” Don’t try to
avoid it, tamper with it, or change it. Just accept it as a prophecy
and the fact that all prophecy rests upon what “God said.”
– From: Franklin Camp. “God Said.” The Word of Life.
Editor, Franklin Camp. Vol. 1. Memphis, TN : Proclamation Press, n.d. 112-113.
“God Said” Is the Basis of Faith
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Rom. 10:17).
Faith must rest upon testimony – that is, what “God said.”
This is the reason Paul declared that what he presented to the
Corinthians was the testimony of God (1 Cor. 2:1). He wanted their
faith to rest upon the only thing that can establish and sustain faith
– that is, what “God said.” This needs to be re-emphasized in our
day, when there are those who want to tell tales and give
experiences and various other things as a substitute for the
testimony of God. It is time we get back to the Book, which is the
only thing that can produce faith, and the obedience of faith (Rom. 1:5)
is the only thing acceptable unto God.
Also, the strength of one’s faith depends upon the
credibility of the testimony. One’s faith can be no stronger than the
credibility of the testimony upon which it rests. The spiritual
weakness of so many today is due to the fact they have allowed the
babblings of men to affect their faith in the credibility of testimony.
It is my conviction that this is one of the main problems we face in
this generation. We must re-establish the credibility of the
testimony, the Scriptures, what God has said, in order for faith to be strong.
– From: Franklin Camp. “God Said.” The Word of Life.
Editor, Franklin Camp. Vol. 1. Memphis, TN : Proclamation Press, n.d. 114.