Westminster Wednesdays: WCF 1.7

The Analogy of Faith

Scripture is eminently clear, at least about the important things. Some things, such as the precise year Jesus died, are matters of debate (much heated, far too often). Paragraph seen of the first chapter reminds us of an important principle, however. What is plain is what is necessary for salvation. Knowing the exact year Jesus died might be helpful for a variety of reasons, but it is not necessary to my faith.

Everything that is necessary is made plain, however much we may have to search for it. The clarity of Scripture does not mean that we will not have to put in any effort! We are called to search the Scriptures far and wide to learn what is the will of God for us and for our salvation - and we are to trust that in so doing we will come to such a right understanding.

This section also speaks of three categories of information that can be obtained by study of Scripture. First are things we are to know. This reminds us that however helpful the sociological background of Colosse may be to our wider understanding of Paul's epistle to the church in that city, such knowledge will not trump a plain and thoughtful reading of the text of Colossians. This is not to disparage background information, just to put it in its proper place. The second and third things can be dealt with together: things to believe and observe. Here the confession is adumbrating topics it will deal with later, particularly related to our freedom of conscience. For now, note that what we are to do and believe relative to our salvation are what the text of Scripture teaches about such things. There is no secret chamber or text that reveals all to the initiated. Our constant response to new revelation (in whatever form it may take) should be complete rejection.

Lastly, this paragraph speaks of our "due use of the ordinary means." This reminds us that God has ordained certain activities through which we will come to a right understanding of his will. These ordinary means are the Word read, proclaimed and conscionably heard, Prayer and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper. We will deal more with these later, but here particularly the divines are speaking of the reading and proclamation of his Word. We are invited - no, required - to search the Scriptures that we might be wise unto salvation.

From Several Sundays...

My grandfather, William A. Tipton, known to just about everyone affectionately as "Daddy Bill" passed into glory on July 29th. After a week and a half in West Texas, and the necessary catching up after having been goon for a week and a half, I am back to updating the blog. As several Sundays have gone by, below is a somewhat shorter synopsis of the past few weeks:

July 31:

AM - 1 John 4:1-6 "Testing Spirits" John speaks of our requirement to evaluate those who come in the name of the Spirit to see if they are truly of God. Be Bereans!

PM - Deuteronomy 19:14-21 "Can I Get A Witness" Moses reminds us of the biblical requirement that we establish every accusation (with important implications for church discipline) with two or more witnesses.

August 7:

AM - Amos 6 "A Grim Chauffeur" Jeremy Coyer, a licentiate with the Presbytery of the Ascension was kind enough to fill the pulpit for me while I was at the funeral. I was able to listen to the sermon on the drive home. Very much worth listening to!

PM - In the evening Jeff Noyes preached on Luke 23:55-56. As of the day I drove home, the audio was not up, although it is now. Jeff is always thoughtful and challenging!

August 14:

AM - 1 John 4:7-21 "The Power of Love" John reminds us of how God demonstrated his love through the sending of his Son, how God enables our love through the indwelling of his Son, and how he perfects that love through the ministry of his Spirit.

PM - Deuteronomy 20 "A Holy War" Moses lays out principles of conduct for the Israelites in the holy war they are about to engage in. In so doing, Moses reveals more of the character of God and how we are to deal with sin and evil in our own lives.

Who May Come?

I had a great time this morning with a dear Christian brother from Hillcrest over superiorly large pancakes (that still managed to leave me hungry before 11...). One of the many topics of our conversation was this: what is the bar to entry at our (or any) church?

Let's put it this way: Would a homosexual (with partner in tow) be "accepted" at Hillcrest? What do I mean by accepted? Welcomed in. Encouraged to believe the gospel. Asked back. Sincerely. Would a known area prostitute or a purveyor of pornography be welcomed, encouraged to believe and asked back?

