What Does It Mean to Be Confessional?

Second in the “What Does It Mean?” Series

It’s a good thing for a church to identify as Biblical. It means that in some way, the church identifies with the Bible. But that can also be confusing because there are so many varieties and brands of churches, and many of them contradict each other. For example, the Mormon Church, the Catholic Church, and the Presbyterian Church might all profess to believe the Bible but they are in fundamental disagreement about what it means to be a Christian. So, if all these churches are Biblical then either the Bible is contradictory, or someone is not properly understanding the Bible.

The problem is not with the Bible. The problem is with the interpretations (or misinterpretations) of it. Therefore, it’s not enough to say we believe the Bible. We must also clearly state what we believe the Bible says. A confessional church is a church that unashamedly and unambiguously affirms a set of theological statements.

These statements are what we confess. Throughout the centuries, Christians have used creeds and confessions to clarify what they believe the Bible teaches. For example, the doctrinal statement of First Bible Church which was adopted at the church’s founding in 1965, is a confession. But these theological concepts weren’t invented in 1965. The doctrinal statement contains the essence of historic and apostolic Christianity.

For example, regarding the doctrine of the Trinity, the First Bible Church Doctrinal Statement says,

“We believe in one God eternally existing in three persons — Father, Son and Holy Spirit —these three being identical in essence, equal in power and glory and possessing precisely the same attributes and perfection.”

But long before 1965, you’ll find similar affirmation of the triune God in these creeds, confessions, and catechisms:

• The Apostles’ Creed (c. 200 AD)

• The Nicene Creed (325)

• The Chalcedonian Creed (451)

• The Athanasian Creed (c. 500)

• The Augsburg Confession (1530)

• The Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England (1571)

• The Westminster Confession of Faith (1646)

• The Heidelberg Catechism (1563)

• The Methodist Articles of Religion (1784)

• The Second London Baptist Confession (1689)

• The Philadelphia Confession of Faith (1742)

• The New Hampshire Confession of Faith (1833)

• The Baptist Faith and Message (1925)

These historic confessions are not inspired by God and don’t have the same authority as Scripture, but they’re helpful summaries of what Scripture teaches. As Burk Parsons has said,

“And all good confessions, all faithful confessions, state right from the outset that it’s the Bible and the Bible alone that is our only infallible rule, or source, for faith and life—that the Bible, that Scripture alone is our only infallible rule for our faith and our lives and everything.”

We recognize that our doctrinal statement stands on the shoulders of other confessions written by the church through the centuries. The point is that our statement of faith doesn’t appear out of thin air but reflects the confessions of the church through the centuries.

Five Reasons To Be A Confessional Church

1. Being confessional keeps us connected to the teaching of the apostles.

Confessions help us re-affirm the practice of the early church when they “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching” (Acts 2:42). Confessions are road signs on the historical highway built by the church over the centuries that leads straight back to Christ and the apostles.

2. Being confessional guards us from theological trends and cultural whims.

In every generation, the church is under pressure to compromise the Christian faith. The gospel has always appeared as foolish to the world, and the temptation to dilute, distort, or delete the offensive parts of the Christian faith is strong. By cherry-picking the Bible, false teachers can make the Bible more palatable to contemporary tastes, but they betray the Author of the Book. Good confessions consistently compel us to see each verse of the Bible in its context and consider the whole counsel of God.

3. Being confessional provides a basis for our unity.

By clearly stating our confession, we define the common ground on which we enjoy fellowship as believers. We may be diverse in backgrounds, culture, class, and ethnicity, but we find common ground on what we believe about God. When wise believers move to a new city and seek a new church family, they will first investigate what that church confesses. They should know what to expect in the church’s preaching and teaching. Before anyone can join our church and take on the privileges and responsibilities of membership, they must formally confess their agreement with our doctrinal statement. By this, we guard our unity.

4. Being confessional provides accountability for our church leaders.

Jesus warned against false prophets who would come in sheep’s clothing “but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Mt. 7:15). The leader may be warm and winsome, but with clever words he can lead God’s people away from the truth by twisting the words of Scripture. Written confessions hold leaders accountable and give church members the objective standard by which to evaluate their leaders. If a leader does not affirm, embrace, teach, and promote the sound doctrine taught in the church’s confessions, creeds, and doctrinal statements, he must be removed.

5. Being confessional identifies the people we partner with.

When missionaries seek our support, or other local churches invite our cooperation, or we invite guests to preach in our services, we first compare our written confession to theirs. While the confessions may differ on second or third-tier doctrines, there must be agreement on first-tier doctrines. If not, we cannot be partners in the gospel.

Fifty-Nine Years and Counting

This month we celebrated the 59th anniversary of First Bible Church. On November 7, 1965, a small group of families in Decatur gathered for the first worship service and closed by singing “To God Be the Glory.” The first order of business was to adopt the doctrinal statement that still guides us today. Most of the worshippers on that day are now with the Lord, but if they could join us next Sunday they would find us teaching what has been taught here for nearly six decades. Better than that, they would find us teaching what the church has taught for two thousand years. Without equivocation or embarrassment we want the world to know that we are a confessional church.

[Note: So far in this series. 1. What Does It Mean To Be A Calvinist?]