The Westminster Confession
of Faith is an excellent summary of the Bible’s teaching, long valued by
Christians as a concise guide upholding the truth as it is in Jesus, and in
doing so, refuting the errors which have over the centuries assailed His Church on
earth. The
Confession and the other Westminster Documents were composed during the
Puritan Era in Britain, a time of unparalleled blessing in which the mighty
works of God were seen in the preaching and practice of the churches of the
United Kingdom.
In
1643 the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament at
Westminster
in
England,
acknowledging that “amongst the infinite blessings of Almighty God upon this
nation, none is nor can be more dear to us than the purity of our religion”.
So they thought it “fit and necessary to call an Assembly of learned,
godly, and judicious Divines to give their advice and counsel”. An assembly
of some of the most experienced and godly pastors of Scotland, England
and
Ireland therefore
met together at Westminster for a period of about six years primarily to draw
up a Confession of Faith which would purify the Church of England from
unscriptural forms of government and worship, thus uniting the Churches of the
three Kingdoms in doctrine and practice, according to the Word of God.
The
Scots Confession, the Irish Articles of Religion and the Thirty-Nine Articles
of the English Church were drawn on and the resulting Confession also
reflected the substance of the Continental and early Christian Creeds.
Most
of the men of the Westminster Assembly
were Presbyterians (including the Scottish “commissioners” to the
Assembly), and several notable Independents (Congregationalists) were
included. The following documents, together with the National Covenant, the
Solemn League and Covenant, the Directory for the Public Worship of God, the
Form of Presbyterial Church Government, and the Directory for Family Worship, are still used worldwide by
evangelical Presbyterian churches. The
Shorter Catechism is taught to children as an introduction to the Christian
Faith.
The Westminster Confession of Faith
The
Larger Catechism
The
Shorter Catechism
The
Sum of Saving Knowledge
