07 - The Law and the Confessions

Let me make myself clear right at the start. I do not publish this article because I regard any Confession as the authority for what I believe: that prerogative belongs solely to Scripture. Sadly, many believers do look upon one or other of the 17th century Confessions as the touchstone of orthodoxy – almost on a par with Scripture itself. I do not! Some even preach the Confession! And that includes Reformed Baptists as well as Presbyterians. I think all such practice is quite wrong and ought to be stopped. Let me hasten to add that I think the faith can be defined, and every man should be able to declare what he believes. Yes, indeed! But the notion that any body of men can set down and define the faith for all time for all believers is quite ridiculous, is it not? If the 17th century men thought they could do it, were they not being foolish as well as arrogant? And if people today think that such a body of men really did define the faith in that way – well, words fail! Just in case it needs saying: I fully accept that ‘the faith... was once for all entrusted to the saints', and that we must ‘contend for' it (Jude 3), but that's a far cry from saying that ‘the faith' has been once and for all defined by any Confession. I'm firmly with John Robinson on this. Addressing those sailing from Delfthaven in 1620, he told them bluntly: many stop where Luther and Calvin left them – good men, both of them – but God has more light to break out of his word!