Westminster Confession of Faith 1.5
"We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the Church to an high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scripture. And the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, the
majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scope of the
whole (which is, to give all glory to God), the full discovery it makes
of the only way of man's salvation, the many other incomparable
excellencies, and the entire perfection thereof, are arguments whereby
it does abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God: yet
notwithstanding, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible
truth and divine authority thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy
Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts."
Summary
The fact that the Church throughout the ages
bears testimony to the Scripture may help us understand the Bible. It may in
some sense persuade us to esteem it as God's word. The Bible itself has
innumerable signs of divine inspiration and perfection. These are all evidences
of Scripture's God-breathed authority. However, the only way that any sinner
fully accepts the infallibility and divine authority of the Bible is by the
working of the Holy Spirit in and through the Word. No one believes the Bible
as it is meant to be believed except by the Spirit of God. This does not mean
that those without the Spirit are excused from believing or obeying the Bible,
because the innumerable other evidences mount a testimony against them, even as
natural revelation does. But just as natural revelation is not enough for a
saving knowledge of God in Christ, so too, the innumerable evidences for
Scripture's authority are not enough for a right and true acceptance of the
Bible as it is meant to be received. Men without the Spirit may testify to its
qualities, and many have. They may speak on the excellency of the Bible as a
book, perhaps even as God's divine word, and they would be right. But for them
to truly accept it as such, they must have the Holy Spirit working in them.
When we evangelize and seek to defend the Bible publicly, we must do so using
the evidences listed in section 5, but we must also understand that none of
these arguments and evidences, apart from the Spirit, are sufficient to bring
sinners into a right understanding of God's word.
+ Blessings in Christ +
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