Theological Reflection for Elders on 1689 1.6
At our Elder’s meetings at Banstead Community Church I have been giving a theological reflection on The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith to help us watch our doctrine.
The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith is a brilliant summary of what the Bible teaches about the major doctrine of the Christian faith, and it covers them in more detail than the Doctrinal Basis of the FIEC that we use as local church.
Here are some notes on paragraph 6 from Chapter 1: Of the Holy Scriptures.
“The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down or necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelation of the Spirit, or traditions of men. Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word, and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.”
The focus of the sixth paragraph is the sufficiency of Scripture.
The Bible is sufficient to tell us how to live a life that is pleasing to God
The Bible does not tell us everything we need to know period, but it does tell us everything we need to know so we can live a life that pleases God by showing us how to be saved, what to believe and how to live for the glory of God (see 2 Timothy 3:15-17).
There are two ways in which the Bible tells us how to live a life that is pleasing to God. Through plain teaching (e.g. The 10 Commandments; The gospel) and through truths that can be deduced (e.g. The Trinity).
Because the Bible is sufficient, it must not be added to.
To live a life that is pleasing to God we don’t need any new words from God (as was being claimed by the Anabaptists at the time the Confession was written).
To live a life that is pleasing to God we don’t need the traditions of the church (as was being taught by the Roman Catholic church).
The Bible is sufficient but the Spirit is needed to understand it and wisdom is needed to apply it
To understand the Bible we need the illumination of the Holy Spirit. Without the enabling of the Holy Spirit, we cannot understand the truths found in God’s Word that are sufficient to save us and for us to live a life that is pleasing to God (see 2 Corinthians 2:9-12).
To apply the Bible we need wisdom and sanctified common sense. There are specific circumstances that God’s Word does not directly address such as: What time should we meet on a Sunday? How may songs should we sing? How frequently should the elders’ meet? What method should be used for voting in member’s meetings? In these situations, wisdom and sanctified common sense is needed to make decisions on these matters that are consistent with God’s Word.
How then shall we lead?
As Elders, we need to pray that God would enable us to understand what His Word clearly says about how to be saved, what to believe, and how to live for the glory of God so we can teach it to others; and provide us with the power to obey what it says so we can be an example to them.
As Elders, we need to pray that God would give us the wisdom we need to make decisions about practical matters concerning the life of the local church which are not directly addressed by His Word, and in ways that will be beneficial for His people.