TPW 68 The Westminster Confession Part 02 - Scripture is Most Necessary

Welcome to the Pros and Witnesses, this is Pastor Patrick Hines, and that was Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata. Gotta love Beethoven. I could listen to him all day long. In fact, I do sometimes when I'm working on my sermons and stuff.

Beethoven, what an amazing genius of a man. Back in a time when people actually produced pretty art. Someone asked me recently.

Why.

Art today just isn't very pretty anymore and I responded back to that individual in the congregation here I said the reason our culture does not produce very much good art is because it has no convictions and People who have no convictions have nothing to inspire them.

Secularism cannot produce anything pretty. In fact, all it produces is death and destruction and dead babies and divorce and Spousal abuse and drug abuse and Music that is that has absolutely no aesthetic whatsoever to it and once in a while.

I turn on the radio and Will listen and just surf the stations that may I may do that once a quarter Just to see is there anything on the radio that sounds pretty and for the most part it is absolute noise pollution Masquerading as music.

So you have to go back back a little ways to when people actually had convictions. I think people actually had beliefs and that they held to that inspired them. And so people who have no convictions are not going to make good art.

In fact, there's a lot of I have a bunch of books over on my shelf over here on communism. And that was something I studied a few years ago in some detail because I wanted to understand the forces at work in our own society and culture and the socialist push of so many Politicians that we've had running for president and actually as president recently and Where those ideas come from and what they led to?

There really is quite remarkable to me that about a third of the earth's population was subjugated by communist regimes in the 20th century. And it led to the economic destruction of those nations and to this day China has never recovered from Mao Zedong and his so-called great leap forward and Has never recovered from the utter devastation of the the lies and the Murders and the starvation and the famine and the mismanagement of the workforce in China and everything else when you have a highly central centralized government power Making decisions and you take power away from the citizens to do their own work and to spend their own money the way they want to the only thing that results from that is death and destruction and chaos and a total Annihilation of human flourishing altogether of course with China's brutal Enforcement of a one-child policy for years and years and years and all Chinese people wanting to have sons you have the the horrifying hellish nightmare phenomenon of gendercide where Little baby girls by the millions have been a murdered before they were born by abortion and my father was telling me recently he said he wonders if The fact that there is a huge shortage of women in China is going to cause them at some point to invade Mongolia just just to actually have women because there there are so few women in China.

But that's communism for you. It doesn't lead to human Flourishing it leads to the destruction of everything good and when communism took root in Russia Russia before that had had a long tradition of very beautiful remarkable Artistic geniuses musical geniuses you think of, you know, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff and other great Russian composers that made beautiful music when the communists took over that kind of that kind of stopped and they Stopped producing anything that was pretty because atheism Especially as applied to politics and applied to all of life brings ugliness and death everywhere that it goes.

Which is what it's doing in the United States now, too. That's why you have the rise of the LBGT stuff. And it's trying to make its way into whatever's left of conservative Christianity in America, which is not much.

And what does that stuff bring with it? It brings death destruction and the annihilation of human flourishing. And another byproduct of that is you don't have pretty music being written anymore. And that's why we have to go back to centuries where people had convictions where at least societies Had the concept that there was a creator God that was good and had made the creation and that Beauty was an objective thing that that was real and music was either pretty or it was ugly.

But now in our culture people call ugly music pretty and they call they people have very little time for classical music and really great, beautiful music like that.

So.

That's that was the answer of that question. I thought that was a good question. Why does what why is no good music written today? Because people don't believe anything anymore. People have no convictions.

They have nothing to inspire them. So it's sad, but it's a fact. So Pathetique Sonata I'll maybe I'll put a link to that in the show notes under this. Under this episode of the Protestant Witness just so you can hear a really really beautiful piece of piano music.

The Necessity of Scripture and the Westminster Confession

Today, I want to continue on in our study of the Westminster Confession. And continuing on in chapter 1 of the doctrine of Holy Scripture. The entire history of the people of God can be seen as a struggle to be faithful to the infallible Self-authorizing Word of God over against the fallible word of man.

From the moment God's authority was challenged in Eden by Satan and that infamous question has God really said Man has had to fight to be faithful to God's special revelation. Every generation of Christians that is born and then dies will face the same questions as every generation before it and after it and Will ultimately be judged by only one question.

