Confessions of Faith

[Martin Marprelate]

I thought I made that distinction very clear.

The statements of faith, the creeds, the constitutions, the by-laws... all serve as the point at which the assembly is unified and does business.

Those things are vital to the assembly, and should on a regular basis be reviewed by all members to verify there is unity or a need for revision.

However, there is also (as I attempted to show) that practical living of the believers is served by learning the principles of the Scriptures, the Scriptures in which they will use to discern, to combat, to teach others ...

We are in full agreement then!

 

[Reformed]

It is necessary to put an extra article into one's church's constitution to make sure that no one who agrees with such things can come into membership.

Position papers are helpful in addressing those sort of issues.

 

[rsr]

Such is the risk of hearing scripture read or attending weekly worship services; both run the risk of becoming rote to an individual. In my former church, we did not read the confession during the worship service. I am not a fan of that practice*.

P.S. To clarify, I am not a fan of the confession being read in worship.

I understand your concern. Still, I think it is a mistake not to read, in public, the ecumenical creeds occasionally as a reminder of the bedrock elements of orthodoxy.

 

[rsr]

God only blesses the reading and hearing of the scriptures.

But any decent confession will be supported by Scripture. And does your comment that God will not bless the hearing and singing of extra-Scriptural songs or hearing the words of the minister that are not verbatim from the Scriptures? I think not.

 

[Reformed]

I understand your concern. Still, I think it is a mistake not to read, in public, the ecumenical creeds occasionally as a reminder of the bedrock elements of orthodoxy.

Perhaps there are occasions when they can be read, but the liturgy is best served with the proclamation of the Word.

 

[rsr]

Mostly agree. But cutting out an announcement or a joke in the sermon to make room for the Apostles Creed seems a small price to pay to remind folks of historic faith that, frankly, is too often carved into bite-size morsels that do little justice to the sweep of God's dealings with men and the deep truth of redemption.

 

[Rebel1]

Individually, the 1689 Baptist Confession.
My church adheres to the Basis of Faith and associated documents of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches.
Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches

I was not familiar with this group, so I appreciate the link.

 

[Yeshua1]

With respect, that's not the object of a Confession of faith. Its purpose is to keep a church on the right lines doctrinally and to prevent those who 'creep in unnoticed' (Jude 4) to the churches and seek to change the doctrine. It is one thing to agree that everyone follows the Bible, but another to agree on what the Bible actually teaches.

One drawback to the historic confessions is that they do not consider some of the issues that face our churches today-- women ministers and same-sex marriage, for instance. It is necessary to put an extra article into one's church's constitution to make sure that no one who agrees with such things can come into membership.

they could be updated though to reflect current/comtemporary concerns!

 

[Yeshua1]

But any decent confession will be supported by Scripture. And does your comment that God will not bless the hearing and singing of extra-Scriptural songs or hearing the words of the minister that are not verbatim from the Scriptures? I think not.

I was meaning it more in the lie of the Spirit taking the scriptures and saving and impacting persons with them, as the bible only was inspired by Him.

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

So, you've never heard of believers' baptism and you believe most Baptists hate the historic creeds, confessions, and catechisms?

Are you sure you're a Baptist?

Smells like a Sacrimental Presbyterian

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

"thatbrian" explains here:

Reformed View of Baptism

There ya go