Jun
10
What Good Are Creeds and Confessions?
“The mere fact that we believe in something doesn’t actually do anything for us. In order for belief to have heart-changing and life-changing significance, it must have the triune God of Scripture as both its source and object (Ps. 68:26; I Cor. 2:5; Eph. 2:8,9)” — Burk Parsons, co-pastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, FL, editor of Tabletalk magazine, and V.P. of Publishing for Ligonier Ministries
Church Councils. Creeds. Confessions. Catechisms. Who needs ’em?
As a Facebook Group admin who does most of the screening of new member applicants, and in particular one that requires at least a baseline of Christian orthodoxy in common among members, I sometimes get into (usually brief) discussions with applicants about theology. For awhile now, I’ve been using the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (aka 381 revision of the Nicene Creed (325)) as a test for full Trinitarianism. (I provide a link to a Wikipedia page that describes and compares the 325 and 381 versions for those people unfamiliar.)
Some people don’t bat an eye at the request — or, at least, I can’t tell from what they say in our PM interaction –, and these people are typically from a confessional denomination (e.g., Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Reformed Baptist), where Church history is taught and respected. But, there are a surprising number who 1) have never heard of the Nicene Creed, 2) have heard of creeds but have no knowledge/interest in them, or 3) are suspicious or have an aversion to creeds, especially if they somehow think it’s just “a Roman Catholic thing”. Sad. (In case you’re wondering, I do try to gently educate them just a bit.)
Understand, I don’t claim to be an expert in Christian theology or the history of the Christian church. But, in recent years, I have come to recognize the value of some modicum of familiarity with at least the major people and events that have shaped our understanding of orthodoxy (right teaching) and orthopraxy (right practice) today. So, I’ve been doing a little reading (on and off) on such topics, in order to have a better grasp of what has gone on before. The creeds, confessions, and catechisms developed by or as the result of historical Church councils are part of that education.
Maybe you are one of those who has little knowledge of or even little respect for the ancient Christian creeds and such. Maybe you think they are redundant or even dangerous. Maybe you’re asking, “Why should I care?” In hopes of encouraging my readers to “give creeds a chance”, I have provided below an article (edited for length) by Burk Parsons, which was in turn adapted from his short book, Why Do We Have Creeds?. I hope you will consider what he has to say.
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“Creeds and Confessions”
Throughout the ages creeds have come under attack on numerous occasions, and such attacks have come almost exclusively from heretics outside the church, which, incidentally, ought to tell us something. Even today at the beginning of the twenty-first century there seems to be a disregard, albeit even disdain, for creeds, not to mention a growing ignorance of creeds even among those who profess to subscribe to them.
After all, if Scripture alone is completely sufficient for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness to the end that we would be competent and equipped for every good work, then why do we need anything else? If the Lord God Almighty wanted us to have anything beyond the sixty-six books of sacred Scripture, could He not have simply provided it to us? Are creeds and confessions really needed in the life of the Christian and in the life of the church? Why declare what the Scriptures already teach? Do not creeds and confessions simply get in the way of understanding Scripture itself?
We can easily see how such questions extend not only to creeds but to the nature and purpose of the study of doctrine itself. What’s more, such questions extend naturally to any and all study of Scripture — all commentaries, all systematic theologies, all sermons, and all discussions and disputes about anything in the Bible. Anytime someone even considers for a moment what God has revealed, he has begun to formulate a creed.
Significantly, the church’s historic creeds affirm that Scripture is our sole infallible and final authority. The Westminster Standards (consisting of the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Larger Catechism, and the Westminster Shorter Catechism) affirm that the sixty-six book canon of Scripture is “given by inspiration of God to be the rule of faith and life.” Furthermore, these standards state that “the supreme judge by which all controversies of religion are to be determined, and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits, are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are to rest, can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture.” The London Baptist Confession of Faith states it this way at the very outset: “The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience.” In essence, the church’s creeds and confessions themselves affirm that the church’s creeds and confessions of faith do not stand as authorities over Scripture but rather serve as affirmations of Scripture’s authority for all of faith and life.
