The Layman – October-November 2007 Volume 40, Number 3 – Posted November 13, 2007

Standing on the Word Presbyterians are people of the Word – or, at least, many say they are. Too often, however, there are people within the Presbyterian Church (USA) are discounting Scripture as an old and irrelevant book and, instead, are clinging to the latest “revelation from the Spirit” as the guide for their faith and life. In this, they are wrong. As the Rev. Mary Naegeli told a gathering of renewal-minded Presbyterians at Gathering X, “It is too easy to forget the basis upon which our faith is built.” Those who have tossed out Scripture as the basis of their faith and life have forsaken that foundation. Naegeli said they have replaced “the Word of God with an amorphous philosophy of self-help, of ‘what works’ for them. They assume that they can get by with a cheap imitation of God’s Word.” “They adjust the meaning of Scripture to fit their lifestyles, rather than allowing Scripture to adjust their behavior,” Naegeli said. This basic disagreement over the authority of Scripture is why there is a continuing controversy throughout the denomination. The Second Helvetic Confession, like Naegeli, is clear on this point: “… [I]t pleases God to use the dissensions that arise in the Church … to illustrate the truth and in order that those who are in the right might be manifest” (I Corinthians 11:19) 5.133. “… [W]e teach that the true Church is that in which the signs … of the true Church are to be found, especially the lawful and sincere preaching of the Word of God as it was delivered to us in the books of the prophets and the apostles, which all lead us unto Christ …” 5.134. “As to those who seek righteousness and life outside of Christ and faith in him alone, … we condemn all such churches as strangers. …” 5.135. We urge all Presbyterians to acknowledge and embrace the authority of Scripture and faith in Jesus Christ alone because, without them, the denomination cannot be renewed. The Layman Editorial Board

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