Westminster Confession of Faith

Historical Context The Westminster Confession of Faith was written in the year 1646, titled “The Humble Advice of the Assembly,” in London, under the authority of King Charles I. During the period leading up to the Confession, in the battles of civil discontent with Scotland, the Royal Crown and Church of England had to quench the appeal for religious freedoms that the Episcopal Orthodox government of the past could not placate. Forty years prior, under King James I, the Puritan views which had been so ingrained into the people, caused many of the laity, parliamentarians, and bishops alike to have desire for change from the current Christian structures and governance. Although there was tremendous pressure from the Puritan views, much of their…

The Westminster Confession of Faith and the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 are two documents that influenced the writing of this confession. Both of them give excellent summaries of the Church be, while also giving ample Scriptural support. One key biblical text to explain the Church doctrine is 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, which talks about the Church as a human body. All members of the Church, whether they believe they have a small role or a big role, play a part in God’s Church, whether they are a…

On the one hand, it was recognized that the concept of covenant was a central one in both the Old and New Testaments. On the other hand, the word was also a significant one in Scottish and English sociopolitical thought, not lest in the upheavals of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. With the breakup of feudalism, and the struggles for liberty, men made “bands” and “pacts” and “contracts” and “covenants” to defend their freedom and preserve the rights of the people vis-a-vis…

It is source of joy, admonition, strength, peace, and instruction. It is a guiding lamp and a source of cleansing and truth, whose contents demand meditation. According to the Westminster Confession of Faith the Bible was given to us by God in order to “declare that His will unto His Church; and afterwards for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church ...”(WCF). The fact that God exists is evident in nature, to such a point…

become preachers before they are Christians “and “before sanctified by hearty dedication as the disciples of Christ;” (pg-16). He argues that this could be really dangerous for Christian life and for the flocks, as they “preach an unknown Christ.” (Pg-16). Witmer includes that Pastors are responsible for ensuing “true doctrine may have its course” While quoting French Confession of Faith (c.1559) authored by Calvin and his pupils. He also added that, in terms of leadership, we must observe that…

Christian churches, become the new Christian profession of faith (Holcomb 2014, 38). This first version of the Nicene Creed contains critical verbiage regarding the relationship of the Father to the Son, stating they were of identical substance (homoousis). While the Holy Spirit is in the Nicene Creed, it is with little emphasis. This lack of attention opened the doors to fallacies around the deity, equality, and eternality of the Holy Spirit (Ryrie 1999, 64). The next generation of Church…

purpose of our creation and the creation of man and woman. Rick Warren in his book The Purpose Driven Life states that we were “planned for God’s pleasure” and we were. He equates bringing pleasure to God with worship. There is a level of truth to bringing pleasure to God through worship, but the book misses the point about how worship affects our own lives. While this book has many benefits for the Christian life, it seems to miss the main purpose for existence. When trying to assess…