#747 1689 Baptist Confession - The Holy Scriptures

15From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.… 2 Timothy 3: 15-17

I hadn't read the 1689 Confession in quite some time, but we recently moved to St. Cloud and as much as I am tempted to be an island unto myself, content to study alone, I realized I was ignoring an important means of God's grace. He has commanded us to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, and also made clear that we are part of a body, which is all believers everywhere. He has demonstrated community, in the love He has to the Father and given us of His Spirit. I will touch on that more later, but I wanted to find a church for my family, and so as a parent it was important to know what the people in that congregation believed, what did they confess? Are they people of the book? If myself and my children are going to sit under the preaching of a pastor, I want to know that he holds himself accountable to the Word of God, that He is more interested in the Author's intent than his whims, that even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, this pastor will lift up Christ and honor God above himself. I love these old confessions, how well they have held up over the years, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever. I am going to take a break from Psalms and go through each part of the 1689 Confession, and I am using the modern English version by Stan Reeves with supporting Scriptures. Here goes:

1:1 The Holy Scriptures are the only sufficient, certain, and infallible standard of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience. The light of nature and the works of creation and providence so clearly demonstrate the goodness, wisdom, and power of God that people are left without excuse; however, these demonstrations are not sufficient to give the knowledge of God and His will that is necessary for salvation. Therefore, the Lord was pleased at different times and in various ways to reveal Himself and to declare His will to His church. To preserve and propagate the truth better and to establish and comfort the church with greater certainty against the corruption of the flesh and the malice of Satan and the world, the Lord put this revelation completely in writing. Therefore, the Holy Scriptures are absolutely necessary, because God's former ways of revealing His will to His people have now ceased. 

19When men tell you to consult the spirits of the dead and the spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. 21They will roam the land, dejected and hungry. When they are famished, they will become enraged; and looking upward, they will curse their king and their God.… Isaiah 8: 19-21

29But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let your brothers listen to them.’ 30‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone is sent to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31Then Abraham said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”… Luke 16: 29-31

…15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” 16But not all of them welcomed the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” 17Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.… Romans 10: 15-17

1:2 The Holy Scriptures, or the Word of God written, consist of all the books of the old and New Testaments. 

1:3 The books commonly called the Apocrypha were not given by divine inspiration and so are not part of the canon or standard of the Scriptures. Therefore, they have no authority for the church of God and are not to be recognized or used in any way different from other human writings.

26Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then to enter His glory?” 27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself. 28As they approached the village where they were headed, He seemed to be going farther.…Luke 24: 26-28

43and He took it and ate it in front of them. 44Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.” 45Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.…Luke 24: 43-45

2Much in every way. First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God. 3What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? 4Certainly not! Let God be true and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that You may be proved right when You speak and victorious when You judge.”…Romans 3: 2-4

1:4 The authority of the Holy Scriptures obligates belief in them. This authority does not depend on the testimony of any person or church but on God the author alone, who is truth itself. Therefore, the Scriptures are to be received because they are the Word of God. 

19We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation. 21For no prophecy was ever brought forth by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.…2 Peter 1: 19-21

12We encouraged you and comforted you as we urged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. 13And we continually thank God that in receiving the word of God from us, you did not accept it as the word of men, but as the true word of God— the word now at work in you who believe. 14For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews,… 1 Thessalonians 2: 12-14

8the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and these three are in agreement. 9Even if we accept human testimony, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony that God has given about His Son. 10Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony within him; whoever does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given about His Son.… 1 John 5: 8-10

1:5 The testimony of the church of God may stir and persuade us to adopt a high and reverent respect for the Holy Scriptures. Moreover, the heavenliness of the contents, the power of the system of truth, the majesty of the style, the harmony of all the parts, the central focus on giving all the glory to God, the full revelation of the only way of salvation, and many other incomparable qualities and complete perfections, all provide abundant evidence that the Scriptures are the Word of God. Even so, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority of the Scriptures comes from the internal work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts. 

13However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. 14He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you. 15Everything that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will take from what is Mine and disclose it to you.… John 16: 13-15

10But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.… 1 Corinthians 2: 10-12

19They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us. 20You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21I have not written to you because you lack knowledge of the truth, but because you have it, and because no lie comes from the truth.… 1 John 2: 19-21

26I have written these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His TRUE and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught. 28And now, little children, remain in Him, so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming.… 1 John 2: 26-28

There are ten sections to this first part of the confession about The Holy Scriptures, so I will take a pause or Selah here, and then continue with the other 5 tomorrow. May God bless the reading of His Word and keep us from the errors that we as men are so prone to fall into. Thank you, Lord, for Your revelation to us in the Scriptures.

13children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God. 14The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’”… John 1: 13-15