4. A further argument in favor
of creeds and confessions is that they promote the study of Christian doctrine.
The only way in which those
who fundamentally differ from each other concerning the doctrines of Scripture
can have any harmony in ecclesiastical fellowship is by becoming indifferent to
the truth. If Christians are indifferent to the truth will they not then be apt
today neglect the study of truth? And if the study of truth is neglected, will
not ignorance eventually prevail? The simple fact is this: when men love the
truth of the gospel enough to study it, they soon learn to evaluate it adequately.
And only then will they be disposed to contend for it against its enemies.
If a professing believer
entertains the notion that creeds and confessions are un-scriptural (and
therefore unlawful), he is half a step from concluding that all contending for
doctrine is useless and even sinful. It is easy to see from this how small the
transition is to abandoning of the study of doctrine. The enemies of creeds and
confessions assume a principle, which, if carried to its logical conclusion,
would discourage all zeal in maintaining the purity of the doctrines of the
Gospel. If the pulpiteers of the average church in Evangelicalism had it as a
goal to make their hearers indifferent about understanding and studying the
fundamental doctrines of Scripture, they could adopt no better plan than to do
as they actually do in their rejection of creeds and confessions by crying,
“Matters of opinion are between God and a man's own conscience. No one else
should meddle with that.” Isn't this just another way of saying, “Believe
whatever you want; it doesn't matter anyway.” This, of course means that
serious study of the doctrines of Scripture is both a waste of time and not
conducive to so-called “unity.” No self-respecting minister would actually
assert this, but who cares if his practice works on the same underlying
framework? Either the doctrines of Scripture are important and should be
studied, or they are not important and need not be studied. If we would have
churches with Biblically-literate members, nothing is more conducive to this
than a creed or confession of faith, which lays out in an orderly and
systematic way the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith.
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