SPC In Focus – A Confessional Heritage
By Alan Hager
SPC can also be described as a confessional or creedal church, and this relates to our core value of being biblical. To be a confessional church means to consciously and gratefully be part of a particular tradition of church history and Christian teaching. The word confessional comes from the Confessions of the church’s history. Confessions (and creeds) are statements of faith that give shape and direction to the church at a particular time in its history. For instance, the Westminster Confession is a confession of faith that we as Presbyterians cherish. Likewise, the Heidelberg Catechism is a foundational confession of faith for Lutherans.
In a way, every church is confessional because each church is rooted in a portion of the church’s overall theology. What is quite striking in our day is that most churches seem to be reluctant to identify themselves in terms of their own history and place in Christian theology. The fact that many churches today are no longer using their denominational name in their title is one example of the trend to move away from a confessional position. There are also churches that seek to be non-creedal as a core value and stress the “Bible only” as their defining statement.
Which brings up a valid question, Why not just be biblical? What value does being confessional have for us? First, let me point out that the core value of being confessional is not at odds with being biblical. We do not have to be one or the other. A church can be both biblical and confessional and ideally needs to be both. While Presbyterians have historically been seen as a confessional church, they also describe church confessions as “subordinate standards” because even though these statements have important value, they are under the authority of the Bible. So, our being a confessional church does not jeopardize our commitment to being a biblical church.
Furthermore, it is important to be confessional because while the Bible is our supreme authority, it is very apparent that churches and individuals can claim to be true to the Bible and end up with peculiar and even un-biblical views and practices. As it has been said on many occasions, people can use the Bible to support just about any position imaginable. Having a confession of faith - like the Westminster Confession - provides the initial application of the truth of the Bible to steer us in a healthy and God-honoring direction. The confessions may not give us every answer to every question we may have, but they are like the buoy markers in the channel that keep us moving in the right path. Churches without this guidance can be vulnerable to the misdirection of charismatic personalities, changing cultural trends, and pressures of expedience (we’ve got to change because that is what works).
In our Presbyterian history, there has been a development of having one authoritative standard for officers of the church in the form of the Westminster Confession to having multiple confessions and creeds for the church. Today there is a Book of Confessions containing eleven different statements of faith. While each is helpful and important, some have noted that there is less clarity about our identity and beliefs as a denomination due to these multiple expressions of our faith.
I am grateful for our heritage as a church and the stream of Presbyterian faith and life of which we are a part. It has truly been a rich blessing to the broader Christian church and even our nation. Join me in praying for our faithfulness to our confessional heritage in the midst of changes in our church and world. If you want to learn more about being a confessional church, plan on joining us for one of the periodic Foundations Classes that we offer at church.
