Monday, December 14, 2009

A Vital Principle To Live By

I was thrilled to get a seven volume present from my parents for my birthday - "Tracts and Letters of John Calvin - 7 Volume Set". In the introduction there is a fascinating comment about Calvin himself;

"The leading principle of Protestantism - the paramount authority and perfect sufficiency of Scripture - he (Calvin) undoubtedly did hold and strenuously inculcate, but he also venerated the early Fathers of the Church and scarcely ever omitted an opportunity of strengthening his views by showing how well they accorded with theirs".

Many people often ask why I quote so much from heroes. It's for this simple reason. I love and appreciate the Word of God. It is indeed perfectly sufficient. But we who are at the climax of the consummation of the ages have an awesome gift in church history - the "cloud of witnesses" - who have gone before us and who have written down their words and still speak even though dead.

We ignore them surely at our peril.

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