The Covenanters, Part 2: The Kirk of the State and Her Confession
By Pastor Jacob Tanner - Posted at Place for Truth:
If you were to travel to the Reformation Wall in Geneva, Switzerland, or to the Huguenot Memorial in Franschhoek, South Africa, you would likely happen across that famous Latin phrase, “Post Tenebras Lux.” Taken from the Latin Vulgate translation of Job 17:12, “After darkness, I hope for light,” this phrase was first chosen by the Calvinists of Geneva to represent the recovery of the gospel after a period of theological darkness, wherein the true gospel had been shrouded in a mysterious and shadowy darkness of superstitious beliefs and salvation by works.Eventually, “Post Tenebras Lux” became the motto for the whole of the Protestant Reformation, the impact of which during the sixteenth century had an incredible far-reach on the entirety of the world. One nation that was greatly changed through the efforts of the magisterial reformers was Scotland herself. The nation, through the concentrated efforts of men like John Knox, became thoroughly Protestant, warring against the remnants of Roman Catholicism that continued to cling throughout the land, arguing for a gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
The Scots, in 1638, would sign into effect The National Covenant, which would bind the nation through a covenant to worship the Triune God, placing their faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, and to faithfully serve and worship God—in the home, the Kirk, and the nation—as God had prescribed within His Word.
However, before one can understand why the National Covenant was written as it was, yet another document must be examined first: The Scots Confession of 1560.
As the Protestant Church developed her doctrines and polity, the Scots had a vested interest in making sure the Protestant cause of reformation would continue. Thus, in 1560, Scottish Parliament did something quite remarkable: They covenanted around the idea that the Kirk (the Protestant Christian Church in Scotland) was to be the sole form of religion in Scotland. No other religions or practices would be tolerated.
Codifying this into law further, Scottish Parliament requested that John Knox himself advise five other men (each named John) to construct a Confession of Faith for the whole of the Scottish nation to subscribe to. Though there were six men involved closely in its writing over a four-day-period, it is customarily ascribed to Knox himself. This is unsurprising as he is both the most well-known of the various men that were assembled, and it is his theology that is clearly stamped throughout the document.
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