Fenced in, Heretic Burglars Keep Out!!!

The Church is a supernatural body but it is also a human society and therefore it is prone to corruption and decay. Just as we know ourselves always to be prone to temptation and sin,  we can never expect the church to be free from dangers of error until Christ returns. To drive away potential heretic burglars and to established orthodoxy, our church fathers, throughout history,  had drawn creeds, catechisms, canons and confessions. The great ancient ecumenical creeds: Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed, Athanasian Creed, and Definition of Chalcedon are excellent statements of faith on the Holy Trinity, Christ, and the Christian Gospel. Most of what we believe today about the trinity and the diety of Christ was good doctrine hammered out in the earliest centuries of church existence. Such  work is a living legacy handed down to us in the past and  provides the church today with the joyful sense of belonging to the church of the past. 

Reflecting on  Reformed heritage, Dr. John D. Tangelder said,

"Reformed spirituality draws its strength and inspiration from the inerrancy of the  Scripture, but its view of Scripture is interpreted and "fenced in" by the historic Reformed confessions - The Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Canons of Dort, and the Westminster Confession. Reformed spirituality believes and practices the Christian faith as confessed by these historic documents. Why confessional spirituality? When two people speak about God, church, sin, atonement, they may have different interpretations. When a Jehovah's  Witness speaks about Jesus Christ he does not confess Him as the second person in the Trinity. When a Roman Catholic speaks of the church, he thinks of an institution headed by the Pope and his teaching authority. Our Reformed forefathers wrestled with the great doctrines of Scripture. They wanted to defend, confess, and expound them clearly and concisely. The confessions testify of God's great deeds and His wonderful work of redemption. They bear witness to the fulfillment of the promise that the Holy Spirit will lead the Church in all truth. The confessions are the treasures of the Reformed faith. Throughout history Christians have become captive to alien ideologies and spiritualities (Col. 2:8). Hence, it is vital for our spiritual well being that we look to the rock from which we were cut, and to the quarry from which we were hewn (Isa. 51:1)." 

Dr. J Gresham Machen observed in his day: 

“The historic creeds were exclusive of error; they were intended to exclude error; they were intended to set forth the biblical teaching in sharp contrast with what was opposed to the biblical teaching, in order that the purity of the church might be preserved."

Let's take a firm stand against erosion, imprecision, and rampant doctrinal ambiguity of biblical truth in modern day christianity. Hold on to the Ancient Ecumenical Creeds and Reformed Confessions. Never surrender it without a fight. Heresies keep out!!!

For further study on the value of written confessions, click: here!