B.B. Warfield (1851-1921), the great Princeton theologian of the late 19th and early 20th Century, wrote and published a small pamphlet titled, “A Brief and Untechnical Statement of the Reformed Faith,” (Adapted from Selected Shorter Writings of Benjamin B. Warfield, edited by John E. Meeter. Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1970, 407-410) in which he reduced the central truths of Reformed Theology to 13 points. As you read, you can see that Warfield relies heavily on the language of Scripture and the doctrinal formulations of the Westminster Standards in the articulation of these points:
1. I believe that my one aim in life and death should be to glorify God and enjoy Him forever; and that God teaches me how to glorify and enjoy Him in His holy Word, that is, the Bible, which He has given by the infallible inspiration of His Holy Spirit in order that I may certainly know what I am to believe concerning Him and what duty He requires of me.
2. I believe that God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal and incomparable in all that He is; one God, but three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, my Creator, my Redeemer, and my Sanctifier; in whose power and wisdom, righteousness, goodness and truth I may safely put my trust.
3. I believe that the heavens and the earth, and all that in them is, are the work of God’s hands; and that all that He has made He directs and governs in all their actions; so that they fulfill the end for which they were created, and I who trust in Him shall not be put to shame, but may rest securely in the protection of His almighty love.
4. I believe that God created man after His own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, and entered into a covenant of life with him upon the sole condition of the obedience that was his due: so that it was by willfully sinning against God that man fell into the sin and misery in which I have been born.
5. I believe, that, being fallen in Adam, my first father, I am by nature a child of wrath, under the condemnation of God and corrupted in body and soul, prone to evil and liable to eternal death; from which dreadful state I cannot be delivered save through the unmerited grace of God my Savior.
6. I believe that God has not left the world to perish in its sin, but out of the great love wherewith He has loved it, has from all eternity graciously chosen unto Himself a multitude which no man can number, to deliver them out of their sin and misery, and, of them, to build up again in the world His kingdom of righteousness; in which kingdom I may be assured I have my part, if I hold fast to Christ the Lord.
7. I believe that God has redeemed His people unto Himself through Jesus Christ our Lord; who, though He was, and ever continues to be the eternal Son of God, yet was born of a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem those who are under the law: I believe that He bore the penalty due to my sins in His own body on the tree, and fulfilled in His own Person the obedience that I owe to the righteousness of God, and now presents me to His Father as His purchased possession, to the praise of the glory of His grace forever: wherefore renouncing all merit of my own, I put all my trust only in the blood and righteousness of Christ my Redeemer.
8. I believe that Jesus Christ my Redeemer, who died for my offenses was raised again for my justification, and ascended into the heavens, where He sits at the right hand of the Father Almighty, continually making intercession for His people, and governing the whole world as head over all things for His Church: so that I need fear no evil and may surely know that nothing can snatch me out of His hands and nothing can separate me from His love.
9. I believe that the redemption wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ is effectually applied to all His people by the Holy Spirit, who works faith in me and thereby unites me to Christ, renews me in the whole man after the image of God, and enables me more and more to die to sin and to live unto righteousness; until, this gracious work, having been completed in me, I shall be received into glory: in which great hope abiding, I must ever strive to perfect holiness in the fear of God.
10. I believe that God requires of me, under the Gospel, first of all, that, out of a true sense of my sin and misery and apprehension of his mercy in Christ, I should turn with grief and hatred away from sin and receive and rest upon Jesus Christ alone for salvation; that, so being united to Him, I may receive pardon for my sins and be accepted as righteous in God’s sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to me and received by faith alone: and thus, and thus only, do I believe I may be received into the number and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God.
11. I believe that, having been pardoned and accepted for Christ’s sake, it is further required of me that I walk in the Spirit whom He has purchased for me, and by whom, love is shed abroad in my heart; fulfilling the obedience I owe to Christ my King; faithfully performing all the duties laid upon me by the holy law of God my heavenly Father; and ever reflecting in my life and conduct, the perfect example that has been set me by Christ Jesus my Leader, who has died for me and granted to me His Holy Spirit, just that I may do the good works which God has afore prepared that I should walk in them.
12. I believe that God has established His church in the world and endowed it with the ministry of the Word and the holy ordinances of Baptism, the Lord’s Supper and prayer; in order that, through these as means, the riches of His grace in the Gospel may be made known to the world, and, by the blessing of Christ and the working of His Spirit in them that by faith receive them, the benefits of redemption may be communicated to His people: wherefore also it is required of me that I attend on these means of grace with diligence, preparation and prayer, so that through them I may be instructed and strengthened in faith, and in holiness of life and in love; and that I use my best endeavors to carry this Gospel and convey these means of grace to the whole world.
