Tyrell Pillay
Article extracted from The Gospel Coalition Africa
Over a decade ago I remember passing by a church named something along the lines of, ‘Bible Believers Church.’ My friend, who was with me, found the name offensive. I asked why. He answered, “All Christians are ‘Bible believers,’ not just the people in this church.” My friend’s offence was probably unjustifiable. But those words – “All Christians are Bible believers” – have never left me. Of course all who claim to be Christian must to some degree be Bible believing. After all, that is where the content of the Christian faith comes from. Yet when a Jehovah’s Witness makes the claim to be “Bible believing,” I should hope that an Evangelical would not agree. Thus not all who make the claim to be Christians believe the genuine Christian faith. To say “I believe the Bible” then, is not enough. One must believe the Bible correctly. This is but one of the ways that creeds help us.
What are Creeds and Confessions?
The word “creed” comes from the Latin credo meaning, “I believe.” Historically the Church has not been content simply to say, “I believe the Bible.” She also desires to fill that statement with content about what the Bible teaches. As Phillip Schaff writes, “Faith, like all strong conviction, has a desire to utter itself before others.” Creeds declare openly what we believe the Bible teaches…KEEP READING