[[An Apologetical Homologation - Introduction and Outline#Outline|Back to Outline]] # The Westminster Confession of Faith ## I. Of the Holy Scriptures Natural revelation is insufficient to fully reveal divine truth, and divine revelation of the doctrine of God through prophecy has ceased. This is why the Scriptures are most necessary. This doesn’t mean, however, that all prophecy has ceased. I do believe that certain men, led by the Spirit of God, may be endued with a spirit of prophecy for the times and circumstances they live in. George Gillespie (Scottish Commissioner to the Westminster Assembly), wrote, “I must say it, to the glory of God, there were in the Church of Scotland, both in the time of our first reformation, and after the reformation, such extraordinary men as were more than ordinary pastors and teachers, ***even holy prophets receiving extraordinary revelations from God***, and foretelling diverse strange and remarkable things, which did accordingly come to pass punctually, to the great admiration of all who knew the particulars. Such were Mr. Wishart the martyr, Mr. Knox the reformer, also Mr. John Welsh, Mr. John Davidson, Mr. Robert Bruce, Mr. Alexander Simpson, Mr. Ferguson, and others.”[^1] In a biography of Covenanter minister Thomas Hog, who lived through the “Killing Times,” it is written, “***That Hog possessed the gift of prophecy in common with some others of his contemporaries and fellow-sufferers for conscience’ sake***, and that it was in virtue of it he had foretold the long continuance of the persecution, and his subsequent return to Kiltearn, ***was very firmly and all but universally believed***. It was said, that ‘the secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him;’ and that in times of fiery trial such as those on which the Church in this country was then about to enter, it was no rare circumstance, and only what might have been expected, that those who were faithfully serving the Lord, and suffering in His cause should have ***premonitions supernaturally given them, of the nature and incidence of events still future***, particularly such as affected the Church and people of God in adversity.”[^2] Samuel Rutherford, another commissioner to the Westminster Assembly, wrote, “There is a 3[rd] revelation of some particular men, ***who have forefold things to come even since the ceasing of the Canon of the word***, as Iohn Husse, Wickeliefe, Luther, have foretold things to come, and they certainely fell out, and in our nation of Scot­land, M. George Wishart foretold that Cardinall Beaton should not come out alive at the Gates of the Castle of St. Andrewes, but that he should dye a shamefull death, and he was hanged over the window that he did look out at, when he saw the man of God burnt, M. Knox prophecied of the hanging of the Lord of Grange, M. Iohn Davidson uttered prophecies, knowne to ma­ny of the kingdome, diverse Holy and mortified preachers in England have done the like.”[^3] The Second Book of Discipline of the Church of Scotland codifies this sentiment. “There be three extraordinary functions: the office of the Apostle, of the Evangelist, and of the Prophet, which are not perpetuall, and now have ceased in the kirk of God, ***except when it pleased God extraordinarily for a time to stir some of them up againe***.”[^4] There is an entire book written on the minister known as “the Covenanter Prophet” titled “The Life and Prophecies of Alexander Peden,” relating numerous remarkable utterances he made regarding particular people and circumstances. This idea may come as a surprise to a reformed mind, but the Word of God itself states that the case will be such. “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit,” Joel 2:28-29. The Apostle in 1 Corinthians 13 states that prophecy, along with other gifts of the Spirit, will fail from the earth, while love and charity abides forever. Like other gifts, a gift of prophesy may not be normative in the church for certain times, and exist only in a diminished capacity, but there is nothing in the Word that says that it would never be seen again after the time of the early church. Let me reiterate, however, that such prophesy, were it to appear, would not be for new revelation to the entire church of God, but only for an aid to God’s people in a certain place in an extraordinary time. For this reason, this idea is not out of line with the Confession where it states, "those former ways of God’s revealing His will unto His people being now ceased," nor did those men like George Gillespie and Samuel Rutherford who contributed to the production of the Confession think it was. This chapter of the Confession makes clear that the Holy Spirit testifying to the believer is an absolute necessity for true faith in the truth of the Word. This sets a foundation for one of the most important chapters in the Confession, the chapter on Liberty of Conscience. As it states there, “God alone is Lord of the conscience,” therefore, though we may be “moved and induced by the testimony of the Church” to receive what the Scriptures say, we must ultimately believe it for ourselves individually through faith. This is why many are ”tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine,” Ephesians 4:14. If the testimony of a church is enough to convince us and direct our faith, when another, opposing testimony that appears to be more reasonable comes along, our direction will be shifted. Other parts of this chapter set a foundation for future chapters in the matter of worship, which will be expanded on later. Understanding of worship is a particular matter which separates many Christian communions. It is important to stand on principle, and even in some unfortunate cases to separate ourselves from Christian brethren who do not share our understanding of certain doctrines. It is also important to keep in mind, however, that, as the Confession states, “all things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all,” so we must be able to live with love and understanding toward other Christians who are separated from us, and earnestly pray that we would come to the unity of the knowledge of the faith, that we may be one, as our God in heaven is one. There is a remarkable scene in 1 Kings 3 that some thoughts can be drawn from. King Solomon had made affinity with Pharoah of Egypt, to which God had commanded his people never to return. We also see Solomon there, like the people, sacrificing in the high places, contrary to the law and a despising of the proper worship at the tabernacle. Yet, for all this, at Solomon’s sacrifice at the great high place is where God appears to him and grants him extraordinary wisdom. Perhaps Solomon was convicted of this after he met with God, because afterwards he returns to Jerusalem and offers sacrifice before the ark of the covenant.  