This Lord’s Day onwards, Theoblogy is actually beginning our study through the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith in our Sunday School. Our teacher through out its course is Pastor Arden Hodgins of Trinity Reformed Baptist church, in California. The first chapter in the confession deals with the Holy Scriptures. Pastor Hodgins has a six point outline for this chapter dealing with the Scriptures namely, 1.Revelation, 2.Inspiration, 3.Cessation, 4.Illumination, 5.Interpretation and 6.Translation. The next 11 weeks will be spend on teaching these six key doctrines regarding the Holy Scriptures found in the first chapter of the confession. Today we begin with our study of the doctrine of revelation from paragraph 1 of the confession given below : -
The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible arule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience, although the light bof 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. cTherefore 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 dwriting; which maketh the Holy Scriptures to be most necessary, those former ways of God’s revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.
(a 2Ti 3:15-17; Isa 8:20; Luk 16:29,31; Eph 2:20; b Rom 1:19-21; 2:14-15; Psa 19:1-3; cHeb 1:1; d Prov 22:19-21; Rom 15:4; 2Pe 1:19-20)
