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All preaching should be from Scripture only, not from the secondary standards.
Take for example Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 45. If I preach the significance of the resurrection of Jesus as benefitting us in the areas of our justification (Rom. 4), sanctification (Rom. 6), and glorification (Rom. 8), how have I preached something not from Scripture?
Dear Danny,
Due to the inspiration of Scripture, public preaching in church should (predominantly) focus on on preaching through books in Scripture so that:
[1] We get God's hobby horses, and not the fallible hobby horses of humans.
[2] We preserve not simply what is said, but the way it is said.
[3] Doctrine is never taught apart from real life contexts and praxis.
I love the three forms of unity. But I love the Bible more. In my humble opinion too often confessional Christians are quicker to quote from a confession than Scripture itself.
The Bible is not just a repository of doctrines its the great ministry tool.
God bless you.
I could sum up the book of Job in a proposition. But it's altogether another thing to read it for itself (and have it's nuances expounded) with it's soaring poetry and agonizing rhetoric.
Hello Richard,
This is one of the major differences between historic, continental Reformed subscription and practice and modern, American Presbyterianism. We believe and confess our confessions because (quia) they are biblical, not only in so far as (quatenus) they are biblical.
Take for example Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 45. If I preach the significance of the resurrection of Jesus as benefitting us in the areas of our justification (Rom. 4), sanctification (Rom. 6), and glorification (Rom. 8), how have I preached something not from Scripture?
Are we talking about taking the theme of such and such part of the catechism and picking a text that matches it, or are we talking about exegeting the catechism itself?
Hello Richard,
This is one of the major differences between historic, continental Reformed subscription and practice and modern, American Presbyterianism.
In actual fact, the catechism ought to seem to disappear in the process of catechism preaching.
The minister doesn't set his Bible aside, open to the back of the Psalter to the Heidelberg Catachism, and say, "The text for today is taken from the Heidelberg Catachism instead of the Bible." The proper formulary spoken by the minister, after reading the appropriate Scriptures, is, "The text for this afternoon is God's Word as summarized for us in the Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 2, questions and answers 3, 4, and 5."
For preaching purposes, one doesn't need to have the inspired text summarized by a creed or confession. One should always preach exclusively from the Word of God, with all creeds and confessions banned from the pulpit.
This does not seem to me to be a reasonable inference from the valid premise that we ought only to preach from the Bible. If the Shorter Catechism provides an excellent definition of justification why would we ban it from the pulpit and opt for a second rate definition?
The latter formulation pretty much amounts to the former formulation. And the effect is the same; it substitutes a man-made document for the Word of God.
For preaching purposes, one doesn't need to have the inspired text summarized by a creed or confession. One should always preach exclusively from the Word of God, with all creeds and confessions banned from the pulpit.
A second-rate definition from the Bible, as opposed to the catechism? Surely you jest...
How about taking the doctrinal topic of a particular catechism, say, justification by faith alone, and expounding the biblical data on it. Then bringing in the catechism question and answer as a summary of the biblical data. Isn't that what is meant by "Catechism Preaching?"
Richard, I know why you don't like trust in the Confessions and I don't appreciate you trashing them constantly.
I'm not trashing them. I'm just interested in keeping them in their place - and that place is not the pulpit. Personally, I'm glad Matthew Winzer and I are in the same place on this issue.
Use the secondary standards in Sunday School classes. Use them in personal study. But keep them out of the pulpit.
The standards are good summaries of Bible doctrine. But that makes them neither inspired, infallible, or inerrant. Those terms must be reserved ONLY for the Scriptures. Even the WCF recognizes its own fallibility, as I've noted several times before.
...but it is perfectly Confessional to insist that preaching be from the Bible alone.