What is a creed? Is it necessary to have a creed?
We can speak of a creed in two senses. On the one hand, it can mean a profession of faith, as the act of a person confessing his faith in words, and on the other hand, it means the written documents that are created by Christian denominations and communities, and which are a brief summary of the main doctrines of their common faith.
Many such creeds have been written over the past two thousand years, which are often used to this day to summarize the doctrines of Christian communities and their faith. The most widely recognized, for example, are the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed. The best known in the Reformed and Baptist denominations are, for example, the Westminster, Helvetic, New Hampshire, and London Baptist Creeds, but all historical churches and denominations have written and continue to write such writings for communities.
These written documents, the creeds, therefore, formulate and summarize the most important doctrines of the Christian faith in a brief, concise manner, based on the appropriate passages of the Bible.
Many today reject them altogether, saying that we do not need a creed. “The creed is a human, bad framework that has been left to us from the religious traditions of the historical churches.” “I believe in the Bible.” Others are so attached to these historical creeds that they almost see them as scripture and in a religious debate they try to support their arguments not with scripture but with a given article of a certain creed. Neither approach is correct.
Everyone has a creed
Fight the noble fight of faith, lay hold on the eternal life to which you were called, of which you confessed in a beautiful confession before many witnesses.
- 1Ti 6:12 -
“Which you have confessed with a good profession of faith”
If we speak of a profession of faith in the other sense, as a person’s confession of his faith, we can draw an important lesson from it. In the above passage, Paul exhorts Timothy to contend and endure, in addition to the faith he has confessed before many witnesses. What might Timothy have said? He read the Bible from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 and said, “I believe the Bible”? What is the profession of faith that he formulated?
What Timothy confessed, which you can formulate when you talk to others about your beliefs, is a short, concise summary of the main doctrines of your faith. You profess short summaries of what the Bible teaches.
When I ask you what you think about the incarnation of Christ, his atoning death, the doctrine of election, the resurrection, justification, the depravity of man, the Holy Scriptures… the short answer you formulate to all of these, as you interpret them based on the Bible, is your personal creed.
So there is no Christian who does not have some kind of personal creed. Everyone interprets the Bible in some way, somehow briefly formulates the fundamental teachings of the Christian faith in themselves. Why is it necessary to formulate this communally and put it in writing?
The importance of creed
Every person who calls himself a Christian interprets the Bible in some way, but these interpretations are often completely different from each other. Many people today would say, even among people who call themselves Christians, that everyone should be allowed the freedom to believe as they please. However, this is a completely false idea. After all, the Christian faith is not a private matter!
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in you all.
- Eph 4:4-6 –
All true Christians, by one Spirit (1 Cor 12:13) and one truth (2 Pet 1:1), are called to the same hope by one God. By one baptism, they are structured into one body, and all have received the same faith (2 Cor 4:13). God has redeemed one people, whom he calls by one truth and thereby unites them by the truth for a common task, which is the proclamation of this one truth. There is only one way to correctly interpret the truths entrusted to us by God. If we have one faith, one hope, which is based on the same truth, then this unity must also be visible in our confession of faith in the formulation of the main doctrines of the Christian faith.
That they may all be one, Father, as you are in me, and I in you, and they in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.
- John 17:21 -
Now may the God of perseverance and encouragement grant you to be in complete agreement with one another in Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and one mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Romans 15:5-6 –
Now I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same judgment.
- 1 Corinthians 1:10 -
God wants us to be one, to be in unity. To work with one will, to glorify Him with one heart and one mouth (Acts 1:14; 2:1; 2:46), to be one in understanding and to speak in one accord. Paul highlights three things in 1 Corinthians 1:10 that are the basis for believers to achieve unity. Unity of mind, opinion or judgment, and speech. How can we speak in one accord, be of one opinion, judge things in one way, reach unity of mind, if we do not stand in one truth, which we interpret in one way?
If everyone interprets the truth differently, then strife and division arise, which are sometimes necessary and inevitable, so that those who are tested may become evident (1 Corinthians 11:19). But it is God’s will that those who are His should be in unity. The formulation of a creed is also a test of true faith. If the mind of Christ, the spirit of Christ, truly works in the members of a community, if they have saving knowledge through the Spirit, they will reach the unity of the Spirit (Eph 4:3).
Today, the idea is widespread that we do not need to be so attached to truths, it is much more important to love, to accept, to unite in a great ecumenism, so that as many as possible can work together. Let us be lenient about what is important and what is not, or even put aside the truth for this. Those who beat people to death with the truth without love also cause much harm. Neither extreme is healthy, neither is Biblical.
