John D. Chitty
“The Misadventures of Captain Headknowledge” -- Rescuing victims of villainous theology since 2006. "I'm from Geneva, and I'm here to help!"
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Mid Cities OPC Sermon Podcast
- Grace for Those Who Sin Against You (Psalm 4) August 8, 2022On Sunday, August 7, 2022, Rev. Joe Keller preached "Grace for Those Who Sin Against You" from Psalm 4. 4 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer! 2 O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after li […]
- For This I Will Praise You (2 Samuel 22:1-51) July 31, 2022On Sunday, July 31, 2022, Pastor Joe Troutman preached "For This I Will Praise You" from 2 Samuel 22:1-51. "God is worthy of our praise before, during and after any hardship we might face." 1. I Called Upon the LORD (vs. 1-6) 2. He Heard My Voice (vs. 7-20) 3. The Righteous is God's Delight (vs. 21-33) 4. Great Salvation He Brings ( […]
- The Lamp of Israel (2 Samuel 21:15-22) July 24, 2022On Sunday, July 24, 2022, Pastor Joe Troutman preached "The Lamp of Israel" from 2 Samuel 21:15-22. "David was the lamp of Israel, but Jesus is the Light of the world, and it is through the lamp of David that the Light of Jesus shines." 1. Put On the Bench (vs. 15-17) 15 There was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David we […]
- How Shall I Make Atonement? (2 Samuel 21:1-14) July 17, 2022On Sunday, July 17, 2022, Pastor Joe Troutman preached "How Shall I Make Atonement?" from 2 Samuel 21:1-14. "David made atonement for the sins of Saul against the Gibeonites; Jesus Christ made atonement for our sins against him." 1. The Covenant Brings Death (vs. 1-6) 21 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year af […]
- Rebellion and Reckoning (2 Samuel 19:41-20:26) July 10, 2022On Sunday, July 10, 2022, Pastor Joe Troutman preached "Rebellion and Reckoning" from 2 Samuel 19:41-20:26). "Betrayal is an all-too sad reality of life in a fallen world. But one man's betrayal brought about the greatest joy you will ever know." 1. Betrayed by Brothers (vs. 19:41-20:3) 2. Betrayed by a Kiss (vs. 20:4-13) 3. The Betr […]
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The Biblical Basis of the Reformed Confessions and Catechisms
As a member of a local confessional Presbyterian church and coming from my background as an Independent Baptist, I can’t help but notice how easy it is to confirm the common accusation that “Presbyterians often seem to cite the Confession more readily than they do the Bible.” As I listen to teaching (that of no one in particular, and this is not restricted to my own congregation), I often find myself listening to it as if I were a Baptist who was hearing this presentation for the first time. It doesn’t take long before all the biblicist defenses go up. A Reformed teacher will teach a vital biblical truth and then they will cite the Westminster Standards or something from the Three Forms of Unity (click on the “Creeds, Etc.” link at the top of this webpage for more information on these Reformed doctrinal standards). The response a self-respecting biblicist is trained to make to a presentation like this is, “That’s nice, now what does the Bible say about it?” or, more boldly, they might declare, “I don’t care what your confession or catechism says, what does the Bible say?”
It occurs to me that if Presbyterians and those of other confessional Reformed denominations want to persuade those from outside their tradition, like Baptists, to believe that what Reformed confessions and catechisms teach is based on the Bible, then perhaps it would be time well spent to express their biblically based confessional statements by first disclosing what the Bible says and working from this to showing how what the confession or catechism says is solidly based on what the Bible says.
After all, a “Confession” is not intended to be a rival for the Bible, but an expression of what Reformed churches believe the Bible teaches. To use the word “Confession” alone does not necessarily communicate this ultimate point to those from outside the tradition. That’s why when I personally explain things related to the Confession of Faith, I will put the word “Confession” in a sentence that attempts to fully express what a Confession of Faith is. For example, “This biblical truth (whatever it may be) is worded this way, or that way, in the Confession of what Reformed churches believe best summarizes the teaching of the Bible.”
Now I realize there are many good Reformed teachers who are careful to base their arguments on Scripture, but the stereotype that the Reformed in general have a bad habit of quoting the confession more than they do the Bible is grounded in verifiable reality. I love hearing an explanation of what the Confession teaches, but then, I have already gotten over the hurdle of being persuaded that what the Confession teaches is what the Bible teaches, although not infallibly, of course.
For this reason, I have decided to engage in a little exercise for a while, which I will share with my readers. In the spirit of how I would like to hear the teaching of the Reformed confessions and catechisms expressed, I’m simply going to take the Scripture Proofs cited for almost any given phrase in the Westminster Larger Catechism (which my church currently happens to being going through), summarize the point being highlighted in the verses, cite the verses themselves, then explain that this is the reason the Catechism reads the way it reads.
Sound like fun? I hope you’ll join me! In the following post, I will give this treatment to the first clause in Question and Answer #73 of the Westminster Larger Catechism.
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