Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 84:2 (Fall 2022)
Article: Hidden In Plain Sight: Natural Law And The Westminster Confession Of Faith
Author: Benjamin B. Saunders

WTJ 84:2 (Fall 2022) p. 177

Hidden In Plain Sight: Natural Law And The Westminster Confession Of Faith

Benjamin B. Saunders

Benjamin B. Saunders is an associate professor at Deakin Law School, Geelong, Australia. He extends thanks to Chad Van Dixhoorn, David VanDrunen, and Simon Kennedy for valuable comments on a draft of this article.

This article looks at the concept of natural law taught by the Westminster Confession of Faith, examining the views of the Westminster divines in light of the tradition of Christian thinking about natural law and their impact on the text of the Confession. It argues that the divines universally held to a doctrine of natural law and that the Westminster Confession unambiguously teaches the principle of natural law.

The Confession teaches that there is a universally applicable moral law given by God which is binding on all people at all times. That law was originally given as part of the covenant of works, being written perfectly on the heart of Adam and Eve, and later delivered in authoritative revealed form in the Decalogue. The moral law, therefore, is both natural and positive, being written on the heart and in Scripture. Through natural law it is possible to attain real, although incomplete, knowledge of God and morality, but it is not sufficient to attain salvation.

This article also argues that there were differences among the divines, with some holding to a more cautious view of natural law while others held to an expressly Thomist conception. The Confession more closely reflects the cautious view, but both are consistent with its teaching. Contemporary writings explain why the Confession taught a concept of natural law while avoiding use of the term.

I. Introduction

This article examines the concept of natural law taught by the Westminster Confession of Faith. At first glance this examination may seem like a search for something that is not there. The chapter on the law does not expressly employ the phrase “natural law”; the closest the Confession comes to the term is a single use of the phrase “law of nature” and a few scattered references throughout to the “light of nature.”1 It is no doubt for these

WTJ 84:2 (Fall 2022) p. 178

reasons that there is little recognition that the Confession affirms natural law, and there has been little scholarly analysis of the Confession’s view of natural law.2 Notwithstanding these apparently slim pickings, it is in fact the case that the Westminster Confession of Faith unambiguously teaches the principle of natural law. Natural law is hidden in the Confession in plain sight...