The Need For Creeds
Do you believe in God? Do you believe in Jesus Christ? How does God speak to people today? Do you believe in the Holy Spirit? How does God save people and for that matter what is salvation? What is the nature of God? Are there things about God, salvation, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, scripture, God’s church and other things that are set in stone (forgive the pun) and others with which the church can be somewhat flexible? And even if we do settle upon some of these things today what about tomorrow? Should the church revisit and perhaps even revise these issues each generation or each time it comes into contact with a new or different culture? I don’t think we have to. Why?
By God’s gracious providence His church has generated a number of systematic statements of conviction regarding what scripture teaches on any number of topics. Many of these creeds and confessions grew out of conflict and confusion over what scripture taught on a specific issue. These confessions and creeds have been used by the church to clarify what we believe and what we’re convinced scripture teaches regarding the nature of God, revelation, how God acts in creation, Jesus Christ, mankind, sin, salvation, the Holy Spirit and other topics. Are creeds and confessions important today? I believe so. For instance Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses and Muslim all claim to believe in Jesus Christ. For that matter each of these groups also believes that scripture is a holy book. Yet, most bible believing Christians would recognize that none of these groups are convinced that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity and the only true representative between God and humanity. None would claim that the scriptures we recognize as the Old and New Testament is God’s final and only authoritative revelation.
Why are creeds and confessions important for us today? They’re important because they help us to acknowledge that God has been at work within His people before our generation arrived on the scene. God’s wisdom and Spirit have been active in His church to confront confusion and clarify truth. And despite the present anti-historical bent of the evangelical church the God of scripture has always taken a positive view of church history. (see 1 and 2 Sam., 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chron., Psalm 78-82; 105-106; 1 Cor. 10:1-22) These books and passages alert us to the importance of what we can learn from God’s people of the past and how He was at work within them to carry out His will.
Creeds and confessions are also important because the help the church to clarify the meaning of certain commonly used words and phrases. Consequently, they help us to distinguish what is and what is not true regarding what scripture teaches. In this way creeds and confessions can be a useful tool in teaching vital biblical truth to God’s people.
Creeds and confessions can also serve the church by acting as boundaries for sound biblical teaching. Holding to a creed or confession can short circuit attempts to introduce that which is unorthodox into the community of God’s people. The very fact of having a creed or confession can mean that as a people we stand for and on well established truths. And that these truths are so important that the church thought it wise to clarify and organize them into system of belief.
This leads to a final reason for creeds and confessions. They underscore the church’s claim that truth is important and that we are not just a collection of individuals groping our way toward the light. Creeds and confessions can serve notice to the church and to the culture that God’s people are still the church of the living God the very pillar and foundation of the truth.
For Christ, His Church and the Truth
Lance Lewis