Should the Church Be Bound by Creeds and Confessions?

The New Believer Who Discovered His Church Required Agreement with the Westminster Confession

He had recently come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and wanted to join a Reformed church in his city. When he asked about membership requirements, he was handed a long document called the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) and told: "This is what our church believes and you must agree with it." He opened the document and began reading, finding much teaching with supporting Scripture references. But he also found it taught infant baptism and endorsed the legitimacy of the national church. He asked: "Where is this in Scripture?" When he asked the pastor, he was told the Confession "interprets Scripture." But he remained uneasy — should not Scripture interpret the Confession, rather than the other way around? This tension between Scripture and confession summarises the great debate in church history about the status of creeds and confessional statements.

What Are Creeds and Confessions?

Creeds are concise formulations of Christian faith that arose in the early church — the most famous being the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed (325 AD), composed to combat specific heresies. Confessions of Faith are longer, more detailed documents produced in later centuries — the most notable being the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) for Reformed and Presbyterian churches, the Augsburg Confession (1530) for Lutheran churches, the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) for Calvinist churches, and the Thirty-Nine Articles for Anglicanism. All these documents were composed by gifted men who gathered their understanding of Scripture into a systematic statement. But they remain human writings — judged by Scripture, not judging Scripture.

The Value of Confessions — Helpful Summaries

It would be wrong to dismiss confessions as having no value whatsoever. The Westminster Confession contains deep biblical teaching on many subjects — the Trinity, the nature of Scripture, salvation, the work of Christ. The Apostles' Creed summarises the foundations of Christian faith helpfully. Confessions have played an important historical role in preserving the church from heresy and helping believers understand Scripture. The problem is not confessions but the treatment of them: when a confession is used as a servant to Scripture — a helpful summary pointing to scriptural truth — it serves its proper function. When it becomes a master over Scripture — when "the Confession says so" becomes the final answer rather than a pointer back to Scripture — it has exceeded its legitimate bounds.

"That the Man of God May Be Perfect, Thoroughly Furnished" — Scripture Is Sufficient

The apostle Paul declared the complete adequacy of Scripture with words of profound significance: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Timothy 3:16-17). "Perfect, thoroughly furnished" — Scripture equips the man of God completely, for all good works. Not "partially furnished, requiring supplementation from a 17th-century confession." Not "adequate for most things but needing creedal authority for the rest." Completely furnished. This means Scripture alone is a sufficient and complete source for everything relating to faith, teaching, ethics, and church life — without any parallel authority required.

"To the Law and to the Testimony" — One Standard for All Claims

Isaiah 8:20 establishes the single standard by which all teaching is to be judged: "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." (Isaiah 8:20). "To the law and to the testimony" — this is the standard. Any teaching or practice is measured by Scripture — "the law and the testimony" — and if it agrees it is valid, and if it contradicts it is rejected. There is no room in this standard for a confessional document to be added as a parallel source of judgment. Scripture alone is the supreme authority in every question. And the verdict of Isaiah is stark for teaching that cannot sustain itself by Scripture: "there is no light in them."

The Bereans — The Biblical Model for Every Believer

When the apostle Paul preached in Berea, the Bereans were described in terms of highest commendation: "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so." (Acts 17:11). "Searched the Scriptures daily" — they did not accept Paul's teaching simply because he was an apostle. They verified it against Scripture. This is the biblical model for the biblical believer: every teaching — regardless of its source — is tested by Scripture. If believers are bound by a binding authoritative confession, they need not search the Scriptures — it is sufficient to ask "what does the Confession say?" The Berean spirit and creedal authority are in fundamental tension.

"No Creed but the Bible" — The Independent Baptist Principle

The Independent Baptist church holds a simple but profound principle: "No creed but the Bible." This does not mean rejecting everything historic Christianity has affirmed — Independent Baptists believe in the Trinity, the full deity of Christ, the bodily resurrection, and all the foundational truths the church has held throughout history. But it means that the source of those truths is Scripture alone — not confessions and councils. Confessional documents remain human writings capable of error, and they must be tested by Scripture rather than treated as infallible standards alongside it. This position liberates the believer to read Scripture with open eyes — without the sense that genuine scriptural questioning is a departure from the faith.

