Chapter 22 - More On The Voice Of Christ

The Shepherd's Voice

"To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers." (John 10: 3-5)

"And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." (vs.16)

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." (vs.27)

Here again I will look critically at the connection between "hearing" the "voice" of Christ and salvation (including regeneration). The difference between chapter 5 and chapter 10 of the gospel of John, relative to "hearing" of the "voice" of Christ, is that in the former it is the voice of power and authority in resurrection, whereas in the latter the word resurrection is not mentioned specifically. In the latter, the sheep indeed "hear" the "voice" of the shepherd for life, but it is more in the context of preservation and continued safety of an existing life possessed by the sheep. The same voice that "gives life to the dead" in John 5 also sustains and preserves the safety of that life that has been given in spiritual resurrection.

But, seeing John 10 is nevertheless used often, in conjunction with John 5:25, by the Hardshells, in regard to regeneration, I will deal with it. One need simply apply what they say about what it means to "hear" that "voice" on that passage and apply it to John 10.

They will, legitimately, argue that John 10 teaches irresistable grace, effectual calling, efficacious grace in bringing the sheep into the fold of salvation. But, they will again make this "voice" to refer again to that which is on the "sub-conscious level." Thus, by this scheme, the sheep are "hearing his voice," but they do not know that they are "hearing" it. Of course, I believe that the word "hear" implies, necessarily, consciousness on the part of the one hearing. Hardshells will not agree with that statement, however. But, it is true nonetheless, especially looking at the various Greek words for "hearing" in the New Testament. Hearing involves understanding what is being said. Yes, people can hear on different levels of understanding, of course. Even Jesus said to some superficial hearers, "let these sayings sink down into your ears."

But, context always help us in our interpretations. It is interesting that the word "know" is also used in John 10 to refer both to the knowledge the Shepherd has of his own sheep, but also to the knowledge that the sheep have of their own Shepherd. "I know my sheep and am known of mine." (10:14) How can one "know" Christ and not "know" him at the same time? Hearing, voice, knowing, following, etc., are not words that describe something that people do like zombies, totally unaware of what they are doing or who they are following.

How the Hardshells can totally divorce the "hearing of this voice" from any post regeneration experience, is beyond me to figure out. It seems to me that the "following" that results from the hearing of the Shepherd's "voice" is continuous throughout the life of the sheep." It is not a "following" of his initial command alone, the one that calls forth a soul in the new birth, or in spiritual resurrection, but a "voice" that they continue to hear for their safety and preservation from all harm and danger.

This all leads me to ask some rhetorical questions, designed to elicit the truth from my Hardshell friends.

1. Seeing this voice is heard continuously throughout the life of the sheep, then tell us how the born again child of God hears that voice?

2. Is the "voice" the sheep hear after regeneration as irresistable as in regeneration?

3. Is the "following" of this chapter not "discipleship"?

4. Have any of the sheep ever "followed Christ," after regeneration, who could not truthfully say that the cause of it lay in his "hearing" the "voice" of the Shepherd?

5. Is "hearing" the "voice of Christ," post regeneration, also on the "sub-conscious level"?

Now, I want to introduce these two verses of Scripture relative to this hearing of the voice of Christ, or the voice of God.

"Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me." (I Cor. 14:11)

"Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue." (14:19)

It seems to me that the view of the Hardshells, relative to hearing the voice of Christ, yet not knowing or understanding it, not realizing it, makes Christ speak to people "AS A BARBARIAN"! The Hardshells, by their view of "regeneration," have people (supposedly) "hearing the voice" of Christ and yet have not the foggiest idea that anything is being said to them, or what is said to them! I affirm, based upon Scripture, that every child of God who has "heard the voice" of Christ "knows the meaning of the voice"!

Does Christ speak in an "unknown tongue" to the elect when he "regenerates" them? Does he not "teach" the elect with his "voice"? If Christ speaks in a "voice" that has no "intelligent words" connected with it, then, by Paul's definition, he speaks in an "unknown tongue" when he speaks to his own sheep! We know that regeneration is connected with the "teaching" for, as Jesus said, "everyone that has heard and learned of the Father comes unto me."

Paul said that when Jesus appeared to him to regenerate and convert him, that he spoke to him "in the Hebrew tongue." He also knew both the "voice" and its "meaning" to him. He could even recall what he said, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the pricks." And, besides these things, Christ went on to continue "speaking" to him, directing him where to go for further instruction. The Hardshells can apply this experience of Paul to regeneration, to that "hearing the voice" of Christ as in John 5:25, but it is nothing akin to the Hardshell description of what it means to "hear" that "voice."

So Jesus connected "understanding truth" with "hearing his voice," saying, "Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." (18:37)

Are the Hardshells uniform in how they interpret the meaning of "hearing the voice of the Lord"? No, they are not. Just as they come up with "two kinds of saving faith," and "two kinds of saving repentance," and "two kinds of begettings," and "two kinds of salvation," so they also come up with "two kinds of hearing the voice of the Lord"!

Notice these passages:

"Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice..." -"While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation." (Heb. 3:7,15)

"Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." (4:7)

Notice this commentary upon these verses from Elder Michael Gowens from his essay on the "New Birth" and under a sub-heading titled,

"Gospel Regeneration confuses the Effectual Call and the Gospel Call.

