The Creedal Imperative

1. Modern Culture Undermines the Value of Creeds

It would be a tragic irony if the rejection of creeds and confessions by so many of those who sincerely wish to be biblically faithful turned out to be not an act of faithfulness but rather an unwitting capitulation to the spirit of the age.

Cultural forces shape thinking. Powerful currents in modern society subtly erode the perceived need for historic creeds. These forces include a scientific mindset that assumes the present is superior to the past, technology that favors the young and new, and consumerism that promotes constant acquisition and self-creation.

Suspicion of words and authority. Contemporary culture is deeply cynical about language, often seeing it as manipulative or inadequate for conveying deep truth, favoring instead mysticism or pragmatism. There is also a widespread distrust of traditional institutions and external authority, viewing them as inherently oppressive or irrelevant.

Fear of exclusion. A strong cultural aversion to drawing boundaries or declaring some beliefs false makes confessional statements, which inherently exclude those who disagree, seem distasteful. This fear can even influence evangelical approaches, leading to minimal statements of faith that avoid divisive historical doctrines.

2. The Bible Itself Requires Creeds

To claim to have no creed but the Bible, then, is problematic: the Bible itself seems to demand that we have forms of sound words, and that is what creeds are.

God is a speaking God. The Bible presents God as one who creates, covenants, and relates to humanity through words. His speech is powerful, creative, and a primary mode of his presence. Idols, in contrast, are silent.

Words transmit truth. Human beings, made in God's image, are linguistic beings addressed by God's word. The Bible shows words are essential for explaining God's historical actions (like the Passover) and communicating the gospel message.

A "form of sound words". Paul instructs Timothy to hold fast to a "pattern of sound words" (2 Tim 1:13), indicating the need for stable doctrinal content and language to be passed down. This apostolic tradition, distinct from but normed by Scripture, is essential for the post-apostolic church and is embodied in creeds.

3. Early Church Creeds Defined Core Faith Against Heresy

Historically, it is clear that the two things are closely related but that the former precedes the latter in terms of chronology.

Responding to challenges. Following the apostles' deaths, the church faced challenges defining apostolic teaching and the biblical canon, particularly against heresies like Docetism and Gnosticism. This led to the development of the "Rule of Faith," a fluid summary of essential doctrines.

Baptismal confessions emerged. Early Christian initiation rites, like baptism, involved explicit doctrinal questions and confessions, demonstrating that basic creedal structures were in use locally by the 2nd-3rd centuries. These baptismal formulae also served a pedagogical purpose.

Ecumenical councils formalized doctrine. Major councils (Nicaea, Constantinople, Chalcedon) addressed fundamental questions about God's identity and Christ's person, producing normative creeds (Nicene) and definitions (Chalcedonian). These documents established essential vocabulary and boundaries for orthodox theology, often driven by liturgical and pastoral concerns.

4. Protestant Confessions Articulate Distinct Identities

This fragmentation also involved confessionalization.

Reformation fragmentation. The 16th century saw the Western church fragment, leading to the production of numerous confessions. These documents served both theological purposes (defining distinct church identities) and political ones (aligning territories).

Key confessional traditions. Major Protestant confessions emerged, including:

• Anglican Articles (via media, justification, liturgy)
• Lutheran Book of Concord (Luther's theology, sacraments, catechisms)
• Reformed Three Forms of Unity (Belgic, Heidelberg, Dordt - pastoral tone, predestination)
• Westminster Standards (Presbyterian, elaborate, assurance, doctrine/life)
• 1689 Baptist Confession (adapted Westminster, baptism/polity)

Connection to patristic past. These confessions consciously affirmed continuity with the early church creeds (Apostles', Nicene, Athanasian), demonstrating that Reformation Protestants saw themselves as upholding historic, catholic orthodoxy, not inventing new doctrines.

5. Confession is an Act of Praise and Worship

Arguably, all of Christian theology is simply one long running commentary upon, or fleshing out of, this short, simple, ecstatic cry.

Doctrine drives doxology. The basic Christian declaration "Jesus is Lord!" is inherently doctrinal and doxological. Biblical examples like Philippians 2 and 1 Timothy 1 show how theological truth naturally leads to praise and worship.

Early creeds in worship. From the Didache's liturgical formulae to the inclusion of the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds in historic liturgies, creeds have long functioned as corporate acts of worship. They provide a shared, doctrinal content for congregational praise.

Countercultural declaration. Reciting a creed in worship is a powerful, countercultural act. It publicly affirms God's identity and sovereignty, implicitly denying the claims of all worldly idols and challenging cultural norms that prioritize sentiment over truth or assimilation over distinctiveness.

6. Public Creeds Provide Transparency and Accountability

Christians are not divided between those who have creeds and confessions and those who do not; rather, they are divided between those who have public creeds and confessions that are written down and exist as public documents, subject to public scrutiny, evaluation, and critique, and those who have private creeds and confessions that are often improvised, unwritten, and thus not open to public scrutiny, not susceptible to evaluation and, crucially and ironically, not, therefore, subject to testing by Scripture to see whether they are true.

