Why do we listen to Scripture? Why is the word capitalized? What makes it any different than any other collection of writings, old or new? In today's sections, the Westminster Confession of Faith instructs us as to the nature of the authority of Scripture, as well as our apprehension of that authority.
First, the nature of Scripture's authority. Scripture is authoritative not because I say so, nor because a group pastors, teachers or princes gather and say so, nor because the whole of the church gathers and says so, nor even because the Confession says so, but only because of what it is. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the very Word of the Triune God. Because it is authored by God, it must be received as having the full authority of God himself.
All well and good (at least in theory), but how do we come to know that it is the Word of God and not just the word of men? Sure it claims to be divine. So do many other writings. How do we know this one is the real deal? Section 1.5 begins with a number of ways we can be moved to recognize the importance and validity of Scripture. First, the church tells us that the Bible is the Word of God. Second, as we read it we can be moved by its content, majesty,comprehensiveness and usefulness, all providing ample arguments that the Bible is the Word of God. This, however, in and of itself only goes so far.
Something more than this is needful for us to come to a right understanding of who we are because of sin, of who God is in relation to us, of who Christ is, what he came to do and to what kind of life he calls us. That "something more" is work of God's Spirit. The Holy Spirit works within such that we come to a full and settled persuasion that the Bible is God's Word: incapable of being wrong because it comes from his mouth and therefore fully authoritative over me, my life and my way of thinking. He works both by and with the Word as we read it and hear it read and proclaimed.
Absent this work of the Holy Spirit, we get what I call the "Book of Eli" phenomenon. (Spoiler Alert!) In that movie, the main character goes through a post-apocalyptic nightmare to deliver a copy of the Bible to a museum housing all the great works of the past. The book is taken from him before he can deposit it there safely, but he recounts the book to the keeper of the museum by memory. We rejoice with those around us and those on the screen: God's Word has been secured from the hands of evil men and will be a powerful agent of redemption in the years to come. And then the curator places it right along side any number of other religious books - the Koran, etc. You see, absent the inward working of the Holy Spirit, none of us (and I mean none) would ever realize that the book we now treasure so much is more than just another work (however much more grand) of human wisdom and insight.
What is at stake is the issue of the authority of Scripture. We (whoever "we" are) do not give it authority. If we did, it wouldn't really be authoritative! We would remain the ultimate authority, ready to take back our authority at a moments notice: perhaps when science offers a more plausible or less socially embarrassing explanation; perhaps when Scripture begins to meddle in my own private affairs; perhaps when it simply becomes more convenient to believe something else. No, Scripture calls us to one response: total submission to its message. And God in his mercy provides the only solution to the problem of our dead, stony and rebellious hearts: the indwelling power and inward persuasion of his Holy Spirit.
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