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What more do they need to believe and understand than the teenager who was converted last Sunday morning on his first visit to the church?



“Every heretic has his text.”?



Creeds Reflect the Ministerial Authority of the Church.

“Creeds are corporate documents which are authored and owned by corporate churches.”

And have been passed down to us.



“As Protestants, we are of course naturally wary of any kind of claims for church authority that would place the church over Scripture or exhibit any tendencies we associate with Roman Catholicism.”

“Instant gratification.” “Many of us are inclined to believe that if something does not make sense the first time we look at it, it - and not we - must be wrong.”



“Respect for the authority of the church and respect for the creeds and confessions that churches adopt must become an important part of our Christian lives if we are to be truly biblical.”



Creeds Represent the Maximum Doctrinal Competence That Can Be Expected from a Congregation.

“Many countries have laws that its citizens know will be broken.” “Laws set before us a vision of the kind of society we would like to see realized.”

“Creeds send a signal to the congregation about what the church considers to be important.”

“If a church has a six-point creed she essentially communicates to her people that these six things, and only these, are important.”

We would not want to exclude from membership the educationally challenged?

“We want church to be as inclusive as the Bible makes it.”

“The church should not send a signal to the congregation that members should simply be satisfied with a basic, mere Christianity.” God expects us to grow.

“If something is a priority, then it should be stated in the confession.” Baptism.



“Thus, the questions ministers need to ask themselves are: What vision do we wish to give our people, from the most recent convert to the long-established church member?

Do we want them to think a six or ten point doctrinal statement is that the mature Christian needs to believe and understand? Or do we want to set before them something closer to articulating the whole counsel of God?



Is a creed a stick with which to beat people with?



“This should also lead us to be wary of the role parachurch organizations play in the Christian life. They are to serve the church not vice versa.”

“They can be a helpful and encouraging activity but should not supplant the absolute priority of the local church.”



Creeds Relativize the Present.

“If something has proved significant over the centuries, one can have a reasonable degree of confidence that it is of importance to more than just this day and generation.”

“Creeds speak to issues that the church has found important for generations.”

Has our knowledge of what the Bible teaches developed to the point where specific doctrines in the creeds are no longer biblically credible?

Is confessional revision always a possibility?

Do the creeds connect us to the past and indicate that our identity is rooted in that past?



Is this kind of counterculturalism important?



Creeds Help to Define One Church in Relation to Another.

“It serves transparency because it allows those outside to see what a particular church represents.”

“our church just holds to the Bible.”

Church members are able to point others to a succinct summary of the church’s position on key doctrines.

“It is convenient, honest, and transparent. It leaves nobody in any doubt about what the church is and what she teaches.”



Creeds Are Necessary for Maintaining Corporate Unity.

“We live in an age that fears exclusion.” “Churches have often been part of the problem, not the solution.” Brought about phrases like “love unites, doctrine divides” and “belonging before believing”.



Does the Bible characterizes deviation from true doctrine as divisive?

“Not all who cry “Lord, Lord” have a real saving knowledge of God.” Is exclusion necessary in the church?

“Is it important that membership be as exclusive as the Bible demands.”

“Creeds establish boundaries of belonging and exclusion. Both are necessary if the church is to have a meaningful corporate identity and unity.”

Can creeds cause Church discipline to be necessary?

“More often, unity will manifest itself with the congregation reciting (and rejoicing in) the words of the creeds on Sunday mornings.”



Conclusion.

“Each of the above points is grounded in the apostle Paul’s concern for the health of the church through her careful stewardship of God’s truth, and the handing of that down from generation to generation.”



May God help us to be faithful stewards of His truth.