Jan 26
4
Baptist Catechism 4
Q. 4. What is the Word of God?
A. The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, and the only certain rule of faith and obedience. (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:16,17; Isaiah 8:20)
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Introduction
To appreciate question 4 of our catechism, we need to remember question 3.
Question three addresses the question of knowing when it asks, “How may we know there is a God?” The answer given is, “The light of nature in man and the works of God plainly declare that there is a God; but His Word and Spirit only do it fully and effectively for the salvation of sinners.” So here we learn a most foundational truth. We may know things in general, and we may know that God exists in particular, because God has revealed truth to us. God has spoken both through nature and his Word. We call these two forms of revelation general or natural revelation and special revelation. God reveals himself and certain truths about himself, generally through the world that he has made. And God reveals himself and truths about himself much more specifically through his Word. The way of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ is only revealed in God’s Word.
It is not surprising that question 4 asks, “What is the Word of God?” The answer that is given is very basic and very important. “The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, and the only certain rule of faith and obedience.” Let us consider the answer piece by piece.
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The Holy Scriptures
Here, the “Holy Scriptures” are said to be “the Word of God”.
Scripture means writing. The writings that are being referred to here are (for the most part) the writings of men. Men like Moses, David, and Paul wrote the Scriptures that we now have. But here we are confessing that these writings are not ordinary writings — they are holy. The word “holy” reminds us that the Scriptures are from God and they are pure.
We confess that the Scriptures are inspired by God (see Second London Confession, 1). Did men write them? Yes, indeed. Did men choose the words? Yes, in most instances, they did. Can we get a sense of their education or their personalities through their writings? Yes, I think we can. Men wrote the Scriptures. But with the Holy Scriptures, there is more to the story. We confess that these men we inspired by God. God’s Spirit moved or carried them along to write what they wrote so that, at the end of the day, we are right to refer to their words as the Word of God. This is what Peter says in 2 Peter 1:20–21: “knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20–21, ESV). This is a marvelous description of inspiration. Again, “no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
Before moving on, I think it would be good to think through some of the implications of the doctrine of inspiration. In other words, if it is true that the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God, what must that mean?
Firstly, if the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God, they must be without error. God is pure, and his word is pure. The Holy Scriptures are inerrant — they are without error. The Holy Scriptures are infallible — they cannot err. Psalm 19:7 speaks of the purity of Scripture when it says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:7, ESV).
Now, it needs to be clarified that when we speak of the inerrancy and infallibility of inspired Scripture, we have in mind the writings as they came from the hand of the original author. The Old Testament was written in the Hebrew language. The New Testament was written in the Greek language. The writers of Scripture wrote in these languages, and then copies were made. It is our view that God not only supernaturally superintended the writing of Holy Scripture, but he also preserved the Scriptures so that God’s people have access to God’s inspired Word in every age. It is the originals, and the copies of the original Scriptures, written in Hebrew and Greek, that we regard as bing immediately inspired. Today, we are blessed to have translations of the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures in many different languages. These translations are a great blessing. They carry the authority of God’s Word as they faithfully convey the meaning of the Hebrew and Greek texts. But we should remember that they are translations. It is good for pastors to study Hebrew and Greek so they can engage with the text as it originally came from the author of Scripture.
Secondly, if the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God, they must be clear. This is the doctrine of the clarity (or perspicuity) of Scripture. If we believe that God has spoken to us — if we believe that he has given us his Word — it would be absurd to think that his Word is unclear. Is God a poor communicator? I think not. Now, the doctrine of the clarity of Scripture does not deny that some things in Scripture are hard to understand (see 2 Peter 3:16). The Scriptures speak of marvelous, deep, and mysterious things. It is no wonder that we sometimes struggle to comprehend them. But this is not the fault of Scripture. It is due to our own inadequacies. And the doctrine of the clarity of Scripture does not deny that we must learn to properly interpret Scripture and work hard at this. Yes, we must labor to rightly divide the Word of truth (see 2 Timothy 2:15). What the doctrine of the clarity of Scripture asserts is that God is a good communicator and that the main message of Scripture is clear. Chapter one of our confession is about the Holy Scriptures, and paragraph seven is about the clarity of Scripture. It says, “All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all; yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed and observed for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned [literate], but the unlearned [illiterate], in a due use of ordinary means, may attain to a sufficient understanding of them.”
