The 1689 Second London Baptist Confession: Of the Holy Scriptures (1.6)________________________________________
Letter from the Pastor 12/2/2025
The 1689 Second London Confession of Faith (1.6)
Paragraph 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 or necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelation of the Spirit, or traditions of men. Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word, and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.
The Sufficiency of the Scriptures
The Word of God is primarily concerned with God’s glory and man’s salvation, and Scripture sufficiently supplies all that is necessary for us to pursue those ends. This is what we mean by the sufficiency of Scripture. The Bible does not teach us how to roof a house or perform in a Shakespearean play. It does not contain instructions for rebuilding carburetors or baking croissants, though it’s teaching and principles guide us even in these areas. In other words, though the Scriptures do not contain recipes for bakers, the Scriptures do teach the baker the principles for working heartily and doing one’s work as unto the Lord.
There is no other revelation from God that you need in order to glorify God, be saved, and live a life of faith and obedience. Those of you who know me well know that I love books. My study at the church has walls full of books, and I have been enriched by each one. I constantly give books away and encourage the reading of good books. Our church has a book stall which I stock with reliable and trustworthy books. But none of those books hold a candle to the authority, the necessity, the clarity, and the sufficiency of the Bible to guide our lives to the Lord.
Express & Derived Teaching
The confession states that the whole counsel of God is either expressly set down or necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture. What does that mean? Somethings in the Bible are expressly or explicitly taught. A good example would be that God is one (Deut. 6:4) or that murder is wrong (Ex. 20:13). Other truths are implicit. The Westminster Confession of Faith put it this way:
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
We might call this “derived” teaching. A good example here would be the doctrine of the Trinity. You can’t find the word “Trinity” expressly stated, but the clear inference of Scripture is that the one God subsists eternally in three persons, Father, Son, and Spirit.
Another example would be that the church ought to worship on the first day of the week, Sunday. No verse of Scripture expressly states that the church must worship on Sunday. Nonetheless, we can make a solid Biblical argument, from the resurrection of Christ as well as the early church’s pattern of meeting on Sunday and referring to it as the “Lord’s Day,” that we ought to meet on the Christian Sabbath for worship.
The Illumination of the Spirit
Next, the confession teaches that the Spirit of God must illuminate the Scriptures so that we might understand them. This does not mean unbelievers are incapable of understanding any of the content of the Scriptures. If that was the case, there would be no point in reading the Scriptures to them. It does mean that without the illumination of the Spirit, no one will understand the Scripture to be the very Word of God, much less obey the Word. The Spirit imparts faith through the preaching of the Scriptures (Rom. 10:17), and faith then perceives that the Scriptures are indeed the Word of God.
The Light of Nature & Christian Prudence
Paragraph six ends by reminding us that Scripture is not opposed to common sense, natural reason, or Christian wisdom. There are a variety of circumstantial details about the church and worship that God does not prescribe in the Scriptures. Therefore, they are left to Godly wisdom and common sense.
For example, while the Scriptures teach that the church ought to gather on Sunday for worship, the Scriptures never prescribe the time the church must gather, how long the service must last, or whether the church must gather in a home or a purpose-built sanctuary. While the Scriptures tell us to preach, pray, sing, observe the sacraments, and give offerings, they never prescribe the order of our liturgy. Should a church have pews or chairs? Should we use microphones and projectors, or should we use hymnals? Should the congregation sit or stand during Scripture reading? I would argue that all of these are left to the conscience and wisdom of autonomous churches under the leadership of elders.
Conclusion
We are blessed with so many resources. From books and podcasts to video series and websites, the Lord has given us so many opportunities to learn from wonderful teachers and writers. In the midst of all this blessing, let’s not forget what is most important for our spiritual life and health: the Scriptures. Christian, you ought to read the Bible every single day. There are plenty of good Bible reading plans. You need not read it all in one year, but you should make the daily habit of Scriptural intake a priority in your life.
In Christ,
Pastor Jonathan