The Westminster Confession - Session 1
What does “confessional Christianity” mean?
What did we do wrong that we’re having to confess?
What are creeds, confessions and catechisms?
- “No creed but the Bible”
What are some examples?
- Apostles’ Creed (120-250)
- Nicene Creed (381)
- Canons of Dort (1618-1619)
- Westminster Confession of Faith (1646)
- Westminster Larger/Shorter Catechisms (1647)
- Cambridge Platform (1648)
- The Cambridge Declaration (1996)
Why do we write creeds, confessions and catechisms?
Why do we learn/memorize/repeat creeds, confessions and catechisms?
Why should we revere them? Why might we idolize them? Why might we ignore them?
What is doctrine?
Illustration: pantry ingredients vs. prepared recipe
What does it mean to be “reformed?”
1. Sola Scriptura: Scripture Alone
- A reaffirmation that the Bible contains all things necessary to understand and obey God.
- A denial that any other form of authority is needed to bind the conscience of the Christian.
2. Solus Christus: Christ alone
- A reaffirmation that Christ alone and his penal substitutionary atonement on the cross are the means by which all Christians are saved.
- A denial that the Gospel can be preached without the atonement being declared and without faith being solicited from the listeners.
3. Sola Gratia: Grace Alone
- A reaffirmation that salvation is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.
- A denial that salvation is in any sense a work of the human heart, either fully or partially.
4. Sola Fide: Faith Alone
- A reaffirmation that a person is justified (declared innocent) before God through faith alone and through Christ alone - that Christ’s righteousness is imputed to the Christian.
- A denial that justification relies upon any human merit, and that churches which teach this cannot be considered legitimate churches.
5. Soli Deo Gloria: God’s Glory Alone
- A reaffirmation that salvation is ultimately for God’s glory rather than man’s, and that Christians everywhere should understand that they are under God’s authority and act for his glory alone.
- A denial that God can be glorified through “entertainment”-style worship; the removal of law and/or gospel in preaching; and preaching that focuses upon self-improvement, self-esteem and self fulfillment.
The Reformation took place in steps: Luther/Calvin/Other reformers à Westminster Confession
Westminster History:
- The Church of England had broken off from the Roman Catholic Church
- Parliament felt that Luther's reformation was incomplete; the Church of England was essentially the Roman Catholic Church with the king as pope
- Arminianism was also creeping into the Church of England
- Scotland agreed with Parliament; things needed to change
- Parliament and Scotland entered into the "Solemn League and Covenant" in which Parliament pledged to bring the Church of England into conformity with Scottish Presbyterianism
- King Charles I disagreed and opposed the Parliament in its efforts to reform the Church of England
- Finally, in 1643, Parliament was able to charter the Westminster Assembly to review the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England
- Following disagreement in the Assembly, the Parliament rechartered the Assembly to draft its own doctrinal statements
The Westminster Assembly:
- About 121 "Divines" (esteemed ministers and scholars)
- Observers: 10 from the House of Lords
20 from the House of Commons
some from other countries, including 11 Scottish "Commissioners"
- Different political perspectives:
Erastians (civil government ultimately rules churches)
Episcopals (bishops rule churches)
Presbyterians (a federal system rules churches)
Congregationalists (each local church rules itself)
How do you lean?
The Westminster Standards:
- The Westminster Confession
- The Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms
- The Directory of Public Worship
- The Form of Church Government
- The latter two are now subsumed in our Book of Church Order
Course principles:
- You’re smart and knowledgeable.
- I’m going to ask a lot of questions of you.
- I’m learning this material myself.
Course objectives:
- Understand that we need to think about what we believe
- Understand that minor variations in beliefs/practice are OK - denominational distinctives
- Understand that fundamental variations in beliefs are not OK - heterodoxy/heresy
- Understand the structure of the Bible and the need for a systematic doctrine/theology
- Understand that the Westminster Standards are an excellent statement of doctrine
- Understand that the Westminster Standards are not God’s Word but are worthy of great respect
- Gain a love for Bible doctrine
- Gain an appreciation of doctrine as an apologetic tool
- Understand how doctrine can and should be your daily companion
What are some other objectives you would like to attain?
Course rules (handed down from Parliament):
1. That two assessors be joined to the prolocutor, to supply his place in case of absence or infirmity. (I may be out of town or ill occasionally and need some substitutes.)
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3. Every member, at his first entry into the Assembly, shall make serious and solemn protestation, not to maintain any thing but what he believes to be truth and sincerity, when discovered to him. (Don’t be a gadfly or the Devil’s advocate.)
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5. What any man undertakes to prove as necessary, he shall make good out of Scripture. (Base the doctrine you purport on Scripture.)
6. No man to proceed in any dispute after the prolocutor has enjoined him silence, unless the Assembly desire he may go on. (Constructive argument is good, obstinacy is bad.)
7. No man to be denied to enter his dissent from the Assembly, and his reasons for it, in any point, after it hath been first debated in the Assembly. (You have the right to disagree.)
Course Rules (that we ourselves should adopt):
1. That every session begin and end with prayer.
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3. That the appointed hour of meeting be nine in the morning; the time before to be reserved for hot coffee and fellowship.
I am not a theologian; I have not been to seminary. Please correct me with kindness.
Course style:
- Highly interactive, but I won’t call on people.
- Not a lecture; I’m here to facilitate/lead.
- Different views are encouraged; let’s reason together.
- Each session is generally outlined, but we can stray significantly.
- No set end to the series -- we can go as short or as long as we want
What do you think?
Course format:
- Each session devoted to a section of the Westminster Confession, in order.
- I will have each section on PowerPoint Slides -- no books (other than the Bible) are required.
- In each session, I would like to include a “controversial topic of the week” that we can debate.
- the debates will be handled positively, lovingly and cooperatively.
- we will come to understand what the Westminster Standards have to say, and why.
- Each session will include a “personal focus” portion in which we apply the doctrine practically.
What changes would you make?