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Reformed Confessions and Their Place
I. The basis : The Church and the Truth
A."The pillar and ground of the truth"
The church in its eternal glory comes to manifestation in the world in local churches or congregations which are an expression of the organic reality of the church as the body of Christ in each place. As such, the church also in its local expression has one Lord, one faith, one baptism. This is true not only in the perfection of the church in its consummation in eternity, but also in its manifestation, though imperfectly, in the world as the church and body of Christ in its local manifestation. Ephesians 4:3-6; I Corinthians 12:12, 13. This unity is first of all a spiritual and invisible one at the heart of the organic life of the church as a body.
The church is distinguished as the spiritual organism, the body of Christ, I Corinthians 12 and the visible institute with preaching, offices and sacraments, Ephesians 4:11, 12. The offices, beginning with the apostles, are set in the church, Ephesians 4:11, 12; I Corinthians 12:27, 28. It is to the church in its visible institutional form and official labor that Christ has given the calling to preach, Matthew 28:19, 20. Thus it is the church as a body, the organism, through its institute which preaches (proclaims the gospel), administers the sacraments, and exercises Christian discipline. Those who labor in the offices are called and sent by Christ, through the church, I Timothy 4:14, also to do the work of missions, Acts 13:2, and to maintain sound doctrine, Acts 20:28 Without this lawful call to office by Christ through the church no one preaches or exercises true God given authority in the church, Romans 10:15.
The church, both in its organic life and visible institution is built upon Christ as the cornerstone, and upon the word of God revealed by the apostles and prophets, Ephesians 2:20. By this the church is made the “pillar and ground of the truth,” I Timothy 3:15. The promise of the Spirit of truth, John 16:13, was given by Christ to the apostles, and in them to the church, both in the giving of the Scriptures and in the maintaining of them. John 14:16-18. The Spirit, as the Comforter and Spirit of the truth, is poured out upon the church. By the Spirit, Christ comes to dwell with his church. John 15:26; John 14:16-18; Acts 2; I John 2:20-29; II John 2.
Hence the church as the local body of Christ is both the dwelling place of the Spirit in its organic life Ephesians 2:22 and the pillar and ground of the truth in its doctrine and confession. I Timothy 3:15
B. Doctrine and Faith
The doctrine and confession of the church (which is also the content of the faith of believers) , Ephesians 4:3-6, is the basis of the institutional unity of the church, both in its local manifestation and in the broader unity of churches having one common confession in the truth. I Timothy 3:15; II Timothy 2:1-2; II Timothy 4:1-4; Titus 1:9-11; II Peter 1:3, 4; Jude 3. The confession of a believer, his faith and its content, is personal and a spiritual expression of his hope in Christ, but it is not individualistic, i.e., his alone in isolation, a private matter. It is a confession made as one who is a member of the body. Ephesians 4:3-5; I Corinthians 12.2.
It is the church, as a body and in its institutional life, in connection with the preaching of the Word, that holds the truth, confesses it before the world, and contends for that faith. The calling to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints, Jude 3, is a calling, not merely of private believers personally, but of the saints in common to whom the truth was delivered. It is the calling of the church.
It is the church, as the pillar and ground of the truth, I Timothy 3:15, John 14:16-18, which is called to defend and maintain the truth over against error, Acts 20:28-30, to rebuke heretics, Titus 3:10, and to contend for the faith, Jude 3. The church has always done this by setting forth the truth over against the lie of false doctrine in written confessions which are the testimony of the church to the truth, in the service and defense of the Word of God. This making of corporate confession in statements which are a faithful summary of doctrine and practice was true already in the apostolic church. I Timothy 1:15; I Timothy 4:9; II Timothy 2:11; Titus 3:8.
In this calling to contend for the faith, the church by its confession also commits the faithful word and sound doctrine to the generations to come,who likewise stand in the hope and faith once committed to the saints. I Timothy 1:19; I Timothy 4:6, 16; Titus 1:9; Hebrews 5:12-6:2; I Peter 1:12-21.
