Christian bestseller lists are crowded with books on how to hear from God and how to recover some form of Christian mysticism. How does that trend square with the Reformation conviction of sola scriptura? Pastor Mike Sciarra joins Michael Horton and Bob Hiller to discuss his new book on the practical outworkings of sola scriptura, If You Will Diligently Listen: Hearing God’s Voice in Scripture.
Christian Mysticism, “God Spoke to Me,” and Sola Scriptura
41 min
In this Episode
- Where God’s voice is found: Pastor Mike Sciarra explains why sola scriptura matters not only against Rome but against the claim that God speaks to us apart from his Word — Scripture is our sole rule for faith and practice.
- “God told me” and the burden it creates: Claims of private revelation bind consciences, unsettle assurance, and leave many believers wondering why God never speaks to them, while a “blueprint” view of God’s will breeds fear of missing his perfect plan.
- Extraordinary means, ordinary purpose: Even when God works in unusual ways — Cornelius’s vision or reported dreams in Muslim contexts — he directs people to hear the preached gospel, not to receive private guidance for daily decisions.
- Discerning today’s spirituality movement: The guests weigh popular voices from Sarah Young to John Mark Comer, naming both the real hunger they address and the drift toward a modern Gnosticism of secret knowledge.
- Hearing Christ in the Word: The answer to spiritual hunger is not a classroom faith but churches where people hear God himself speak through Word and sacrament, drawing on the rich devotional heritage of the Reformation.
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Other resources
- Michael W. Sciarra, If You Will Diligently Listen: Hearing God's Voice in Scripture
- Old Problems, New Proponents: The Sufficiency of Scripture Debate in Our Day (Book Review of If You Will Diligently Listen: Hearing God's Voice in Scripture)
- Wayne Grudem, The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today (Crossway)
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