Does a homosexual or a prostitute or a pornographer have to repent before he can hear the gospel? Here is a great test of where our heart is: suppose you came upon someone in an airport lounge. You strike up a conversation. Come to find out, they are a (enter some socially unacceptable sin here). Is it more important that they see their particular manifestation of depravity as something from which they need to repent of specifically, or is it more important that they encounter Christ? While these need not be mutually exclusive (and any encounter with Christ will, even if eventually, entail these particular sins), which is of priority? Is it possible to be a practicing homosexual (for instance) and be converted to Christ without (at that precise moment) not forsaking that particular sin?

Friends, this is the magnificence of the Gospel. Who may come? Anyone. A practicing homosexual? Yes. A flagrant prostitute? Yes. A middle-aged white guy who seems to have it all together? You bet. Even if he purveys porn? Of course. At the cross, no sin is more heinous than another, no sin so egregious to God that it is unable to be dealt with. The sin unto death is unbelief: the abject refusal to come. But again, here is the magnificence: it is Christ who deals with our sin on the cross, not we who must somehow lay it down of our own power so as to make ourselves meet to come in the first place!

We must have such faith in Christ that we are thoroughly convinced that he can and will transform any and all by the power of his gospel and that such transformation will take place through the proclamation of his gospel that we invite any and all to come.

Westminster Wednesdays: WCF 1.6b

Prudently Reasonable Circumstances

Previously, we saw that the rule of our faith and practice is what is either expressly set down in Scripture or that which can be deduced from Scripture by good and necessary consequence. That is to say that we can and must derive principles for living and tenets for believing from (and only from) Scripture.

However, there are two important caveats to this. First, we must acknowledge that while Scripture says much that is plain or logically deducible, the ability to read and/or infer is not sufficient to bring one to a saving knowledge of God. One can search the Scriptures in vain (regardless of ones logical ability or reading level!) and never find Christ. Only the inward illumination of the Spirit can enable anyone to realize their need for Christ or to run to him in repentance and faith. This is not a throw away line: it is vitally important to recognize that the divines themselves recognized that what is necessary is "right reason" - reason guided by the Spirit, opening up sin-shut eyes and unstopping depravity-closed ears.

Second, this paragraph reminds us that while the principles of faith and practice are only to be such as is set forth or deduced from Scripture, the exact circumstances of how those principles are worked out in the lives of God's people is at times not expressly set forth or concretely deduced. The circumstances particularly related to church government and worship are such that they must be ordered by "the light of nature and Christian prudence." Recall from several weeks ago that "the light of nature" is Confession-speak for human reason. We might say that the circumstances of Scriptural principles are at times left to prudent reason.

For example: we are commanded in Scripture to meet together on the "Lord's Day" (Rev 1:10), to pray (I Tim 2:1), to read the Word (Col 4:16), to have the word expounded (Acts 5:42), to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Col 3:16). We are not told what time to meet. We are not told in what kind of building to meet. We are not told what color the carpet must be (as if Paul would have known what that was). We are not told how long the prayers are to be, or in what order we are to pray. We are not told which portions of Scripture must be taught on which particular Sunday. We are not told what particular "style" of preaching we must adhere to. We are not told which hymns, which psalms or which spiritual songs to sing. We are not told that they must (or must not) be sung to the accompaniment of a particular kind of instrument (Paul certainly would not have known what a piano is, and I am convinced he would have thought an organ is an instrument of torture).

There are some things in the life of the church that deal with the whole church: particularly its government and worship. In these instances, it is up to the leadership to make decisions about such things: the when and where, for instance, of worship. These decisions must be both prudent and reasonable. They do not, however, have to be identical with every other congregations - otherwise there would be a Scriptural mandate! The same Spirit who led the prophets and apostles in the writing of Scripture, who provides inward illumination such that we come to a saving knowledge of the truth also is the Spirit of Wisdom, who will guide the church even in these things.

A quick word about the process of such decisions. In all things, they are made by some level of common consent. The congregation either votes on something major (like the calling of a new pastor, the election of elders, the sale of a building) or they submit to those men (!) who they have previously consented to submit to. This is a sobering reminder that those men chosen to lead are chosen as men to be submitted to!

