Creeds and Confessions Series
Our Network Ordination Team is passionate about building up and training leaders who are actively serving in ministry by training and coaching a wide variety of pastors in their contexts. That means that we have many pastors who are at different checkpoints along their formative journeys--some are seasoned and very familiar with the Reformed tradition, while others are exploring the beauty of Reformed theology for the first time. In an effort to instruct and remind our churches and leaders of the beauty of our faith tradition, our Network OT will be starting a series of reflection on the Reformed Confessions and Creeds.
This month, we're blessed to have an overview of the three historic Reformed Confessions by Rev. Zachary Fraley, Lead Pastor at Christ's Family Church in Davenport:
If you have spent any time in Sunday Studies, or grew up in a youth Sunday school class, or even have listened to my sermons, you have heard a few of our historically reformed creeds and confessions. Most of these, aside from Orthodox creeds like the Nicene and Apostles, were formed in the Reformation era such as the Canons of Dordt, Belgic Confession, and everyone’s favorite the Heidelberg Catechism. There are a few modern ones that have been added in such as the Great Lakes Catechism on Marriage and Sexuality, and the Belhar confession in response to specific issues. However, in this blog post we will look briefly at the three historically reformed confessions!
The first is the Heidelberg Catechism. Written in Heidelberg, Germany in 1563, this Question-and-Answer format was intended to teach young people as well as serve as a guide for preaching in the Reformed Church. Within many historic Reformed traditions, it was a duty of pastors to teach the Catechism on a yearly basis. The most well-known part is from the first Sunday and the teaching is that our one comfort both in life and death is "that we are not our own, but belong both body and soul, in life and in death to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ." Personally, the Heidelberg is my favorite as it presents deep and rich reformed theology in a loving and warm manner.
The second is known as the Canons of Dordt. This teaching came from the Netherlands and the Synod of Dort in 1619, largely in response to the teachings of Arminius and the Remonstrance of 1610. From this we eventually got the Five Points of Calvinism (commonly abbreviated with the TULIP). Twenty six delegates from various countries met in order to comprise this central teaching to our faith.
The last one I’d like to speak about is the Belgic Confession, which is the oldest doctrinal standard in the Reformed Church. This confession came out of the midst of great persecution in the Reformed church by the Roman Catholic government in 1561, with the author, Guido de Brès, eventually being martyred in 1567. This confession speaks against the cruel oppression and seeks to prove to the persecutors that the Reformed faith was not heretical, nor composed of rebels, but people who believed themselves to be practicing true Christian doctrine.
These are three of the main teachings central to the Reformed Faith. Even if you new to the Alliance of Reformed Churches and might not know these yet, I encourage you to read and learn from them for yourselves as we continue to reform ourselves according to the Word of God.
Thomas Cellilli
Lead Pastor I New Life Community Church