Have you come across Christians who say that they have no creed but Christ? or no belief but the Bible? We know what they mean. The Lord Jesus Christ, in His Person and work, must be at the centre of our lives. We remember Paul’s words: “if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Rom.10:9). And we must believe nothing except what we find in Scripture. The Bereans were commended because when they heard Paul preach they “searched the scriptures, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11).
But these facts beg certain questions. Who is Christ and what exactly has He done for us? What do the Scriptures actually teach? These questions cannot be avoided. Those who attempt to run from them escape into the realms of mysticism or hide in the fogs of liberalism. But the mystic and the liberal must still say something when challenged about their hope. And at the last day what will matter is how we have responded to the vital question Jesus posed to the Pharisees: “What think ye of Christ? (Matt.22:42).
To begin to answer these questions is to begin to form a creed or a statement of belief. To state our creed openly is to confess our faith. This is rightly required for membership in the church of Christ. Before his baptism the Ethiopian eunuch said to Philip: “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Acts 8:37). By this simple yet sincere personal confession the Christian separates himself from an unbelieving, Christ-hating world and joins himself to the people of God.
We might be tempted to think that the minimum of truth will also do for the church’s testimony. Many churches, especially independent congregations, have settled on a short statement of faith. However this proves unsatisfactory in the end. The chief reason why a limited confession is adopted by some churches is that in their system the government of the church lies in the hands of the members. Therefore they require all their members to subscribe to the definitive position of the church. We may readily agree that it is a lot to ask Christians of today or indeed of any generation to indicate their conscientious agreement to a lengthy statement of doctrine. The Westminster Confession of Faith, the doctrinal standard of Presbyterian churches, contains more than thirty detailed and sometimes difficult chapters! Yet it would appear to be highly desirable, especially in a day of theological ignorance, indifference and confusion that Christ’s church should make known her position on every matter of importance; that she should make it known to the world and also to the compromising church. What is the answer to this apparent dilemma?
The answer is that in Scripture the church’s government is entrusted not to the whole membership but to certain men who are suitably qualified, elected and installed into office. They are called elders and are divided into those who teach and rule, generally known as ministers, and those who rule only. Among other things an elder is to “[hold] fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers” (Tit.1:8,9). It is of these elders that the church demands an intelligent adherence to an extensive creed or confession which makes known her belief in every area of significance.
When we study the Word of God we find that its teachings are interwoven: each doctrine is part of a whole and related to the rest. If we go wrong at one point then we are likely to go wrong throughout. That is why different theological systems have emerged during the history of the church. For instance, what we believe about the work of Christ is linked to what we believe about the condition of man since the fall. Because Pelagians believe that man was basically uninjured by the fall they also believe that Christ has merely provided us with an example which we are to follow. Because Arminians believe that despite the fall man retains the power of will to choose good they also believe that Christ has provided salvation for every individual but left it to each individual to secure it for himself by an act of his own will.
Calvinists have carefully compared Scripture with Scripture. They have received the humbling truth that man is “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph.2:1) and that he is wholly unable to save himself. They have understood the blessed truth that God has chosen certain sinners of mankind to salvation and given them to Christ and that “he shall save his people from their sins” (Matt.1:21). They have learned the precious truth of the invincible work of the Spirit, that “he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil.1:6). May salvation by grace alone be not only the confession of our faith but also our life’s experience.
“The doctrine of his holy word
To Jacob he doth show;
His statutes and his judgments he
gives Israel to know.”
