Preface: I have written that one of my goals for this blog is to go through the 1689. This year, Lord willing, I will do so. It is my hope that this devotional will appeal to women who may be new to the whole “Reformed Baptist” idea, who may find the idea of studying the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith overwhelming. While I have some trepidation in wading in such waters, the knowledge gained will be beneficial for myself, and I pray it will be for you as well. So let’s dip our toe in this stream, shall we? I will mainly use the facsimile edition for my work, copies of which can be found at RBAP.

Day 1

Of The Holy Scriptures

Chapter 1, Paragraph 1

“The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving Knowledge, Faith, and Obedience…”

Scripture Lookup:

2 Timothy 3:15-17. List the uses of Scripture.

Isaiah 8:20. What law (or “teaching”)and testimony is being talked of here?

Luke 16:29, 31. To what parts of Scripture does the phrase “Moses and the Prophets” refer?

Ephesians 2:20. According to the passage, what role do the “apostles and prophets” have in the household of God?

Reflection

At the close of 2016, dishonesty seems to be in the very air we breathe.  “Fake news” is blamed by some for the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. Doctored photos appear in magazines, news journalists admit to falsifying stories, politicians speak out of both sides of their mouth. Advertising is ubiquitous, twisting words and image to mean whatever an ad executive wants it to mean. Everyone has an agenda, and we need to keep our guard up so we are not betrayed.

We can be so used to this defense that we can be tempted to turn this skepticism to Scripture. Some scholars say Scripture is unreliable. They’ve studied it, so they must know, right? Can writings thousands of years old really be trusted?

Let’s look at the line from the Confession again: Holy Scripture is the ONLY sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of ALL saving knowledge, faith, and obedience.

It is sufficient. We do not need to look elsewhere, for Scripture is not lacking.

It is certain. Waffling and wavering will not be found in what It says.

It is infallible. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines infallible as “not capable of being wrong or making mistakes”.

Scripture does not fail. It cannot err. In our day and age of photoshop, filters and fake news stories, we grow skeptical of information we receive. But we need not cast a wary eye at Scripture. It remains trustworthy. And what is it that Scripture can be trusted with? It is our guide for all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience. Scripture will tell us what we need to know about God, what we need to believe concerning Him, and what we need to do to please Him. It will tell us the Truth.

Questions to consider:

• Have you been skeptical of God’s Word?
• Are there any parts of Scripture that still make you wary?
• Do you look to any other guide to show you how to live for God?