When the Confession Contradicts Scripture — Infant Baptism in Westminster

One of the clearest examples of a confession exceeding its scriptural warrant is the Westminster Confession's teaching on infant baptism. Chapter 28 teaches that the children "of one or both believing parents" are to be baptised. But the Bible — which the Westminster Confession itself claims as its sole source — contains not one text in which an infant is baptised. When the confession teaches what Scripture does not teach, which authority wins? The Westminster Confession itself states that Scripture is the supreme judge — but the practical operation of Westminster-confessional churches places the Confession above Scripture on this very question. Independent Baptists resolve this tension simply: Scripture wins. Every time. On every question.

The Nicene Creed — An Example of Legitimate Confessional Use

The Nicene Creed of 325 AD is a positive example of legitimate confessional use: the church gathered to affirm what Scripture clearly teaches — that Jesus Christ is truly God, equal to the Father in substance — in the face of Arianism's denial of this. This was a helpful use of a confessional statement: clarifying biblical teaching in the face of clear heresy. Even so, the Nicene Creed must itself be tested by Scripture — and its authority comes not from the council that produced it but from the scriptural truth it accurately summarises. Independent Baptists believe in the truths the Nicene Creed affirms — because Scripture teaches them, not because a council decreed them.

"Add Thou Not unto His Words" — Scripture's Warning against Additions

Scripture states a clear warning: "Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." (Proverbs 30:6). And Revelation 22:18: "If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book." These texts establish Scripture's own position regarding additions — whether doctrinal or practical. Treating confessional documents as binding authorities alongside Scripture risks producing exactly this kind of addition — sources of teaching that carry obligatory weight without being grounded in divine inspiration. The Independent Baptist safeguard is consistent: whatever is taught in the church must be supported from Scripture, not merely from a confession.

Can a Baptist Church Have a Doctrinal Statement?

Yes — and many do. The London Baptist Confession of 1689, the Baptist Faith and Message, and many local church doctrinal statements are legitimate and helpful. But they are presented as expressions of current understanding of Scripture, not infallible binding standards. If Scripture demonstrates an error in any part of such a statement, the statement should be corrected — not Scripture. And membership in the church is based on personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and baptism as a believer, not on subscription to a doctrinal document. The statement serves the congregation as a teaching guide; it does not govern the congregation as an authority over Scripture.

"Test All Things; Hold Fast That Which Is Good" — The Right Biblical Culture

The apostle Paul's instruction: "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21). "Prove all things" — including confessions, catechisms, and church teachings. The testing is done by Scripture, not by the confession itself. And holding fast "that which is good" means keeping what Scripture confirms and releasing what Scripture does not support. This creates a biblically critical positive culture: the believer examines, tests, and keeps what finds a scriptural foundation. This is the Independent Baptist way — not creedal authority but scriptural fidelity, not inherited formulations but living engagement with the living Word of God.

What "Sola Scriptura" Really Means for Confessions

Sola Scriptura does not mean that theological writings are useless — the Independent Baptist church values good theology and benefits from the writings of those who came before. But it means Scripture occupies a category of authority that no other writing shares. Scripture is inspired, infallible, and the supreme judge of all doctrine. Confessions are uninspired, fallible, and subject to scriptural review. This asymmetry is not a minor technical point — it is the difference between a church anchored to the Word of God and a church anchored to a human document that claims to represent it. The Reformers declared this principle with great courage; the consistent application of it leads further than most of the Reformers were prepared to go — as the Anabaptists demonstrated and as Independent Baptists maintain today.

Apostolic Succession and Confessional Authority — The Same Fundamental Error

There is a structural similarity between Rome's claim of apostolic succession (that spiritual authority passes through an unbroken chain of ordained bishops) and the confessional churches' claim that doctrinal authority passes through subscription to an approved confession. Both substitute a human institutional mechanism for direct access to the Word of God. Rome says: "The church founded on Peter is the guardian of truth." The Reformed confession says: "The Westminster Confession is the summary of scriptural truth — align yourself with it." The Independent Baptist says: "The inspired Word of God is its own sufficient interpreter, and every believer has direct access to it through prayer and the illumination of the Holy Ghost." This is the biblical position — and it was purchased with the blood of those who refused to surrender it to any human institution.