Thirdly, if the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God, they must be sufficient. By this, we mean that God has given us everything we need to know in the Scriptures. They are sufficient. This does not mean they are exhaustive. Are there things we are curious about that are not revealed in the Scriptures? Yes. And are there things we can learn from nature that are not revealed in Scripture? Yes. The Bible is not a scientific textbook. There are things to learn from nature that the Bible does not talk about, but we should always expect God’s book of nature and his book of Scripture to agree! If there is a contradiction, someone is not interpreting one of the books correctly. When we say that the Scriptures are sufficient, we mean, to quote Second London Confession 1.7 again, “that those things which are necessary to be known, believed and observed for salvation, are… clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other…”
In 2 Timothy 3:14-17, Paul wrote to Timothy, the minister, saying, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings [the Holy Scriptures], which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:14–17, ESV). Notice that Paul viewed the Scriptures as sufficient — they are able to make a person “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” and to be used to teach, reprove, correct, and train, God’s people to live right. Everything the Christian needs, and everything the man of God (or Christian minister) needs, is found in the Holy Scriptures. The Scriptures are sufficient.
Fourthly, if the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God, they must be authoritative. By authoritative, we mean that the Scriptures are the rule or standard for what we are to believe concerning God and what he requires of us. Notice, this is what Baptist Catechism 4 teaches. “What is the Word of God?” Answer: “The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, and the only certain rule of faith and obedience.”
Q: “What is the Word of God?” A: “The Holy Scriptures… are the Word of God…”
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Old And New Testaments
More precisely, our catechism states that “the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God…” The phrase, “of the Old and New Testaments”, is very important, for it identifies what “Scriptures” we have in mind. Not just any Scriptures (writings), but the Scriptures “of the Old and New Testaments”.
As you know, our catechism summarizes our confession of faith. And our confession of faith is more detailed on this point. The books of \Holy Scripture are listed in chapter 1, paragraph 2.
Brothers and sisters, I think it is important to understand something about the structure of the Scriptures. The Holy Scriptures are made up of two testaments. And what divides the Old Testament from the New? What distinguishes them? Well, it is the birth of Jesus the Christ. Matthew 1 is the beginning of the New Testament, and it begins by telling us about the birth of Jesus the Messiah.
This is a bit of an oversimplification, but it is true nonetheless – both the Old Testament and the New Testament are about Jesus the Messiah and our salvation in him. Though it is right for us to distinguish between the Old and New Testaments, we must not divorce them. Together, they tell one story – the story of God’s creation, man’s fall into sin, and our redemption in Jesus the Messiah. Saint Augustine once famously described the relationship between the Old and New Testaments like this: “The New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed.”
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The Works Of God
After saying that “the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God”, our catechism then declares that they are “the only certain rule of faith and obedience.
Rule means standard. What is the standard for what we should believe and for what we should do? The Scriptures are. They are the rule of faith and obedience. What should we believe about God? To the Scriptures, we must go! What should we believe about ourselves? To the Scriptures, we must go! What should we believe about salvation? To the Scriptures, we must go! And how should we live? How should we worship? To the Scriptures, we must go! Natural revelation can help us in many ways, but it is not the rule of faith and obedience. Only God’s Word is, and the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God.
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Conclusion
Do you know the Scriptures, brothers and sisters? Do you love to listen to them read and preached? Do you read them for yourselves? Do you cherish them and store them in your heart? We ought to, for the Scriptures are God’s words to us.
