Quoting or Referring to our favorite earthly spiritual mentors.

moe_mac wrote:

My second thought is, is there any danger in quoting our spiritual mentors, even if we are speaking truth. In view of seeing many great men of God fall in to the hands of the devil and into sin publicly and be sure your sins will find you out. If we constantly quote a spiritual mentor and he falls, could this hurt our witness to others or depress us in feeling we have we put our confidence in the wrong place and failed others. We should never put our confidence in man and not in God and His Word? We know that a having a spiritual mentor to fall into sin should not have any effect our witness but would it. One thing for sure, we can safely quote Jesus, Peter, James, John, Paul and the Apostles and have no worries about them falling and losing any credibility with others or having our bubble busted over putting confidence in man.

Interesting thread.

As far as your second thought goes. There's probably no more problem with quoting mentors then there is with listening to sermons from this site or any other site. Our confidence shouldn't be in men, but quoting them doesn't mean that we're placing our trust in them.

Jordan

Interestingly enough we find that there is nothing new under the sun..when I sit with the Lord and listen to Him speak through His word and then have Him speak wisdom to my spirit with the voice of the Spirit of Truth..I hear Him say things that I will then perhaps be led to say to someone else..and also I'll read another believer's writings from a previous century and it is the very same thing..and then perhaps read another believer's sermon written yesterday and have it say just the same thing the Holy God spoke to me the same morning and perhaps 5 yrs before..for at least 2 millenium now there has always been a remnant of true believers who's mouths and hearts were being filled with the word of God as they were be, being, filled with the Holy Spirit in their daily private time with God..so the names of the speakers and writers may have changed over the centuries but the Holy Spirit keeps saying the same important crucial things to each generation, and will until Jesus' return.

The question that occurs to me to ask you Moemac: Are you personally uncomfortable with what you have pointed out,are asking about? Is God dealing with you about it..or are you stinging from earlier correction and simply desiring to have something to say that points out other's faults..or what you would like to percieve as faults? It feels like you are trying to stir up trouble here...please nip this in the bud if you would...I feel this leaven is counterproductive to what God desires to have happening here on SI.Please Don't feel too singled out in this brother..God has been speaking to the folks on this site(And the body of Christ at large) about strife and contention,discipline and obediance for yrs..though I have only arrived more recently. If we would all spend at least 3times as much time in His presence as we do in front of the computer everyone would be having personal revival..of the real Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ.

God is dealing with us all,brother..and is correcting us all..daily.. you can be certain of that if we are walking closely with Him..He is perfecting us all..irregardless of the level..age..length of time knowing Him. He is looking for people who will stop excusing themselves for leaning on their own understanding..who will listen more and excuse themselves less.Just admit when we are wrong and be done with it.. asking for forgiveness so everyone can be blessed,edified and strengthened. An undisciplined tongue causes lots of problems..see book of James..and doesn't glorify the Father at all..our walk with Him is not a free for all.When we don't confess(ADMIT) wrongs they build up and block our growth..it is so much better to just be real with ourstuff..if you are going to be writing alot of stuff on a public space..you will have to admit in public..but don't think that making excuses is the same as saying yes..I am wrong here..please forgive my presumption or my hubris(arrogance)or my nasty comeback.. any hasty statement that you were not able say no to yourself writing is probably not something you should write..stop and check..walk away...genuinely ask God,submit yourself to Him in all you do and be set free to know Him all the more.. be willing not to post it..if you don't know much of anything about what is being discussed..be still..listen and learn without having to throw yourself in there..quietly agree or go to God to talk to Him about it first. If you have a personal testimony..cool..does God want it shared..why does He say to share it..will it help expose..encourage..educate...does it glorify Him..is He prodding you to share? Is it what God is saying for this site ..maybe this is just too much to be aware of for some..but we all need to be more saavy when it comes to leaning on our own thoughts and just tossing them around...honest questions when you are really confused is one thing..but passive aggressive subtleties are more transparent than folks realize.With a world perishing in sin around us..we must redeem the time and seek to be about God's business.

I have not arrived.I am learning this..hearing the things I'm asked to write in my quiet time as a message for all here and so I share with you the same as God is giving me and I will keep on saying these things until He says I can stop.

Communicating on the internet is new to me..a whole new discipline..I love the discipline of God..even when I have to delete hours of writing only to send it in as a prayer, pushing cancel post..in fact I'll be suprised if this one makes it though the cut..I intend to take Him seriously..there are no options besides obediance to divine will.

