Scripture and Plain Reason
by
John MacArthur
Copyright 2007, Grace to You.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
When
Martin Luther was summoned to the Diet of Worms in 1521 and asked to
recant his teaching, he replied, “Unless I am convinced by Scripture
and plain reason, my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot
and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience would be
neither right nor safe. God help me. Here I stand, I can do no other.”
Luther’s
well-known formulation, “Scripture and plain reason,” is the only basis
on which we can properly ground true spiritual discernment.
Scripture
isn’t antithetical to sound, rational wisdom, though many today imagine
otherwise. Reason is no substitute for Scripture, of course, but when
good reason and sound logic are kept subject to the authority of
Scripture, they are in no way a threat to the truth. On the contrary,
the application of sound, logical thinking to the truth of Scripture is
a key aspect of the formula for discernment.
Contrary to what a
lot of people these days assume, discernment is not a mystical or
intuitive ability to know the truth as if by magic. It is the skill of
understanding, interpreting, and applying truth accurately. Discernment
is a cognitive act. Therefore no one who spurns right doctrine or sound
reason can be truly discerning.
Authentic spiritual discernment
must begin with Scripture-revealed truth. Without a firm grounding in
divine revelation, human reason always degenerates into skepticism (a
denial that anything can be known for certain), rationalism (the theory
that reason is a source of truth), secularism (an approach to life that
purposely excludes God), or any number of other anti-Christian
philosophies.
When Scripture condemns human wisdom (1 Cor.
3:19), it is not denouncing logic and reason per se, but humanistic
ideology divorced from the divinely-revealed truth of God’s Word. In
other words, reason apart from the Word of God leads inevitably to
unsound ideas, but reason subjected to the Word of God is at the heart
of wise spiritual discernment.
“This article originally appeared in Pulpit Magazine, an online magazine of the Shepherds’ Fellowship, Grace Community Church.”
Related Resources:
How to Study the Bible - Audio Series
Who Can Study the Bible? - Audio Lesson
How to Study Your Bible - Free Online Resource
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