Were we faithful to Scripture? With all the various ways in which Satan continues to ask has God really said whether it is about creation in six days justification by faith alone. Faith being the gift of God to his elect people the necessity of repentance the triune nature of the living God.

Biblical marriage. Seeing children as a blessing. I know that's a radical idea in our time male and female gender roles that there actually are only two genders. And we have specific roles that our genders are designed to be really good at things like that education what the Bible teaches about education and Etc.

The real question is will we lay aside our likes in this world and bow to the ultimate authority of God speaking in Scripture? Will we be willing to set aside our cherished beliefs and opinions and bow to the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking in Scripture?

Or will we hold to errors on various things? Will we work hard to ignore simple statements in Scripture which contradict the practices of our current lifestyle? Will we be able will we allow ourselves to be inconvenienced and made uncomfortable by God's voice in Scripture or not?

Church history is a very important topic. The story of the church is the story of Jesus Christ building that church in history. And as you read and study each century since the coming of Christ, there are titles which could be used to summarize How well God's people did being faithful to Scripture in those centuries.

In his excellent book Church History in Plain Language Author Bruce Shelley has a really great chapter titles. In one of the first chapters about the church in its earliest days. That chapter is called only worthless people and in this chapter He emphasizes what Paul himself emphasized to the Corinthian church.

He said for you see your calling brethren that not many wise according to the flesh not many mighty not many noble are called. This was common in the earliest period. Christianity was seen as a religion for losers.

Think about it. Most of the Jewish religious establishment had rejected it. It was being spread by a bunch of backwoods uneducated Galilean fishermen along with an apostate Pharisee named Paul and ex-prostitutes ex-homosexuals tax collectors and other scum of society made up most of his membership.

Another chapter title for the early church is quote arguing about the event and a quote When the doctrine of Christ the doctrine of God and especially the doctrine of the full deity of Christ were bitterly argued argued about and defended by Christians against heretics.

Another chapter is called a wild boar in the vineyard talking of course about Martin Luther and the Reformation the age of the Enlightenment. From 1648 after the 30 Years War is over all the way up to the storming of the Bastille 1789 that's called aiming at the foundations that chapter is worth its weight in gold and is Absolutely foundational.

In fact this year in homeschooling. I had both of my eldest sons read that chapter and write me a paper about it. One question I've often thought it would be good to consider is What would the chapter title be called for us?

What would the chapter title be called for us for our generation? Especially as we consider how we've done with our final orders from Christ to engage the Great Commission. How have we done in preaching teaching and defending sound doctrine.

How have we done at loving people? 200 years from now when all of us and our children and grandchildren are buried. What would our chapter be titled in the church history books? Much of that will depend on how well we understand and embrace a scriptural doctrine of scripture itself.

Has God really said is the question every generation in church history has been asked. Some did? Well others did not. How well we love people how well we please the Lord how well we preach Christ and him crucified.

And how well we exercise the Dominion and life-changing power of Jesus Christ will be wrapped up. Well in in well in us as individuals families churches presbyteries if you hold to what God says about church government and Denominations as we all answer the question has God really said.

Some generations in response to that question have said I think so. Some have said to the question has God really said yeah, we're pretty sure he said. Some have said in response to the question has God really said no not really.

My goal is that I and the people who were entrusted to my pastoral care would answer with an unqualified and firm yes. Not only has God really spoken. He has done so with clarity and with that. Let's look at what God has told us about the doctrine of scripture.

It is a marvelous starting point to emphatically affirm Yes, God has really said. But we also need to know what God has really said about what he has really said. In other words, we need to know what scripture teaches about the nature and function of scripture itself.

Get this one wrong and what you think, you know about God and everything else will also likely be wrong. When I read the pro-homosexual professing Christian Matthew Vines and his book God and the gay Christian Vines his basic position was Jesus and the biblical writers were ignorant of scientific advancements we have made today with regard to understanding the notion of sexual orientation and while scripture condemns Excessive lust etc. It is simply ignorant of the idea of loving committed monogamous same-sex relationships.

You see the flaw here Vines is attacking scripture itself to assert that Jesus was unaware of what Vines is aware of today and that this ignores. And that this ignorance is reflected in scripture itself is to destroy completely the biblical doctrine of scripture.

