Chris’ Considerations

This post continues from yesterday’s The Importance of Good Confessions. 

The 19th Century Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon explained in his preface to the 1689 Baptist Confession which he reissued to his congregation:

This little volume is not issued as an authoritative rule, or code of faith, whereby you are to be fettered, but as an assistance to you in controversy, a confirmation in faith, and a means of edification in righteousness. Here the younger members of our church will have a body of divinity in small compass, and by means of the Scriptural proofs, will be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in them. Be not ashamed of your faith; remember it is the ancient gospel of martyrs, confessors, reformers, and saints. …Above all, live in Christ Jesus, and walk in Him, giving credence to no teaching but that which is manifestly approved of Him, and owned by the Holy Spirit. Cleave fast to the Word of God which is here mapped out for you.¹

Spurgeon made some important points: (i) that good confessions do not take the place of the ultimate authority of the Word of God alone; (ii) they help and encourage us in understanding our faith by mapping out key Biblical truths; (iii) these truths help unite Christians who profess them; (iv) and above all we should use such Bible truths to help us live for the Lord Jesus.

Good Confessions help us learn good theology. As Confessional Evangelicals we are, or should be, united in the truth of the gospel, (1 Corinthians 1:10-17). I think in the Church today, at times when the idea of absolute truth weakening in some quarters, we need a strong, solid Biblical unity based on the core truths of the Bible, knowing what we believe and why.

So, in a bid to encourage people to know and love the Lord Jesus more and ‘contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints’ (Jude 3, ESV), may I encourage you, with Bibles open, to look through some of the Reformed Confessions and Catechisms of the Reformation, although, we may not agree with every “non-essential” detail. There are many fine Confessions in the Church; however, there are a number of important limitations that we must bear in mind.

1. It is absolutely essential that we acknowledge that Confessions (except the ones in the Scriptures!) do not take any authority over the Bible. The Scriptures are the only infallible, inerrant, sufficient Word of God (Sola Scriptura), and Confessions are the fallible words of men. They must not take the place of our ultimate authority; the Bible, which alone can bind our consciences, (2 Timothy 3:14-17). The good Confessions will say that (see for example Article VI of the Thirty-Nine Articles).
2. They are only outlines, our knowledge of truth contains more than that written in them. We must be faithful and obedient to the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27).
3. We must remember that our unity is based on more than assent to Confessions (i.e. accepting the truths they contain), it is based on our union with Christ (Galatians 3:28).

I’ll conclude with a quote from a more recently written article from the Universities and Colleges Christia Fellowship (UCCF) website explaining why they have a confession or declaration of belief:

In sum, the DB, as a confession, draws us, body and soul, into obedience to God’s word.  Through it we reject our natural rejection of revelation; we are led to know the gospel with ever-greater clarity; we ally ourselves with the gospel and there find unity; we defy and deny what it opposes; we shape our lives, thoughts, ministries and teaching.  God has spoken!  We confess it.  To him alone be the glory.²

That reminds me a bit of something Spurgeon wrote about confessions in 1855, what was it that he suggested? Above all…

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¹Taken from Charles Spurgeon’s preface to The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, (1855), quoted here, (Accessed 23/02/07)
²UCCF Website, Why do we have a Declaration of Belief? available here, (Accessed 15/05/07)

Thanks to ReformationArt for the picture of Charles Spurgeon by Ron Adair