One common objection or question some people have regarding the confession is that it begins not with the God who has created and redeemed us, but with Scripture. Why not, they might ask, begin with a positive statement about who God is, going from there into statements about our need of salvation and Christ as the only and all sufficient remedy for our fallen state? Some confessional theologians even want to subsume the discussion of Scripture under the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.
To be sure, the Westminster Confession is somewhat abnormal in this regard. The confessional statements of the sixteenth and seventeenth century normally began with a statement about God, rather than about Scripture. However, the Westminster divines had a very good reason for beginning here. A summary of section one of chapter one might read something like this: everyone knows that God exists, but only those who come to know God as he has revealed himself in his Word can be saved. This is not the exaltation of knowledge over relationship. Rather, it is a realization that there is no possibility of a saving relationship with God apart from true knowledge about the God of salvation. Therefore, we need to begin with reflection upon and a realization of Scripture as the foundation of our knowledge of Christ our Redeemer.
No comments:
Post a Comment