Forever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven (Ps 119:89)
We live in a pluralistic society in which the majority of the people do not believe in absolutes as everyone’s ideas, opinions and beliefs are seen and treated as a right and no one is wrong. The culture preaches tolerance, and that everyone’s decisions and choices should be respected because everyone is right as long as the humanistic culture, in which we live, allows it, and the laws of land protect it.
The Life’s work of Martin Luther (1483-1546), the German reformer, particularly his debate with Rome overindulgences, with his 95 Theses on October 31 1517, could not be any more relevant than in the days in which we live. Martin Luther debated that God’s word is the sole and final authority of the Christian. In his theory of “Sola Scriptura” (Latin for the “Scripture alone”), he declared that the scriptures are self-authenticating, clear to the rational and honest reader, its own interpreter, and sufficient of itself to be the final authority of Christian doctrine.
The holy scriptures are superior to human ideas, opinions, supernatural experiences, prophecies and supernatural manifestations, and even human persons no matter the political or religious pedigree of the persons in question (1 Cor 4:6; Gal 1:6-8).
As Christians, we do not base our lives on the humanistic culture we live in or on prophecies, supernatural encounters, and man’s doctrine and manifestations, but on the written word of God. We don’t also base our lives on the doctrine from our denominational headquarters but on the written and revealed word of God. Any doctrine, practice, supernatural experience or encounters that don’t align with the truth revealed in the written word of God (which is also known as the book of prophecy) is not from God and must be done away with (Rev 19:10f; Rev 1:3). The great British reformer John Wesley believes “Sola Scriptura” is a principle of the reformation and declared emphatically that “in all cases, the Church is to be judged by the Scripture, not the Scripture by the Church.”
The truth according to scripture is not just a statement of fact but a person, Jesus Christ, and what the Holy Spirit (The Spirit of truth) reveals about Him (John 14:6; Heb 1:1-3; John 14:17; John 16:13- 14). God has revealed to us through the scriptures that Christ is the pattern Son and the approved scale of measurement and reference for every idea, belief, doctrine, supernatural encounters, experiences, and manifestations.
The Christian doctrine of the early puritans, “Prima Scriptura”, does not in any way contradict the principle of ” Sola Scriptura” but agrees that the canonized scripture is “first” or “above all” other sources of divine revelation. Hence, we can declare as the Psalmist declares in Psalm 119:89, “Forever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven”.
God bless you!!!
