CONFESSIONS: BENEFITS
AND PITFALLS
The Apostle
Paul tells us that we are to confess with the mouth and believe in the heart to
be saved (Rom 10:9). Though many would associate confession with a plea for
forgiveness, the term has broader meaning. A confession is a statement of
belief; it is, therefore, the resulting act of belief. Confession then
clarifies what a person or a group of people believe and cling to. Public and formal
confessions of faith have been common in Christianity for centuries including
in the early church. I come from a Protestant tradition, which exposes a range
of confessions and particular beliefs about confessions. The specific
denomination I am a part of largely discourages the use of formal confessions in
corporate worship; that is not to say they do not exist in Baptist life because
they certainly do. In fact, among the first and most vital confessions of faith
in the modern church is the First London Baptist Confession of 1644, which was
later clarified and revised in 1689. Largely in an attempt to exercise the
Bible alone as the sole authority for belief, modern Baptists have attempted to
remove themselves from confessions; yet, my denomination of Southern Baptists
have what is referred to as the Baptist Faith and Message. What is that
document but a confession, a creed, or a statement of beliefs?
What are
the both benefits and pitfalls of confessions? I am going to discuss these
matters so that we might be able to rightly put formal confessions in their place
by keeping the good and ridding ourselves of the bad thoughts and perhaps
practices that come along with confessions.
Benefits
First, I
would like to discuss benefits. Confessions (I believe) come with both benefits
and pitfalls). What are the good elements of confessions? I have a few thoughts
regarding this.
Confessions Summarize
First,
confessions summarize belief, e.g. the Apostles Creed (4th C.) could
be considered sort of like a Cliffs Notes of the Bible, especially in a day and
society when the vast majority of people were uneducated and illiterate.
Confessions summarize essential doctrines and beliefs for a group of people.
Far be it from an unsubstantiated source, a good confession clarifies the
truths of Scripture so that a people might resort to it and know and realize
their primary beliefs. When one verbally states a confession, he or she is
stating what they believe in a clear and organized fashion. In this manner
then, confessions benefit God’s people by way of summarizing essential beliefs.
Confessions Clarify
Confessions
also clarify. Confessions are usually worded carefully by a plurality of
scholars and clergymen who have grappled with the concepts and doctrines in the
confession, i.e. it is not sloppily pieced together randomly by a single
unskilled person. There are surely times when confessions need to be clarified
more, e.g. the Second London Baptist Confession (1689 A.D.) clarified some
items the First London Baptist Confession (1644 A.D.) did not. Christians
should understand that there are difficult aspects of the faith which are
hard-pressed to explain and clarify. Confessions help us in that way. By the
employment of confessions, we can rightly know and explain what otherwise might
be confusing truths and doctrines of our faith.
Confessions Preach
Thirdly,
confessions preach, i.e. they (should) proclaim the truth of Scripture. When
God’s people state a good confession, the body of Christ preaches the truth of
the Bible. That is, of course, assuming that the confession is derived from the
text of Scripture. (I believe the most common and important confessions are.) Stating
a formal confession or statement of beliefs then preaches the gospel message.
The word of God does not return void so if a confession proclaims the word of God,
the gospel message is proclaimed. This is a marvelous benefit of confessions.
Confessions Unify
Lastly,
regarding benefits, confessions unify. Specifically, they unify a common group
of believers. Many people are opposed to organized religion. Often, the
assumption in these cases is that the church universal should not have
divisions, i.e. the Protestant Reformation should have never happened. I do not
want to speculate on that specific issue, but the truth is that the church is
diverse and within the diversity, local churches are disparate in thought and
in practice; and that is acceptable. I also suggest that humanity in general
needs structure; we were created with an innate need for structure. Consider your
own daily affairs. Structure encircles you because, as humans, we need it to
function. What confessions do then is provide structure to groups of people
with common beliefs. While the church varies on secondary issues, we (should)
agree on primary and salvific issues.[1]
The church is founded upon Jesus Christ; this is the singular commonality along
with all elements that surround him as Lord and Savior. Nonetheless, within our
individual delineations of people with varying beliefs on secondary issues,
confessions unify; confessions provide a sense of focus for a group of people.
In that sense then, confessions are certainly beneficial.
Pitfalls
Aside from
benefits, there are also pitfalls of confessions, but I would like to approach
the pitfalls from the perspective of what might happen as a result of
confessions, not what absolutely will happen.
People Might Make
Confessions Equal to the Bible
First,
people could easily place confessions on the same level as Scripture. While
confessions themselves are derived from Scripture, they should not be canonized
and are certainly not Scripture. There is a clear distinction. Why do we
believe what we believe and why do we utilize confessions to state those
beliefs? It is because the Bible teaches the doctrines we confess. Consider it
this way: without the Bible, there would be no confessions because confessions
are built upon the foundation of Scripture. Confessions are a useful tool in
proclaiming the gospel message, but holding to a confession above the Bible is
wrong. If confessions are exercised in a given context, a people should be
careful to realize the underpinning of the confessional text and not place the
confession itself on the same plane as the Bible.
Confessions Might
Hinder Personal Spirituality
Secondly,
confessions possess the potential to hinder personal spirituality. If a local
church relies largely on confessions and pre-ordered statements of belief for
their spiritual growth and discernment rather than personal study of the Bible,
spirituality is hindered. Confessions should be viewed as a tool to proclaim
the source rather than the source itself. If Christians desire to grow
spiritually, they must take the initiative to know God himself through prayer
and the word, which ensures a two-way relationship between humankind and God
through Jesus Christ. Confessions must never be relied on as the sole medium
for spiritual growth. Believers rather should study the word and commune with
God themselves and then employ confessions (if they are going to at all) as a
tool for stating precise beliefs.
Conclusion
Are
confessions beneficial? Yes. Do confessions possess pitfalls? Yes, potentially.
These are waters we must navigate through as the church and especially as
worship leaders. Confessions in and of themselves are not bad but are, in fact,
excellent tools of proclamation. Let us hold firm then to the truth of
Scripture and boldly confess our beliefs while standing firm upon the
foundation of the word.
[1] Primary and salvific issues here refer to items of
the Christian faith which are explicit in the text of Scripture and contain no
room from wavering.
