ARTICLE VI OF THE THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES OF RELIGION

by Bishop Ogles

Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. * 6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. Proverbs 30:5

Our reformers wisely put forth, in the beginning of their confession of faith, those doctrines on which the Church universal for fifteen centuries had agreed, and which are the foundations of the Christian faith.

Accordingly the first five Articles treat of the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Redemption of the world, the Sanctification of Christians, and the Judgment of all men. Unity on these points was of old times considered to constitute Catholic Christianity; and by declaring her orthodoxy on these Catholic doctrines, the Church of England, in the very front of her confessions, declares herself orthodox and Catholic.

This done in the first five Articles, she, in the next three, treats of the Rule of Faith, the Scriptures, and the Creeds deduced from them.

Accordingly the first five Articles treat of the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Redemption of the world, the Sanctification of Christians, and the Judgment of all men. Unity on these points was of old times considered to constitute Catholic Christianity; and by declaring her orthodoxy on these Catholic doctrines, the Church of England, in the very front of her confessions, declares herself orthodox and Catholic.

The Three Creeds were deduced from them.

I will now quote Article VI

ARTICLE VI.

Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation.

HOLY Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite necessary to salvation.

In the name of the Holy Scripture we do understand those Canonical books of the old and new Testament of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church.

THE CANONICAL BOOKS (OLD TESTAMEN)

This Article gives us a list of the 39 Books of the Old Testament

And also of the 27 Books of the New Testament

There is also a list of the Apocryphal Books which I will not discuss since they cannot be used for doctrinal

truth.

THE SUFFICIENCY OF SCRIPTURE FOR SALVATION.

THAT we may see the force of the words of the Article on this important subject, it will be necessary to consider what opinions were opposed by it. Those opinions were the doctrines of the Church of Rome concerning Scripture and Tradition. It will be well therefore to begin by setting the statements of the Church of Rome and those of the Church of England one against the other; and when we see wherein we differ, we may then proceed to show which is in the right.

THE SUFFICIENCY OF SCRIPTURE FOR SALVATION.

The Roman Position

The Church of Rome, both in her Council, and by the mouth of her most eminent divines, asserts that Scripture does not contain all that is necessary for faith and morals; but that there is need of a traditional doctrine, an unwritten word, which is handed down by unbroken tradition in the Church, and which she, the Church of Rome, esteems with the same feelings of piety and reverence with which she receives the Holy Scriptures. 

It is not merely an Hermeneutical Tradition, i. e. certain doctrines handed down from early times, which are useful for clearing up and explaining obscurities in Holy Writ; nor is it an Ecclesiastical Tradition, i. e. Tradition concerning Church discipline, rites and ceremonies; but it is a traditional revelation concerning doctrine, in matters of faith and morals, which is not to be found in Scripture, and which is equally certain, equally Divine, and equally to be embraced and reverenced with Scripture itself.

Now the Doctrine on the sufficiency of Scripture as opposed to that of Rome:

POSITION OF REFORMATION CHURCH OF ENGLAND

Scripture, according to the Church of England, rightly interpreted, contains all that is necessary to save the soul. From it, by fair and logical inference, may be deduced everything which ought to be imposed as an article of faith. It will be seen, hereafter, that she does not despise nor underrate the light of learning, nor the light of antiquity, but that, as the ground of appeal, she maintains the supremacy, and the sole supremacy, of the written word of God. [4]

Now in proving the soundness of the Anglican, in opposition to the Romish position, we may proceed in the following order.

We may prove —

 I. That Scripture is in favour of it; —

 II. That Reason is in favour of it; — 

III. That the

Primitive Fathers are in favour of it.

I. Scripture is in favour of the doctrine of the Anglican Church, namely, that the written word of God is sufficient for salvation, containing all necessary articles of faith, and rules of life.

Here we may dismiss the arguments from Scripture, which have been brought to prove that Scripture does not contain all doctrine necessary for salvation and godliness. We proceed to consider those passages which appear to prove the direct contrary, namely, that all things, of necessity to be believed, are contained in, or may be deduced from, the written word.

The following are Just a few of the texts commonly alleged: —

“Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it.” Deut. iv. 2.

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Ps. xix. 7.

“Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me.” John v.39.

“From a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation. . . . . All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Tim. iii. 15‒17

But the reason why we rest our faith upon the written word is this: We know that it came from God; but we have no certain knowledge that any unwritten tradition did. The former we know to be the mid-day light, the other may be but an ignis fatuus (Will-o'-the-Wisp), and lead us into error.

“These are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His Name.” John xx.

The Scriptures prevent our wandering into error:

18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. Revelatiuons 22:18-19