The Still Small Voice

by James P. Needham
via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 13, No. 4, December 31, 1987

One of the cardinal doctrines of Calvinism is "effectual calling." Its basis is another cardinal doctrine of Calvin, namely, hereditary total depravity, that is, that every person is born guilty of Adam's sin, which is so spiritually debilitating that one can't "think a good thought or do a good deed without the grace of God preventing." Thus, man can do absolutely nothing toward his own salvation; God must "effectually call" him by the Holy Spirit, that is, take control of his being and change his carnal nature, and give him the gift of faith by which he is then and there saved in such a way that he can never be lost.

When we reply that the Bible says, "So then faith (cometh) by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17), the Calvinists have generally been at a loss for a reply. But I've recently heard a new quibble that needs consideration. It admits that faith indeed comes by hearing the word of God, but it contends that the "word of God" in this passage is from an original word that signifies the "still small voice" of God speaking to the inner man and changes his nature and conveys to him the "gift of faith," thus saving him. In other words, Romans 10:17 speaks of the effectual calling of God, necessitated by Calvinian theology.

This is fanciful and far-fetched. The Greek word here is ramatos, from rama. Of this word, Thayer says,

"Doctrine or instruction (to) rama (tou) theou, divine instruction by the preachers of the gospel Ro. 10:17.. .saving truth which has God for its author, Eph. 6:17; also tou kuriou, 1 Pet. 1:25; words of prophecy, prophetic announcement..." (p. 562).

W. E. Vine comments as follows:

"Rama denotes that which is spoken, what is uttered in speech or writing...it is used of the gospel in Rom. 10:8..." (p. 230).

So, the "word of God" that creates faith in Romans 10:17 does not necessitate an audible word or a word spoken to the heart of the individual that changes his carnal nature and gives him the gift of faith, but it denotes "that which is spoken, what is uttered in speech or writing..." (emphasis mine, jpn). Rama is used in Romans 10:8, of "the word of faith, which we (the apostles) preach." He then shows how that word saves,

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness: and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation״ (Romans 10:9-10).

Rama (word) is also used in I Peter 1:25, "But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you."

Here, rama (word) is defined as "the gospel which is preached unto you," not the "still small voice" of God that comes to one while he is plowing the back forty, but the rama (word) which comes to one by the preaching of the gospel.

Now, this harmonizes beautifully with everything else in the New Testament on the subject of salvation. Paul declared in the same book (Romans) that the gospel is "the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth" (Romans 1:16). But this "believeth" (faith) "comes by hearing the word of God" (Romans 10:17), but that rama (word) is the gospel which is preached unto you (I Peter 1:25).

The System of Error

Calvinian theology is a system of errors built upon the false foundation of hereditary total depravity. Once Calvin and others assumed the false notion that man is born in sin and thereby rendered incapable of thinking a good thought or doing a good deed without the grace of God permitting, the rest of the false system was inevitable. If one can't think a good thought or do a good deed, then how can he believe in Christ, since that Is a good deed? So, this necessitated the false doctrine of "effectual calling." Since man is born spiritually dead, he can't act and, thus, can't believe. So God has to quicken him by His Spirit, which is effectual calling. Once they got this far, it was a matter of course that the "perseverance of the saints" would come because if God does all the saving, and one of the saved is afterward lost, then it would be God’s fault since He did all the saving. He would be lost because God did an inadequate job of saving him. To make God totally responsible for man's salvation is, at the same time, to make Him also totally responsible for man's damnation.

Along with these false doctrines came the concept of "unconditional election" and "limited atonement." The question naturally arises: if God has to do all the saving, why aren't all men saved? Well, rather than give up his false premises, Calvin said because God never intended for all to be saved, so He unconditionally elected certain men and angels to be either saved or lost, and the number is so fixed that it can be neither increased nor diminished, even by one. That, of course, presupposed "limited atonement," namely, that Christ's blood did not atone for the sins of all men but only for the elect. Notwithstanding the fact that God wills and desires the salvation of all men (I Timothy 2:4).

So, as we sometimes say, the whole thing is a "comedy of errors." It demonstrates how wedded people can be to their own inventions. One false doctrine calls for the invention of another to protect it. That one then calls for another, etc.

How much simpler it is just to believe and obey the truth. If the elect must wait for the "still small voice" of God to speak to the subconscious, one must wonder why there is no single case of conversion in the Book of Acts without preaching the word of God.

It was not the "still small voice" of God that caused the people on Pentecost to say, "unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?" but it was the two-edged sword of the word (gospel) preached by Peter that cut them to the heart. When they asked, "What shall we do?" Peter didn't reply, "There's nothing you can do; just wait to discover if you are one of the elect. If you are, the 'still small voice' of God will speak to your subconscious, change your carnal nature inherited from Adam, and give you the gift of faith and salvation. If this never happens, forget it! You were reprobated from all eternity and are doomed for hell without remedy! Accept your fate and submit humbly to the sovereignty of God, who does all things well."

No, indeed! Peter replied, "Repent ye and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Now, in conclusion, I have to ask, "If today convicted sinners were to ask the same question these asked, and one was to give them the same answer Peter gave, and they did what these persons did, what would be the result?" The result was simply this, "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added (unto them) about three thousand souls." If the same answer and action would not produce the same result, someone must explain why. It's not the "still small voice" that creates faith but the thunderous voice of God through the inspired and infallible written word.