The same way being curious to watch something someone has suggested and not asking permission first has yielded for many here on SI dark battles..problems..where as those who asked first and didn't desire to go there one way or the other..but asked and were told specifically to check the links did not experience any foul retalitory problems from the enemy because they were prayed up and obediant..in fact the exposure only heightened a greater boldness to break through a strange wall of silence that had been effecting some of us,also more prayer went forth because of the unction behind the commission to stand watching..and praying..identifying the sprits in operation and greater understanding was established ....when we start listening more to God and less to our own fleshly thoughts we will all together become such a mighty force to be reckoned with..blessings and my prayers have been going with you all..in His truth.

moe mac,

I would much rather see the opinion of great preachers of the past who I know have been led by the Spirit and have devoted a lifetime to prayer, study and meditation in their lives and ministries than to read the opinions of men like us who I don't know that of ( this includes my own opinions as well ). I'm not trying to condemn everyone's opinion on the site but rather pointing out that we aren't able to discern everyone's heart on the site and thus reading your or my opinion on a scripture or truth can be edifying for sure but more reliable are the known entities of the great preachers of the past.

Great men of the past?

They were once men of the present who men didn't think too highly of at the time they lived.

Men always seem greater once they are dead.

I think if you quote, you should be certain to give credit where it is due, and not pass the quote off as our own.

Its also ok to quote unknown men. Like from a pastor, preacher, evangelist, friend, father, mother, etc, that is unknown to the world, but known by the individual.

The same would apply, give the credit where it is due.

Jesus refered to others, like Elijah, Matt 11v14, Isaiah, Matt 12v17-21, Jonah, Matt 12v40-41, the queen of the South, Matt 12v42 etc.

He didn't always quote, but used examples as well as quote.

So, why can't we?

Just a thought.

You know, I didn't find what moe mac wrote offensive or anything, I just saw it as a basic, general question.

When something is printed, you cannot hear what someone is saying, the tone they use etc. It is just said.

Oh well. Thats it from me.

God bless.

I remember someone once rebuked me with a Ravenhill quote. I remember it so clearly because it was a matter of opinion…not a Biblical/spiritual mandate.

I have encountered others who have almost personally canonized various “heroes of faith”.

For the most part it seems to me that quotes are used to simply clarify or present something in a different light. Biblical truth is Biblical truth. I believe what makes certain quotes so appealing… at least to me… is the awareness of their context.

It is one thing to hear a quote from Corrie ten Boom…it is another if you know her story.

This particular subject has been one of the major topics in our household for many years, as we have seen many people become a follower of a particular person and their teaching only to watch that "teacher" fall and the follower become confused about their faith... etc...

Yet, merely quoting a past man of faith who has proven by a life of faith that his words are not meant to glorify himself, rather they were spoken to glorify God and His Son Jesus Christ, is not the same thing as using someones unscriptural or extra scriptural teachings as a basis of doctrine or thought.

Of course there is always a danger in human beings looking at the speaker as though his words came from his own source, or thinking more highly of another person than they ought because of their position. Both of which Paul taught against and even corrected crowds of people who tried to worship he and Barnabas because of a miracle healing. (Novel thought huh? "Why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you...!!" Acts 14:14

But when someone else says something that has stuck in my heart and helped to change the course of my life, I will probably quote them and say:
my husband has said this to me time and time again,
I love what I remember Leonard Ravenhill saying; or when I read this hymn, or this book, or this poem, or devotional, or commentary, that this person who loved the Lord in some past time wrote it convicted, encouraged, challenged, or even made me think! and often the Holy Spirit broke my heart and gave me another way of seeing something I needed to see more clearly by those that have struggled with the same things I struggle with, and God has helped them overcome!

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,...."

We got to hear Corrie TenBoom who struggled with forgivness and overcame...
We got to read Watchman Nee who was imprisoned for his faith and lost his family due to oppression of an enemy, yet pursued God with his whole heart...
Of the Wesley brothers, Isaac Watts, the list goes on and on...
".. [b]let us[/b]lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us,[b] and let us run with endurance [/b] the race that is set before us,"
It's still our responsibility to run the race, thank the Lord for Corrie Ten Boom, but now it's my turn, and I need to follow Christ and hear His voice and not follow another, yet balance that with the ministry of the body of Christ, and the respect that they deserve.
[b]looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith[/b]"
Yet, another person should never take a position in the heart of another person that ONLY belongs to Christ and the Holy Spirit, our teacher.

Thanks for the subject! It really does require a great balance!

Love in Christ,
Lori

Krispy, I believe your hearing the spirit on this one. how many times, when there has been discussion or conflict, does someone stand behind the great quote , of their favorite theologian, to express their own heart? Often, the moderators do this more than anyone.

"[i]The wise man quotes those more knowledgeable than himself[/i].

Paraphrased form I believe Alister Begg who was also quoting someone else ...

Couldn't resist the irony brother

8-)