It seems strange that the Lord would appear to Solomon while he is in the midst of deficient worship practices. It is possible to worship God in a false manner with good intention. It seems that God in his mercy may cover such imperfections for Christ’s sake, and visit his people to bless them. This is something to keep in mind regarding churches who do not worship God in accordance with the regulative principle, as we do. Errors should be reproved and corrected, but not in a way that casts the worshippers out of the grace of God and the love of Jesus Christ. We must now come to the question of the text of Scripture, as it relates to paragraph VIII of Chapter I. For this we must also consider another question from the Form of Government posed to church officers. *(2) Do you reaffirm your belief in the Bible, the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the Word of the living God, the only perfect rule of faith and practice, infallible in all that it teaches, and inerrant in the original manuscripts, and to which nothing is to be added and from which nothing is to be taken at any time or upon any pretext?* Particularly, we must weigh the statement "*inerrant in the original manuscripts*." I notice that the Confession of Faith says nothing about the original manuscripts, it merely states that the scriptures in the original languages are *immediately inspired by God*, and are therefore *authentical*. Now, it is true that the Scriptures were inerrant in the original manuscripts, but this statement is mostly useless to confess, since the original manuscripts are no longer extant, and have not been for some time. There is no way empirically to verify what was written in them. This is why the Confession of Faith says that the original languages of the scriptures were *kept pure in all ages*, not in the original manuscripts (autographs), but in the faithful copies (apographs) that have been used and received by the church throughout all ages. This doesn't mean that textual criticism doesn't exist. There are variants in the manuscripts that must be dealt with and weighed to determine their authenticity. This received text must be received and believed in as the infallible Word, otherwise we do not have an *authentical* text that the church can make it's final appeal to. It is from this authentical text that translations of the Bible into the *vulgar* (common) tongues of the nations of the world must be sourced from. It is for this reason that I believe that the most faithful translation of the Bible in the English language is the King James Version (KJV). This is not a perfect translation, and there are parts that are sometimes hard to be understood, but these are not reasons to set it aside. Even with its imperfections, the textual basis is enough to promote the use of the KJV. Christians should resist the promotion and use of the more modern versions of the English Bible which are sourced from faulty textual critical methods to determine their underlying text. There have been numerous examples of scriptural texts being jettisoned from English Bibles because of the ever-shifting tides of modern textual criticism. Even the most conservative scholars promote the idea that we don't know what the original text was. Daniel Wallace, who has written books on textual criticism used in conservative seminaries, has stated, "We do not have now – in our critical Greek texts or any translations – exactly what the authors of the New Testament wrote. Even if we did, we would not know it. There are many, many places in which the text of the New Testament is uncertain."[^5] I wholeheartedly reject these notions, and make my stand with the doctrine of the Confession of Faith. An objection is often stated that these changes do not affect any doctrine, therefore we can still believe that the Bible is infallible in all it teaches. In my experience, though, this is not the case. Many of the disputed texts have to do with sacramentology, Christology, and Trinitarianism. A few examples are John 1:18, John 3:13, Luke 23:34, Mark 16:16, 1 Timothy 3:16, and 1 John 5:7. We should not take such shifts so lightly. This is why I use the KJV unapologetically in private reading and devotion, in my family devotions, and in public, and have no intention of ceasing to do so. I do, however, recognize that not everyone shares this opinion, and most people use other modern versions of the Bible like the ESV or NIV. I don't doubt that a person can come to a saving knowledge of Christ and attain much in their knowledge of God through using these translations. [^1]: Gillespie, George. _A treatise of miscellany questions wherein many usefull questions and cases of conscience are discussed and resolved_ (Edinburgh: Printed by Gedeon Lithgow, 1649), pp. 69-70. [^2]: Dickson, James. _The Banished Minister: Scenes in the Life of Thomas Hog of Kiltearn, 1628-1692_. Blue Banner Productions, 1991. [^3]: Rutherford, Samuel. _A survey of the spirituall antichrist opening the secrets of familisme and antinomianisme in the antichristian doctrine of John Saltmarsh and Will. Del, the present preachers of the army now in England, and of Robert Town_ (London: Printed by J.D. & R.I. for Andrew Crooke, 1648), p. 42. [^4]: Church of Scotland. _The First and Second Booke of Discipline: Together with Some Acts of the Generall Assemblies, Clearing and Confirming the Same_ (Amsterdam: Printed by Giles Thorp, 1621), p. 74. [^5]: Wallace, Daniel B. *Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism*, edited by Elijah Hixson and Peter J. Gurry (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2019) p. xii