The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century was, at its heart, a recovery of the authority of Scripture. The Reformers John Calvin, Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, and others broke with Rome over the fundamental question: who has the final say in matters of faith and practice? ^[raw/en/wcf-intro.md]
The Reformation distilled its convictions into five great principles (the "Five Solas"):
The Westminster Confession is the mature expression of these Reformation principles, developed over a century of theological refinement.
The doctrine of sola Scriptura is the formal principle of the Reformation, the source and norm of all Christian doctrine. It holds that Scripture is the only infallible rule of faith and practice. ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s02.md]
The Westminster Confession begins with this principle. Chapter 1, Section 10 declares: "The supreme judge by which all controversies of religion are to be determined... can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture." ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s10.md]
The Reformation principle does not deny the value of tradition, reason, or the church. It means:
As Robert Shaw says: "Where the Bible is silent, the church must be silent too — at least as to matters of faith and conscience." ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s03.md]
The Reformation did not arise in a vacuum. By the early sixteenth century, the Roman Catholic Church had developed a system in which:
Against this system, the Reformers argued that Scripture is clear in all things necessary for salvation (claritas Scripturae), that it is to be translated into every language (WCF 1.8), and that the apostolic pattern is to search the Scriptures daily to test all teaching. ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s07.md]
The Reformation recovered several truths about Scripture that the Westminster Confession codified:
The light of nature reveals God's existence and attributes, leaving men without excuse. But it is not sufficient for salvation. Therefore God has given supernatural revelation, committed wholly to writing in the Scriptures. ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s01.md]
The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are "given by inspiration of God to be the rule of faith and life." The Apocrypha, "not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the canon." ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s02.md]
The authority of Scripture depends not on the testimony of any man or church but wholly upon God, who is truth itself. ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s04.md]
Our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority of Scripture is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts. ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s05.md]
The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture. ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s06.md]
The Westminster Assembly (1643–1646) was the culmination of the English Reformation. Over one hundred of the finest theological minds in the English-speaking world gathered in the Jerusalem Chamber of Westminster Abbey to produce the Confession of Faith, the Larger Catechism, and the Shorter Catechism. ^[raw/en/wcf-intro.md]
The Assembly met in the shadow of civil war, with enemies on multiple sides: Rome, which denied sola Scriptura; the Enthusiasts, who claimed new revelations; the Socinians, who subjected Scripture to human reason. The Confession was their carefully crafted answer. ^[raw/en/wcf-ch01-s01.md]