A simple study of the 1689 Baptist Confession
It's easy to say I believe the Bible but we need to pin down what a person believes it says. Confessions of Faith are useful for
1 Public affirmation and defence of the truth
2 Providing a public standard of fellowship and discipline
3 Providing a concise standard for evaluating ministers of the Word
4 Giving us a sense of historical continuity
The 1689 Baptist (2nd London) Confession is the one I adhere to most closely. The briefer 1st London Confession was issued in 1644, the 2nd London was actually put together in 1677 but not published then, owing to persecution. Like the Congregationalist Savoy Declaration (1658) the 1689 closely follows, where it can, the Presbyterian Westminster Confession (1647).
It's easy to say I believe the Bible but we need to pin down what a person believes it says. Confessions of Faith are useful for
1 Public affirmation and defence of the truth
2 Providing a public standard of fellowship and discipline
3 Providing a concise standard for evaluating ministers of the Word
4 Giving us a sense of historical continuity
The 1689 Baptist (2nd London) Confession is the one I adhere to most closely. The briefer 1st London Confession was issued in 1644, the 2nd London was actually put together in 1677 but not published then, owing to persecution. Like the Congregationalist Savoy Declaration (1658) the 1689 closely follows, where it can, the Presbyterian Westminster Confession (1647).
In red we have the original confession (only punctuation has been altered) followed by comments in blue.
1: The Holy Scriptures
1. The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith and obedience. Although the light of nature and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable, yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and his will which is necessary unto salvation. Therefore it pleased the Lord at sundry times and in divers manners to reveal himself and to declare that his will unto his church and afterward, for the better preserving and propagating of the truth and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh and the malice of Satan and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which maketh the Holy Scriptures to be most necessary, those former ways of God’s revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.
1. How to be saved, what saving faith is and how to live to please God is revealed in the Bible in sufficient detail, clearly enough and without errors. If you want to know how to be saved, what to believe or how to live as a Christian, look in the Bible. It's there!
2. Man’s conscience, creation and providence (general or natural revelation) are enough to teach us there is a good, wise and powerful God so disobedience is inexcusable. By nature we are ignorant of salvation but we do know God is there so we have no reason not to serve him. Stop making excuses and search the Bible to know God.
3. Because we don't know enough to be saved, it has pleased God at different times, in different ways to supply a special, supernatural revelation of himself to his chosen people. It is a mercy that God has revealed himself, something for which we should be very thankful.
4. So that the truth may be preserved, widely known, kept pure and help God's people despite the world, the flesh and the devil, these revelations were written down. The Bible is now the only source of these essential revelations. We ought to love and get to know the one book in which God shows us all we need to know.
2. Under the name of Holy Scripture, or the Word of God written, are now contained all the books of the Old and New Testaments, which are these:
OF THE OLD TESTAMENT: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, The Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.
1: The Holy Scriptures
1. The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith and obedience. Although the light of nature and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable, yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and his will which is necessary unto salvation. Therefore it pleased the Lord at sundry times and in divers manners to reveal himself and to declare that his will unto his church and afterward, for the better preserving and propagating of the truth and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh and the malice of Satan and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which maketh the Holy Scriptures to be most necessary, those former ways of God’s revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.
1. How to be saved, what saving faith is and how to live to please God is revealed in the Bible in sufficient detail, clearly enough and without errors. If you want to know how to be saved, what to believe or how to live as a Christian, look in the Bible. It's there!
2. Man’s conscience, creation and providence (general or natural revelation) are enough to teach us there is a good, wise and powerful God so disobedience is inexcusable. By nature we are ignorant of salvation but we do know God is there so we have no reason not to serve him. Stop making excuses and search the Bible to know God.
3. Because we don't know enough to be saved, it has pleased God at different times, in different ways to supply a special, supernatural revelation of himself to his chosen people. It is a mercy that God has revealed himself, something for which we should be very thankful.