Doctrine, Mercy, and the Social Gospel

There is one quick side note that must be emphasized at this point. There has been a tendency in the church to set doctrinal precision.

Over.

Against social concern feeding the poor helping children and other kinds of hands-on mercy ministry. This is an entirely misguided tendency and one that must be guarded against at all times. What often happens is this churches rightly get involved in the building of orphanages Housing the homeless helping drug addicts get clean and feeding the hungry but neglect instruction and sound doctrine.

The social concerns then become in effect the gospel. That's why in liberal churches. It was called the social gospel in the early 20th century the early 20th century. I once heard a minister in Cincinnati say something to this effect if we have all our doctrine right and there are Still hungry people in this town, then our doctrine is wrong.

Now he's right to be concerned about hungry people. But what he said is entirely wrong about doctrine. Please hear me. Theology is what undergirds moral and social concern. Theology is what undergirds moral and social concern.

Indeed theology is what an undergirds true biblical love. Children who grow up in churches where they do missions trips to help orphans local missions To feed clothed and house hungry naked and homeless people.

But those same children are not catechized and are not Sustained on a steady diet of biblical and doctrinal preaching and teaching will soon reason as follows in their minds. I Don't need to understand the doctrine of the Trinity the the union of the two natures of Christ and the one person the imputation of Christ's active and passive obedience and justification the doctrine of repentance or the inspiration of scripture in order to give food to the hungry and Loved people with the love of Christ.

Why do I need all that theology to do all that stuff? Please listen. The children who grew up thinking this way will be tomorrow's liberals. The children that grow up thinking that way will be tomorrow's liberals.

And Their children will be preaching abortion rights Gay marriage and have no gospel whatsoever to preach to the lost who are on their way to hell. Think about it folks it is it is only those who know true biblical doctrine who will be able to put the following things into practice and notice How true love is absolutely and inextricably bound to sound doctrine Ephesians 432 and be kind to one another tender-hearted forgiving one another just as God and Christ forgave you John 13 34 a new commandment.

I give to you that you love one another as I have loved you that you also love one another. What must a person know in order to love as God wants them to love? They must understand the forgiveness of God in Jesus Christ.

They must know the right God. They must know who Jesus is. They must understand what Jesus did and how that love was demonstrated. What scripture means by words such as sacrifice? Propitiation reconciliation and redemption.

They must know the doctrine of justification how a person receives Christ's forgiveness and how a person's How a person is accepted in God's sight. They must know what repentance and faith are. They must know how Jesus has loved us in that he laid down his life for us on the cross.

Without a right knowledge of these things from Scripture we will not be able to be kind to one another or tender-hearted or forgive one another just as God and Christ has forgiven Us and we will not be able to love either.

As an illustration of this I was interviewed on a TV show in Cincinnati called facing life head-on. It was a pro-life a TV show. They interviewed me they interviewed a Roman Catholic priest and interviewed two liberal women clergy in Cincinnati.

And the women in that that video were pro-choice and obviously pro women.

Pastors.

It was Reverend Tyson and Reverend Ryder were their names and listening to their pro-choice rhetoric was very disturbing. They are the grandchildren of the people who started thinking we could have real social concern without sound doctrine and without a commitment To the absolute authority of Scripture the grandchildren of the people that thought that way were those two ladies.

They are the grandchildren. They are now pro-choice pro-gay and pro women as elders and pastors. You can't lose the theology without losing the foundation for all moral and social concern. To conclude this introductory section for the true Christian every good work We do all of the loving of neighbor we engage in is done in the name of Jesus.

It is done by us acting as his ambassadors. And it is only because of this that our works are pleasing to God and are considered biblically to be good works. Matthew 18 5 whoever receives one little child like this in my name receives me.

Mark 9 41 for whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name because you belong to Christ Assuredly, I say to you he will by no means lose his reward. Lose the teachings and the doctrines of the faith as revealed in Scripture and you will lose everything and I mean everything.

Downplay doctrine and love will entirely disappear. Lose sound doctrine and there will be no social concern of any kind whatsoever. Lose sound doctrine and those who profess to be ministers of Christ will be pro-choice.

