Binding: Paperback
Page Count: 95
Publisher: GCP
ISBN#: 020430
Availability: Usually Ships the Same Business Day
Description:
This version of the
confession includes a modern English version of the confession parallel to the
original. The assembly's Confession of Faith, completed in December,
1646, is the last of the classic Reformed confessions and by far the most
influential in the English-speaking world. Though it governed the Church of
England only briefly, it has been widely adopted (sometimes with amendments) by
British and American Presbyterian bodies as well as by many Congregational and
Baptist churches. It is well known for its thoroughness, precision, conciseness,
and balance. Notable elements are: (1) The opening chapter on Scripture, called
by Warfield the best single chapter in any Protestant confession. (2) The mature
formulation of the Reformed doctrine of predestination (chs. III, V, IX, XVII).
It is noncommittal on the debate between supra- and infralapsarianism, but
teaches clearly that God's will is the ultimate cause of all things, including
human salvation. It teaches the doctrine of reprobation in very guarded terms
(III. vii. viii.). It is careful to balance this teaching with a chapter on
human freedom (IX). (3) The emphasis on covenants as the way in which God
relates to his people through history (VII, esp.). (4) Its doctrine of
redemption structured according to God's acts (X-XIII) and human response
(XIV-XVII), thus underscoring its "covenantal" balance between divine
sovereignty and human responsibility. (5) Its Puritan doctrine of assurance
(XVIII), a strong affirmation, yet more sensitive than other Reformed
confessions to the subjective difficulties believers have in maintaining a
conscious assurance. (6) Its strong affirmation of the law of God as perpetually
binding the conscience of the believer, even though certain ceremonial and civil
statutes are no longer in effect (XIX), balanced by a careful formulation of the
nature of Christian liberty of conscience (XX). (7) Its Puritan view of the
sabbath, regarding the day as a perpetual obligation, contrary to Calvin's
Institutes and other Reformed writings. (8) The first clear confessional
distinction between the visible and invisible church (XXV). - J M Frame (Elwell
Evangelical Dictionary)
Bible references only (OPC)
