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VI. Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation.
Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the Holy Scripture we do understand those canonical Books of the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church.
Of the Names and Number of the Canonical Books.
Genesis, The First Book of Samuel, The Book of Esther,
Exodus, The Second Book of Samuel, The Book of Job,
Leviticus, The First Book of Kings, The Psalms,
Numbers, The Second Book of Kings, The Proverbs,
Deuteronomy, The First Book of Chronicles, Ecclesiastes or Preacher,
Joshua, The Second Book of Chronicles, Cantica, or Songs of Solomon,
Judges, The First Book of Esdras, Four Prophets the greater,
Ruth, The Second Book of Esdras, Twelve Prophets the less.
And the other Books (as Hierome saith) the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners; but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine; such are these following:
The Third Book of Esdras, The rest of the Book of Esther,
The Fourth Book of Esdras, The Book of Wisdom,
The Book of Tobias, Jesus the Son of Sirach,
The Book of Judith, Baruch the Prophet,
The Song of the Three Children, The Prayer of Manasses,
The Story of Susanna, The First Book of Maccabees,
Of Bel and the Dragon, The Second Book of Maccabees.
All the Books of the New Testament, as they are commonly received, we do receive, and account them Canonical.
VII. Of the Old Testament.
The Old Testament is not contrary to the New: for both in the Old and New Testament everlasting life is offered to Mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and Man, being both God and Man. Wherefore they are not to be heard, which feign that the old Fathers did look only for transitory promises. Although the Law given from God by Moses, as touching Ceremonies and Rites, do not bind Christian men, nor the Civil precepts thereof ought of necessity to be received in any commonwealth; yet notwithstanding, no Christian man whatsoever is free from the obedience of the Commandments which are called Moral.
VIII. Of the Creeds.
The Nicene Creed, and that which is commonly called the Apostles’ Creed, ought thoroughly to be received and believed: for they may be proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture.
How do we ensure that our preaching aviods the great peril of moralism, while still placing a due emphasis upon the great indicative commands of God’s holy law? My thoughts here are the result of my recent attendance in a corporate worship service where the liturgy was profoudnly God-centered and the preaching radically moralistic and man centered. It was such a shock to transition from a high and lofty view of God’s holiness into a shallow humanism which more closley resembled self-help psychology than Christianity. What makes Christianity distinctive? It should be obvious, yet for some its tragically absent from their life and ministry. Paul resolved to preach nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. It seems as though our churches today are preaching the opposite. Instead of glorying in the cross, we’re glorying in ourselves. Instead of cherishing the Savior, we’re cherishing a humanistic attempt at self reform. Instead of looking outside of ourselves, we’re looking within and the result is devastating. Church-goers are constantly beaten over the head with legalistic imperitaves which serve to burden the soul and blind the mind and affections to Christ and Him crucified. Pastors preach as if Christ had never died. Sermons are delivered as though the New Testament had never been written. A watered down form of pseudo-Judaism has taken hold of the church of Jesus Christ. What’s the answer? The answer is shouting to us from every page of the Bible. Christocentricity is the divinely appointed solution to the crippling man-centeredness which pervades our worship. Jesus proclaimed that all of Scripture testifies to Himself. If so, why is He glaringly absent from our preaching, teaching, singing, and praying? Our hearts by nature are factories of idols, and deprvaity will always attempt to usurp Jesus Christ from His rightful place as the center of Christian worship. Our sinful hearts are always blinding us to the salvation necessary in an object outside of ourselves. Consequently, we deceive ourselves into thinking that we can satisfy God’s righteous demands through the inclination of our will. What’s sad is that many self professed Calvinists are functioning Arminians, and preach a mish mash of both law and gospel, which in the end, is nothing but a “softer form of law.” How can we restore Christian worship to its divinely intended purpose? By preaching nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Any approach which fails to allow Christ to dominate every aspect of life and ministry ultimately misses the mark. God refuses to be glorified apart from His Son. The church would do well to grasp this truth.
V. Of the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, majesty, and glory, with the Father and the Son, very and eternal God.
IV. Of the Resurrection of Christ.
Christ did truly rise again from death, and took again his body, with flesh, bones, and all things appertaining to the perfection of Man’s nature; wherewith he ascended into Heaven, and there sitteth, until he return to judge all Men at the last day.
III. Of the going down of Christ into Hell.
As Christ died for us, and was buried, so also is it to be believed, that he went down into Hell.
II. Of the Word or Son of God, which was made very Man.
The Son, which is the Word of the Father, begotten from everlasting of the Father, the very and eternal God, and of one substance with the Father, took Man’s nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her substance: so that two whole and perfect Natures, that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood, were joined together in one Person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, very God and very Man; who truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, to reconcile His father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for actual sins of men.
I. Of Faith in the Holy Trinity.
There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the Maker, and Preserver of all things both visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there be three Persons, of one substance, power, and eternity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
“The advantage of a fixed form of service is that we know what is coming. Ex temore public prayer has this difficulty; we don’t know whether we can mentally join in it until we’ve heard it- it might be phony or heretical. We are therefore called upon to carry on a critical and devotional activity at the same moment: two things hardly compatible. In a fixed form we ought to have ‘gone through the motions’ before in our private prayers; the rigid forms really set our devotions free. I also find the more rigid it is, the easier it is to keep one’s thoughts from straying. Also, it prevents getting too completely eaten up by whatever happens to be the pre-occupation of the moment (i.e. war, an election, or what not). The permanent shape of Christianity shows through. I don’t see how the ex tempore method can help becoming provincial, and I think it has a great tendency to direct attention to the minister rather to God.”
-C.S. Lewis, Letters, 1 April 1952
Charley Dewberry penetratingly analyzes the modern view of science, and how it has contributed to hinder intelligent discourse between Darwinism and proponents of intelligent design. The fundamental premise of the entire book is that modern science, heavily influenced by logical positivism and the views of Karl Popper, has redefined science as to restrict any kind of philosophical inquiry which does not meet the standards of strict empiricism and the scientific method. For modern scientists, science seeks to empirically verify the objective truth of the physical world through the process of studying data within the context of the scientific method. Such an approach precludes the human inclination towards bias, and yields results which are objectively true and empirically verifiable. Dewberry spends the majority of the book critiquing this understanding of science. First, Dewberry suggests that “objective facts”, as defined by modern scientists, don’t exist, and that any scientific inquiry takes place within certain historical and societal contexts. Scientists can never escape their own presuppositions, no matter how hard they try. Scientists will always study data through the lenses of their own presuppositions. Second, Dewberry suggests that scientists have no basis for making pronouncements concerning epistemological and philosophical issues. The debate between Darwinism and Intelligent Design is a philosophical debate between two mutually exclusive systems of thought: naturalism and theism. The scientific method restricts a scientist from making any kind of personal judgment concerning truth. For them, science is a mechanical process which has little to do with the actual scientist. The absurdity of the situation is quite apparent. We’re asking those who have no experience in the area of making judgments, to make profound philosophical judgments upon the state of the universe and biological origins. True science, on the other hand, in keeping with the tradition of the Copernicans, seeks to rationally explain the physical world. Science is not so much about empirical verification as it is about rationally analyzing the truth which the Creator has given to his creatures. The use of reason, skill, field experience, and discourse are indispensable to a true scientific endeavor. Modern science would have us think otherwise, and in doing so, hinder intelligent discourse concerning the nature of biological origins.
