March 10th, 2023
by Joseph Allen
by Joseph Allen
What is a creed or confession?
When a person hears the word “creed” or “confession” one might not immediately understand what such words mean, even if they are a Christian. Many Christian circles do not have a particular creed or confession. They may have something similar in nature, but the use of such words may be non-existent. In short, a “creed” is a system of religious belief; a faith. Creed comes from the Latin credo, which means “I believe” or “we believe.” Simply put, a creed is a statement of what one believes. There are various creeds that have been written throughout church history such as the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and so forth. They are written expressions of beliefs from the scriptures. Likewise, confessions have the same purpose but maybe are a little more exhaustive than some of the shorter creeds that have been written. A confession is simply a statement setting out essential religious doctrine. Some may refer to this as a “statement of faith” or “doctrinal statement.” There has been a great number of good confessions written throughout church history such as the Westminster Confession, the first London Baptist Confession, the Second London Baptist Confession, the Philadelphia Baptist Confession, the New Hampshire Confession, and so forth. All of these creeds and confessions have the purpose of clearly articulating a set of doctrines believed and practiced by a particular group of Christians.
Why are creeds and confessions important?
If you’re like me, you might wonder why these creeds and confessions were written. Since the church has the scriptures why would there be a need for another document articulating doctrine? Throughout church history from the days of the apostles to now, there have been many times when the church was to take a stand on truth, whether that was a short defense or lengthy defense of their convictions. For example, when the early church was pressured by the Roman Empire to confess “Caesar is lord” they refused such a confession. To say such would be to submit to a Roman creed that was against their Christianity. Instead, the creed of the early church in the face of Roman pressure was “Jesus is Lord.” Many suffered and were martyred because Christ was their creed or confession. And it is true that in the simplest form, this is the creed of every true Christian regardless of secondary doctrinal differences. Charles Spurgeon said in his first sermon at the Metropolitan Baptist Tabernacle, “I would propose that the subject of the ministry in this house, as long as this platform shall stand, and as long as this house shall be frequented by worshippers, shall be the person of Jesus Christ. I am never ashamed to avow myself a Calvinist; I do not hesitate to take the name of Baptist; but if I am asked what is my creed, I reply – ‘It is Jesus Christ’.”
Beyond this simple creed which every true Christian confesses are the more detailed creeds and more exhaustive confessions of faith. Throughout church history, there have been many false teachings and heresies that have arisen often infiltrating the church and drawing believers away into error. Over time certain doctrines that have been believed by the church from the beginning have needed to be defined and defended from scripture. When a particular doctrine is defined and defended there usually is a split between two groups; those who adhere to that doctrine and those who do not. The more doctrines that have been defined and defended the more lengthy some creeds and confessions have become. Chad Van Dixhoorn writes in his book Creeds, Confessions and Catechisms that “by the time of the Protestant Reformation of the 1500s, so much had been learned—and so many doctrines were being disputed between the Reformers and Rome—that creeds were supplemented by longer lists of doctrines that Christians confessed.” Both before and after the time of the Reformation doctrine has been disputed and has needed to be clearly articulated. We see this even in the early church in the book of Acts when the question about circumcision and the law of Moses being applied to Gentiles was being discussed and properly understood (Acts 15). The church came to a conclusion under the guidance of the Holy Spirit about this matter and a letter was sent to Gentile churches clarifying the right doctrinal position. The book of Galatians later written by Paul would further solidify this doctrinal issue.
The point here is that articulating and defending doctrine has been needed throughout church history ever since the canon of Scripture was completed. Confessions and creeds have been produced for this purpose. Confessions clearly describe doctrine, and doctrine defines who a church or group of churches are. For example, the 1689 Second London Baptist confession was compiled in the 17th century by Particular Baptists who were marked by repeated cycles of persecution at the hands of the established Church of England because they doctrinally differed from the state church. To clearly identify who they were in doctrinal matters, a circular letter was sent to Particular Baptist churches in England and Wales asking each assembly to send representatives to a meeting in London in 1677. A confession modeled after the Westminster Confession of Faith was approved and published. This confession was adopted by the ministers and messengers of the General Assembly which met in London in 1689. Ever since then the 1689 Confession, also known as the Second London Baptist Confession, has been an enduring and reliable confession for Baptists. It is an exhaustive confession that articulates the pillar doctrines of the Christian faith and Baptist distinctives. It was not only the confession of Baptists in the British Isles and Ireland but was also a major confession for American Baptists influencing many of the other confessions that have been produced.
From this history, we can see that confessions and creeds have always had the important purpose of articulating the doctrine that scripture teaches. This is why they are important for the church today.
How should the church use a creed or confession?
