If you have a moment, I’d like to ask a fairly (perhaps overly) simple question: Do the Psalms and Proverbs, being that they are part of the Old Testament, apply to believers?
Let me add a little specificity to that question: I am a believer. I have been listening to your sermons on YouTube for a month or so. I listened to “The Silence of God” this evening, and found that I could relate to the notion that when God seems silent, it is that he only SEEMS silent, but has spoken volumes and all I have to do is go back to those volumes to have God “speak” to me. I have experienced the Bible provide me answers to my questions a number of times.
But as I listened (and hopefully I’m not misquoting you here), you said that all we have to do is go back to the portion of the Bible constituted by Romans through Philemon to hear God “speak” when he is “silent.” Well, there have been many times when I felt the Psalms, for example, were speaking powerfully to me. Case in point, there was a time when I was sort of tormenting myself with the question of “what if God is simply lying to us about all of this (everything – his word, his Son, the atonement, etc.)?” Well, within a day or two of me asking God for some counsel on this, I came across Psalm 12, specifically verse 6:
(Psalms 12:6) The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
That is not PROOF that God is not lying, but it sure seemed to address my question, and in a powerful way, attesting to the purity of his words. It was very nice to read this verse, a verse that I had probably overlooked in the then past, but that I felt had been quickened to my heart by the Spirit in light of my doubting God’s truthfulness and that had more than answered my doubts. It was a very nice “Bible experience.”
Thus, you can see why I would ask you the question I asked above.
I am new to what one might call “dispensationalism” and though I have been a Christian for over 30 years, I will confess that mining the Bible for its truth has unfortunately not always been my priority, but that has been changing over the last 3 or 4 years. I’ve enjoyed your sermons on YouTube. Maybe I won’t enjoy your answer to my question, but that is the risk I’ll take. Thanks for reading my email, and I look forward to your response.
Always keep in mind both II Timothy 2:15 and 3:16,17. All scripture is profitable, but without rightly dividing you will adopt doctrine and promises that are not given to you. Take for example the Psalms. In grace we would not pray the prayer of David in Psalms 51:11 “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me” or Psalms 7:8 “The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.” Then there are all the Psalms calling on God to avenge and destroy the enemy. We would not pray that in the age of grace.
Yes all scripture is profitable and gives us instruction in righteousness, but all must be read in the light of what God is doing today in the dispensation of His grace as found in Paul’s epistles. Since today is the longsuffering of God so that men can be saved, we would not pray like John in Revelation “even so, come Lord Jesus.” Its one thing to bring an end to wrath and another thing to bring an end to grace.
Thanks for watching our videos. The Lord give you understanding in all things.
