The 2nd London Confession of Faith (2LCF) begins its systematic presentation of the Christian faith with the Holy Scriptures. Paragraph 1 opens with a wonderful affirmation concerning the Scriptures, “The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience.” Paragraph 1 continues by demonstrating the necessity of the Scriptures and then paragraphs 2-10 highlight several other important truths concerning the Scriptures – the identity of Scripture (paras. 2-3), the authority of Scripture (paras. 4-5), the sufficiency of Scripture (para. 6), the clarity of Scripture (para. 7), the translation of Scripture (para. 8), the interpretation of Scripture (para. 9), and the finality of Scripture (para. 10).
The interpretation of Scripture is a vital concern for the people of God. It has been said, “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for life.” 2LCF chapter 1 contains many helpful aids for the believer to study his Bible. First, the scope of Scripture ought to be recognized; i.e., what is the main point of the Bible? In paragraph 5 we read that the “scope of the whole” Bible is “to give all glory to God” which means that the Bible is God-centered and not man-centered, which is a helpful corrective to the type of interpretation that exalts man over God and places man’s happiness above God’s glory. Second, the sufficiency of Scripture (para. 6) indicates that all that man needs to know concerning God’s glory “man’s salvation, faith and life” is set forth in Holy Scriptures. This does not mean that the believer cannot or should not read other books to help him theologically, but it does mean that the Scripture is sufficient in the transmission of data regarding the salvation of sinners. Third, the clarity of Scripture (para. 7) recognizes that while there are some difficult things to understand in studying Scripture, the things that are “necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation” are clear to the reader through a due use of the ordinary means that God has provided. Fourth, the translation of Scripture (para. 8) legitimizes the use of English versions of the Bible in the church so that a person who does not know Hebrew and Greek (the languages in which the Scriptures were written) can nevertheless study the word of God in their own language. Fifth, the specific emphasis on the interpretation of Scripture in paragraph 9 is most helpful: “The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself…” The principle here seems elementary and obvious, but it is overlooked by many who undertake the interpretation of Scripture. It simply means that there is a consistency to the Bible (a whole of which there is a scope, para. 5) and that because of that consistency, the Bible helps us interpret the Bible. As Nehemiah Coxe said, “So in all our search after the mind of God in the Holy Scriptures we are to manage our inquiries with reference to Christ. Therefore the best interpreter of the Old Testament is the Holy Spirit speaking to us in the New.” Finally, paragraph 10 affirms the finality of Scripture. It is important to understand that the Confession does not condemn the “decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits,” but it does subject those extrabiblical sources to the Scripture itself. In other words, it is the “supreme judge by which all controversies of religion are to be determined.” [1]
The utility of our Confession in chapter 1 is seen, not only in what it positively declares about the Holy Scriptures, but how it provides interpretative helps to the people of God in their endeavor to understand the book of God. These principles are biblical, useful, and if regularly employed, will promote a good understanding of the Scripture on the part of God’s people. For believers to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18), we must understand the word of God and understanding the word of God is not an esoteric practice confined to a handful of professionals in the church, but is attainable by all of the blood-bought children of God who know the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives and who utilize the principles of interpretation helpfully contained in chapter 1 of our Confession of Faith.
Sunday School teaching from August 1, 2021:
References:
[1] Nehemiah Coxe and John Owen, From Adam to Christ, eds. Ronald D. Miller, James M. Renihan, Francisco Orozco (Palmdale, CA: Reformed Baptist Academic Press, 2005), 33.
