According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
(2Pe 1:3)
There is a troubling tendency in our age. It seems to grow more prevalent each day among Christians. This tendency is that of sincere Christian believers embracing unorthodox doctrine. When questioned about their unconventional beliefs, their reply is often "God has revealed this to me. I won't change my mind unless He reveals to me something differently." I guarantee you that at some point in their future God will have "changed His mind" and revealed something new to them. The problem is that when we base our doctrine on gut feelings or special revelations given to us personally by "God Himself" we have no standard with which to judge these newly embraced convictions. The referenced scripture above (2 Peter 1:3) gives us an assurance of how we may know all things that pertain unto life and godliness. This is through the "knowledge of him." This knowledge comes from the Word of God alone. Christ Jesus is the Word incarnate. (John 1:1) The Reformers' cry of Sola Scriptura rings throughout the ages. Scripture alone must be our absolute standard for judging all doctrine taught by men.
The alternative is very concerning. When we leave behind the truths of scripture, we open ourselves up to a plethora of strange ideas and concepts. I certainly don't claim to have the market on truth cornered. I may have misinterpreted some scripture passages. To the extent that I have misinterpreted scripture, I deserve to be corrected. Yet, how should this correction come? It should come through the sharpened edge of the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God. I believe that I stand on a firm foundation by holding to truths expounded in the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. The men who drafted this confession spent countless hours in the Word of God expounding it and applying it to an outline that lays out what they believed. The 1689 Confession is not infallible. It is a document written by fallible men. However, the great pangs taken to insure its correct interpretation of scripture make a much greater impression upon me than a modern, surface reading of scripture, with the intention of arriving at a pre-conceived desired "end goal" of proving some new fangled doctrine. I recently read an article knocking the views of Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, and A.W. Pink. I greatly admire all these men. Each of them faithfully expounded the Word of God. Yes, they are just men, and they are fallible, but I have a feeling that they are not near as fallible as the modern author who sought to discredit them.
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