One great way of teaching the Bible is to summarize the doctrines in such a way that the complex becomes clearly visible to the common man. This was one of the main approaches of the learned theologians of the Reformation era. They were capable of teaching learned doctors of theology and at the same time proclaiming the doctrine of the atonement to farmers.
While it may seem like a helpful summary statement, “No creed, but Christ” is actually a superficial creed that provides shade to false teachers who lurk in the shadows with their false doctrine and perverted theology. We need far more than, “No creed, but Christ.”
While it may seem like a helpful summary statement, “No creed, but Christ” is actually a superficial creed that provides shade to false teachers who lurk in the shadows with their false doctrine and perverted theology. We need far more than, “No creed, but Christ.”
Many groups in modern church history have embraced the “No creed, but Christ” slogan or a longer version that reads, “No creed, but Christ. No book, but the Bible.” This idea surfaces within groups such as the Church of Christ, the Disciples of Christ, Calvary Chapel, some Pentecostal groups, as well as some independent Fundamental Baptist circles. These groups claim that they don’t need anything other than the Bible and no creed is necessary other than an affirmation of faith in Christ.
Historically, creeds and confessions find their source in Scripture. No only do the historic creeds and confessions of church history emerge from the source of Scripture, they find their model of usage in the early church as recorded in the pages of the Bible. God’s people were known to recite Deuteronomy 6:4, known as the Shema every morning and evening. The practice of reciting creeds and confessions would continue in the life of the church of Jesus in the New Testament.
One of the standard confessions of the early church was Peter’s confession of Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God” as recorded in Matthew 16:16. It is the widely accepted belief that what we find in Ephesians 4:4-6 is a creed that would be recited when new converts were baptized as followers of Jesus. When Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 3:16, he recorded what is believed to be an early Christian creed that was recited and sung as a hymn that summarized the faith once for all delivered to the saints. In other words, the use of creeds and confessions is not contra Bible.
In the fourth century, a false teacher named Arius plagued the church with his false doctrine that denied the Trinity and specifically denied the deity of Jesus. The Arian heresy centered on language found in Colossians 1:15 and John 1:14 about Jesus being the “firstborn of all creation” and “the only begotten of the Father.”
The followers of Arius would go through the streets singing a little song that said, “There was – when he was not.” The song carried the following meaning, “The Father was – when the Son was not.” God raised up a faithful soldier named Athanasius who would become a champion for truth. He refused to compromise, even when everyone else around him seemed to capitulate on matters of sound doctrine. The climate surrounding Athanasius became known as Athanasius contra mundum – Athanasius against the world.
This controversy came to a climax at the Council of Nicaea which produced an answer to the false teaching of Arianism. The language of the Nicene Creed points to Jesus as “begotten, not made.” This historical creed of church history answers the false teaching of Arius and stands upon the bedrock truth of Jesus’ divine nature as taught in the pages of Scripture. To this very day, Christians confess the words of this historic creed as a summary of their belief declaring that Jesus is “the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father.”
One of the great benefits of the Protestant Reformation was the fact that it brought reform to the church that had been deformed. It was a protest against the perversion that had led God’s people into darkness and bondage without the true light of Scripture. The fruit of the Reformation consisted of creeds and confessions that declared openly and publicly the pure teachings of Scripture thus removing the shadows from false teachers—including the Roman Catholic Church.
Out of this era in church history emerged what is known as the Three Forms of Unity.1See the resource published by G3 Ministries. This is a collection of the Belgic Confession (1561), the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), and the Canons of Dort (1618-19). These documents helped standardize the true Christian beliefs that had been concealed from the eyes of God’s people during the dark ages.
Soon thereafter the Westminster Confession of Faith was penned in 1646 as a group of capable pastor-theologians met together in Westminster Abbey to write the historic confessional statement. Leaning heavily upon the truths declared in the Westminster Confession, the Reformed Baptists would take the WCF and make some necessary alterations and publish their version in 1644 and their second edition in 1689, known as The Second London Baptist Confession (1689) which remains today the standard Baptist confession.
In modern church history, you can trace the Philadelphia Confession (1742), New Hampshire Confession (1833), the Abstract of Principles (first governing document of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary), and the Baptist Faith & Message (1925, 1963, 2000) back to the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. The use of doctrinal statements, creeds, and confessions has a rich and profitable history among God’s people. Such statements serve as a flag in the soil that waves high above so that people can know who we are and what we believe the Bible teaches. Creeds and confessions are systematic doctrinal statements that provide clarity rather than ambiguity.
Creeds and confessions are systematic doctrinal statements that provide clarity rather than ambiguity.
While the Bible reigns as King in the library of human history and is all sufficient and authoritative, we must reject the shallow and deceitful little creed, “No creed, but Christ” that denies the importance of historic creeds and confessions and opens the door for false teachers to pervert the truths of God’s holy Word. Take your place in the long line of church history and confess the historic faith of the saints of old. Make your doctrinal positions clear and unapologetically declare the truths of Jesus Christ.
The use of solid historic creeds and confessions that have stood the test of time and scrutiny. They connect the church today with the historic Christian community throughout the ages.
Anytime in church history when truth is veiled the result is that God’s people are enslaved and held captive by the opinions and traditions of men. This is why Paul wrote to Titus and left him on the island of Crete so that he could put into order what was disorganized. Paul instructed Titus to install elders in the churches who would protect the people from myths and “commands of people who turn away from the truth” (Titus 1:14). We must walk in this same way today. To be a Reformed church is not to be aligned with the teaching of Calvin or Luther or Knox. It’s far more than that. It’s to be brought back to the pure teachings of God’s Word.
The use of solid historic creeds and confessions that have stood the test of time and scrutiny. They connect the church today with the historic Christian community throughout the ages. The creeds and confessions serve as guardrails that point us back to the Bible when we are tempted to walk astray according to the winds of culture.
False teachers claim to believe the Bible. Heretics claim to embrace Christ. If the council in Nicaea had produced a creed that read, “No creed but Christ” Arius would have likely signed his name to it. However, that superficial creed would have provided a great shadow for Arius to continue to plague God’s church. What was necessary was light to expose the heresy and guide the people of God.
References
| 1 | See the resource published by G3 Ministries. |
|---|