Etc. The gateway to the animation of the human heart into action is the mind a right knowledge of God and his truth. Biblical love for God and neighbor will not stand unless it is built upon that foundation.

Scripture as the Sole Foundation for Faith and Practice

Now to the text of our great Westminster confession of faith. Why does it start with the doctrine of Scripture instead of the doctrine of God? The answer is fairly simple in order to confess the faith.

That's why it's called the Westminster confession. In order to confess the faith We have to understand the source of that faith the source of Christian doctrine. The opening chapter of the confession is one of the longest that has ten sub points.

Point number one says. Although the light of nature and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness wisdom and power of God as to leave Men unexcusable yet. Are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and of his will which is necessary unto salvation.

I Hope the truth Confessed here is still fresh in your minds from Romans 1 19 to 20. Because what may be known of God is manifest in them for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternal power and Godhead so that they are without excuse.

Because although they knew God they did not glorify him as God nor were they thankful. But became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened. The general revelation of the goodness wisdom and power of God made through all that God created is sufficient only To leave men unexcusable for failing to worship thank and glorify God as God.

This.

General revelation is entirely Insufficient to give man the knowledge of God and of his will which is needed to be saved and this general revelation Reaches to every man on earth at all times. Psalm 19 1 3 the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork day unto day utters.

Speech and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. This is the revelation of God in nature to men who are natural men and that they are in their sins and I'm regenerate First Corinthians 2 14, but the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him.

Nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned because the natural man the fallen sinful rebel who is still in his sins is not able to Appropriate the revelation of God in creation to the saving of his own soul.

The confession goes on to say Therefore it pleased the Lord at sundry times and in diverse manners to reveal himself and to declare that his will into his church and Afterwards 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 of the end of the world to commit the same wholly unto writing. Hebrews 1 1 Says God who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets.

Just think about that for a moment. Consider all the ways in which God revealed himself unto his church. Not the way that he reveals himself to all men through creation. But the ways in which he's revealed himself to his church.

So they called out ones the people that he was saving and interacting with When God broke the silence After the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 and suddenly spoke from heaven directly to Abraham. This was God revealing himself in a saving way to his church.

Genesis 12 1 through 3. Now the Lord said to Abram get out of your country from your family and from your father's house to a land that I will Show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you and in you all the families of the earth shall.

Be blessed.

Now in the book of Genesis God did this many more times unfolding his covenant of grace more and more to the special objects of his mercy. His church has called out ones. While God could have left the entire human race to perish in its sins and receive justice God chose an eternity past to entrust the salvation of a vast multitude of them to the Sun and commissioned him to save them all perfectly and infallibly and Throughout history.

God has revealed the saving will through what theologians call special revelation. Special revelation is what is being spoken of here when it speaks of the revelation God makes up himself and of his will unto his church.

That's distinguished from general revelation. The saving will of God was revealed in numerous ways by God in times past. God not only spoke directly to people like Abraham Isaac and Jacob, but he also gave them prophets who spoke his words directly to them.

God spoke to John the Baptist's father Zacharias through an angel through the angel Gabriel. He spoke to Joseph and dreams about Jesus. God sent apostles into the world after the ascension of Christ who spoke with God's authority and preached the gospel and taught the people the will of God directly.

Notice that the confession says that God reveals two things himself and his will. This is very deliberate. But we see in God's special revelation is him revealing more and more of his own character and nature over time for example.

The doctrine of the Trinity and its fullness is not revealed in the Old Testament there are hints at it but its fullest revelation comes in the incarnation of the Son of God in the person of Jesus Christ and then in the sending of the Pericle the Comforter the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and Thus God's special revelation car.

Special revelation is him communicating to his church who he is. But it is also a revelation of his will. God reveals himself his own characters attributes his triune nature and His will he reveals himself and as well.

God's will is his covenant actions in real space-time history along with their divinely given explained Significance in Scripture. So there's the redemptive acts of God in history and then there's the redemptive word given to us in Scripture explaining what those events accomplished.

For example, the Bible reveals to us that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin died on the cross was buried and rose again. These historical events took place. This is part of God's will which he reveals to his church.

In other words, this action and history was planned and executed by God. But the scriptures also and in addition to this reveal the divine explanation of what was accomplished by Christ's death. Consider these passages.