4. So that the truth may be preserved, widely known, kept pure and help God's people despite the world, the flesh and the devil, these revelations were written down. The Bible is now the only source of these essential revelations. We ought to love and get to know the one book in which God shows us all we need to know.
2. Under the name of Holy Scripture, or the Word of God written, are now contained all the books of the Old and New Testaments, which are these:
OF THE OLD TESTAMENT: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, The Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts of the Apostles, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation.
All of which are given by the inspiration of God, to be the rule of faith and life.
3. The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the canon or rule of the Scripture, and, therefore, are of no authority to the church of God, nor to be any otherwise approved or made use of than other human writings.
1. Positively, the Bible contains all the books of Old and New Testaments. We ought to know that God’s revelation came in two stages and be able to see the differences between the two.
2. All 66 books are God breathed and are the only rule for what to believe and how to live. Believe that the Bible is from God and let it regulate all your beliefs and actions.
3. Negatively, the Apocrypha is not part of the Bible and deserves no more respect or use than any other human writing.
4. The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed [and obeyed], dependeth not upon the testimony of any man or church, but wholly upon God (who is truth itself), the author thereof; therefore it is to be received because it is the Word of God.
5. We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the church of God to an high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scriptures; and the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, and the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scopeof the whole (which is to give all glory to God), the full discovery it makes of the only way of man’s salvation and many other incomparable excellencies and entire perfections thereof, are arguments whereby it doth abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God; yet notwithstanding, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority thereof is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts.
1. We must accept the Bible as God's Word because of its own inherent authority not what the church or anyone else says. Accept the Bible for what it is. If we believe because the church says we should, the church becomes our highest authority.
All of which are given by the inspiration of God, to be the rule of faith and life.
3. The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the canon or rule of the Scripture, and, therefore, are of no authority to the church of God, nor to be any otherwise approved or made use of than other human writings.
1. Positively, the Bible contains all the books of Old and New Testaments. We ought to know that God’s revelation came in two stages and be able to see the differences between the two.
2. All 66 books are God breathed and are the only rule for what to believe and how to live. Believe that the Bible is from God and let it regulate all your beliefs and actions.
3. Negatively, the Apocrypha is not part of the Bible and deserves no more respect or use than any other human writing.
4. The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed [and obeyed], dependeth not upon the testimony of any man or church, but wholly upon God (who is truth itself), the author thereof; therefore it is to be received because it is the Word of God.
5. We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the church of God to an high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scriptures; and the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, and the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scopeof the whole (which is to give all glory to God), the full discovery it makes of the only way of man’s salvation and many other incomparable excellencies and entire perfections thereof, are arguments whereby it doth abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God; yet notwithstanding, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority thereof is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts.
1. We must accept the Bible as God's Word because of its own inherent authority not what the church or anyone else says. Accept the Bible for what it is. If we believe because the church says we should, the church becomes our highest authority.
2. The Spirit can use external and internal testimony to authenticate the Bible. The church’s witness and the Bible’s self-authenticating testimony (heavenly content, life-changing power, majestic style, perfect harmony, glorification of God, revelation of salvation and other great qualities and perfections) show it is God’s Word. One of the best ways to see what the Bible is, is simply to read it. Don't ignore the church’s witness or the Bible’s own self-authentication.
3. To be entirely sure of the Bible's infallible truth and divine authority we need the Spirit’s direct inward witness through and with the Word. If you doubt the Bible's infallibility and authority, ask God’s Spirit to help you to see it.
3. To be entirely sure of the Bible's infallible truth and divine authority we need the Spirit’s direct inward witness through and with the Word. If you doubt the Bible's infallibility and authority, ask God’s Spirit to help you to see it.
Differences between the Westminster and 1689 are minor here. I've highlighted them in black (for additions) and pink (for subtractions). The opening addition puts a clear emphasis on Scripture from the beginning. See here.
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