Therefore, by applying these absolutes, I can know in my particular situation that going out would be wrong because it would treat others not how I’d want to be treated, endanger lives, and disobey governmental authority. And Scripture says to obey governmental authorities unless they ask me to do something that goes against my Christian beliefs ( Romans 13). However, the Bible does say that I should treat others how I want to be treated ( Luke 6:31) and that I shall not kill ( Deuteronomy 5:17). I know that my governmental authorities have told me to remain inside, but the Bible doesn’t have any verses on “Thou shalt not break your two-week quarantine from the COVID-19 virus.” I know that even though I don’t display the COVID-19 symptoms that I could still be carrying the virus unknowingly and putting either my friends or someone else I come into contact with. The Evangelical View of the Rhema WordĪs mentioned before, many evangelicals do not draw much of a distinction between the words logos and rhema.Īs discussed in the article above, Evangelicals may believe that the Bible is silent on many particulars, but we can look to the absolutes to determine the best course of action.įor instance, let’s say I want to break my COVID-19 self-quarantine to go out to a beach or other venue that is still open with friends. In essence, God can speak through these people, like he spoke through the prophets ( Hebrews 1:1) to convict us, set our hearts on fire, directly guide us about a proper course of action to a particular decision or life circumstance. God speaks to us through the rhema word, according to this view.ĭepending on the charismatic tradition, some Christians believe the rhema can be spoken through a preacher as well as a mentoring Christian friend. Rhema, on the other hand, is God communicating personally to us, through the Spirit’s voice in our hearts. In essence, God communicates through Scripture, through Christ, etc. Logos under this viewpoint is the communication process. Maybe a loved one in your family (this is a real and personal experience that happened to my family recently) is on the verge of passing away, and the verse helped you see the next steps of her eternity in a new light. But maybe during the reading of the verse, the valley of the shadow of death section jumped out at you. The Charismatic View of the Rhema WordĪccording to this article in Charisma Magazine, the rhema word can happen when you’re reading a particular passage of Scripture, perhaps one you have seen many times before, and you see it in a new light and see how it applies to your life personally.įor instance, many of us have read Psalm 23. But rather, will present the two views of the Rhema word and discuss why either viewpoint matters to us as Christians today. This article will not endeavor to pick or choose between the two viewpoints. Evangelical denominations see logos and rhema as essentially synonymous. The controversial split of the true mean of rhema versus logos often happens between charismatic and evangelical denominations. In the modern church, some charismatic denominations of Christianity emphasize the importance of rhema when referring to the Holy Spirit speaking to them now, at a present moment. In essence, through people, or through prayer, people can hear God speaking to their particular circumstance or situation, whereas the logos, Scripture, and Christ himself, speak to us in a more universal sense. Why do we make a distinction between the logos and the rhema? As mentioned in the Compelling Truth article linked, verses such as Luke 5:5 refer to the “rhema” as the spoken words of Jesus. But another word in the New Testament refers to the word “word” as in “spoken word” known as rhema. Logos means “word,” referring to Christ himself, or the holy word of Scripture. Christians may be familiar with the word logosfeatured in John 1.