13. I believe that Jesus Christ has once come in grace, so also is He to come a second time in Glory, to judge the world in righeousness and assign to each His eternal award: and I believe that if I die in Christ, my soul shall be at death made perfect in holiness and go home to the Lord; and when he shall return in his majesty I shall be raised in glory and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God to all eternity: encouraged by which blessed hope it is required of me willingly to take my part in suffering hardship here as a good soldier of Christ Jesus, being assured that if I die with Him I shall also live with Him, if I endure, I shall also reign with Him.
And to Him, my Redeemer,
with the Father,
and the Holy Spirit,
Three Persons, one God,
by glory forever, world without end,
Amen, and Amen.
Creeds, confessions, catechisms
November 10, 2009
Sunday morning I was teaching the first meeting of a new members’ class. We discussed the value of creeds (such as the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed) and confessions (such as the Westminster Confession of Faith) and catechisms (such as the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms or the Heidelberg Catechism). This discussion took place as I was emphasizing one of our non-negotiable commitments as a church–that the Bible is entirely true. But if we believe the Bible is true, then why have these summations of biblical doctrine? Do they not undermine the authority and sufficiency of the Bible? Remember a couple of things:
- A biblical creed or confession is like the small booklet you get when you want to get a driver’s license (my firstborn is taking the test today). To take the test you are not required to go the courthouse and study all the traffic and liability laws. The booklet helps you. Now the difference, of course, is obvious. Once you get your driver’s license, you never want to go read the state codes. But in living as followers of Christ, the Bible is always more engaging and interesting than the credal summaries. The skeletal structure provided by creeds and confessions needs the muscles and flesh and blood of living, active faith.
- Creeds, confessions and catechisms make it plain for all to see what it is that we believe and what points of biblical teaching we believe are most important. I told the class, “If you read the Westminster Confession of Faith, you have the basic sketch of the theology that I’m going to preach and teach. Don’t expect me to surprise you.” I preach Jesus Christ and him crucified, and the creeds and confessions fill in what I mean when I say “Jesus Christ.” John Mark Reynolds makes a great point on this in a recent post from Scriptorium Daily:
Yesterday I was asked about the value of Creeds like those of Nicaea. My interlocutor was insistent, “What if I love Jesus? What is the point of a Creed? Doesn’t it get in the way of my love for the Lord?”
The problem with this idea is that even in daily life it is easy to love the “wrong” person. Too often I build up a Fantasy Hope and then love not the wife I actually have, but a wife that exists only in my head.
This is such a bad thing that I must be thankful for anything, however painful, that jars me back to reality.
I want to love Hope not my false ideas about her! If I say I love Hope, but my ideas about her do not correspond to the Hope next to me, then my love has been misplaced.
This is even easier to do when it comes to God, since my motivations for fooling myself are so much greater.
The Creed, which is based on Sacred Scriptures, tells us which Jesus to love. When you love the God pointed out in the Nicaean Creed, you know you have found the right God. Your love is hopeful and not in vain. You are not worshipping the Jesus of Your Head or the God of the Movies instead of the God of the Bible!
The Creed is so harsh and exclusive, because if you make the error they are anathematizing you for worshiping a different God. If you say you love Jesus, but you end up loving Jesus of Hacienda Heights (I once met, name tag and all, the Jesus of Disneyland), that is not going to cut it.
Of course meeting the right Jesus is not enough, you have to love Him and accept Him as your Lord and Redeemer, but at least if you are Creedal, that you are talking to the right God.
If on the other hand, you are trust Jesus of Hacienda Heights, you are doomed no matter how sincere you might be. If you worship a Jesus who is not fully God, did not come in the flesh, or a Jesus who has one nature, then you might know someone like Jesus, but you don’t know the Lord.
That is a bad idea.
Glorificar a Dios y gozar de El para siempre!
July 30, 2007
Our friends and fellow laborers with the Christian Missionary Society in Peru are developing a musical version of the first 38 questions of the Westminster Shorter Catechism–en Espanol, ya esta! Alonzo Ramirez has translated the texts, and Allen Smith is leading the way with the composition of tunes that sing well to the Peruvian ear. You can listen to samples at Allen and Sandi Smith’s blog, which also includes a video slide show for questions 1 and 7:
Allen reports that children in Trujillo, Peru love to sing these catechism songs, and that in some neighborhoods he can hear the songs being sung in the streets as the children play. Rejoice in God’s truth going forth!