Creeds themselves are authoritative only in that they are subordinate to and derivative from the only divine authority, namely, the inspired and inerrant Word of God. As it is the case with pastors and individual churches, creeds cannot create new revelation, invent new teachings, or make new laws to bind the consciences of God’s people. Creeds serve to affirm the authority of God’s Word, not to stand alone as authorities unto themselves. Creeds are formulated and subscribed to as if they were theological mirrors of the Bible’s fundamental doctrines. As such, creeds exist to reflect the truth summarily, not to advance new truths. Truth isn’t created by man; it is only learned from God. Creeds merely serve to reflect and affirm, by way of systematic summary, the unchanging truth of God for the people of God.
The Assertion of Liberty of Conscience By the Independents at the Westminster Assembly of Divines. Painted by John Rogers Herbert, R.A. (1810-1890)
In fact, we find creeds even within Scripture itself (e.g., Rom. 10:9; I Cor. 15:3-7; Phil. 2:6-11; Col. 1:15-20; II Tim. 3:16). Throughout the apostolic era and afterward, as the effects of sin continued to yield false teachers and their false teaching, and as new heresies were invented, the people of God found it necessary and prudent to reaffirm time and again the sound doctrine of Scripture. Much like the church’s creeds through the centuries, the creeds of the apostolic era and the early church were formulated to serve the church as God spiritually matured His people and advanced His kingdom throughout the world.
So, whether we have in mind the only inspired and infallible creedal formulations in Scripture itself, or uninspired and fallible creedal formulations — such as the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, the London Baptist Confession of Faith, the Three Forms of Unity of the Dutch Reformed churches (the Heidelberg Catechism, the Canons of Dort, and the Belgic Confession), and the Westminster Standards — it is crucial that we understand the church’s God-given duty to be a faithful steward and guardian of the one and only faith once delivered to the saints. We must steward and guard our faith in order to provide the church of all generations with carefully worded, concise summaries of the doctrine of Scripture.
While there are certainly differences among us as Christians, it is because of our stated beliefs — our formal, written creeds and confessions — that we are able to maintain unity grounded in the essential matters of salvation and show liberty on matters not essential to the church’s fundamental doctrines, all the while maintaining our gospel bond with biblically informed and truth-motivated love, recognizing the importance of each and every matter addressed in God’s Word. What is so amazing about the church’s historic creeds is not their doctrinal differences, which certainly do exist, but the overwhelming doctrinal agreement among them. Indeed, the unity of the church is proven not through doctrinal compromise, declared peace, or perceived unity in spite of our secondary and tertiary doctrinal differences, even though all our differences are important. Rather, the unity of the church is proven in our affirmation, confession, and proclamation of the fundamental doctrinal matters of our one Christian religion, without which unity we do not stand within the church but remain outside the one and only church of God. [Note: Italics not in original.]
The church’s creeds and confessions exist, like our very lives, to glorify God according to His truth and, thus, to enjoy Him forever. We do this by believing, confessing, and proclaiming our doctrine, piety, and practice in accordance with what He has revealed and not according to the superstitions of men, the deceitful schemes of Satan, or the arrogant and presumptuous notions of our own hearts. It may be helpful to think of creeds as maps or guides to help us navigate our way as we study God’s Word, looking to the doctrinal keys formulated by our forefathers. Like a good map, a good creed or confession is the result of a significant amount of time, energy, and wisdom devoted by our forefathers to mapping the doctrinal contours of Scripture. The Bible is a beautiful and vast world of mountains, rivers, and paths, and we are called to climb them, navigate them, and walk them as we look to, learn from, and lean on those who have traveled them faithfully in generations past.
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Parsons has spurred me to read the abovementioned creeds and confessions (and hopefully some history surrounding them), which have been conveniently reproduced in my Reformation Study Bible, where I found the full version of the above article. (There are a few other Bibles that include some creeds, too.) I will probably also pick up a book or two that discusses and perhaps compares/harmonizes certain creeds. (Maybe I should start with Parsons’ book?) What about you? Are you “inspired” to get familiar with the major creeds, confessions, and catechisms, and perhaps branch out into some Church history? (I highly recommend Church History in Plain Language by Bruce Shelley.)
