we read in Acts viii.29: "And the Spirit said unto Philip, GO near, and join thyself to this chariot." It does not say that this thought arose in him, but that a speaking took placePrinciples of Sacred Theology, 442
The Bible does not tell you which person to marry, or which car to drive, or whether to own a home, where you take your vacation, what cell-phone plan to buy, or which brand of orange juice to drink. Or a thousand other choices you must make.
What is necessary is that we have a renewed mind, that is so shaped and so governed by the revealed will of God in the Bible, that we see and assess all relevant factors with the mind of Christ, and discern what God is calling us to do. This is very different from constantly trying to hear God's voice saying do this and do that. People who try to lead their lives by hearing voices are not in sync with Romans 12:2.http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/what-is-the-will-of-god-and-how-do-we-know-it
By the "wisdom of God," he designates this magnificent theater of heaven and earth replenished with numberless wonders, the wise contemplation of which should have enabled us to know God. But this we do with little profit; and therefore he invites us to faith in Christ--faith which, by a semblance of foolishness, disgusts the unbeliever.Institutes, Book 2, Chapter 6
[General and Special Revelation] The one is addressed generally to all intelligent creatures, and is therefore accessible to all men; the other is addressed to a special class of sinners, to whom God would make known His salvation. The one has in view to meet and supply the natural need of creatures for knowledge of their God; the other to rescue broken and deformed sinners from their sin and its consequencesRevelation and Inspiration p.6
When a young person has to label the voices in her heart "God" in order to believe they're worth listening to, she doesn't really believe it's OK for her to be perceptive about her situation, that it's OK to realize her boyfriend is bad for her and do something about it. In short, she doesn't realize she has a right to be a morally responsible adult. This new theology has undermined her sense of responsibility and self-knowledge-not to mention her faith in God as a real person who exists outside her own thoughts. Relevant Magazine Article: Is This God's Voice or Mine?
According to the Scriptures, therefore, special revelation is a historic process, an organic system, a continuous divine activity directed to destroying the power of sin, to the building up of the kingdom of God, to the restoration of the Cosmos, to the summing up of all things in Christ.
The fanaticism which discards the Scripture, under the pretense of resorting to immediate revelations is subversive of every principle of Christianity. For when they boast extravagantly of the Spirit, the tendency is always to bury the Word of God so they may make room for their own falsehoods.
Natural theology seeks to obtain a philosophical knowledge of God by suppressing the knowledge of God that comes through natural revelation.Failure of Natural Theology, 22
Scientific information about the universe does not displace God. Some have said that they searched the heavens and did not see God. The universe with its measureless spaces remains a vast mystery to us, and those who do not find God in their immediate presence, in their heart and conscience, in the Word and the Christian community, will not find him in the universe either, even though they are equipped with the best telescopes that money can buy.
there exists in the human mind and indeed by natural instinct, some sense of Deity, we hold to be beyond dispute, since God himself, to prevent any man from pretending ignorance, has endued all men with some idea of his GodheadInstitutes, 1.3.1
Knowledge of God never needs to be instilled in people by coercion or violence, nor by logical argumentation or compelling proofs, but belongs to humans by their very nature and arises spontaneously and automatically.Reformed Dogmatics
There is no need of traditions, no need of miracles, no need of the authority of any churches, to convince a rational creature that the works of God are his, and his only; and that he is eternal and infinite in power that made them. They carry about with them their own authority. By being what they are, they declare whose they are.Of the Divine Original
General revelation is not a tool for Christians to convince people of something they do not know, but to convict them of what they do know and fail to live up to.Reformed Systematic Theology, 1:210
Natural theology is not natural revelation. This is important to stress because natural theology and natural revelation are often conflated togetherFailure of Natural Theology, 10
Shall we, by means of a power of judging implanted in our breast, distinguish between justice and injustice, and yet there be no judge in heaven?Institutes, Book 1 Chapter 5
The rationalist will not receive many of the doctrines of revelation because they do not accord with his preconceived notions, which he calls the dictates of reason. The enthusiast will not submit to the authority of scripture because he imagines that he is under the direction of a superior guide. The one makes his own reason the judge of what he will receive as true form the volume of revelation; the other determines every thing, whether it relate to opinion or practice, by the suggestion of his fancied inspiration.Sermon at Opening of General Assembly
We may know not God in the depths of His absolute being. But we can at least know Him in so far as He reveals Himself in His relation to us. The question, therefore, is not as to the possibility of a knowledge of God in the unfathomableness of His being, but is : Can we know God as He enters into relations with the world and with ourselves? God has entered into relations with us in His revelations of Himself, and supremely in Jesus Christ; and we Christians humbly claim that through this Self-revelation we do know God to be the true God, and have real acquaintance with His character and will. Neither is it correct to say that this knowledge which we have of God is only a relative knowledge. It is in part a knowledge of the absolute nature of God as well.Side-Lights on Christian Doctrine, p. 11
There are numbers who mystify themselves and others by a lot of pious talk about obtaining the Lords mind or discovering Gods will for them, which when carefully analyzed amounts to nothing better than a vague uncertainty or a personal impulse. God's mind or will my reader, is made known in His Word, and He never wills anything for us which to the slightest degree clashes with that heavenly Rule.Life and Times of Elijah (8.89%)
although God does not communicate in a way that opposes the scriptures, he often communicates in a non-verbal manner to his children, giving them assurance, bringing them comfort, guiding them through life's rough waters. To deny that God speaks verbally to us today apart from the scriptures is not to deny that he communicates to us apart from the scriptures.Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit (8)
The practice of listening for God's voice in your heart is a very new development and it's deeply flawed. It has only recently displaced Scripture as the most important way, in the view of many Christians, that God reveals Himself to us, thanks in no small part to widespread promotion of the idea by otherwise evangelical churches and youth groups. Relevant Magazine Article: Is This God's Voice or Mine?
many young people who couldn't recite all Ten Commandments if their life depended on it get up in the morning and "listen" for God to tell them what to do that day. For them, the revealed will of God has been replaced by the thoughts of their own hearts. Good News for Anxious Christians (64)
Sometimes in the effort to defend sola scriptora we wrongly argue solo scriptora. Four Points (25 min) http://theresurgence.com/2011/07/25/four-points-of-the-movement