Colossians 1 20 and by him to reconcile all things to himself by him whether things on earth or things in heaven. Having made peace through the blood of his cross first. Peter 2 24 who himself Bore our sins in his own body on the tree.

See that's the revelation of God's will what he accomplished in the death of Christ. He bore our sins in his own body on the tree that we having died to sins might live for righteousness. By whose stripes you were healed.

In.

Romans 5 9 much more than having now been justified by his blood. That's a revelation of the will of God there Justified by his blood when he shed that blood on the cross and that written that historical act what was happening there.

God's people were being Justified by his blood. We shall be saved from wrath through him. So through that shed blood the wrath of God is turned away and we're justified before God. God's will for his church entails the great redemptive acts of God in history such as the exodus the conquest of the promised land the kingdom Era the coming of Christ the miracles and ministry of Christ the cross death burial and resurrection of Christ The age of the Apostles and the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost.

God's will for his church also entails the divinely inspired teaching regarding the significance of these events. There are redemptive acts and then there is the redemptive word Scripture explaining those acts explaining what God has done.

It's not enough for us to know a man came and died on a cross was buried and rose again. We need to know what that does what it accomplishes what why that happened? So God God acts in history and then gives us The scripture to explain those acts and what they what they do.

If you have been an observer of the death of Jesus Christ Even though there was an earthquake darkness and other cosmic events that accompanied it It would have looked like the crucifixion of a normal man.

But God's special redemptive Revelation is given to the church to tell us what was spiritually accomplished by the death of Jesus Christ. That's why I read Colossians 120 first Peter 224 Romans 5 9 and could have read dozens of other passages without that Revelation that revealing that making known of those things of the explanation of those things but from God We would not be able to understand why Jesus died.

Maybe Warfield speaks that length of redemptive acts and then the redemptive word which explains the acts. We can't have redemption without both facets of God's will being revealed to us. I need to know that Historically Jesus was born lived died and rose again, and that's communicated to us in Scripture Just like everything else is but I also need to know why this happened and what these events Accomplished for me as part of God's Church.

This is why the confession said Therefore because Creation is insufficient to save us. The the revelation God makes in creation is only leaves us inexcusable. It doesn't save us. Therefore it pleased the Lord a sundry times and in diverse manners to reveal himself and to declare his will unto his church.

So God reveals himself his own character who he is his tri personality his attributes and his will what he's doing in history what he did what he accomplished notice again the words of the confession and Afterwards after the events happened and the revelations were made 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 writing so God's Revealing of himself his own character his his attributes his tri personality God revealing that to us and his will. In order for us to have a more sure Establishment of that he committed all of it to writing.

He committed it wholly. That's not holy as in holy. Holy. Holy is God, but holy w-h-o-l-l-y entirely to writing. God could have chosen another means to reveal himself in his will To his church, but for the better preserving and propagating of the truth God's special revelation was committed wholly to writing.

Wholly to writing. How many sources of divinely breathed forth infallible revelation from God exists on earth today. Today how many of those that exist on earth today? The answer is one the whole the word holy is very important here.

There is nothing I need to know in order to be saved that is not found on the pages of Scripture. Nothing. God's entire will for his church is in Scripture. Consider the passage that we read again. Think carefully about what it's saying listen 2nd Timothy 3 15 through 17 and that from childhood.

You have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith. Which is in Christ Jesus all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction Righteousness that the man of God may be complete thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Here we have Paul's final words to Timothy before Paul's death. It seems Paul knew his life was it was near an end. 1st Timothy or 2nd Timothy 4 6. He says for I am already being poured out as a drink offering and the time of my departure is at hand.

He knows it's coming. He knows he's about to die. If ever there was a time when Paul could have pointed Timothy to another source of the word and will of God. This would be the place. What about tradition?

What about infallible bishops, what about apostolic successors, what about the Pope of Rome? Here we have Paul's last words for a dear friend and protege a young pastor. No less and he tells him to turn to that which is God breathed.

They are new stars. God Breathed Scripture Timothy. That's where you need to turn. That's what you look to for doctrine reproof Correction instruction and righteousness. He turns to that which is God breathed and nothing else is Sufficient to make the man of God complete and thoroughly equipped for how many good works every good work.

