Introduction
This article initially appeared on The Gospel Coalition Africa blog by the same author as Making the Case for Confessions of Faith on February 9, 2021.
I have grown up in and serve in Presbyterian churches. One of the things I have come to appreciate from my adolescent years is the catechism classes. These are classes that are given to orient people to the Christian faith. I came to later learn that these catechisms borrowed from creeds and confessions of the global church. Upon my conversion, I realized that they had given me a doctrinal foundation that has helped to strengthen me in my Christian walk. Additionally, reciting the creeds during worship services reminds us that we are part of the bigger family of faith. Serving in contexts where I disciple young people who have not had a church background, it is clear that there is need for a robust doctrinal foundation. Creeds and confessions can help to do just that, no matter our church affiliation. But what are these creeds?
I believe you only live once.
I believe life is about seeking happiness.
I believe you should do what your heart desires.
I believe that I will go to heaven.
I believe in God.
These statements are what are called creeds. The word ‘creed’ is derived from the Latin credo, which means “I believe.” Historically creeds are short statements that summarise Christian teaching and beliefs. If a friend asked you what do you believe, as a Christian, what would you say?
The best thing to do would be to read them the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, but you would require more coffee hangouts than our budgets typically allow. A much effective way to answer your friend would be to turn to one of the church’s tried and tested historical creeds and confessions.
Creeds in the Bible
Creedal statements can actually be found in the Bible, though the Bible is obviously much more than a creed. Nevertheless, certain short statements throughout both the Old and New Testaments capture what the people of God have believed about certain things. One of the most famous examples is Israel’s shema, “Hear O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Another example, this time from Paul can be found in 1 Timothy 3:16, “He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” Then there is the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20); 1 Corinthians 15:3-7; Philippians 2:6-11; and Colossians 1:15-20.
Creeds in the History of the Church
Creeds have been very important in the life of the Church. In the early church, they were used for several reasons:
- Grounding new believers – teaching new believers the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith.
- Guarding against heresies – because it took some time before the Scriptures were collected in one book, the faith was initially passed on through oral tradition – much like our African cultures and traditions. Because of that, people would be prone to error – what are called heresies. On many occasions in the first 4 centuries, to guard against heretical teachings, church leaders met in several church councils to formulate common understandings on different doctrines. This led to the drafting of several Christian creeds for example: The Nicene Creed (325 AD); and The Chalcedonian Creed (Council of Chalcedon 451 AD).
In the Presbyterian Church, we usually recite the Apostle’s Creed (circa 70 AD). It opens with, “I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth . . .” which offers a biblical response to the heresy of Gnosticism by showing that God values the created world and thus places importance on material life (See Col 1:15-20 and also “new heavens and new earth” in Rev 21)
Therefore, creeds set forth the Christian understanding of important doctrines such as the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the atonement of Christ among others. These creeds are what ground and guard Christians. Creeds are foundational to the development of the confessions in the history of the Church. Justin Holcomb in his book Know the Creeds and Councils (2014) observes that “the creeds are the boundaries of the faith that separate orthodoxy from heresy, while the confessions color in the picture, tying theology to everyday life in all sorts of ways.” If creeds are summarized statements of belief, confessions are longer expositions of beliefs. Thus, the confessions expand on foundational Christian beliefs by summarizing denominational approaches to the Christian life.
The Confessions of the Reformation
The great protestant reformation of the 15th to 16th century was a rediscovery of many lost biblical truth. Not the least of these was that salvation was the result of God’s grace alone. Different families of the Reformed movement would come to different convictions on particular truths. Yet significant truths were held in common, such as the authority of Scripture and justification by faith alone.
These core beliefs emanated within a time when the Roman Catholic church had either distorted or forgotten these core beliefs. This was partly the result of their stress on several unbiblical doctrines, such as the devotion and prayer to Mary (as well as the saints), penance, belief in purgatory, the infallibility of the pope, and salvation as the result of human works.
The Protestant Reformation was like the breaking of dawn after a dark night. The middle ages, is the historical period of the years 500-1500 AD. During this time, the church was lost in superstitions. And what the protestant reformation rediscovered was the authority of God’s Word, the centerpiece of faith and other pillars of truth – what have been called the five Solas including sola scriptura, sola gratia, sola fide, sola Christus and soli deo gloria. What therefore makes the protestant reformation luminous in the face of darkness is one thing, only one thing:
"The recovery of the knowledge of God"
The notable philosopher and theologian Gordon Clark writes, in What Do Presbyterians Believe?, “The reformers knew Scripture in great detail and understood its implications. They took great pains to teach exactly what God had revealed.” The forerunners of the reformation including Pierre Valdo in France, John Wycliff in England and John Huss in Bohemia, were passionate for biblical truth. They laid the foundations for the reformation which would later be attributed to the work of people such as Calvin, Luther, Viret, Bucer and Bullinger. These leaders would then seek to systematize the unique truths of the Reformation in documents that are called confessions. These confessions are a hallmark to many reformed churches today – even though in practice, the use of creeds and confessions is not very common.
