By John Johnson, Redeemer Reformed Church Plant, Reno metropolitan area, Nevada

Maybe you grew up in a church you loved. Maybe you've moved between a few. Somewhere along the way you started asking bigger questions: What does my church actually believe? Who decides? Will it believe the same thing in ten years?

Every church has a creed

Some churches say, "No creed but Christ." The desire behind that is good. We want Scripture, not human tradition, to have the final word.

But the moment a church explains what Scripture teaches about God, salvation, baptism or the end of the age, it is confessing something. Every church has beliefs. The only question is whether they are written down where everyone can read them, or kept in the pastor's head and the leadership's habits.

A confessional church writes them down.

What a confession is

A confession is a summary of what a church believes the Bible teaches. It is not a second Bible, and it is not equal to Scripture. Kim Riddlebarger, pastor emeritus of Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim (URCNA), puts it this way:

"But confessional Protestants do believe that creeds, confessions, and catechisms are authoritative insofar as they accurately summarize the teaching of Scripture, which is their primary purpose."

Christians have done this from the beginning. The Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed are early examples. Even the New Testament holds short confessions, like "Jesus as Lord" in Romans 10:9.

Redeemer's confessions: the Three Forms of Unity

Redeemer Reformed Church Plant holds to the Three Forms of Unity, as do the United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA), the federation Redeemer is waiting to join as a mission church plant:

• The Belgic Confession (1561), a statement of the Christian faith written by Guido de Brès during a time of persecution.
• The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), 129 questions and answers that teach the faith warmly and personally, beginning with "What is your only comfort in life and in death?"
• The Canons of Dort (1618–1619), written by an international synod to answer a dispute about how God saves sinners.

Why would anyone want a confessional church?

You know what you're joining. Before you commit to a church, you can read exactly what it teaches. Nothing is hidden, and nothing is decided on the fly.

Your church can't drift quietly. Pastors change. Trends come and go. A written confession anchors a church, so teaching doesn't shift with the latest book or the newest leader. In Reformed churches, ministers and elders promise to teach in line with these confessions, and they can be held to that promise.

You're joined to the church across time. When you read the Heidelberg Catechism, you are confessing the same faith as believers in 1563, and in churches around the world today.

It helps you live the Christian life. Confessions aren't just for theologians. Christopher J. Gordon, senior minister of Escondido United Reformed Church, writes:

"The church's confessions and catechisms are not lifeless documents; they are biblical truths summarized with the intention to give Christians help in their lives."

It's a gift for teaching your family. The Heidelberg Catechism was written to teach the faith to young people and new believers. A confession gives parents clear words for big truths.

It puts grace at the center. The Three Forms of Unity keep pointing to one thing: we are saved by God's grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

What a confessional church is not

A confessional church is not a church that thinks it has everything figured out, or that only people with seminary degrees belong. You don't need to know these documents to ask questions or to be welcomed.

Come and see

Redeemer is gathering a core group in the Reno area right now, and there's room for you in it. Reach out through our contact page, ask questions, and we'll gladly talk through what we believe and why. Contact us

Next in this series: What Worship Will Look Like at Redeemer.

Sources

• Kim Riddlebarger, "Why Do We Recite the Apostles' Creed?", Ligonier Ministries
• Christopher J. Gordon, "Confessions and Piety", Tabletalk Magazine