2LCF 1.7 The Perspicuity of Scripture

Psalm 19:7 “7 The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”

The Perspicuity of Scripture. It means clearness. Once again, this great confession along with the other two great confessions are clearly propounding anti-papist teachings.

Turriten commenting on this topic states it:

Are the Scriptures so perspicuous in things necessary to salvation that they can be understood by believers without the external help of oral (agraphou) tradition or ecclesiastical authority? We affirm against the papists

I. The papists, not satisfied with their endeavors to prove the Scriptures insufficient in order to bring in the necessity of tradition, began to question their perspicuity (as if the sense could by no one be ascertained with certainty without the judgment of the church) in order to have a pretext for keeping the people from their perusal. Having concealed the candle under a bushel, they reign in darkness more easily.

What an excellent word picture. The Scripture shines brightly and clearly of itself, and they take that light and hide it. And they they bring it out and pretend to shine their own light on it.

7. All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all;

Diversity. There are things dark and things more light.

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,

2 Peter 3:15–16 “15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, 16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.”

that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of ordinary means,

Acts 17:11 “11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.”

may attain to a sufficient understanding of them.

Matthew 11:25 “25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.”

John 14:26 “26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

Psalm 119:18 “18 Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law.”