Upon realizing confessionalism is a practice found in both the Scriptures and church history, a question arises: What is the practical reason that the Church ought to practice it?
This should be the last argument we make because to lead with the practical argument would be to walk the border and fall into pragmatism, which is certainly not what we should want to do. Pragmatism is the belief in doing things for the mere reason that they work. Confessionalism would be easy to argue for on that basis, but we do not order church or do church on whether something works or not. Indeed, much of what is wrong with the modern church today is because of pragmatism rather than a biblically or historically minded thought process. More Churches should ask, ‘What has the Lord used in the past until today?’
The answer we will find is Creeds and Confessions.
Creating Boundaries
The Creeds and Confessions were adopted by Christians of the past, present, and future for laudable reasons. A.A. Hodge, in his commentary on the Westminster, gives us four purposes for creedal statements and confessions. First is “to mark, disseminate and preserve the attainments made in the knowledge of Christian truth by any branch of the Church in any crisis of its development.” Meaning, that as the Church matured and discovered truths that were in the Bible, the writing of creeds and confessions made sure that those truths were not lost to the ebbs and flows of history but were preserved in the generations to come. The Apostle Paul commanded Timothy that he was to take “…the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”
In fact, Paul groups false teachers with are causing trouble in the Church and those who are led by their passions and desires. Paul instructs Timothy to follow the Sacred Scriptures, in which he was taught from childhood. The Lord has always made a book, or a written Standard, and promised to keep that Standard until there was no longer a need for it. Therefore, the Jews held on to the writings of what we call the Old Testament. Then, the Apostles wrote down letters and books for the New Testament. By doing this, they set down a standard that is needed for the Church to remain pure and strong.
Jesus said, “one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” This was referring to the Old Testament books of the Law. But Jesus’ words here are also applicable to the rest of sacred Scripture.
But the Bible is a big book. In fact, it is many books. While the guarantee of preservation is for the Bible, there is no guarantee that man will always interpret rightly or remember what is important. Thus, Creeds and Confessions are needed to preserve what is important in the doctrinal fidelity of the Church. While that Cannon is closed, the practice of study and application to every generation and against every foe is not over. In lieu of having to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation to explain what is believed about a particular subject, a Creedal statement, or a paragraph from a confessional document will suffice. This provides a way to know and articulate what is believed and can be used to compare with those who would teach something different. These are much smaller and easier to handle in those situations.
Doctrine needs developing. Once developed, it ought to be captured and retained for the Church.
Defense From Our Enemies
Creeds and Confessions help “to discriminate the truth from the glosses of false teachers and to present in its integrity and due proportions.” Simply put, the Creeds and Confessions are helpful in the defense of the faith against error or damnable heresy. Apologetics is something that every Christian does, in that they have a reason that they are a follower of Christ. But defending the faith is not taking random pot-shots at another person’s belief. Defending the faith is taking a stand on a hill, taking on all who make an assault on it. The question is, how can you take a stand if you don’t know where you are supposed to stand? The Creeds and Confessions give us the layout of the battlefield.
If we know the lay of the land, then we can best engage the enemies of the Faith because we know from where they are trying to attack us. Creeds and confessions distill the truths from the Bible that we can use to defend the historic faith.
Promotion of Unity Amongst Churches
The third purpose is “to act as the basis of ecclesiastical fellowship among those so nearly agreed as to be able to labor together in harmony.” Let’s ask a question: What is the difference between a Reformed Baptist and a Presbyterian? Both would hold to the Apostles Creed. Both would hold to the Nicene Creed. Both would hold to the Athanasian Creed. In fact, both would probably agree with the first Reformation Creeds that were written. But a Reformed Baptist and a Presbyterian tend to hold to two different Confessional statements. The Baptist would hold The London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689, while the Presbyterian would hold the Westminster Confession of Faith. These documents are closely related, and both, in their own right, reserve great ability to labor together in the work of the Kingdom. There are differences that usually make the two worship at different Churches because while they have many fundamental agreements, the secondary disagreements affect church governance and membership, making the need to have a separation good for greater unity and harmony in labor. The differences in these confessions will normally cause Baptists and Presbyterians to worship at different churches. However, among those differences are strong, doctrinal agreements that both camps can hold to and confidently join together in cohesive labor.
Discipleship
The fourth purpose is “to be used as instruments in the great work of popular instruction.” The Creeds and Confessions are great tools for the education of Christians. If there is a new Christian, a Creed or Confession is a great way to teach the doctrines of the faith. Voddie Baucham says, “Confessions serve as a standard and starting point for disciple making.”
Where do we start when it comes to teaching the Faith to a new convert? Why not start in Chapter One about the Scriptures? The Confession is written in a manner that the more fundamental doctrines of the faith are in the earlier chapters, and more potentially, secondary doctrines that mark the specifics of a particular confession in the later chapters. This means that the Confession makes a perfect template for discipleship.
Conclusion
In conclusion, creeds and confessions are a natural part of the Christian Religion. It could be said that confession is a part of religion, but it is an absolutely important part of the Christian one. Without creeds and confession, the Church would be adrift in and directed by every wind of doctrine. But, because of the brave and stalwart defenders of the faith, Jesus has used these saints of old to build his Church. Not only has the Church been built, but it has not fallen to heresy or been lost to history.
It is important to note that the fight to keep the church and to keep her strong has not been easy, and at times, there was a sense that the church was going to be won by those who oppose the Gospel. With each one of these victories, the church codified the truth in writing it down in a creed or in a confession, keeping it available for all the generations to come until the Lord returns.
