The Riddleblog

An Exposition of Article Thirteen of the Belgic Confession -- "Nothing Happens Apart from His Direction"

Creation and providence are two doctrines which fit together like hand and glove. God created all things visible and invisible from nothing (the doctrine of creation), and God sustains the world he has made and so rules over it that all things fulfill the ends for which they have been created (this is the doctrine of providence). Christians believe God is distinct from the world (unlike the pantheists, who confuse God with the world). Yet, while distinct from the world, nevertheless, we believe and confess that God is intimately involved in every aspect of the world he has made. In believing this, we reject all forms of deism, which teach that after creating all things, God steps back (so to speak), allowing human history to simply run its course.

Articles Twelve and Thirteen of the Belgic Confession address the closely related doctrines of creation and providence. As we have seen throughout our study of articles Eight through Eleven of our confession, which deal with the Trinity and the deity of the Son and Holy Spirit, the Triune God creates and sustains all things. The Christian view of creation and providence is quite different from other monotheistic religions such as Judaism and Islam, both of which deny the deity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, as well as their respective roles in the creation of all things.

To read the rest of this exposition, click here: An Exposition of Article Thirteen -- "Nothing Happens Apart from His Direction"

Belgic ConfessionKim RiddlebargerOctober 1, 2021Creation, Providence, Divine concurrence

An Exposition of Article Twelve of the Belgic Confession -- "The Creation of All Things"

One of the basic affirmations of Christian theology is that God created all things out of nothing. This includes the creation of things visible and invisible. It is clearly taught in Scripture that God does not create all things and then step back as a dispassionate observer, watching the created order run its course. This is the error of the deists. God creates all things, and he ordains the ends for which they have been created. He also sustains and upholds the things he has created so that they fulfill the ends for which they were created. This is what we mean when we speak of the doctrines of creation and providence and reveals these two topics to be inextricably linked.

Given the alarming increase in pagan conceptions of the world and creation found in American religion and culture–that God is in some way identified with the creation itself, that God is somehow a part of the world (pantheism)–this is yet another truth which is important for us to believe and confess before the unbelieving world around us. We now move from a discussion of the Trinity and the deity of the Son and Holy Spirit (articles eight through eleven), to a discussion in articles twelve and thirteen of the work of the Triune God in creating and sustaining all things. As we saw when we discussed the Trinity and the unique properties of each of the divine persons of the Godhead, all three members of the Godhead are said to participate in the creation of all things.

To read the rest of the this exposition, "Created Out of Nothing"

Belgic ConfessionKim RiddlebargerAugust 26, 2021Doctrine of CreationComment

An Exposition of Article Eleven of the Belgic Confession -- The Deity of the Holy Spirit

Far too often we hear people speak of the Holy Spirit as an “it,” not a “who.” One reason this is the case is that it is the nature of the Holy Spirit’s work to bring glory to Jesus Christ, not to bring glory to himself. This is why one theologian calls the Holy Spirit, the “shy member of the Trinity.” But the self-effacing role the Holy Spirit plays should not cause us to de-emphasize the fact that the Holy Spirit is truly God and that he possesses all of the divine attributes as do the Father and Son. Even as we speak of the Father as God, the Son as God, so too we must speak of the Holy Spirit as God, for he is the third person of the Holy Trinity.

We are in that section of our confession (articles eight through eleven) which deals with the doctrine of the Trinity, the deity of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As we have emphasized when going through these articles, often people erroneously believe that since Christians, Jews, and Muslims are monotheists, we all worship the same God. But this is not the case. Christians worship the Triune God, who reveals himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As we have seen, the Koran (the holy book of Islam) directly attacks the doctrine of the Trinity. Jews emphatically deny that God reveals himself as three persons and many regard the doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ as one of the leading factors in the rise of Anti-Semitism, since Jews are often blamed for the crucifixion of the Son of God.

