Dave Havir, cautioning that although many Bible teachers claim to speak to God, interposing themselves as decoders of the Bible, and claiming they have special insights that the uninitiated layman are not privy to, we dare not be snookered by these self-proclaimed apostles or prophets. Do not listen to self-proclaimed prophets who claim to speak for God, but instead speak visions of their own heart—their own interpretation. Scintillating messages may not have their origins in God, but in a corrosive pride. If we add to God's words, we prove ourselves liars. It is foolhardy to speak dogmatically, pronouncing people “cut off from God” or who are “not cut off from God.” We dare not add to God's words nor can we take away from God's word lest we incur plagues or get taken from the Book of Life. When people speak for God, they feel empowered to do things that they are not authorized to do. According to Walter Williams, tyranny conducted for the good of the people is perhaps the most oppressive. Humble teachers can speak with conviction without presuming to speak for God. Speakers must be cognizant of context, target audiences, and the intended message. We can later understand how the message may speak to us.

Adding to God's words * Awareness of context * Books to a specific person * Brethren claiming to speak for God * Colossians 1:2 * Context * Corinth * C.S. Lewis * Decoding the Bible * ‘Disrespectful' to God * Ephesians 1:1 * Esther * Eye on the World * I Corinthians 1:2 * I John 2:1 * I Peter 1:1-2 * I Thessalonians 1:1 * I Timothy 1:2 * Galatians 1:2 * Gaius * Gloom and doom * God's mercy * Haman * Humble teachers * Imaginations of the heart * Inspiration from God * James 1:1 * Jeremiah 23:16-17 * John 16:2 * Jude * My little children * Modern day prophets * New Testament books * No mention of specific audience * Peace and hope * Philemon 1 * Philippians 1:1 * Prideful teachers * Proverbs 30:5-6 * Revelation 22:18-19 * Romans 1:7 * Saints * Scattered elect * II Thessalonians 1:1 * II Timothy 1:2 * Speaking for God * Specific audience * Spiritual ‘expertise' * Target audience * Taking away from God's words * Thinking one is doing service to God * 12 tribes * III John * Titus 1:4 * Walter Williams * Written for our learning and our comfort