A creed or confession may serve the church in a twofold way. Firstly, it serves as a guide to studying and knowing doctrinal truth. Some confessions are more exhaustive than others, but in either case, if a confession was accurate in articulating certain Bible doctrines many years ago then it is still accurate today. Truth does not change. This means an accurate confession is an invaluable tool for the church and the individual believer. With this in mind, it is important for the believer and the church to test what a confession says with the scriptures. Some confessions may have some differences in certain doctrines, albeit most of those differences are minor. Even still, the believer and church must be diligent to always examine doctrine from the scriptures as their authority. Scripture alone is divinely inspired and is the only authority for faith and practice. As Paul told Timothy, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Tim. 3:16). Confessions and creeds are not divinely inspired, but most of them have scripture references linked to the doctrine they teach which gives the believer a clear and easy path to examining all things in the confession with the scriptures. Like the Bereans, believers should be “…examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11b). When we see that a confession aligns with scripture it is a precious guide in the study of truth.
Secondly, a doctrinally sound creed or confession may serve as a guardian of the truth to the church and the believer. Since many confessions held by churches have been clearly tested by both the scriptures and over time, it is safe to say that a doctrinally sound confession helps guard against errors that may attempt to creep into the church. Remember, many confessions and creeds were produced to correct errors and establish churches in truth. A good confession or creed continues to serve this purpose in the church today. There will always be assaults on truth in various ways, and the Christian is called to defend the truth. Jude instructed his Christian listeners, “…contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jd. 3b). Doctrinally sound confessions help us to contend for the faith and guard us against error.
What does a creed or confession do for the church?
Every church should have a creed or confession of faith that clearly lays out what they believe. What a church believes is who they are. Since this is true, a confession or creed may do a few very beneficial things for a church. Firstly, having a confession held by the church gives transparency to what the church believes. The number one thing any believer visiting a new church should be investigating is what they believe. What is the doctrine of the church? The church should be transparent about its doctrine and a confession does this for a church. Cults like to hide what they actually believe, but churches are the “…pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). May the church never be ashamed of the truth of scripture. Secondly, having a confession of faith soundly grounded in the scriptures with reference to the scriptures reveals that scripture alone is the authority for what a church believes. It is not the confession that dictates what we believe but only the scriptures. But the confession will clearly lay out what a church believes from the scriptures. This is another benefit of having a scripturally established confession.
Lastly, having a confession held by the church manifests unity in what the church believes. Unity in the church is essential, especially when it comes to doctrine. Howbeit, within a confession there may be some minor differences among individual believers with their convictions on certain doctrines. This is certainly fine as every believer will not agree on everything. The important thing is that the members of a church have a confession that they all can generally accept even if they may have a minor disagreement on a particular issue. Far too many Christians make mountains out of molehills when it comes to minor differences of conviction. The church should have unity around a sound body of doctrine compiled in a confession. If a church has this unity in a confession of faith, especially on the major doctrines that matter the most, then the church will have blessed fellowship and communion together as they worship and serve Christ in the truth.
When a person hears the word “creed” or “confession” one might not immediately understand what such words mean, even if they are a Christian. Many Christian circles do not have a particular creed or confession. They may have something similar in nature, but the use of such words may be non-existent. In short, a “creed” is a system of religious belief; a faith. Creed comes from the Latin credo, which means “I believe” or “we believe.” Simply put, a creed is a statement of what one believes. There are various creeds that have been written throughout church history such as the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and so forth. They are written expressions of beliefs from the scriptures. Likewise, confessions have the same purpose but maybe are a little more exhaustive than some of the shorter creeds that have been written. A confession is simply a statement setting out essential religious doctrine. Some may refer to this as a “statement of faith” or “doctrinal statement.” There has been a great number of good confessions written throughout church history such as the Westminster Confession, the first London Baptist Confession, the Second London Baptist Confession, the Philadelphia Baptist Confession, the New Hampshire Confession, and so forth. All of these creeds and confessions have the purpose of clearly articulating a set of doctrines believed and practiced by a particular group of Christians.
Why are creeds and confessions important?
If you’re like me, you might wonder why these creeds and confessions were written. Since the church has the scriptures why would there be a need for another document articulating doctrine? Throughout church history from the days of the apostles to now, there have been many times when the church was to take a stand on truth, whether that was a short defense or lengthy defense of their convictions. For example, when the early church was pressured by the Roman Empire to confess “Caesar is lord” they refused such a confession. To say such would be to submit to a Roman creed that was against their Christianity. Instead, the creed of the early church in the face of Roman pressure was “Jesus is Lord.” Many suffered and were martyred because Christ was their creed or confession. And it is true that in the simplest form, this is the creed of every true Christian regardless of secondary doctrinal differences. Charles Spurgeon said in his first sermon at the Metropolitan Baptist Tabernacle, “I would propose that the subject of the ministry in this house, as long as this platform shall stand, and as long as this house shall be frequented by worshippers, shall be the person of Jesus Christ. I am never ashamed to avow myself a Calvinist; I do not hesitate to take the name of Baptist; but if I am asked what is my creed, I reply – ‘It is Jesus Christ’.”
