As Dr. Jim Packer informs us the Westminster Confession was an Anglican document on loan to the Presbyterian communion: "My frequent quoting of the Westminster Confession may raise some eyebrows, since I am an Anglican and not a Presbyterian.

But since the Confession was intended to amplify the Thirty-nine Articles, and most of its framers were Anglican clergy, and since it is something of a masterpiece, 'the ripest fruit of reformation creed-making' as B.B. Warfield called it, I think I am entitled to value it as part of my Reformed Anglican heritage, and to use it as a major resource." See Concise Theology, Tyndale, 1993, Page XIII. [On transfer from London to Bristol in order to enter studies at Trinity College under the guidance of Alec Motyer and Jim Packer as Co-Principals, the first attendance of Evensong at the local parish church yielded quotations from the Westminster Confession of Faith as articulated by the very worthy Rector].

In his excellent and erudite Systematic Theology, Volume One, under the chapter titled Revelation and Inspiration [page 70], Shedd comments sagely, "The written word, besides the truths of natural religion, and the facts and truths that come within the ken of ordinary human intelligence, contains a series of truths that are altogether different from these.

These are the most important part of the contents of Scripture, and constitute the most strictly supernatural element in the written word. Speaking generally, they are those truths and facts that relate to man's salvation from sin: viz, the trinity; the creation and apostasy of man; the incarnation; and redemption. The doctrine of sin, though a fact of consciousness, and thus belonging also to natural religion, has in the Scriptures certain features that imply special teaching, since human consciousness unassisted could not discover them:"

For us, as sinners before Almighty God, Shedd highlights the key, clear teaching of the word of God that brings us into the Way of Salvation. We could discuss and dispute many departments of theology that do not bring us specifically into the field of soteriology, the doctrine of God's plan of salvation and the details of the redemption wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ. In this present era or economy of the Gospel it is imperative that we grasp first of all, for the sake of our souls, the truth of deliverance from the reign of sin and rescue from its consequences. This is why St. Paul asserts in 1 Corinthians chapters one and two his major priorities as an apostle: "But we preach Christ crucified" [1:23]; "It is because of him [God] that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption" [1:30]. "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" [2:2].

Man's desperate spiritual case and ultimate destiny is so exceedingly crucial that it requires very direct knowledge of his moral plight and the absolute necessity of his being plucked by divine power from imminent danger. Removal from eternal ruin is the dire need of guilty humanity. Man must be urgently snatched from sin and wrested from wrath. That is the achievement of Christ alone. This essential salvific theme is the Church's primary declaration to the world; The skillful balancing of a word of warning and a word of hope.

Every authentic and authoritative expression of biblical Christian faith must adhere to the mode of gospel communication practiced by the apostle Paul. His pattern of ministry was not the exception, but the exemplary model for our close emulation. The task of the Christian church is to preach Christ according to "those truths and facts that relate to man's salvation". The extreme urgency of this task lies in the fact that each person's life span provides the only and brief opportunity to be reconciled to God. The message is vital to eternal welfare and the enjoyment of God forever. The proclamation concerning Jesus Christ as Savior of mankind is the most compassionate assignment of all. The love of the people of God towards the people of the world is best manifested in accurate description and commendation of Jesus Christ as the only hope of our wretched race and its myriad miseries. To veer from allegiance to the word of Christ is to inflict pain and peril upon our fellow human beings who need to know him in his majesty and mercy.

The Articles of Religion still keenly treasured within Reformed Anglicanism maintain the precious core-soteriological themes of Holy Scripture, defined above, and historically insisted upon as particularly essential in clerical subscription (e.g., Ussher) to the 16th century Confession of Faith of the Church of England and still retained in most Anglican provinces throughout the modern world.

To be continued....

Roger Salter blogs at Living Oracles. https://www.rogersalter.com/about.html Born and raised in Australia, he trained for the Anglican ministry at Trinity Theological College in Bristol, England from 1974 to 1979. Following ordination, he served in several parishes in the Church of England and transferred to Birmingham, Alabama in 1994 where he pastors at St. Matthews Anglican Church.