Is teaching the Christian faith a good work? Scripture perfectly equips the man of God for it is. Preaching a good work is being a godly wife a good work. Scripture completely and perfectly equips the people of God to do these tasks is Being a project manager at your job a good work.

The Bible equips you perfectly for that good work. This is why the Confession said that God's special and saving revelation of himself and of his will was committed wholly Entirely unto writing. This is 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 and Then it finishes the point one which maketh the Holy Scripture to be most Necessary those former ways of God's revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.

If you want to know the mind of God, there is quite literally nowhere else to turn today then Scripture. God does not have Apostles any longer. That office has ceased. God does not speak through sign gifts like tongues or prophecy today.

And you might ask Why doesn't God speak to people through tongues or through prophets today? The answer is there's no need. Everything God wants us to know is right here in Scripture. And I would also point out those who get caught up in charismatic sign gifts words of knowledge from God tongues, etc.

Today today people do that today. They will very often have very little regard for Scripture. Think about it. Hey that poor Presbyterian a Reformed Baptist minister. That guy's got a struggle with Greek and Hebrew to try to figure out what the Bible means every week.

But hey, we've got Prophet Fred who gets it straight from God every Sunday. Luther dealt with the same thing in his own day. He said of those claiming direct revelations forgot from God. I wouldn't believe their false gospel if they swallowed the Holy Spirit feathers and all.

Listen to the incredible certainty of what you hold in your hand when you hold an entire Bible Bible. Peter the Apostle was an eyewitness of the crucifixion death burial and resurrection of Christ. Peter saw and touched Jesus before and after his death and resurrection.

2nd Peter 1 16 listen to the words of Scripture. For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

For when he received honor and glory from God the Father such an utterance as this was made unto him by the majestic glory. This is my beloved son with whom I am well-pleased and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.

So we have the prophetic word made more sure. To which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place. Until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. While Peter emphasizes that he was an eyewitness to the resurrection of Jesus the prophetic word of the Old Testament is made more sure.

What the prophetic word of Scripture says is even more sure and certain than our eyeball eyewitness facts. What Scripture says is more sure than what Peter's own eyes saw. What do you say when people object but don't you think God speaks to us today?

Our answer is yes. He most certainly does right here in Scripture. God talks to me every day. What do you say when people accuse us? Oh, you're putting God in a box. The fact is God has put himself in the box.

Everything he wants us to know in order to be saved is right here in the Holy Scriptures. When the Great Reformation shouted sola scriptura scripture alone to the world. This was against much more than the Roman Catholic Church's elevation of tradition and the ex cathedra Pronouncements of the papacy to the level of scripture.

It was also against radical Anabaptist sects which claimed direct revelations from God. It was also against a group called the enthusiasts who claimed the same thing today. We hold fast to the doctrine of sola scriptura against Pentecostals and other charismatic groups which claim direct Revelations and direct words from God.

This is why the confession ends with those former ways of God's revealing his will unto his people being now ceased. Dr. Robert Raymond in his new systematic theology of the Christian faith wrote this quote.

Moreover, it must be noted that to the degree that one believes that God still speaks directly to men and women today. Through prophets and through those who claim to speak in tongues just to that same degree he is saying that he does not absolutely need the Bible for a word from God and Accordingly, he has abandoned the Great Reformation principle of sola scriptura and quote right on.

The confession develops this notion of the cessation of special revelation and subsequent points. But suffice it to say now that there is a Finality to the revelation man needs of God's saving will when Jesus steps out of eternity into human history.

Now that he has accomplished redemption and its explanation has been fully inscripturated in the New Testament. There is no longer anything needed for saving or special revelation and I would argue to anyone who thinks God is still talking directly to us today and making revelations concerning himself and his will unto his church those people must also believe that the canon of scripture of Necessity needs to still be expanded to accommodate these new revelations.

Folks you can't have the Word of God sorta and If people believe that they are getting direct words from God It either is the Word of God or it is not the Word of God. What's mr. Confession 1 .6 the whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory man's salvation faith and life is either Expressly set down in scripture or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from scripture unto which nothing at any Time is to be added whether by new revelations of the Spirit or tradition traditions of men.