In this illuminating episode of “The Reformed Standard,” we explore Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 3: “What do the scriptures principally teach?” Building upon previous discussions about our chief end and the authority of Scripture, this episode tackles the common challenge many believers face when confronting the Bible’s vast and sometimes overwhelming content. The episode reveals how the Westminster divines, with pastoral wisdom, provide a framework for understanding the core message of Scripture. Rather than getting lost in details, we’re guided to focus on the “principal” teachings – the central themes that unify the entire biblical narrative. This approach transforms our Bible reading from fragmented verse-collecting into a coherent understanding of God’s revelation, ultimately helping us fulfill our purpose of glorifying and enjoying God.



Key Takeaways




The Westminster Shorter Catechism provides a logical progression from our purpose (to glorify God), to our guide (Scripture), to understanding Scripture’s principal focus.



The Bible’s vastness and complexity can overwhelm believers, leading to either paralysis (not reading at all) or fragmentation (selective reading without context).



Scripture itself acknowledges its challenging nature, with Peter admitting that some of Paul’s writings are “hard to understand” (2 Peter 3:16).



The word “principally” in WSC Q.3 is crucial – it gives us permission to look for the central themes rather than mastering every detail.



Understanding the principal teachings provides a lens through which to read any passage, connecting individual texts to the unified message.



The Bible’s principal teachings serve our chief end by revealing what we must believe about God and what duties God requires of us.



A proper understanding of Scripture involves seeing it not as random collections but as a single book with a coherent message from one divine Author.




Key Concepts



The Pastoral Wisdom of the “Principally” Framework



The Westminster divines display profound pastoral sensitivity by introducing the concept of “principal” teachings. Rather than leaving believers adrift in Scripture’s vastness, they provide an organizing principle that brings the entire biblical landscape into focus. This approach acknowledges that while every word of Scripture is true and profitable, not every truth holds the same central importance. There exists a hierarchy of doctrine – the dimensions of Solomon’s temple and the number of fish caught in disciples’ nets are true historical facts, but they aren’t Scripture’s main point. This framework transforms our Bible reading from overwhelming detail-gathering into a coherent understanding of God’s unified message. By focusing on principal teachings, we develop a compass for navigating any biblical passage, always connecting it back to the core revelations about who God is and what He requires of us.



The Two-Fold Purpose of Scripture’s Principal Teachings



Scripture’s principal teachings directly fulfill our chief end through a two-fold purpose: revealing what we must believe about God and what duties God requires of us. The first aspect focuses on theology proper – truths about God’s character, attributes, works, and redemptive plan that form the foundation of our glorifying Him. We cannot properly glorify what we do not truly know. The second aspect addresses our practical response – the commands, instructions, and wisdom that guide how we are to live in light of who God is. This pattern reflects Scripture’s consistent movement from indicative (what God has done) to imperative (how we should respond). These two elements are inseparable in Scripture’s teaching: right belief about God leads to right living for God. This framework helps us approach any biblical text by asking how it contributes to either revealing God’s nature or instructing us in our duty toward Him.



Memorable Quotes



“You hold in your hands the very Word of God, your only rule. The natural, pressing question that follows is, ‘Now what?'”



“This question transforms our entire approach to reading the Bible. It becomes the lens through which we can read any passage, whether it’s a narrative in Judges, a psalm of lament, or a doctrinal argument in Romans.”



“What we believe about God is the foundation for how we live for Him.”



Full Transcript



[00:00:06] Foundations of Faith



Over the past few weeks, we’ve laid a critical foundation. We began with the most important question of all: What is the chief end of man? And we found our answer in the glorious purpose for which we were made: to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Then, we asked the next logical question: how do we know how to do that? What is our guide? And we affirmed that the Word of God, contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is our only rule for faith and practice.



[00:00:37] Navigating the Scriptures



And now we arrive at a moment of profound pastoral wisdom in the catechism. We stand before this great library of sixty-six books—this collection of history, poetry, law, prophecy, and letters that spans thousands of years—and we have affirmed that this is our sole, infallible authority. For the sincere believer, this is both a comfort and, if we’re honest, a potentially overwhelming reality. You hold in your hands the very Word of God, your only rule. The natural, pressing question that follows is, “Now what?”



