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We live in a world filled with competing truth claims. Every day, we are
bombarded with declarations that something is true and that some-
thing else is false. We are told what to believe and what not to believe.
We are asked to behave one way but not another way.
How do we sift through all these claims? How do people know what to
think about relationships, morality, God, the origins of the universe,
and many other important questions? To answer such questions, peo-
ple need some sort of norm, or criteria, to which they can appeal. We
need an ultimate authority. Of course, everyone has some sort of ulti-
mate norm to which they appeal: reason, logic, experience, or even
themselves. Christians have historically rejected all of these as the ultimate standard of knowledge, affirming instead
that only Gods Word can legitimately function as the supreme standard. There can be no higher authority than God
Himself.
But if Gods Word is the ultimate standard for all of life, where do we go to get it? This was one of the core debates of
the Protestant Reformation. While the Roman Catholic Church authorities agreed that Gods Word was the ultimate
standard for all of life and doctrine, they believed it could be found in places outside the Scriptures. Rome claimed a
trifold authority structure, which included Scripture, tradition, and the Magisterium (the churchs teaching office led by
the pope).
The Reformers acknowledged that God had delivered His Word to His people in a variety of ways before Christ (Heb.
1:1), but they argued that we should no longer expect ongoing revelation now that God had spoken finally in His Son
(Heb. 1:2). Scripture is clear that the Apostolic office was designed to perform a one-time, redemptive-historical task:
to lay the foundation of the church (Eph. 2:20) by giving her a deposit of authoritative teaching testifying to and apply-
ing the great redemptive work of Christ. This should be seen as the final installment of Gods revelation to His people.
The conviction of sola Scriptura the Scriptures alone are the Word of God and, therefore, the only infallible rule for
life and doctrine is embodied in Martin Luthers speech after he was asked to recant his teachings:
Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope
or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the
Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not retract anything, since
it is neither safe nor right to go against conscienceMay God help me. Amen.
Of course, like many core Christian convictions, the doctrine of sola Scriptura has often been misunderstood and mis-
applied. Some have used it as a justification for a me, God, and the Bible type of individualism, where the church
bears no real authority and the history of the church is not considered when interpreting and applying Scripture. Ironi-
cally, such an individualistic approach actually undercuts the very doctrine it is intended to protect. By emphasizing the
autonomy of the individual believer, one is left with only private, subjective conclusions about what Scripture means.
The Reformers would not have recognized such a distortion. On the contrary, they were quite keen to rely on the
church fathers and the creeds and confessions of the church. The Reformers did not view themselves as coming up
with something new. Rather, they understood themselves to be recovering something very old, something that the
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PAGE 2 VOLUME XVIII ISSUE 12
1 2 3 4 5
7:00 Deacons &
Session Meet
Lunch Box Lunch Box Lunch Box Lunch Box Lunch Box
Meadows Mason/Mills Hinsons Edmiston/Nesbit Kellys
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Communion
2:30 Circle #1
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
11:30
Keenagers
Soup & Bingo
7:00 CE &
Outreach
Committee
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
Lunch Box Lunch Box Lunch Box Lunch Box Lunch Box
Meadows Mason/Mills Hinsons Edmiston/Nesbit Kellys
27 28 29 30 31
Every Sunday
Ushers Sunday Nursery
9:00 a.m.Adult Choir
TBA 6Lisa Nesbit & Kids
9:50 a.m.Sunday School
13Sarah & Michael Barker
11:00 a.m. Worship
Greeters 20Dean & Jade Wooten
Every Wednesday
J.J. Knox & Chris Ostwalt 27Jennifer, Chris & Daryl Crouch
ChimesTBA
Wednesday Nursery 5:15 p.m.Youth Choir
Childrens Church 2Deneen & Roger Campbell 6:00 p.m. Supper
6 Dean & Jade Wooten 9Sarah & Michael Barker 6:30 p.m. Psalm 98/Childrens Study
13-David & Beverly Brown 16Deneen & Roger Campbell 6:30 p.m.Youth
20-J.J. Knox 23Sarah & Michael Barker 6:30 p.m.Adult Study
27-Chris & Laura Ostwalt 30Deneen & Roger Campbell 7:30 p.m.Adult Choir
Every Thursday
10:45 a.m.Adult Bible Study
NEW PERTH A.R.P. CHURCH
P.O. Box 457 204 West Avenue Non-Profit Organization
Troutman, N.C. 28166 U.S. Postage PAID
Troutman, N.C.
Permit No. 8
Return Service Requested
r t h P r ess
The Pe
What is the Hebrew meaning of the word Amen? Brandon Campbell & Dad,
Roger having the time of their
A. So be it. life skydiving.
B. We praise you. Bill Mayhew still floating in
C. Thank you. the clouds after South Iredell
D. Please, God! winning state championship.
Vickie Crouch cooking some
good food for the Keenagers
and the Lois Hood/LA Brown
class Christmas parties.
Gordon Mayfield and Sue
Brown giving some history
Answer: A lessons.