Bernard of Clairvaux once mentioned an old man who, upon hearing about any professing Christian who fell into sin, would say to himself: “He fell today; I may fall tomorrow.” The apostle Paul commended the same mindset when he wrote, “let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). There is great wisdom in not trusting our own ability to stand. When I was a boy, my father would often say, “The person I trust least of all is myself.” It should shock us to hear a professing Christian say, “I would never do that,” or, “How could anyone do that?” The Scriptures record great sins of unbelievers and believers alike to instruct us in diverse ways. The former teach the unregenerate their need for the new birth. The latter teach the saints their need to distrust themselves. It is one thing to understand the sinful actions of unbelievers in Scripture; it is quite another to understand the sins of the saints.
Consider the following: If an innocent man could choose a piece of fruit over the infinitely valuable God (Gen. 3:6); if the most righteous man of his day could get so drunk that he passed out naked before his sons in his tent (9:21); if the most faithful man of his day could father a child with his wife’s handmaiden (16:1–4) and twice hand his wife over to other men (12:11–15; 20:1–2); if the mother of promise could laugh at the words of the God of promise and then lie to Him about doing so (18:9–15); if “righteous Lot” could greedily pick the most materialistic and sexually depraved place for himself and his family to live (13:8–13), and could hand his daughters over to the sexually perverse men of the city (19:4–8); if the son of promise could show partiality to his oldest son because he liked his hunting skills (25:28), and he, too, could hand his wife over to another man (26:6–11); and if the namesake of Israel could swindle his brother for a birthright (25:29–34), then so could I.
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The Confession begins by making the case for the necessity of Scripture, God’s written special revelation and inscripturated self-disclosure. The first chapter goes on to state the contents of Scripture positively (what books are in the Bible) and negatively (what books are not). Then it shows in consecutive sections why we believe the Bible is authoritative, true, sufficient for salvation and Christian living, clear, immediately God-breathed, providentially preserved—even while it must be translated into common languages. The chapter concludes with a fundamental principle of biblical interpretation—Scripture infallibly interprets Scripture—and the powerful assertion that the Bible is the sole final authority in all matters of theological dispute.

In the 19th century, theological liberalism undermined European and American confidence in the truthfulness and authority of Scripture. Amid that crisis, the theologians of Princeton turned to the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646). Men like A. A. Hodge and B. B. Warfield retrieved and reasserted Westminster’s doctrine of Scripture. That recovery informed a century of Protestant pastors and perhaps even foreshadowed and assisted the work of the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy at the end of the 20th century.
Today, the Confession bears lasting fruit. Its doctrine of God, which reflects classical Christian theism and the mature fruit of post-Reformation theology’s articulation of the being and works of the triune God is enjoying a renaissance in our time. It has provided protection from sub-biblical and ill-informed conceptions of God.
As Sinclair Ferguson writes, “To an extraordinary degree [the Westminster Divines] studied in depth the same issues which trouble and challenge the church today, and their work continues to serve as an invaluable guide.” It’s well worth our time to acquaint ourselves with the Confession and its history, content, and influence.
History and Content
The Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), along with the Larger and Shorter Catechims, stands at the end of the Reformed tradition’s confessional age. It builds on over a hundred years of Protestant theological reflection and formulation in Europe, while also incorporating the rich legacy of historic creedal Christianity stretching back to the early church councils and fathers. 
The Confession of Faith derives its name from the Westminster Assembly (1643–49/52), which met in London’s historic Westminster Abbey. The Assembly was an ecclesiastical council appointed by “the Long Parliament” of 1640–48 to recommend reforms in the doctrine and practice of the Church of England.
We can sum up the Westminster Confession’s 33 chapters in two parts, not unlike some of Paul’s epistles: doctrine (chapters 1–18, 32–33) and duty (19–31). The confession summarizes for us what the Scriptures teach us to believe (the theology of the faith) and how we’re to live (a practical Christian ethic).
The Confession contains 186 paragraphs and at least 205 distinct theological propositions, but it can be broadly outlined in eight sections: Scripture (chapter 1), God (2–5), man and sin (6), Christ and salvation (7–13), our God-enabled response to God’s salvation (14–18), the Christian life (personal, familial, and social, 19–24), the Christian life (ecclesiastical, 25–31), and last things (32–33).
The Westminster Catechisms, too, follow this outline. The Shorter Catechism could be summed up as what Christians believe (Questions 1–38) and how Christians are to live (39–107). The Larger Catechism’s structure is similar, with sections dedicated to doctrine (Questions 1–90) and duty (91–196).
High Doctrine of Scripture
The Confession begins by making the case for the necessity of Scripture, God’s written special revelation and inscripturated self-disclosure. The first chapter goes on to state the contents of Scripture positively (what books are in the Bible) and negatively (what books are not). Then it shows in consecutive sections why we believe the Bible is authoritative, true, sufficient for salvation and Christian living, clear, immediately God-breathed, providentially preserved—even while it must be translated into common languages.
