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2024 Conference Theme: Of the Holy Scriptures — 2LCF Chapter 1

Jim Butler · 2024-02-26 · 600 words · 4 min

Confessing the Faith - 2024

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Summary

Other

The Second London Baptist Confession Chapter 1 provides an indispensable and historically grounded account of Scripture's authority, canon, sufficiency, and self-interpreting character that remains as relevant for the contemporary church as it was for the seventeenth-century confessors.

This brief conference introduction previews a study of the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689), Chapter 1, 'Of the Holy Scriptures.' The discussion covers the authority, canon, sufficiency, and interpretation of Scripture, with particular attention to the confessional principle that Scripture interprets Scripture (analogia scripturae). Two scholars — one specializing in historical theology and one in hermeneutics — will situate Chapter 1 in its seventeenth-century context and apply its interpretive principles to the contemporary church.

Key quotes

The Scriptures are the Word of God, and they are God-breathed.
Scripture reminds us of who our Christ is, and who our God is, and where we can look in times of concern, in times of distress.
Our heritage is rich and it is solid, and these men had a concern to preach the gospel, to glorify God, to see sinners saved, to see saints sanctified.

Applications

  1. Study Chapter 1 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession as a guide to reading and interpreting Scripture rightly.
  2. Recognize that Scripture's authority over the allurements of the world, the temptations of the devil, and the desires of the flesh is a perennial concern that confessional Christianity has always addressed.
  3. Appreciate the richness of the confessional heritage and the gospel zeal of the men who produced it, as an encouragement to hold firmly to their doctrinal conclusions.

Questions this sermon answers

Why is Chapter 1 of the 1689 Confession important?

Chapter 1 lays the foundation for everything else in the Confession by establishing how Scripture is to be viewed and interpreted, making it essential for understanding the entire confessional system.

What does it mean that Scripture interprets Scripture?

Paragraph 8 of Chapter 1 teaches that the clearest passages of Scripture are the proper guide for understanding the more obscure ones, so no external authority is needed to adjudicate meaning.

How does the 1689 Baptist Confession differ from the Westminster Confession on Scripture?

The two documents are largely identical in Chapter 1, though the Baptist version gives particular prominence to the sufficiency of Scripture in its opening paragraph.

So, Mike, what's the theme for this year, 2024, for the Confessing the Faith conference? Well, as Pastor Butler said, we're going to have Dr. Renahan and Dr. Barcelos, and

Conference Theme Overview

we're going to follow our Confession of Faith, the Second London Baptist Confession, which was written in 1677, but adopted in 1689. And thankfully, we'll start with the doctrine of Holy Scripture, Chapter 1, looking at the authority of Scripture, looking at what is Scripture, what actually makes up the books of the Bible, what actually is the canon, and also looking at how we interpret Scripture. Chapter 1 is very important for the rest of the Confession, but also for our faith, knowing how we ought to read Scripture and view it. So, I'm looking forward to hearing the speakers.

Okay, and how is this still relevant today after 400 years? Well, I mean, the Scriptures are the Word of God, and they are God-breathed. And so, just understanding how we view them in their authority. Certainly today, people do not view Scripture as authoritative.

And so, it's good to be reminded of that, but also to recognize historically that our forefathers recognized that as well. And there is a rich tradition that highlights the importance of Holy Scripture for the life of the believer, and it helps us understand all things that pertain to life and godliness. I think chapter 1, paragraph 1, talks about the importance of, as we deal with the temptations of the devil, as we deal with the allurements of the world, and even as we deal with our own flesh, Scripture reminds us of who our Christ is, and who our God is, and where we can look in times of concern in times of distress, but even to how to interpret scripture, I think is important, and certainly, is it paragraph 8? Yeah,

Scripture Interprets Scripture

paragraph 8 of chapter 1 highlights, you know, scripture interprets scripture. And so, I think that'll be helpful for people who need to be reminded of that, but also for people who haven't heard that before and need some guidance as far as interpretation goes. As well,

Historical Theology and Context

Dr. Renahan, his forte is historical theology. So, one of the things that we're also interested in is him setting our confession of faith in its historical context and showing that the concerns that the church faced at that time are the similar concerns that we face at our time. And as a confessional church, I think it's good for us as pastors especially to realize that our heritage is rich and that it is solid and that these men had a concern preach the gospel, to glorify God, to see sinners saved, to see saints sanctified, all the same sorts of things that we face today.

So, I think it's going to be very interesting, very wonderful to have Dr. Renahan do that, put it in its context, and then

Hermeneutics and Interpretation

Dr. Barcelos will deal a bit more with what Mike was speaking about in terms of interpretation, applying the principles that we find in Chapter 1 in terms of hermeneutics or approach to interpreting Scripture. And then,

Confession Comparison: LBCF and Westminster

how different is the chapter 1 in our London Confession from the Westminster Confession? No differences. No words? No.

I mean, there might be an odd thing here or there. Yeah, for the most part, you know, for the most part, it aligns with the Westminster, but the Baptist do in paragraph 1 highlight that first sentence, highlight the sufficiency of Scripture. I can't remember the historical reasons, but there is a change there.

Study notes

Confessions & catechisms

  • 1689 LBCF 1.1
  • 1689 LBCF 1.8
  • Westminster Confession 1

Theological terms

  • Analogia Scripturae
  • Authority of Scripture×2
  • Canon
  • Hermeneutics×2
  • Historical Theology
  • Sufficiency of Scripture×2

People cited

  • John Renahan×3
  • Richard Barcelos×3