From Sunday: July 24th

This Sunday morning, we looked at 1 John 3:19-24. Here the Apostle teaches us about assurance. As we face the daunting commands given to love as Christ loved, we are met with our own constant failures. How can we be assured that God is working within us? John provides three aspects of our assurance. First, our confidence is in Christ, whom we have grasped hold of through faith. Second, the Christ who saves is the Christ who transforms - so as we grow in grace and come to resemble our elder brother in desires and actions we see God's work within us as evidence of our faith. Third, we must recognize that both faith and works are a product of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. By these three aspects: our Spirit-wrought faith, our Spirit-inspired works and the inner testimony of the Spirit that we are children now, we can have confidence before God.

This Sunday evening, we looked at Deuteronomy 19:1-13 (no audio yet), where Moses provides instruction on the cities of refuge. These cities show us the nature of God: that he loves mercy and that he loved justice. We also saw how the cross of Christ most magnificently shows forth both the mercy and the justice of Christ, as each "kiss" upon the cross - God's mercy for sinners and his justice for sin.

Westminster Wednesdays: WCF 1.6a

What is both Good and Necessary

Today's post only deals with the first full sentence in this paragraph. Due to the length of the original post, it is being divided into two sections.

The sixth paragraph of the first chapter of the confession is one of the most important sections in the document. Once we recognize that the authority of Scripture resides in its nature as God-breathed and fully authoritative, what do we do with it?

First, we are told that the Bible provides for us all we need to know with regard to how we are to glorify God, how we are saved by and in his Son, what we are to believe and how we are to live in light of his saving grace. There is no other source of revelation as to what God's will for his people is. Scripture provides this instruction along two related yet different paths. The first is by expressly stating these things. We know what we are to believe concerning the resurrection of Christ on the third day because Scripture clearly and expressly states that he rose from the dead, that he did so with a human body, etc.

The second way we come to know God's will for our life, belief and practice is a little more complicated. Some things are expressly set down in Scripture, other things must be deduced from Scripture. In other words, Scripture teaches us some things as a matter of consequence derived from other things expressly set down in Scripture. For instance, much of the doctrine of the Trinity is based upon consequences of what is clearly set forth in the pages of Scripture. You will nowhere find the word "trinity" in the Bible, but that does not mean that trinitarian doctrine is "unbiblical".

The divines provided two important qualifications for these consequences. First they must be "good". That is, they must be based upon sound and right reason. They must "follow" from Scripture, and not contradict some other portion of Scripture. More on this in the discussion of paragraph seven. Second, the consequences must be "necessary". In other words, they may not merely be "possible" consequences, they must be inevitable given the fullness of Scriptural data.

This is saying that we can derive principles for faith and practice from all of Scripture - sometimes by what is expressly set down, others by what necessarily follows from the whole counsel of God. Further, the revealed and delivered will of God in Scripture is the only rule of faith and practice - we may not add any so-called additional revelation nor the traditions of men. What is promoted as something to believe or do which cannot be established on the basis Scripture, either directly or logically, is not and cannot be binding upon God's people. Yet, we see that both what is expressly laid down in Scripture and that which can be deduced by good and nessassary consequence IS Scripture, and must be adhered to. To reject, as an obvious example, the Trinity (on any ground) is to place oneself outside of the sphere of biblical teaching, and to declare oneself to be unsaved.

From Sunday: July 17th

In the morning, we looked at 1 John 3:10-18, where John exhorts his readers to love one another, even as Christ Jesus loved us. Christ loved us such that when we were still enemies he came and died for us. This shows us that Jesus is the means by which alone we can come to understand what true love is, as well as the measure we are to use to examine our own love. We are to love as he loved. Especially important is the question of "who are we to love?" Jesus answers that very question, both in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 10:25-37) and in his actions on the cross.

In the evening, we looked at Deuteronomy 18:9-22 (no audio yet). Here Moses teaches the Israelites regarding the final office of authority: that of the prophet. Moses shows that God appoints prophets to speak forth His word to His people, and thus they arrive with the full authority of God. However, there will be pagan prophets (those who claim to speak in the name of other gods) and false prophets (those who claim to speak in the name of the Lord, but do not). Therefore, Moses teaches how to tell them from the true prophet and that they are not to listen to them.