To read the rest: An Exposition of Article Eleven of the Belgic Confession -- The Deity of the Holy Spirit

Belgic ConfessionKim RiddlebargerJuly 10, 2021Deity of the Holy SpiritComment

An Exposition of Article Ten of the Belgic Confession -- The Deity of Jesus

While a truism in modern American–“Jews, Muslims and Christians, all worship the same God”–the deity of Jesus Christ is the most obvious reason why this is not the case. Like Jews and Muslims, Christians are monotheists. But unlike Jews and Muslims, Christians are also Trinitarians. We believe that the one God is triune and is revealed as three distinct and divine persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If Jesus Christ is fully God, and if Jews and Muslims reject his deity, then Jews and Muslims do not worship the same God that Christians worship.

Christians embrace the New Testament as part of God’s self-revelation (unlike the Jews). Since Christians believe that the New Testament’s teaching regarding the deity of Jesus Christ supercedes all subsequent supposed revelation from God (i.e. the Koran–the holy book of Islam), then the person and work of Jesus Christ will necessarily define the Christian view of God. However, Jews, Muslims, and many indigenous American cults (i.e. Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons) do not accept the deity of Jesus Christ. It is especially important that we believe the doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ in order to be saved, since salvation is found in no other name than the name of Jesus (cf. Acts 4:12). It is also vital to confess this doctrine before the watching world so that people might come to a saving knowledge of God, through the saving work of Jesus Christ, who is the true and eternal God, the Almighty.

We must also confess this doctrine because so many mistakenly think that Jews, Christians and Muslims all worship the same God. No, we do not worship the same God and we cannot allow this mistaken but popular assumption to go unchallenged. This is why we must believe and confess the deity of Jesus.

To read the rest of this article, Article Ten of the Belgic Confession: The Deity of Jesus

Belgic ConfessionKim RiddlebargerJune 4, 2021Deity of Jesus, Arianism

An Exposition of Article Nine of the Belgic Confession -- Biblical Evidence for the Doctrine of the Trinity

In a culture such as ours, which is characterized by religious pluralism and a “god” with only one attribute (“niceness”), it is vital that we believe the correct things about God. We must confess these doctrines before the unbelieving world around us. We do this so as to see people come to faith in the one true God, who reveals himself as three distinct persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But we also confess our belief in the Triune God as a testimony against those who tell us that Christians, Jews, and Muslims all worship the same God, but each in their own way.

Article Nine of the confession, sets forth some of the more salient biblical evidence for the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. In this regard Article Nine presupposes the explanation of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity set forth in Article Eight. As Reformed Christians, we are also “catholic” Christians–not “Roman Catholic” –in the sense that we believe and confess along with the entire Christian church that there is one true God, who is revealed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We do not believe and confess that there are three Gods. We believe and confess that there is but one God who reveals himself as three distinct persons.

To read the rest of this article, click here: We Believe It On the Ground of the Word of God

An Exposition of Article Eight of the Belgic Confession

It is common to hear people say that Christians, Jews, and Muslims all worship the same God–the so-called “Abrahamic Faiths.” The reality is that nothing could be further from the truth. Unlike those who worship Allah, or those Jews who claim to worship the God of Abraham, Christians worship the true and living God, who reveals himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Often it has been said that Christianity’s most distinctive doctrine is that of the Holy Trinity. Even though in many ways the doctrine of the Trinity is beyond our full comprehension, nevertheless we do as the Athanasian Creed exhorts us to do–we worship the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity. We do so because this is how God reveals himself to us in his word, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the one true God.

To read the rest of this article, click here: Belgic Confession Article Eight -- The Trinity

Belgic ConfessionKim RiddlebargerMarch 30, 2021Trinity, Christian Creeds

An Exposition of Article Seven of the Belgic Confession -- The Sufficiency of Scripture

Virtually every pseudo-Christian cult and false religion is founded upon the following premise: “Of course, we believe the Bible. But . . . we have additional holy books that no one else has. We receive new revelations from God which you do not have. We have sacred tradition in addition to the Bible. We have an inspired prophet or teacher who interprets the Bible correctly unlike everyone else.” The essence of false religion is this: We believe in the Bible, plus, we have an additional religious authority which corrects or explains what the Bible really teaches, or else supplements what the Bible supposedly leaves out.

