Why Creeds, Confessions of Faith & Catechisms still matter to Christians

Today I invite you to examine what you believe through the eyes of centuries old teachings of the Christian faith. Maybe your worship service includes one of the obligatory Creeds or other Confession of faith ALL must recite. And by repetition these words flow from the tongue trippingly with little or no thought.

And what is a Catechism, anyway? (Isn’t that some old Catholic thing that no longer applies?)

Perhaps your contemporary gathering of ‘christians‘ has no need to follow the applause for your inspiring praise band with any such serious declarations (or perhaps even scripture beyond what your Pastor will paraphrase for our brief understanding).

ALL Christians in past more authoritarian days heard Creeds, Confessions of faith in Christ and even studied these clearly defined Doctrines of the Church.

I’ll answer your questions and for our mutual understanding of misunderstood terms, we will define each of these mostly affirmations of historical, Biblical Christian faith.

We will also READ what each of several Creeds and Confessions have to say. You can decide for yourself what you believe – what is relevant to your Christian faith.

Creeds

What is a Creed?

The word creed comes from the Latin word credo, meaning, “I believe.” 

CHURCH HISTORY: THREE HISTORIC CHRISTIAN CREEDS

WHAT do you believe? Do you know? Can you verbalize your Christian faith?

Do you know what your ‘church’ community believes, preaches and witnesses to others?

Creed, also called confession of faith, an authoritative formulation of the beliefs of a religious community (or, by transference, of individuals). The terms “creed” and “confession of faith” are sometimes used interchangeably, but when distinguished “creed” refers to a brief affirmation of faith employed in public worship or initiation rites, while “confession of faith” is generally used to refer to a longer, more detailed, and systematic doctrinal declaration.

Lindbeck, George Arthur. “Creed”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Jan. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/topic/creed. Accessed 25 August 2021.

Confessions

• A Creed – Your stated faith, basically brief enough to reaffirm in a worship service (whether weekly or occasionally)
• Confession of Faith – A longer extension of a creed more suited for the study of the Doctrines behind our foundational Christian beliefs stated in a creed.
  • Dismiss any notion that your confession of faith is private ONLY, i.e. your confession of sin may be private, but your Confession of Faith is PUBLIC, not only to your church but especially as witness to Christ in the presence of unbelievers (some sitting among you ‘in church’).
  • And as you can see below, some Confessions have both Short & Long Catechisms

https://protestantreformation.net/the-westminster-confession-1646-larger-and-shorter-catechisms-1647/

Catechisms

• So what is a Catechism?
  • Think of it as a class (really, classes – like going to school) covering what we ought to know about our beliefs.

YES, there will be a test (usually a public statement to ALL believers of your church that YOU have passed).

We AFFIRM that we have a reasoned faith in God, Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Trinity; Sin, Judgment and Grace; etc.

From Judaism to Orthodox Christianity

Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,

from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law,

understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.

First Letter of Paul to Timothy 1:5-7 NKJV

• * Jews generally agreed by the time of Jesus Christ what Books to include in Scripture.
• * New Testament Books, ALL written by the end of the first century [A.D. 100], became generally accepted by the Church as the Authoritative Word of God.
  • *Some ‘Extra-Biblical,’ writings after A.D. 100 were written as heretical opposition to the Lord Christ Jesus, even as most of the Apostles had warned in the decades after Christ’s teachings and Ascension.
• (Reminder:} The Church initially divided into Orthodox (Eastern) and Roman (Catholic, meaning ‘universal’) at the time of the political division of the fallen Roman Empire, then formally after several (7) unified Church councils until A.D. 787 and finally at the Great Schism in A.D. 1084.
  • (Additional DEFINITION of Orthodox: conforming to established doctrine.., conventional..)

Chronology of Creeds, Confessions, & more

Of course Christians do NOT agree on everything, but MOST will not DENY the historical and Biblical basic beliefs of Christian faith.

By looking at some of the foundational creeds and confessions of Christian faith chronologically, you may better understand their role in keeping false teaching out of the Church in the more than two millennia since Christ died for our sins and rose from death on a Cross.

Church Divided / Empire Fallen 3

First: Understand our relationship to Jesus Christ

Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus..

.. every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Phillipians 1:1a, 2:11 NKJV – first Confession of the Church

Confession that Jesus is κύριος – Lord would have been a first Creed of the Way (Christians).

Lord, Lordship:

properly an adjective, signifying “having power” (kuros) or “authority,” is used as a noun, variously translated in the NT, “‘Lord,’ ‘master,’ ‘Master,’ ‘owner,’ ‘Sir,’ a title of wide significance, occurring in each book of the NT save Titus and the Epistles of John. It is used

Strong’s Number: g2962
“The title ‘Lord,’ as given to the Savior, in its full significance rests upon the resurrection, Act 2:36; Rom 10:9; 14:9, and is realized only in the Holy Spirit, 1Cr 12:3.” *
[* From Notes on Thessalonians, by Hogg and Vine, p. 25.]

The Apostles Creed

(Following from the Apostles’ Teaching)

~AD 150-250

*Wikipedia

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth;

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.

He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again.

He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of Father.

He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

https://www.gci.org/articles/three-historic-christian-creeds/

The Nicene Creed

• a brief statement at the Council of Nicaea (AD 325)
• First Council of Constantinople (AD 381) later provided a substantial addition concerning the Holy Spirit.

We believe in one God the Father, the Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father (and the Son). With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

https://www.gci.org/articles/three-historic-christian-creeds/

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Study of Terms in Statements of Faith

The core issues of councils gravitate toward Authority and maintaining authority of church leadership of differing opinions. Instead of just accepting or rejecting various Creeds and Confessions you will find it helpful to study the definitions of their terms. And don’t forget to dig into original language related to the Bible, including translations into Latin, English, German, etc. The terminology of churches can cloud the clarity of anyone’s thinking quite quickly.

Let me give you a couple of examples from the the Apostles and Nicene Creeds.

• Christology
• the Virgin Mary

Christ by comparison

As you have just read, the Nicene Creed moves on from the clear simplicity of the Apostles Creed by adding further explanation and especially Christology.

Ask yourself (as an unbeliever might), Who is Jesus Christ?

To be continued...