We hear the words regularly
in worship: “Let us say what we believe, using the Affirmation of Faith printed
in your bulletin.” Together we then recite words that the bulletin tells us come
from the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, or the Brief Statement of Faith. What
are these statements? Are they things our denomination requires us to say? Are
they statements the Lectionary assigns on certain dates?
The answer is that these
are confessional statements found in our Book
of Confessions. And what is the Book
of Confessions? It is part of the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church,
USA. It is Part I of our denominational Constitution, with Part II the Book of Order and Directory of Worship.
Our Book of Confessions contains 12 confessional or creedal statements
that span the centuries. The earliest is the Apostles' Creed, which dates from
the end of the second century and was modified from time to time over the next
few hundred years; its present form dates from the 8th century. The
Nicene Creed was adopted in the year 381 and is the most ecumenical of our
creeds.
Four confessional
statements grew out of the Reformation: The Scots Confession, the Heidelberg
Catechism, the Second Helvetic Confession, and finally, The Westminster
Confession of Faith, with its companion Shorter and Larger Catechisms. The
Westminster Confession, with its catechisms, served as our denomination’s
primary theological guide for the better part of 300 years.
The 20th century
saw the addition of the Barmen Declaration, the Confession of 1967, and the
Brief Statement of Faith. The most recent addition is the Belhar Confession,
which has its roots in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, and
speaks powerfully to our call to ministries of reconciliation, peace, and
justice.
There is a logic to the way
we use our Confessions in worship. We typically use the Apostles' Creed when we
receive new members, celebrate a baptism, or ordain officers. We usually use
the Nicene Creed, which we share with the Eastern Orthodox church, Roman Catholicism,
and many other Protestant churches, on World Communion Sunday. We tend to use
different parts of the Brief Statement, with its very specific Trinitarian
focus, other times of the year.
Our Book of Order tells us that, “The Presbyterian Church states its
faith and bears witness to God’s grace in Jesus Christ in the creeds and
confessions in the Book of Confessions.
In these statements the church declares to its members and to the world who and
what it is, what is believes, and what it resolves to do.”
In other words, our
confessional and creedal statements help us to articulate our faith. More
important, in articulating our faith, the words of the confessions then call us
to action and guide us as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Our confessions and creeds,
words written decades, and even centuries ago, can still guide us to more
faithful lives as we follow our Lord Jesus Christ. This we believe.
Grace & peace,
Pastor Skip
