6/12/14 councils authority

As we do not rashly condemn what good men, assembled together in general councils lawfully gathered, have set before us; so we do not receive uncritically whatever has been declared to men under the name of the general councils, for it is plain that, being human, some of them have manifestly erred, and that in matters of great weight and importance. So far then as the council confirms its decrees by the plain Word of God, so far do we reverence and embrace them. But if men, under the name of a council, pretend to forge for us new articles of faith, or to make decisions contrary to the Word of God, then we must utterly deny them as the doctrine of devils, drawing our souls from the voice of the one God to follow the doctrines and teachings of men. (Scots 20)

11But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. 13The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. 14But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? (Galatians 2:11-13)

Thoughts: We should not simply condemn or simply accept what a gathered council (assembly, synod, presbytery, session, etc.) does.  They are to be tested against scripture.  Knox knew this because the Roman Catholic experts of his day were certain that they knew the truth because they knew the will of the Pope and the will of the Church Fathers (tradition).  Synods have changed their minds.  For example, one General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church accepted the seven fundamentals as essential tenets.  But a few short years later another assembly rejected it.  In 1996 on assembly said that chastity and holiness in relationships were important standards for ordination.  In 2010 that changed- and the gate was opened to homosexuality, a redefining of marriage, polygamy, and a general spiritual doubting of the scriptures as a secondary authority to our own presumably better expertise.  Assemblies may come and go  But the Word of God endures forever.  The grass withers and the flowers fade, but God's Word endures.
     So Knox was writing a confession knowing its own limits.  This shows a great deal of humility, and a recognition of his own finitude and need for grace.
    Even in the passage above, Peter- the bold apostolic leader- changed his mind- saying one thing with one group and another with another group.  Councils are subject to groupthink and avalanche sometimes in a wrong direction.  Group think is what caused Kennedy to be so sure he would succeed in his invasion of the Bay of Pigs.  It was an illusion that they were all right because they were a group of experts.  Experts make mistakes.  Scientists change their minds.  Progress changes life.  But the values of life- the need to be kind, gracious, good, loving do not change. 

Prayer: Help me, Lord, to listen to your clear voice, instead of simply the voice of the majority or the voice of a council.