The chapter concludes with a fundamental principle of biblical interpretation—Scripture infallibly interprets Scripture—and the powerful assertion that the Bible is the sole final authority in all matters of theological dispute. It’s the norma normans non normata (the norm that norms and cannot be normed). That is, because Scripture is the Word of God, it has the final word in all matters of faith and practice.
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As we learn to meditate on the meaning and application of the Word, every believer ought to grow in the grace of actually applying it to life. You see, it’s one thing to prayerfully discern how to put a passage of the Bible into action, but it’s another thing to do it. And we must press on to actually being doers of the Word because that’s where the truth comes to life for us, and that’s where we bear the kind of fruit that glorifies God, amplifies our joy, and blesses other people.

Over the years, I have benefited from Colossians 3:1-17 more than even I know. One of the main reasons for this is that it so clearly displays how God works with his people; he is always seeking to transform our hearts and shape our motives rather than just modifying our behavior. Human religions, including Christian legalism, try to change or control people by imposing rules upon them and demanding conformity from them. That is, they seek to work from the outside in. But while their approach has an appearance of wisdom and spirituality, it has no value in suppressing the flesh and addressing self-indulgence (Colossians 2:23). Indeed, human religion has no power to transform even a single life.
In contrast, God seeks to shape godly behavior in us by getting to our hearts, by helping us see and feel that we’re loved and accepted by him without reservation through faith in Christ, by helping us understand why he instructs us in the way he instructs us, by inviting us to join him in his work, and by giving us the power of his Spirit to do what’s glorifying to him, best for us, and beneficial to others. He issues the “what” of his commands on the foundation of the “why” of the gospel, and Colossians 3:1-17 displays this well in the space of just a few verses.
Seek the Things Above (3:1-4)
To begin with, we see in verses 1-4 that God, by his eternal grace, made us alive with Christ when we put our trust in him so that our past, present, and future blessings have been eternally secured for us. As for our past, Paul states that we died, which is to say, our old selves died with Christ when we believed in Christ. As for our present, Paul declares that our lives are hidden with Christ in God, where our Good Shepherd faithfully and ceaselessly intercedes for us and protects us from all threats within and without. As for our future, Paul prophesies that when Christ returns and his glory lights up the sky, then we who have put our trust in him will also appear with him in glory.
Friends, for those who believe, this is our reality and destiny, and nothing or no one can change, corrupt, or snatch away what God has done for us! And since this is so, doesn’t it just make sense that we would spend our lives seeking the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God? Doesn’t it just make sense that we would set our minds and fix our eyes on the things above, and not on earthly things? In verses 5-15, God calls for a number of things from his people, but all of these things are built upon this “why” of our lives in Christ. Why should we rid ourselves of certain things and develop a way of life characterized by other things? Because God has done all of this for us in Christ, he wants us to come into the fullness of his joy by cooperating with his work in us.
Put to Death the Earthly Things (3:5-11)
With this in mind, God gives us some negative instructions in verses 5-11 and some positive instructions in verses 12-15. He calls on us to seriously and severely rid our lives of certain things and passionately and persistently clothe ourselves with other things. But I say again, and we must never forget that these things flow from the “why” of the gospel as God revealed it to us in His Word.
On the one hand, God calls us in verses 5-11 to put to death everything that’s still earthly in us, things that aren’t pleasing to him and don’t reflect his heart and character. Specifically, he mentions sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from our mouths. Paul warns us that because of these things, the righteous judgment of God is coming upon all who refuse to humble themselves and receive the grace, forgiveness, and life of God in Christ. But for those of us who have believed by God’s grace, his best desire for us is that we let go of, and in fact kill, our old self along with its way of life and put on the new self, which most beautifully images Christ.
As Paul says in verse 10, God is renewing us in knowledge after the image of our Creator; in other words, he’s transforming our lives by first transforming our minds, hearts, and wills. Since this is so, let’s cooperate with him and kill everything in us that’s working against him. You see, this is yet another part of the “why” of Colossians 3:1-17—God is working in us, he’s renewing us in his image, and for this reason, he’s calling us to die to what’s already dead in us. He’s saying, My Children, trust me and cooperate with my work in you.
Put on Godly Things (3:12-15)
On the other hand, in verses 12-15, God calls us to clothe ourselves with the kinds of things that reflect his heart and character. Things that are honoring and glorifying to him. Things that give rise to the greatest joy in us. Things that bless and build up other people. But before he does that, he adds even more to the “why” of his instructions in verse 12, “Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved.” Friends, these things are facts of our lives through faith in Christ, and there’s simply nothing we can do to make ourselves more or less chosen, holy, and dearly loved. Of course, our behavior still pleases God (if we obey His Word) or displeases God (when we sin), but the fact is that he’s completely forgiven and accepted us through faith in Christ and counts us as his chosen ones, his holy ones, his dearly loved children. This is the reality of our lives.
On the foundation of this “why,” God then invites us into the privilege and joy of being like him. He graciously calls us to cooperate with his work in us and develop a way of life that best magnifies him, amplifies our joy, and equips us to be a blessing to others.
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