C. Unity in the Truth
It is not confessions which divide the Christian church. This is sometimes alleged under the false banner of “no creed but Christ.” What divides the Christian church is false doctrine, false teachers and prophets, lies and deceit. Acts 20:28-30; II Peter 2; Jude. That is, it is error and not confession which divides the church. This is the plain teaching of scripture. The church has a calling over against that reality of error to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints, Jude 3, and to reprove error, Titus 3:10, 11;Revelation 2:2, 3, 14-16, 19-29. This calling has been carried out under the leading of the Spirit of truth and God’s sovereign government in the history of the church. Christ by his Spirit very really guides his church into the truth of his Word. Each generation builds upon the faithful confession of the past. Each generation receives the fruit of the struggles of the church in the past to maintain the truth, discern it and understand it scripturally. The children stand upon the spiritual shoulders of their forefathers in the faith.
The Protestant Reformation was not an attempt to start the church from scratch or anew. It was a protest against errors and corruption of doctrine that had crept into the church during the Middle Ages, hence Protestant. It was also a reforming of the church upon the heritage of the gospel, the faith once delivered to the saints which had been faithfully preserved and confessed, hence Reformed. It was a development in the truth and a building upon the confession of the truth, not a reinvention of it.
In this connection the common practice today among so-called evangelical churches of reinventing their confession every time a new pastor comes or a new church is formed is, in effect, a denial of the promise of the Spirit of truth, given by Christ. It is also spiritual conceit.
II. A Specific Application of these Principles
A. Reformed
The confessions of the church are a statement both corporately, as an institute, and personally, as believers, as to what we hold to be the truth of the Word of God. The Heidelberg Catechism, Confession of Faith, the Canons of Dordt, together with the liturgical forms which are minor confessions (minor in that they address a specific subject) are the confessional basis of our churches.The confession stand in the service of the Word of God as an expression of “the rule of faith.” By “rule of faith” is meant that unity of the truth of God’s Word which is found in the whole of the Scriptures. What we believe can therefore and thereby be defined, known, and studied. The confessions are not considered above Scripture, nor infallible, which is why there is a procedure for reforming them, if they are found by the churches to conflict with the Word of God. They are, however, the settled basis of our church life and the boundaries of our doctrine and confession. They are the basis of our unity.
B."Settled and binding"
In harmony with this, matters which are addressed in the creeds are considered “settled and binding.” This includes also decisions of our ecclesiastical assemblies which are further explanations of our understanding of the Word of God by the confessions. Matters that are settled and binding are not open questions in the churches. That is, while the content of the confessions may be discussed and questions about doctrine or practice may be explained in teaching and study,they are not free matters of debate in which views contrary to them may be countenanced, promoted, or propounded as divergent opinions in the churches by its members. Examples of this are issues such as the doctrines of grace, the covenant, the millennium, or such practical issues as divorce and remarriage.
This is especially true for office bearers. At issue is both the integrity of the church’s confession and the honesty and integrity of office bearers.The Formula of Subscription was developed historically exactly because the Arminians, under the guise of maintaining the Confession of Faith and the Heidelberg Catechism, were, in fact, deliberately subverting it, both in their public teaching, and also on the sly, in private agitation. The Formula of Subscription of the Synod of Dordt was intended to make clear that the Reformed churches take a specific stand. By it, the Arminians or Remonstrants, as they were also called, were excluded from the Reformed churches.
The same principle is at work in church membership. The forms for confession of faith, infant baptism (in the address to parents), and adult baptism, set before the members of the churches the same principle of unity in confession. For the same reason confession of faith is not simply an examination of one’s love for the Lord, but also of one’s doctrine.
C. Integrity
In taking this approach, the issue is maintaining the integrity of the truth as we hold it and maintaining our genuine unity in it. It is not a form of tyranny. It must be kept in mind that membership, holding office, or inclusion of a church in the denomination is a voluntary matter. It is something to which we freely bind ourselves. It is not a denial that there are other sincere believers outside the church or churches. It is a recognition, however, that what divides us is doctrine and the truth of God’s Word, and this is not unimportant. Where we have differences, one of us walks in error. The truth and its clarity is not the problem, but sinful men in their understanding are the problem. Also in our understanding of faith, we all fall short.
The solution is not compromise of doctrine but a wrestling with the word to come to a better understanding of the truth. This is not served by abandoning confessions, but by laboring in the context of them in discussions with those outside who differ, in order that unity may be in the truth. This approach means we also reject a false ecumenism which seeks the lowest common denominator, which is neither scriptural nor consistent with the truth.
By Rev. Thomas Miersma
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