This passage describes Agabus as a prophet predicted a famine that in fact came to pass. We show that there is a difference between fore-telling like this and forth-telling. Prophets are not valid if they predict the future and are proven wrong. They also have to have sound doctrine. There were valid apostles on the scene of history when these things happened. That is not true today. Even though there is no “Agabus” today,  we are not lacking what we need. We have the truth of scripture that reveals God’s moral will and we have God’s providential oversight of all things. God lovingly cares for His people and works for our ultimate benefit. We have a discussion of many important implications of the doctrine of providence. There is no theological mischief being done when we distinguish between God’s moral will and His providential will. The Joseph narrative in the OT tells us that much. Bob shares some stories from his own life to illustrate how God’s providence has unfolded in getting him into the ministry and how to carry out that ministry.

Class handout and slides available under the Dowload tab.