A Practical Guide — How Should a Believer Relate to Creeds?

The balanced biblical approach to confessions: read them and benefit from them as helpful theological summaries. Teach them as useful tools without granting them supreme authority. Test everything in them by Scripture — what agrees with Scripture is accepted because Scripture supports it; what contradicts Scripture is rejected even if found in a trusted confession. And the decisive question: "Why do you believe this?" The right answer is "Because the Bible says..." not "Because the Confession says..." This is the consistent, honest, and genuinely biblical approach to the rich heritage of Christian theological writing — respectful but not subservient, grateful but not bound.

Personal Faith Above Every Confession

Whatever the value of confessions and whatever the usefulness of theological tradition — personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the irreplaceable foundation. A person who memorises the Westminster Confession without genuine personal faith in Christ is in real spiritual danger. A person who knows only one verse — "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31) — and believes it with all his heart is saved. The confession serves the believer; the believer is not defined by the confession. And once that foundation of personal faith is established, the believer grows in understanding of the Word — and along the way, good theology and helpful summaries serve that growth without replacing its source.

The Historical Witness — When Confessions Were Used to Silence Scripture

History records what happens when confessional authority becomes supreme: in the 17th century, the Westminster Assembly drew up its Confession, and churches that departed from it could face formal discipline — not for departing from Scripture but for departing from the Confession. Dissenters were not asked "show us where Scripture refutes the Confession" but were simply told to conform or leave. The Baptists who could not subscribe to infant baptism — clearly taught in the Westminster Confession — faced exactly this pressure. They were in the position the Bereans would have been in if they had been told "do not search the Scriptures; accept what the council has decided." This is creedal authority at its most dangerous — shutting down genuine scriptural inquiry in the name of confessional stability.

The Beautiful Simplicity of "The Bible Says"

There is a beautiful simplicity in the Independent Baptist approach to authority: when a question arises about any doctrine or practice, the answer is sought in Scripture. Not "what does the Confession say about this?" or "what has the church historically decided?" but "what does the Bible say?" This is the method of the Bereans who "searched the Scriptures daily." This is the method of the Lord Jesus who repeatedly said "It is written" and "Have ye not read?" This is the method of the apostle Paul who appealed to Scripture when his authority was questioned. And this is the method that keeps the church anchored to truth rather than to any human formulation of truth — however gifted the formulators and however ancient the tradition.

Two Questions That Clarify the Difference

Two questions reveal whether a church genuinely holds to Sola Scriptura or to confessional authority. First: "If a member shows from Scripture that the Confession is wrong on a specific point — is the Confession corrected or the member?" A church that corrects the member without engaging the scriptural argument has elevated the Confession above Scripture. Second: "Is the Confession presented to new members as a summary of what this church teaches from Scripture — or as a standard they must accept in order to belong?" A church that requires subscription to the Confession as a condition of membership has made it a binding authority rather than a helpful guide. Independent Baptist churches aim for both correct answers: Scripture corrects the confession, and membership is based on personal faith and baptism as a believer — not on subscription to a doctrinal document. This is the simple, consistent biblical position — and it is the position that most faithfully honours the Reformation's own declared principle of Scripture alone, carried to its full and consistent conclusion.

The God of Scripture Calls You to Knowledge Built on Scripture Alone

Genuine faith built on the Word of God needs no 17th-century document to justify or complete it. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God... that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished." Open the Bible and read it prayerfully and openly — this is deeper and more nourishing than memorising a church confession. Personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation more solid than loyalty to any human creedal formulation. The Reformation's greatest insight was returning authority to Scripture — the Independent Baptist completes that insight by refusing to let any subsequent document take back that authority. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31). This is the creed that saves — and it came directly from Scripture.

We encourage you to begin reading the Gospel of John for yourself, and to continue in the Word of God in the King James Version — and in the Van Dyck in Arabic, both found on this website (alinjil.com). May God bless you as you build your faith on Scripture alone.

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