The Belgic Confession Week 3

Review:

Article 2.

BY WHAT MEANS GOD IS MADE KNOWN UNTO US

Article 3.

THE WRITTEN WORD OF GOD

Article 4.

CANONICAL BOOKS OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURE

ARTICLE 5

WHENCE THE HOLY SCRIPTURES DERIVE THEIR DIGNITY  AND AUTHORITY.

We receive all these books, and these only, as holy and canonical, for the regulation, foundation, and confirmation of our faith; believing without any doubt all things contained in them, not so much because the Church receives and approves them as such, but more especially because the Holy Spirit witnesses in our hearts that they are from God, and also because they carry the evidence thereof in themselves. For the very blind are able to perceive that the things foretold in them are being fulfilled.

Receive vs. Approve.

1 Thessalonians 1:6“6 And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,”

1 Thessalonians 2:13“13 For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.”

2 Thessalonians 2:15“15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.”

Who has the higher authority? Church or Scripture?

The Church is founded on the Scriptures, not the Scriptures on the church.

Ephesians 2:20“20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,”

Rome claims to hold to the three-fold authority. Papal Authority, Church tradition, and Scripture.

Problem: When there is conflict, which authority dominates?

You cannot have multiple ultimate authorities.

Illustration: If I claim to obey two people, and the people disagree, the person I trust more will be revealed.

Roman Catholicism places more weight on the church and papal authority than on Scripture.

Hyper Protestantism: Removes the authority of the church.

Solution: Tiered Authorities.

Scripture as ultimate. Lesser authorities stacked on top of that.

Three Proofs.

The Witness of the Spirit.

This does not mean we or our emotions are the authority.

This is not an emotional experience. It is the confirmation from God on our souls and is evidenced by conversion and obedience to Christ.

PRIMARILY: God using Scripture to take lost and dead souls and bring them to life is confirmation that the Word of God is true.

SECONDARILY: God confirms to us the truth of Scripture by the Holy Spirit by demonstrating to us that what the Bible says is true. We read what the Bible says and recognize that it is truth.

Examples: God’s moral law is shown to be true. When we read God’s moral commands, we recognize the truth of it. We see that when God tells us murder is wrong, it is evidently true. The Law is written on our hearts.

Romans 2:14–15“14 for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)”

Internal Proofs.

Examine just the facts.

66 Books.

roughly 40 authors over 1500 years.

63,779 internal cross references.

The Bible is the first hyper-linked book. This alone should tell us that the Bible is clearly a book of incredible significance.

Add to this that all 66 books not only reference one another, but do so without contradiction. All 66 books convey the same message, building off of one another.

Many of the authors would not have known what the other writers were writing. Yet they all perfectly communicate the same story, message, and theological truth without exception.

The Bible in multiple places refers to itself as Scripture.

Matthew 22:31-32“31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.””

Christ quotes from Scripture saying clearly that what was written was spoken by God. This teaches us that

Matthew 5:17–18“17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”

Christ here openly says He is not doing away with anything in the Old Testament. He is in fact confirming it.

Peter says Paul’s writings are Scripture.

2 Peter 3:15–16“15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.”

There are countless other examples of this. We do not have time to cover them all.

Fulfilled Prophesy.

Homework: Read the gospel of Matthew. Matthew wrote his gospel account with the express purpose of showing how Jesus is the fulfilment of Old Testament prophesy regarding the Messiah. Read it and notice every time he says “this took place to fulfill what the prophet _______ said...”

Just a few examples of fulfilled biblical prophesy.

Genesis 15:13–16“13 Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.””

Isaiah 7:14“14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Given 700 years before Christ was born.

Isaiah 45:1 “1 “Thus says the Lord to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held— To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut:” Cyrus would not be born for hundreds of years, yet Isaiah prophetically names him.

Isaiah 52-53 describes in detail the suffering of Christ.

Psalm 22 describes in detail the death of Christ.

Psalm 16 speaks of the resurrection of Christ.

Joel 2 describes the events of Pentecost in detail.

Jesus describes the destruction of Jerusalem in detail in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. Jesus said this would happen within one generation. It happened, down to the letter in 70 AD.

ARTICLE 6

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CANONICAL AND APOCRYPHAL BOOKS.

We distinguish those sacred books from the apocryphal, viz: the third and fourth books of Esdras, the books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Jesus Sirach, Baruch, the Appendix to the book of Esther, the Song of the Three Children in the Furnace, the History of Susannah, of Bell and the Dragon, the Prayer of Manasseh, and the two books of the Maccabees. All of which the Church may read and take instruction from, so far as they agree with the canonical books; but they are far from having such power and efficacy that we may from their testimony confirm any point of faith or of the Christian religion; much less may they be used to detract from the authority of the other, that is, the sacred books.

What Are the Apocryphal Books?

Apocrypha comes from a Greek word that means to hide.

Apocryphal in English has come to mean something that is false.

When we talk about the Apocrypha, we are talking about 12-14 books specifically that we do not believe are part of the Canon of Scripture, but that other Christian traditions do accept.

Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox specifically accept the Apocrypha.

The Apocrypha is a debate over the Old Testament Canon, not the New. There is no debate over the 27 books of the New Testament.

Where did the Apocrypha come from?

The Apocrypha is mostly historical. It is a series of writing that seeks to explain some of the gaps. Notably, 1-2 Maccabees fills in the history of what happened between the close of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New.

Is also contains various wisdom literature, poetry, and prayers from mainly faithful Jews during the inter-testamental time. They were attempting to obey God and wrote down much of what they learned.

Why do we reject them?

Jesus and the Apostles did not accept them. The Jews of the 1st century did not accept them. They were rejected from the synagogues of Jesus’ day.

They are not quoted as Scripture in the New Testament while the Canonical books of the Old Testament are.

The Apocrypha contains clear historical errors unlike the Canonical Old Testament books.

There were no church-wide council’s that recognized and accepted the Apocryphal books until the council of Trent (1546) which was organized as a response to the Protestant Reformation. This should give us pause.

What Role Do The Apocryphal Books Play?

The Apocrypha is not evil. Our confession says well, “All of which the Church may read and take instruction from, so far as they agree with the canonical books.”

We should read them as long as we understand they are not Scripture. They are helpful to us where they agree with the truth of Scripture. They are helpful to us as historical aids. They tell us some of the history of God’s people between Old and New Testaments.

We do not derive our faith or practice from them.

They are dangerous where they disagree with Scripture. Our confession says well, “but they are far from having such power and efficacy that we may from their testimony confirm any point of faith or of the Christian religion; much less may they be used to detract from the authority of the other, that is, the sacred books.”

When we read or study the Apocrypha, we need to have our glasses on. We read them through the lens of the truth of Scripture.

This is true of any extra biblical writings. When we read commentaries or theologians, we must recognize that they are not inspired. Only Scripture is inspired.

Illustration: Study Bible’s. C.S. Lewis: Calvin: Our confession:

All of these are aids to us and beneficial to us only in so far as they agree with Scripture.

Takeaways:

How does understanding the hierarchy of authority help us?

How can we learn from wise men of the past without compromising our commitment to Scripture?

How can we keep from letting our own emotions or opinions outweigh Scripture?