Question 3: What is the Word of God?
Answer: The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, the only rule of faith and obedience.
Again the Westminster Divines have given us some foundational stuff on which to build the rest of the Catechism. How can we venture forward into the deep truths of the Lord, unless we know what foundation it is being built upon? The Word of God is that foundation. God has told us the story, and in the process made a provision for us. His Word is the well spring of life, the source of wisdom, and the means of grace. We would only have a general revelation of God without His Word; sufficient to damn us certainly, but it is His Word that delivers the revelation necessary to save us.
With the importance of God's Word in mind, it is worth noting that the very fact of its foundational position targets it for frequent attack. We see this at the beginning when Satan asked Eve "Did God really say..." in Genesis 3:1. We see that today as those opposed to the message of Christ attempt to use any means available to prove the text of God's Word wrong. The most recent failed attempt is chronicled in the Jesus Family Tomb documentary produced by James Cameron.
Why do they try so hard? Simple, if they can prove the word of God wrong, they prove Christianity wrong. In all the media interviews and hype surrounding this latest attack, it was sad to have heard many people disassociate their faith from the truth claims of the Bible. I’m sure that some thought that they were standing up for Christianity, but in reality they were sharing that they have no faith in the Bible and therefore the message it proclaims. Statements about how the discovery of Jesus’ tomb wouldn’t affect their faith, points to a lack of understanding of what the “rule of faith and obedience” says. These individuals have reduced Christianity to a psychology, a lifestyle drug that gets them through the day. How very sad.
The Word of God is about history. It makes a claim. Prove that claim wrong and we have all been wasting our time in church. Question 3 reaffirms the authority of scripture and sets another foundation block for the systematic discussions ahead in the Catechism. Please, I beg you. If you claim to be a Christian, delve into what you say you believe. Understand its foundations; explore the only rule for faith and obedience.
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