Beyond this simple creed which every true Christian confesses are the more detailed creeds and more exhaustive confessions of faith. Throughout church history, there have been many false teachings and heresies that have arisen often infiltrating the church and drawing believers away into error. Over time certain doctrines that have been believed by the church from the beginning have needed to be defined and defended from scripture. When a particular doctrine is defined and defended there usually is a split between two groups; those who adhere to that doctrine and those who do not. The more doctrines that have been defined and defended the more lengthy some creeds and confessions have become. Chad Van Dixhoorn writes in his book Creeds, Confessions and Catechisms that “by the time of the Protestant Reformation of the 1500s, so much had been learned—and so many doctrines were being disputed between the Reformers and Rome—that creeds were supplemented by longer lists of doctrines that Christians confessed.” Both before and after the time of the Reformation doctrine has been disputed and has needed to be clearly articulated. We see this even in the early church in the book of Acts when the question about circumcision and the law of Moses being applied to Gentiles was being discussed and properly understood (Acts 15). The church came to a conclusion under the guidance of the Holy Spirit about this matter and a letter was sent to Gentile churches clarifying the right doctrinal position. The book of Galatians later written by Paul would further solidify this doctrinal issue.
The point here is that articulating and defending doctrine has been needed throughout church history ever since the canon of Scripture was completed. Confessions and creeds have been produced for this purpose. Confessions clearly describe doctrine, and doctrine defines who a church or group of churches are. For example, the 1689 Second London Baptist confession was compiled in the 17th century by Particular Baptists who were marked by repeated cycles of persecution at the hands of the established Church of England because they doctrinally differed from the state church. To clearly identify who they were in doctrinal matters, a circular letter was sent to Particular Baptist churches in England and Wales asking each assembly to send representatives to a meeting in London in 1677. A confession modeled after the Westminster Confession of Faith was approved and published. This confession was adopted by the ministers and messengers of the General Assembly which met in London in 1689. Ever since then the 1689 Confession, also known as the Second London Baptist Confession, has been an enduring and reliable confession for Baptists. It is an exhaustive confession that articulates the pillar doctrines of the Christian faith and Baptist distinctives. It was not only the confession of Baptists in the British Isles and Ireland but was also a major confession for American Baptists influencing many of the other confessions that have been produced.
From this history, we can see that confessions and creeds have always had the important purpose of articulating the doctrine that scripture teaches. This is why they are important for the church today.
How should the church use a creed or confession?
A creed or confession may serve the church in a twofold way. Firstly, it serves as a guide to studying and knowing doctrinal truth. Some confessions are more exhaustive than others, but in either case, if a confession was accurate in articulating certain Bible doctrines many years ago then it is still accurate today. Truth does not change. This means an accurate confession is an invaluable tool for the church and the individual believer. With this in mind, it is important for the believer and the church to test what a confession says with the scriptures. Some confessions may have some differences in certain doctrines, albeit most of those differences are minor. Even still, the believer and church must be diligent to always examine doctrine from the scriptures as their authority. Scripture alone is divinely inspired and is the only authority for faith and practice. As Paul told Timothy, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Tim. 3:16). Confessions and creeds are not divinely inspired, but most of them have scripture references linked to the doctrine they teach which gives the believer a clear and easy path to examining all things in the confession with the scriptures. Like the Bereans, believers should be “…examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11b). When we see that a confession aligns with scripture it is a precious guide in the study of truth.
Secondly, a doctrinally sound creed or confession may serve as a guardian of the truth to the church and the believer. Since many confessions held by churches have been clearly tested by both the scriptures and over time, it is safe to say that a doctrinally sound confession helps guard against errors that may attempt to creep into the church. Remember, many confessions and creeds were produced to correct errors and establish churches in truth. A good confession or creed continues to serve this purpose in the church today. There will always be assaults on truth in various ways, and the Christian is called to defend the truth. Jude instructed his Christian listeners, “…contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jd. 3b). Doctrinally sound confessions help us to contend for the faith and guard us against error.
What does a creed or confession do for the church?
Every church should have a creed or confession of faith that clearly lays out what they believe. What a church believes is who they are. Since this is true, a confession or creed may do a few very beneficial things for a church. Firstly, having a confession held by the church gives transparency to what the church believes. The number one thing any believer visiting a new church should be investigating is what they believe. What is the doctrine of the church? The church should be transparent about its doctrine and a confession does this for a church. Cults like to hide what they actually believe, but churches are the “…pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). May the church never be ashamed of the truth of scripture. Secondly, having a confession of faith soundly grounded in the scriptures with reference to the scriptures reveals that scripture alone is the authority for what a church believes. It is not the confession that dictates what we believe but only the scriptures. But the confession will clearly lay out what a church believes from the scriptures. This is another benefit of having a scripturally established confession.
Lastly, having a confession held by the church manifests unity in what the church believes. Unity in the church is essential, especially when it comes to doctrine. Howbeit, within a confession there may be some minor differences among individual believers with their convictions on certain doctrines. This is certainly fine as every believer will not agree on everything. The important thing is that the members of a church have a confession that they all can generally accept even if they may have a minor disagreement on a particular issue. Far too many Christians make mountains out of molehills when it comes to minor differences of conviction. The church should have unity around a sound body of doctrine compiled in a confession. If a church has this unity in a confession of faith, especially on the major doctrines that matter the most, then the church will have blessed fellowship and communion together as they worship and serve Christ in the truth.
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