"Compare the following verses: "...the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live" (Jno. 5:25); "...Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts" (Heb. 3:15). Did you notice a similarity between the two? Both verses speak of God's "voice," His call. Now consider the verses again. Do you see a difference between the two? Though both verses assert the fact that God calls, the response to the call is different in the second verse. John 5:25 says that the dead "shall hear" God's voice. That is the language of certainty.

Hebrews 3:15, on the contrary, says "if you will hear His voice." That is the language of appeal. Do you notice a difference between the expression "they shall hear" and the phrase "if you will hear"? The difference is the outcome of the call. In John 5:25, the outcome is certain and irresistible ("they shall hear"). In Hebrews 3:15, the outcome is uncertain and vague ("if you will heard. Why is the outcome different? Because the nature of the call is different. John 5:25 is a call from death to life, an effectual call; Hebrews 3:15 is a call to enter into God's rest, a gospel call. Failure to distinguish between the Do(sic, "them"?) will inevitably produce glaring theological inconsistencies. The effectual call is not the gospel call, neither is the gospel call the effectual call. Yes, the same God speaks in both, but the nature of the call is different. In fact, the effectual call must precede the gospel call, that is, the dead sinner must be raised to life before he can respond to the gospel appeal. Biblically this is always the pattern."

Here is a good example of Hardshell "hermeneutics." Gowens admits that the two verses are alike in that both speak of the "voice" of the Lord. But, because he has a strange and novel view about what it means to "hear the voice of the Son of God," in John 5:25, he cannot recognize how the verse cited in Hebrews can also refer to "regeneration" and to "salvation." Since he excludes the involvement or consent of the will in regeneration, and since the verses in Hebrews (from the Old Testament) includes the choice of the will in hearing the voice of the Lord, he will not opt to view the latter as connected with eternal salvation.

He argues that there is "certainty" to the "voice" of Christ in John 5:25, the "dead shall live," but there is uncertainty to the "voice" in the Hebrew Letter citations. So, what does he do? He comes up with "two different senses to what it means to hear the voice of the Lord"! This is a common Hardshell "hermenuetic."

But notice that Gowens admits that the "voice" of the Lord may be unheard by sinners, may have their hearts hardened against that voice. Yes, sinners can hear the voice of Christ and refuse to accept or otherwise fail to understand or believe it. Why then do some hear this voice to salvation and others do not? It is the election or the will of the Father that makes the difference. He does the "drawing" of sinners to his Son, who determines who shall "hear his Son" savingly.

When Jesus says, "my sheep hear my voice," he does not imply that the sheep belonging to other shepherds might not, in a sense, hear his voice too, but they will not recognize it as the voice of their shepherd. The voice of Christ, though heard, by those other sheep, belonging to other shepherds, not of the fold of Christ, may hear Christ calling his own sheep, but they will not follow it, for he is not their shepherd. His voice will be to them the "voice of strangers." On the other hand, the Lord's sheep will hear the "voice of strangers" (foreign shepherds) calling their own sheep, but they will not follow it.

As I have said previously, people heard Christ preach, heard his voice, who, nevertheless, did not hear it savingly. The same with that voice that came from Mount Sinai in the giving of the law to Moses and the Israelites. Not all who heard the voice of God were saved by it. Some heard the voice and it became a means in their condemnation.

Notice that the result of "hearing the voice" of Christ, that "great Shepherd of the sheep," is that the sheep who hear it, savingly, "follow" him automatically! No doubt about it! This all deals to a great deal with the subject of perseverance, and I will have a later chapter where I will deal with what the PB's teach on that subject. They do not believe that becoming, or being, a "sheep," is connected at all with "discipleship" or with "following Christ."

Besides, as I have shown in a previous chapter, this "hearing the voice of the Shepherd," and this "following" him, is all connected, in the chapter, in the context, with "believing" in Christ! Did not Christ say, "But you believe not because you are not of my sheep, as I said unto you?" Thus, believing in Christ is part and parcel of what it means to "hear his voice" savingly and what it means to "follow him."

Hearing Him Who Now Speaks From Heaven

"For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)

But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven." (12:18-26)

Notice that the word "voice" is used to describe the speaking the Lord did on Mount Sinai and also now from the Heavenly Mount Zion. God is now speaking to his church, to his people, from his throne in heaven. Will the Hardshells deny that the Lord continues to "speak" to his people from heaven? How does he do this? Is it on the sub-conscious level? Does he speak from heaven through his apostles and prophets? Does it cease to be his voice when he speaks through them? In using their voices, do they not become his voice?

When the Lord "speaks" to his people from heaven today, does he speak as a Barbarian in words that the person addressed does not understand or comprehend? Does he speak intelligently to the heart and mind in order to teach truth?

In conclusion, I cite these words of Jesus.

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Rev.3:20)

Notice the similarity of this word of exhortation to that cited from Hebrews, where the writer says, repeatedly, "today, if you will hear his voice." Does the Lord not say this to all men in the gospel? Does he not only command but invite all to come? Yes, he does. Does this truth deny election? No. Does this truth deny the truth of "effectual calling" and of "irresistable grace"? No. Do these commands and invitations imply that sinners, dead in tresspasses and in sins," can do this, or have the innate ability to comply? No.

All the sheep (elect) will respond to the voice of Christ in the manner of all these verses. They are all talking about hearing the voice of Christ for salvation, not for anything else of a temporal nature.

This is my beloved Son, HEAR YE HIM!" (Matt. 17:5) This, I believe, is to be said to all men, elect or non-elect.