Worth Reading

Before I go any further, let me say that I am a believer in Sola Scriptura. I agree that the Scriptures as preserved through the centuries is the final and only authority concerning God's revolation to man. That being said I think it to be a good idea to read the time tested works of other great leaders of the church.
We listen to our pasters and teachers and compare them to the Word. I think it very profitable to do the same with pastors who have gone to be with the Lord. Men like Augustine of Hippo, Martin Luther, Jon Calvin, John Knox, Loyd Jones and others who devoted thier lives to the study and expotition of Scripture. How arrogant are we if we think we have nothing to learn from these great men of faith.
Herisies and error in understanding the Word of God come from a failure to heed the warnnings of the preaching and teaching of those who combatted the same errors generations before. Is it any wonder that the Church is under constant attack from false teachings when we willfuly ignore the foundation of sound doctrine laid for us by learned and faithful preachers and teachers of old? We become easily arrested by "new" teachings. We entertain "new" ideas as if somehow this "newly discovered" truth was somehow missed by 2000 + years of Biblical scholars.
Like any teaching, even these time tested works by men of old must be held to the microscope of Scripture. No matter how well respected they may be, even these teachings, many of which entire denomonations are built on, must hold up against the light of Gods word. Over the centuries, the works of God's men throughout the church age have been shown to stand as valuable to us today as when they were "new".