Everyone has a creed. No Christian or church simply believes the Bible without interpretation or synthesis. Everyone operates with a summary understanding of what the Bible teaches, which functions as a creed.

Private creeds are unaccountable. Churches claiming "no creed but the Bible" often rely on unwritten, private creeds (e.g., the pastor's current understanding). This makes their beliefs opaque, immune to public scrutiny, and ironically, harder to test against Scripture than a written document.

Public creeds enable scrutiny. Written, public confessions allow the church's stated beliefs to be examined, debated, and tested by Scripture in a transparent manner. This openness, combined with mechanisms for accountability, paradoxically upholds the supreme authority of Scripture better than denying the existence of a creed.

7. Confessions Delimit Church Authority Appropriately

Good confessions properly applied by appropriately qualified and ordained elders do actually hinder despotic church power and protect the members; they do not facilitate it.

Defining church power. In any hierarchical institution, clear statements of purpose and boundaries are essential. For the church, a confession defines its message and limits its authority to what is contained within that document, preventing arbitrary or illegitimate extensions of power.

Guarding against abuse. The New Testament warns against the abuse of church authority (e.g., Galatians, Colossians). Confessions, by stating what the church believes and requires, provide a standard against which the actions and teachings of leaders can be measured.

Protecting the congregation. A public confession allows members to know what to expect from their leaders and provides a basis for challenging elders who overstep their bounds by requiring beliefs or practices not found in the church's stated position.

8. Creeds Offer Succinct and Stable Doctrinal Summaries

Indeed, one might without hyperbole declare that, outside of the Bible, the documents that contain more biblical truth per page than anything else are the great creeds and confessions of the church.

Focus on core doctrines. Classic confessions concentrate on the fundamental themes of Christian faith: God, creation, Christ, redemption, salvation, consummation. They provide a built-in "gospel reality check," helping churches avoid being sidetracked by peripheral issues.

Necessary complexity for stability. While modern culture favors minimal statements, Christian theology requires a certain level of complexity for doctrines to be stable and interconnected. Confessions provide this necessary matrix, ensuring that doctrines like the Trinity or justification are understood within a coherent framework.

Pedagogical tools. Confessions and catechisms serve as excellent syllabi for Christian education. They offer concise summaries of key biblical teaching, providing a framework for understanding the Bible's overall message and guiding the systematic instruction of the congregation.

9. Confessions Distinguish Membership from Leadership Standards

For this reason, those who take the New Testament teaching on the church and on the eldership seriously need to put in place mechanisms that allow that teaching to be realized in practice.

Lower bar for membership. Presbyterianism, as an example, typically sets a low bar for church membership, requiring a simple, public profession of faith consistent with Romans 10:9-10. This reflects God's mercy and grace, welcoming new converts who may have minimal doctrinal understanding.

Higher bar for office-bearing. The New Testament (e.g., 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1) requires elders to be "able to teach" and possess doctrinal competence beyond that expected of a new member. This is essential for safeguarding the church's orthodoxy and fostering growth.

Confessions define leadership competence. Requiring elders to subscribe to a detailed confession provides a clear standard for the doctrinal knowledge and commitment expected of those in teaching authority. This holds leaders accountable and ensures they are equipped to guide the congregation's doctrinal maturity.

10. Creeds Reflect the Church's Ministerial Authority

Because these documents have been adopted by those who have been called to hold office in Christ’s church—and that carries huge weight in and of itself—the default position should be one of trust and obedience toward them.

Corporate ownership. Creeds and confessions gain their status and authority not simply from their authors but from being formally adopted and owned by the corporate church, represented by its duly appointed officers (elders/overseers).

Respect for office. The New Testament teaches that church officers are worthy of respect and submission in the Lord. While not infallible, their role in adopting and upholding confessions means these documents carry significant weight and should be approached with a default attitude of trust.

Countering individualism. In an age prioritizing individual autonomy and distrusting traditional authority, recognizing the ministerial authority reflected in confessions is countercultural but biblical. It emphasizes the corporate nature of the church and the importance of submitting to appointed leadership in matters of faith and practice.

11. Confessions Set Aspirations for Doctrinal Maturity

For a church to hold to a creed or confession, to require subscription to the same from her office-bearers, is to send a signal to the congregation about what the church considers to be important in her doctrinal life.

Communicating priorities. A church's confession signals its doctrinal priorities to the congregation. A detailed confession indicates that a wide range of doctrines are considered important, not just a minimal set.

Aspirational ideal. Confessions represent an aspirational ideal for the doctrinal competence of the congregation. While not required for membership, the doctrines contained in the confession are what the elders hope to teach and see the members grow to understand and embrace.

Encouraging growth. By setting a high standard for doctrinal understanding in its leadership and public documents, the church encourages members to move beyond mere basic faith towards a more mature and comprehensive grasp of biblical truth, fostering growth in knowledge as envisioned in the New Testament.

Last updated: May 17, 2025