Article Seven of the Belgic Confession deals with the sufficiency of Holy Scripture. While this article comes at the end of that section of our confession which deals with sola Scriptura (Articles Three-Seven), in effect, Article Seven sets out the meaning of the sufficiency of Scripture, and spells out the ramifications of what it means when we as Reformed Christians believe and confess the inspiration, authority, and canonicity of Holy Scripture, God’s word written.

To read the rest, Article Seven -- The Sufficiency of Scripture

An Exposition of Articles Four and Six of the Belgic Confession -- "These Holy Books"

The theological equivalent of the age-old question, “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” is the question, “which comes first, the church or the canon of Scripture?” This was a pressing issue when the Belgic Confession was written, and it remains a pressing issue today. Does the authority of the church precede the authority of Scripture? Does the church give the Bible its authority and determine the extent of the canon? Or is the Holy Spirit alone fit to bear witness to those books which owe their origin to the inspiration of God? These are important questions.

As we saw in Article Three of our confession, when we speak of the inspiration of Scripture we mean that Scripture is breathed forth by God through the agency of various human writers. This is done in such a way that what the human writers produce are the very words of God. Yet this does not sublimate the author’s personality nor override the historical circumstances at the time of their writing. The very essence of Holy Scripture is that it has its origin in the will of God, not in the will of men. Because God breathes-forth Holy Scripture, the Bible comes to us with the full authority of its divine author. In the Bible, God speaks to us in words and sentences, revealing to us his will (the law), as well as revealing to us how he saves sinners from the guilt and power of sin through the person and work of Jesus Christ (the gospel). This is why Scripture alone is suitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). This is why we base what we believe and confess solely upon God’s word, and not upon mere human opinion or religious experience.

To read the rest of this article, An Exposition of Articles Four and Six of the Belgic Confession

An Exposition of Article Five of the Belgic Confession

John Calvin once declared: “The Scriptures obtain full authority among believers only when men regard them as having sprung from heaven, as if there the living words of God were heard.” Since the Bible comes to us from the hand of God, through the agency of men inspired by the Holy Spirit, when we read the Bible or hear it read aloud, we can be assured that God is speaking to us. The Bible is God’s word written and the same Holy Spirit who breathed it forth, assures us that the words of Holy Scripture are the very words of God.

We now skip ahead to Article Five of our confession which deals with the authority of Scripture. But why defer discussion of Article Four which lists the canonical books of the Bible until later? The reason is a practical one. Recall that in Article Three our confession deals with the subject of the inspiration of Scripture. Scripture has its origin not in the will of humanity, but in the will of God. It is God who breathes forth his word (the Bible) through the agency of human writers without sublimating their individual personalities or negating the historical circumstances under which these books were written. This is what our confession means in Article Three when it speaks of God’s revealed word being committed to writing.

Since Scripture is God-breathed, it is suitable for religious purposes, i.e., teaching, correction and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Only in the Bible do we find the will of God fully revealed (the law) and only in the Bible do we find God’s means of rescuing sinners from the guilt and power of their sins (the gospel). While in nature we see the hand of the Creator, we do not learn of the gospel by contemplating the beauty of a sunset. The gospel is only revealed in God’s word written. This is why we as Christians have a sure and certain knowledge of God and of his will (unlike secularists and pagans), and why we base neither our doctrines nor our practices upon the mere opinions of men (the essence of all false religion). God has spoken to us in his word and we must listen to what he says.

To read the rest of this article, click here: Article Five -- The Authority of Scripture

Belgic ConfessionKim RiddlebargerFebruary 9, 2021Belgic Confession, the authority of Scripture

An Exposition of Article Three of the Belgic Confession

When we speak of the Bible as “inspired,” we do not mean that the Bible is “inspirational.” What we do mean by the term “inspired” is that the Bible is given to us by God as part of his self-revelation for the purpose of giving us a knowledge of his will (the law) as well as knowledge of how to be delivered from the guilt of our sins (the gospel). That said, we’ll address the limits of the term “inspired” momentarily.

When discussing Article Two, we made the case that as our post-Christian culture becomes increasingly hostile towards Christianity in general, and Reformed Christianity in particular, one way in which we are to respond to the unbelief around us is to personally believe those things revealed to us by God in his word and then publically confess these doctrines as a church before the watching world.

