God has given us Scripture, or "special revelation," both to supplement natural revelation (by adding to it the message of salvation) and to correct our misuses of natural revelation. As Calvin said, the Christian should look at nature with the "spectacles of Scripture." If even unfallen Adam needed to interpret the world according to God's verbal utterance, how much more do we! The point is not that Scripture is more divine or authoritative than natural revelation.

Natural revelation is every bit the word of God and absolutely authoritative. The difference is that Scripture is a verbal utterance that God gives to supplement and correct our view of the world., We must humbly accept that assistance. In doing so, we do not make Scripture more authoritative than natural revelation; rather, we allow the Word (with its ever-present Spirit) to correct our interpretations of natural revelation.

To allow Scripture to do its corrective work, we must accept the principle that our settled belief as to Scripture's teaching must take precedence over what we would believe from nature alone. God gave Scripture as the covenant constitution of the people of God and if it is to serve us in that way, it must take precedence over all other forms of knowledge. It is wrong, for example, to suggest (as many do) that the "two books of nature and Scripture" should be read side by side, carrying equal weight in every respect. That sort of argument has been used to justify relatively uncritical Christian acceptance of evolution, secular psychology, ands so on. In such arguments, Scripture is not permitted to do its corrective work, to protect God's people from the wisdom of the world (1 Cor. 2:6-16). Hence, sola Scriptura.

Nevertheless natural revelation, rightly understood through the "spectacle of Scrpture," is of tremendous value to the Christian, and specifically, to the apologist….

Granted, our interpretations of Scripture also need to be corrected at times. But the proper order is: Scripture itself corrects our interpretations of both Scripture and nature...Scripture has primacy over all else.