Symbolum Apostolorum

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell.

The third day He arose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

Amen

Here is an in depth confession of faith I have adopted since my initial conversion.

Foreword by Mr Vernon Higham, Pastor Emeritus at Tabernacle Cardiff.

A faithful and godly man if ever I have seen and heard one.

In considering the Confession of Faith, we must be aware of the necessity of such a document. We could, however, quickly answer and state that we have the Bible, the very Word of God. This is certainly true, and we must not forget this or divorce any statement in the Confession from the Bible.  There is another factor that we must consider and that is the reality of the wiles of Satan, who will do anything to undermine the Holy Scriptures.  Very early in the history of the Christian Church, there was a simple outline of the fundamental truths of the Faith. However, before long, more had to be added to this Confession as men readily changed and twisted the meaning of the words.

Thus, there followed the Apostle’s Creed. Not very long afterwards, a series of longer Confessions were added, each one clarifying the statements that were under attack. As the centuries rolled on, tradition began to replace the basis of the Faith. It is then, during the Reformation, there came forth the great Confessions stating firmly Biblical teaching, as the Bible, in a way, was rediscovered.

We are grateful to the Presbyterian Church of Wales in allowing us to reprint their Confession.

Let me explain the purpose of a Confession of Faith. It is a collection of statements of the major Christian doctrines or Christian teaching e.g. the Sovereignty of God. All references to God are gathered together from Old and New Testaments and noted carefully. Then each characteristic and quality of God is listed in a clear and simple paragraph, giving the exact teaching, followed by many scriptural references. As well as this, you have a pattern with headings about the Being of God, the Character of God and the Attributes of God. There would be many statements covering the whole realm of Christian teaching, especially regarding God Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, about creation, redemption and final things – the judgement, heaven and hell. Each paragraph would be the accurate teaching of Scripture of every relevant truth, brought together in a compact way.

Allow me to suggest some of the values of the Confession of Faith. It is a safeguard against false teaching, as Satan will use all means in his cunning, to bring confusion on these essential matters. False teachers sometimes over-emphasise a teaching, making it a caricature of the teaching, thus often leading to a heresy. At other times a false teacher will cast doubt in order to undermine a precious truth. A Confession of Faith is of great value in the reading of the Scriptures. As a result, we will observe more and more of these great doctrines, weaving their way through the Bible. This will profoundly affect our reading of Scripture and increase our appreciation of God’s Word and enrich our souls.

The Church which has no grasp of the great truths has no spiritual roots, and can be easily confused when confronted with scattered verses taken out of their context. Add to this the enthusiasm and false claims of wayward brethren; a sincere church can be easy prey to such people. Sadly, good and honest believers can be swayed when there is no knowledge of the fundamental truths of the Bible. We must not be swayed by every new thing that comes along, but test it Scripturally and doctrinally.

It is necessary to add this point. Do not separate the teachings of the Confessions of Faith from the Bible itself. See these teachings in all their beauty as you see them in the Scriptures. We must know the doctrines of grace, but we must also experience the grace of the doctrines. This sanctified knowledge produces reverence in our worship and in our total demeanour in the assembly of God’s people. There will also be a profound effect upon our lives, giving us a desire to be submissive to the will of God and to live to His Glory. In the old days, schools talked about the three R’s. They were namely these – Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic. Consider these points spiritually. We should be Reformed in doctrine – that is to believe the Biblical Truths. There should be Reverence in our worship, including its content, our attitude, our appearance and our behaviour. Lastly, there should be a Radical change of life, so that we shall be what we are meant to be as men and women of grace, unmistakeably the children of God.

Vernon Higham