Where do you begin? How do you make sense of it all? It’s one thing to say the Bible is our guide, but it’s another thing entirely to navigate its vast and sometimes difficult terrain. You open to Leviticus and encounter complex ceremonial laws. You turn to Chronicles and read through long, detailed genealogies. You find yourself in Ezekiel, with its strange and powerful visions, or in Revelation, with its dense and debated symbolism. It’s easy to feel a bit lost, like being handed a massive, complex blueprint for a cathedral without a legend to explain the symbols. The sheer scope of it all can be intimidating.



[00:01:48] Challenges in Understanding



And we should be clear: this feeling is not a sign of a weak faith. It is a reality acknowledged within the pages of Scripture itself. The Apostle Peter, in his second letter, makes a remarkable admission about the writings of the Apostle Paul. He says that there are some things in Paul’s letters that are “hard to understand.” You can almost picture Peter, a straightforward fisherman, reading a dense theological chapter like Romans 11, with all its intricate arguments about olive trees and grafting, and just scratching his head for a moment. But think about what his admission means. An apostle, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells us that another apostle’s inspired writings can be difficult. In a way, the Holy Spirit gives us permission, right there in the text, to acknowledge that some parts of Scripture are more than we can handle on our own without careful study and guidance. This validates our struggle; it tells us we are not alone in finding the Bible’s depths to be profound and, at times, challenging.



This feeling of being overwhelmed, however, presents a real danger to the Christian life. For some, it leads to a kind of paralysis. We know we should read the Bible, but the task feels so monumental that we don’t know where to start, and so we often don’t start at all. For others, it leads to fragmentation. We treat the Bible not as one unified story, but as a collection of inspirational quotes. We pick and choose verses that resonate with us, lifting them out of their context without understanding how they fit into the whole counsel of God. We end up with a Bible of our own making, tailored to our preferences, rather than submitting ourselves to the full, coherent message that God has revealed.



[00:03:38] Westminster’s Guidance



It is right at this point of potential confusion that the Westminster divines, with their deep pastoral insight, step in to steady us. They anticipate our challenge. They know the weight of what they have just declared about Scripture’s authority. And so, they provide us with a compass, an organizing principle that brings the entire biblical landscape into focus.



[00:04:01] Principal Teachings of the Bible



They do this by asking our third question: What do the scriptures principally teach?



Take a moment to appreciate the profound wisdom packed into that single word: principally. The catechism doesn’t ask, “What does every single verse of Scripture teach?” It doesn’t ask us to account for every detail all at once. It asks, what is the main thing? What is the central message? What is the great, overarching theme that binds Genesis to Revelation and everything in between? What is the mighty river into which all the smaller streams of biblical truth flow?



This question is a merciful gift. It tells us that while every word of Scripture is true and profitable, not every truth is of the same central importance. There is a hierarchy of doctrine. The details of the dimensions of Solomon’s temple are true and instructive, but they are not the principal teaching of the Bible. The number of fish caught in the disciples’ nets is a historical fact recorded for a reason, but it is not the main point. The catechism, by asking what the Scriptures principally teach, gives us permission and, indeed, a mandate to look for the heart of the matter. It frees us from the tyranny of feeling that we must master every detail before we can grasp the core message.



This question transforms our entire approach to reading the Bible. It becomes the lens through which we can read any passage, whether it’s a narrative in Judges, a psalm of lament, or a doctrinal argument in Romans. We can constantly ask ourselves, “How does this piece of the story connect to the principal teaching? How does this law, this poem, or this prophecy serve the main message that God is revealing?” It forces us to move from merely collecting biblical facts to understanding the unified, coherent system of truth that God has given us. It assures us that this vast library is not a random collection of disparate books, but a single book, by a single divine author, with a single, glorious, primary message.



[00:06:05] Applying the Teachings



So, for this week, that is the question we will meditate on. And as you consider it, lean into what we’ve already established. We know our chief end is to glorify and enjoy God, and we know the Bible is our only rule to direct us in that purpose. So the real question becomes, how does it do that? As you think through the Bible’s message this week, consider how it seems to accomplish its work in two distinct ways. On the one hand, to glorify God, what great truths must you believe about Him? What does Scripture reveal about His character, His works, His plan? And on the other hand, to enjoy Him, what duty does God require from you? How does Scripture direct your path, shape your conduct, and command you to live in response to what you believe?



Ponder that twofold reality this week. Because what we believe about God is the foundation for how we live for Him.

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