One of the most important things we must confess to the unbelieving world is that the Bible is a divinely-inspired, self-revelation of God, through the agency of various human writers. Because God has spoken to us in and through his word, we have a sure and certain foundation for our knowledge of our Creator and Redeemer. God has not left us in the dark with only our own pious opinions about religious matters. Through the words of Holy Scripture, God speaks to us, even this very day.

To read the rest of this exposition: An Exposition of Article Three: The Written Word of God

Belgic ConfessionKim RiddlebargerJanuary 8, 2021Belgic Confession

Exposition of Article Two of the Belgic Confession Posted

According to the Apostle Paul, there is no such thing as an atheist, there are only people who attempt to suppress the knowledge of God in unrighteousness. Atheists may claim they do not believe in God, yet Scripture tells us that they suppress the knowledge of God deep within. I am reminded of the atheist’s quip, “there is no God, but I hate him.” This internal contradiction comes about because God reveals himself to all people in such a way that everyone knows that God exists and that he possesses divine attributes. Since God has made himself known to all, people are without excuse for failing to worship and serve the Creator. But the revelation of God in and through the created order cannot lead people to a saving knowledge of God in Jesus Christ. God reveals this through his word, both in the historical record of his mighty acts in redemptive history, and through the divinely-inspired explanation of those saving acts recorded in Holy Scripture. It is through these two divinely-appointed means (Creation and Scripture), but only through these divinely-appointed means, God makes himself known.

In Article One, the Confession makes the point that the biblical pattern found in Romans 10:8-10 of believing certain doctrines and then confessing them before the watching world is one of the divinely appointed means by which Christians are to respond to unbelief and idolatry. In the previous article, we made the case that we currently live in a post-Christian age and find ourselves confronted with secularism, paganism, false religion, and what may be called the “Great Awokening” at every turn.

To read the rest of this article: An Exposition of Article Two of the Belgic Confession

Belgic ConfessionKim RiddlebargerDecember 17, 2020Belgic ConfessionComment

Exposition of Article One of the Belgic Confession Posted

When someone says “I think God is like,” I can be certain that the person speaking hasn’t got a clue as to what God is like. Since the only way God can be known is through his self-revelation in creation and his word–the topic of article two–someone who defines God based upon personal experience, or personal opinion, is engaging in rank idolatry. While it is easy to think of idolatry as something associated with the primitive peoples of the past, or with pagan religions of the east, nothing could be further from the truth. We are all habitual idolaters. America is a land filled with idols. When we believe and confess that there is only one God, we are raising a standard against the spirit of the age.

The confession of the Reformed churches that there is only one God is at the very heart of all Christian theology. The famous Shema, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4) is the basic confession of faith of Israel and separates biblical revelation from all forms of paganism. Christians do not worship the “sun god” nor the “moon god” as do the ancient pagans. We worship the true and living God who created the sun and the moon. Nor are we pantheists and identify God with that which he has made, as in “the earth is our mother,” the creed of those environmentalists who worship nature. There is only one God–not many gods–and since God has created all things, God cannot be equated with that which he has made. He is transcendent and Lord over all the earth.

To read the rest of this exposition, click here: Exposition of Article One of the Belgic Confession --There Is Only One God

Belgic ConfessionKim RiddlebargerDecember 5, 2020Belgic Confession

An Introduction to the Belgic Confession Posted (PDF)

“We Believe and Confess” An Introduction to the Belgic Confession

We are pilgrims passing through a foreign land. Like Abraham, the father of the faithful, we too are looking for the promised land flowing with milk and honey, that place where at long last we will find rest for our weary souls. In Hebrews 11:10, Abraham is commended because even though the land of promise was not yet his, and even though he believed that God would keep his promise and give him the land, nevertheless Abraham was looking beyond that land lying between the Euphrates and the River of Egypt to that heavenly city whose builder and architect is God. Abraham did this, Scripture says, “by faith.”

To continue, click here: An Introduction to the Belgic Confession (PDF)

Belgic ConfessionKim RiddlebargerNovember 30, 2020Belgic Confession