Sadly, in disputes among believers, it is not
always the Scriptures that are held up as the arbiter of truth. It
might be helpful to point out a few areas where the Bible has been
quietly dethroned.
‘This
overthrows what the people of God have always believed and taught’—or
similar phraseology. Of course it is a wise proverb that tells us to
“remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set” (Prov.
22: 28), but we are also warned not to “set aside the commandment of
God” (Mark 7: 9) in order to observe “what has been delivered by the
ancients” (v5). The standard is never what is traditional, but the
Word of God.
‘This
contradicts every esteemed teacher among ourselves’.
Certainly we should be wary of novelties, but the truth is never a
question of the ‘popular’ view. We are to search the Scriptures to
see if what is promulgated is according to truth (see Acts 17: 11).
‘It
is the same as the old heresy’. This is a very common
approach, when controversial doctrine is dismissed by labelling it
identical with some of the heterodoxies of the past. The reaction of
many of God’s people to such a charge is to recoil with alarm and to
refuse to even engage. Others will labour to prove the charge
justified, but the standard against which all is measured is not the
Bible, but the theological definition of the heresy itself, thus
side-lining the Bible from its role as the arbiter of truth.
Excessive language is
often used to shut down any discussion on a subject associated with
controversy. Of course we should have a sober judgment of what is or
is not according to the truth, but when believers employ intemperate
or extravagant terms, it often masks their lack of confidence in the
written Word. The apostles, even when addressing serious evils among
God’s people, were plain-speaking but measured, and refrained from
lowering themselves to personal jibes.
‘Everybody
else does it this way’. How common is this—where the
heart is governed by ecclesiastical ‘trends’ rather than the
unchanging words of divine truth! Our business is not to be like
others, but to obey what God has told us.
