The second entry in the Westminster Confession of Faith series.
From the Confession
Under the name of Holy Scripture, or the Word of God written, are now contained all the books of the Old and New Testament, which are these:
| Books of the Old Testament | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Genesis | 1 Kings | Ecclesiastes | Obadiah |
| Exodus | 2 Kings | Song of Songs | Jonah |
| Leviticus | 1 Chronicles | Isaiah | Micah |
| Numbers | 2 Chronicles | Jeremiah | Nahum |
| Deuteronomy | Ezra | Lamentations | Habakkuk |
| Joshua | Nehemiah | Ezekiel | Zephaniah |
| Judges | Esther | Daniel | Haggai |
| Ruth | Job | Hosea | Zechariah |
| 1 Samuel | Psalms | Joel | Malachi |
| 2 Samuel | Proverbs | Amos | |
| Books of the New Testament | |||
| Matthew | 2 Corinthians | 1 Timothy | 2 Peter |
| Mark | Galatians | 2 Timothy | 1 John |
| Luke | Ephesians | Titus | 2 John |
| John | Philippians | Philemon | 3 John |
| Acts | Colossians | Hebrews | Jude |
| Romans | 1 Thessalonians | James | Revelation |
| 1 Corinthians | 2 Thessalonians | 1 Peter | |
All which are given by inspiration of God to be the rule of faith and life.
Scriptural references
From the New King James Version
- Abraham said to him, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” … But he said to him, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead. Luke 16:29,31
- Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. Ephesians 2:20
- All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16
- For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. Revelation 22:18,19
Commentary
I am not prepared to present a case-closing defense of the canon of Scripture, and for my target audience, I hope I should not need. Smarter, more equipped apologists have laid down far better defenses of the canon of Scripture than I could ever hope to set forth, and if the topic interests you, I encourage you to search out such works.
What I’d like you to see here, however, is that the Scriptures are definite. God inspired sixty-six books — no more and no less — which collectively contain exactly what God desires for us to know concerning Him. And because He has given us a definite set of works, we have something sure that we can go to for authority, for learning, for hope.
God has not left us to meander through life relying on our own imaginings to happen upon some anchor upon which to rest our beliefs. Indeed, if there is a God at all, it is unimaginable that He would not have communicated to us. If only by voice, His words would have been lost via distortion and forgetfulness. But He determined to set down in writing the very things He desired for us to believe. We know them today as the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible, but let us never forget that these sixty-six books are the verbum Dei, the Word of God.
In them we find Jesus Christ: promised, born, crucified, resurrected, and coming again. The magnitude of who He is can never be understated. The pride of “I think; therefore, I am” bows to the glory of a resurrected Christ. We are because He wills us to be.
He is who those sixty-six books of the Bible describe for all time; may we anchor our hearts & minds in those words which are the vox Dei, the Voice of God.