The Westminster Standards
The churches that arose as a result of the reformation are called reformed churches. Reformed churches are churches that are continually being renewed by the Word of God and thus the reformed cry “Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda” – the church reformed and always reforming[^1]. On July 1, 1643, a group of Christian pastors, erudite exegetes, lay Christians and parliamentarians would gather together in what has been called the Westminster Assembly. The practice of these men was to confess every Monday morning of their duty to Scripture and God’s glory and to fast and pray once a month in the course of their almost 6 years labor of love[^2]. This group of believers was tasked with developing documents to unite the churches of England, Scotland and Ireland in light of political upheavals of the time[^3]. Thus, the confession they came up with, which summarizes the Reformed faith, was called the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) in 1646.
Out of the confession, catechisms were developed in the form of questions and answers in 1647. Together with the Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC), the Westminster Larger Catechism (WLC), the Directory of Public Worship, which detailed the worship elements for the churches, and the Directory for Family Worship, which contained their understanding of family worship - are called the Westminster Standards. The Westminster Standards explain the system of doctrine of Presbyterian Churches, what is called the Reformed Faith or the Calvinistic system of faith – which has varied interpretations. Other well-known Reformed Confessions (see a larger list by R. Scott Clark here), that are used by other Protestant and Reformed Churches include the Thirty-Nine Articles of Faith, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort and the 1689 London Baptist Confession.
Creeds and Confessions are Sub-ordinate to Scripture
The Creeds and Confessions are not above Scripture, as some may think. For instance, the WCF itself concludes its first chapter on Scripture by noting: 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 (Mt 22:29, Eph 2:20, Acts 28:25) WCF I.X One of the major dissuasions from using creeds and confession is “isn’t the Bible enough?” It is clear, from this confession, that the Bible is enough. However, even while the Bible is enough, it has to be interpreted. The different interpretations of the Bible are what lead to different doctrinal emphases and understandings, and some even lead to error. The reformed confessions have the value of expounding biblical doctrines in a way that takes Scriptures very seriously with the hope of reforming the lives of people.
What creeds and confessions help us to do is to organize the teaching of Scripture into a systematic form to enable us to understand the parts in light of the whole. By doing this, it grounds us in what we believe and guards us from heretical teachings. In addition, they discuss the distinct doctrines of covenant theology and reformed ecclesiology. If Christians today have suffered amnesia and confusion concerning who they are, they will do well to go through the creeds and confessions. After all, the Christian faith is a confessional faith at heart.
How to Use the Confessions and Catechisms
Even as we seek unique African expressions of our faith and unity in Christian witness, we are called to be firmly rooted. Some commentators have said that Christianity in Africa is a mile deep and an inch wide. What the creeds and confessions can do is to deepen us in order to broaden us, both in quantity and quality. I offer the following three recommendations on use of creeds and confessions in personal life and church practice:
- Use in Personal Study – You can take a day in the week to go through the Westminster Standards. The Confession and Catechisms are available online. You can do this individually or as a family.
- Catechisms for family use – You can use the shorter catechism which has a Question and Answer summarized format made up of 107 questions. These can help both young and old to deepen their understanding of foundational Christian teachings. For fathers who feel inadequate in playing their roles as priests in their homes, the catechisms are an adequate help.
- Use in the Church’s Ministry – I applaud the use of the standards during our worship and other liturgical services in our churches. The creeds and confessions have played a prominent role in the worship services of the reformed churches[^4]. When we recite the Apostle’s creed during Communion and Infant Baptism for instance, let’s take hold of the actual meaning of the statements we say. This way, we lay hold of the truth contained in these biblical summaries and they serve as a means of grace for the Christian.
Is there a need to append the confessions to include contemporary issues such as sexuality or African cultural issues? Given the fact that the confessions were written for church purposes, I may think this is certainly something the wider church can do. But in terms of the orthodox understanding of the faith, the creeds and confessions cover good ground. During a time when people have relegated the place of doctrine to the sidelines, the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church has shown us that there is need for Christians to be grounded in what they believe. Underlying this belief is the humble acknowledgment that the Holy Spirit has used other Christians in the past, thereby saving us from historical snobbery – we are not the sole gatekeepers of truth. In light of the overzealous anxiety to be tossed by every wind of culture, the creeds and confessions can ground us in robust theology. There is not a better time that this is needed other than today. And there is no better place than returning to the creeds and confessions handed down to us by the Church.
End Notes
[1]: M. Eugene Osterhaven, The Spirit of the Reformed Tradition: The Reformed Church must always be Reforming (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm B Eerdmans, 1971), 38.
[3]: Chad B. Van Dixhoon, The Making of the Westminster Larger Catechism, Reformation and Revival 10.2 (2001): 99
[4]: Jonathan Gibson & Mark Earngey (Eds.), Reformation Worship: Liturgies from the Past for the Present (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2018).