We can achieve true unity through a common will, a common mind, a common truth, to which one Spirit leads us. It is God’s will that this unity be realized in truth and love (Eph 4:15; 1 Pet 1:22), and He also works it out among us in this way. Where truth is lacking or love is lacking, the Spirit of God does not hold the community together.
Since man has not been completely freed from corruption, it is possible that we interpret the Holy Scriptures differently in minor matters. However, in matters of salvation, in the matter of the main message of the gospel, the Spirit of God has given light to believers. In these matters there can be no many correct interpretations, only one. How could we call the church of the living God the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim 3:15) if we did not have a certain knowledge of what God has revealed to us? If we could only have some vague partial knowledge of some truths?
There is only one truth that God has revealed, and to the knowledge of which the Spirit of God leads his own (John 16:13; 1 John 2:20, 27)!
Why is it important for us to arrive at this unity?
And he gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by the cunning and craftiness of deceitful schemes. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him who is the head, even into Christ.
- Eph 4:11-15 -
It is God’s will that we come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, that we may grow in Christ by following the truth (John 17:3; Eph 3:19; 1 Tim 2:4; 2 Pet 3:18). That we may bring the saints to maturity through the truth (Eph 4:13-14), preparing them for service, and that we may proclaim His truth. The missionary mandate is the supreme common task of Christianity, which consists of proclaiming the truths of the Bible and making disciples of people. (Matt 28:19; Mark 16:15; 1 Pet 2:9).
How can we proclaim a message together if we have different interpretations of the meaning of that message? How can we teach people something if we have different ideas about what we should teach? God’s truth is the foundation of teaching, growth, and the proclamation of the gospel, so it is important that we have a common conviction about it.
Beware lest anyone spoil you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elementary principles of the world, and not according to Christ.
– Col 2:8 -
Do not be carried away by various and strange teachings. For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which do not benefit those who live on them.
- Heb 13:9 -
God's command is that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, that we should watch ourselves, that we should remain in sound doctrine. That we should not believe every spirit, but test them (1 John 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:21), because there are many false teachings, false gospels in the world, which are not merely the harmless teachings of poor, misguided people. The teachings of devils, the convincing work of the powers of darkness, of the spirits of wickedness, through the cunning and deceit of error (1 Timothy 4:1; 1 John 4:3; Ephesians 4:14). Their goal is to hide the true knowledge of God from souls, to deceive them and lead them to damnation. And we know from the mouth of Jesus that the devil seeks, if possible, to deceive even the elect (Matthew 24:24). When we are exposed to such forces and dangers, how important it is to be properly grounded in what the Scriptures teach us.
How can you obey these commands and take care of yourself, how can you judge whether a given teaching is in line with God’s true teaching if you are not firmly convinced of the truth? How can a community recognize wolves in sheep’s clothing, those who want to smuggle dangerous heresies into the community, if they do not have a common solid foundation in what is sound Biblical teaching (2 Peter 2:1)?
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or greet him, for whoever greets him shares in his evil deeds.
– 2 John 1:10-11 –
The foundation of our fellowship is truth. We can consider those people as our brothers who profess the same faith. With whom we have a common hope, with whom the same light is kindled by the truth and in whom the Spirit of God works. On the other hand, we cannot have fellowship with those who distort the gospel of Jesus Christ, because we will thereby share in their evil deeds. We can only do this if we can distinguish true teaching from false.
In conclusion
A written confession of faith can therefore be of great help to the community of saints, so that they can come to a common solid foundation, a unity according to the will of God regarding what the Bible teaches, which they can adhere to (Heb. 4:14; 10:23). Such a confession of faith, by briefly and concisely summarizing and formulating - based on Biblical passages - the main doctrines of the Christian faith, can be a tool for teaching, can help in growth, and in the proclamation of the gospel. A confession of faith can provide protection by enabling the community to more easily recognize the work of the devil through a thorough knowledge of the truth and to take biblical action against all lies and false teachings. It can also help with controversial issues and religious disputes.
At the same time, it is important that…
“A creed is not the Bible, but only a human opinion about it. Therefore, it needs to be criticized and corrected. However, criticism cannot be based on whether the given creed corresponds to the system that another church teacher considers to be the true teaching. We stand unprepared with dangerous false teachings, helpless against the attack of unbelief; the place of responsibility has been taken by ideas and we believe that we can avoid the threatening bankruptcy with clever or witty theories. We have one refuge: the one that the reformers wrote before us: let us search the Bible! The basic principle of the Reformation was: if someone convinces us of the right from the scriptures, we will yield to him! If we are wrong somewhere, we will gladly correct it. But let our critics present the arguments before us not from the authorities and traditions of today or past centuries, but from the Bible! The Reformation has a principle and a practice developed from this principle: Always back to the Bible! The church must be constantly reformed!”
(Based on the preface of Lajos Csia - biblical catechism)