In today’s world, where there are many theological confusions, it is easy to hear Christian clichés that are not necessarily biblical. One frequently used cliché most Christians may hear is that “Christianity isn’t a religion. It’s a relationship with Christ.” Some even go further to say, “No creed but Christ,” to emphasize there is a difference between “religious” creeds and “relational” Christ. We live in an era that reacts to anything religious, including creeds and confessions, and clings to anything relational and personal. Some Christians express that religion is something that binds them away from their genuine relationship and living experience with God. After all, God had to warn Israel of their heart condition and that they did not live up to their words many times when He spoke through the prophet Isaiah, “Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote…” (Isa. 29:13). This line of thinking contains a degree of truth, but one should be cautious in evaluating it.
What are creeds and confessions then and where did they come from and why? Some may suppose that people wrote creeds and confessions just to create religious rituals and traditions, but history shows us they had to write in response to heretical teachings that arose and threatened the essential Christian faith. It was not to draw near with mere words and honor God with lip service, but it was to protect the church from serious distortions and many heresies that have threatened biblical truth and the healthy life of the church. For example, the two most important creeds, the Nicene Creed and the Chalcedonian Creed, of the early church were written in response to aberrant teachings, such as Arianism and Nestorianism. They both had a major impact on modern Christianity by helping to settle the doctrinal issues surrounding the Trinity and Christology. The same is true for the other historic creeds and confessions. They were written to crystallize what churches believe. Although Creeds are more like pledges of allegiance, they are basically statements of Christian beliefs.
The historic creeds and confessions show us the history of the church and how she fought against heresies and tried to remain pure and godly in doctrine. Even though it is true that the Bible is all we need, historic creeds and confessions are critical tools to understand Scripture and our Christian history. They are indispensable in properly comprehending the church’s history and the non-negotiables of the Christian faith. However, it must be clear that creeds and confessions are not a substitute for Scripture, and they do not hold authority over Scripture. The purpose is to help Christians in understanding the fundamentals of their faith in terms of confessional orthodoxy.
The church is being heavily challenged by a variety of influences, including subjectivism and anti-dogmatism. Now is the critical moment to go back to embrace the historical creeds and confessions. It is to understand and appreciate the historicity of our Christian faith that goes back to the first century. There are many dead religions of the world worshipping false gods, but there is also the pure and undefiled religion we must live in the sight of our God (James 1:27).
James Kim currently serves as a pastor/elder at House to House Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee. He holds a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies (MABS) from Bob Jones University Seminary and is a doctoral student (DMIN in Theology and Apologetics) at Liberty University’s John W. Rawlings School of Divinity. He is married to his amazing wife Mina and is the father of five wonderful children.
