C ALVIN THEOLOGI C AL SEMINARY FORUM S PRING 2008 Being a Confessional Church C ALVIN THEOLOGI C AL SEMINARY from the president FORUM Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. Providing Theological Leadership for the Church Volume 15, Number 2 Spring 2008 Dear Brothers and Sisters, REFLECTIONS ON We Calvinists have always wanted reform according to the Word of God. That’s BeinG A confessionAL CHUrcH the first thing “Reformed” means. We want a straightedge to guide reforms, espe- cially because sin has twisted our thinking. We want an outside word, an inspired 3 and infallible word, which defines “good” and “evil” not by human opinions, Why Be a Confessional Church? but by the wisdom of God. We want a picture of the kingdom of God so we can by Lyle D. Bierma see how life is supposed to go and then judge how life needs to be reformed in 5 order to go that way. We want the same Holy Spirit who had originally inspired Theology That Sings: A Discussion Scripture to inspire us when we take Scripture in hand to read or preach it. That’s on the Confessions Today why there’s a “prayer for illumination” not right before the sermon, but right before the reading of Scripture. We know that unless the Holy Spirit breathes 9 through Scripture all over again as it’s read, we might not hear it the right way With Integrity of Heart and Spirit and we might not believe it. by Henry De Moor But in thinking about applying Scripture to life, the Reformers faced a 11 problem, namely, that it’s hard to guide a program of reform by reference to the Is It Time for a New Confession? whole Bible, which is very large, or by reference to a single verse from it, which is by Kathy Smith very small. To solve this problem, Luther, Calvin, and other reformers reached for a solution at least as old as the earliest forms of the Apostles’ Creed. They wrote DEPARTMENTS medium-length catechisms and confessions of faith that summarized Scriptural teaching in a form handy enough to be learned, or even memorized, by believers. Formation for Ministry.........13 Expectably, these documents describe God, Christ, and the Spirit; they describe News........................15 the Trinity, the Incarnation, and Jesus’ atonement for sin. They also describe the drama of the kingdom of God, including creation, fall, and redemption. COVER: Photo illustration by Paul Stoub Sometimes they do so with extraordinary power and clarity. “True faith,” The Calvin Theological Seminary Forum says the Heidelberg Catechism, “is not only a knowledge and conviction that is published in Winter, Spring and Fall editions. everything God reveals in his Word is true; it is also a deep-rooted assurance, Calvin Theological Seminary, 3233 Burton St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546. created in me by the Holy Spirit through the gospel, that, out of sheer grace The Forum is available at www.calvinseminary.edu Editorial Committee: John Cooper, Editor; Mariano earned for us by Christ, not only others, but I too, have had my sins forgiven and Avila, John Bolt, Duane Kelderman, Kathy Smith have been made forever right with God” (Answer 21). Designer: Paul Stoub, Stoub Graphics Photography: Steve Huyser-Honig, Kathy Smith, Paul Stoub Churches sometimes get tempted to draw back from their confessions. This © 2008 Calvin Theological Seminary temptation ought to be stoutly resisted. Creeds are like ribs. We need them to hold us together. PUblicatiOns Mail Agreement NO. 40063614 RetUrn UndeliVerable Canadian addresses TO: CALVin TheOLOgical SeminarY Grace and peace. 3475 MainwaY, LCD STN 1 BUrlingtON, ON L7M 1A9 email: [email protected] 2 C ALVIN THEOLOGI C AL SEMINARY Fo r u m • Sp r i n g 2008 re F l e c t i o n S REFLECTIONS ON BEING A CONFESSIONAL CHURCH Why Be a Confessional Church? he Christian Reformed Church Second, confessions are adopt- by Lyle D. supreme authority for what we (CRC) is sometimes called a ed or in some way officially rec- Bierma, believe and how we live. As the “confessional church.” But what ognized by a church. A brief and Professor of Belgic Confession says, “We must exactly does that mean? Our ancient confessional document Systematic Theology not consider human writings first thought might be that it like the Nicene Creed (325 A.D.) is … equal to the divine writings” has to do with confession of sin. But that recognized by churches in all the (Art. 7). Among these “human Tis not what the term “confessional church” major branches of Christianity: writings” are confessions. usually refers to. It is not about confessing Protestant, Roman Catholic, Finally, confessions arise out our sin but about confessing our faith. This and Eastern Orthodox. Others of particular historical contexts, involves an allegiance to certain historic serve just a family of Protestant often serious doctrinal or moral documents called confessions. All office- churches, like the Lutherans’ crises in the history of the church. bearers in the CRC formally subscribe to Augsburg Confession. And still The Canons of Dort, for example, three confessions (see Henry De Moor’s others are confessed by only one were written in the early sev- article on p. 9 ), and professing members of denomination, such as the Confession of enteenth century in response to the rise the CRC claim to believe not only that the 1967 of the Presbyterian Church (USA). of Arminian teaching in the Reformed Bible is the Word of God but also that “the The CRC is one of a number of Reformed churches in the Netherlands. And the confessions of this church faithfully reflect denominations that subscribe to the three Belhar Confession was composed in 1982 this revelation” (CRC Form for the Public confessions mentioned in the previous in the midst of the apartheid (racial segre- Profession of Faith). To better understand, paragraph. gation) crisis in South Africa. When the therefore, what it means to be a confes- Third, Christian confessions are based church speaks confessionally, it has its ears sional church and why it is so important, on the Bible. They summarize and inter- tuned to Scripture and its eyes trained on we will look first at what confessions are pret the teachings of Holy Scripture. That a critical situation of the day. and then at the roles they play, or should does not mean, of course, that they have play, in the life of the church. the same authority as Scripture. For us Why Are Confessions Important? Protestant Christians, the Bible alone is the Confessions play at least four impor- What Are Confessions? tant roles in the life of the church. First, Confessions are (1) statements of faith, they serve as forms of unity. The word (2) adopted by a church, (3) based on When the church confess literally means “to say together.” Scripture, and (4) addressed to a historical Confessions, therefore, are what members situation. speaks confessionally, of a church body profess to believe. In this First, confessions are statements of faith way, confessions are part of the glue that or belief. They set forth in writing impor- it has its ears tuned to cements us together as a denomination tant truths that Christians claim to believe. and with other denominations that also Some, like the CRC’s Belgic Confession Scripture and its eyes hold to them. (1561) and Heidelberg Catechism (1563), trained on a critical That does not mean that these docu- cover a wide range of basic Christian ments are perfect or beyond testing or teachings. Others, like our Canons of Dort situation of the day. challenge or change, or that we should (1619), treat a narrower set of doctrines but never write or adopt other ones. in much greater depth. They do not necessarily speak the 3 ▼ C ALVIN THEOLOGI C AL SEMINARY Fo r u m • Sp r i n g 2008 REFLECTIONS ON BEING A CONFESSIONAL CHURCH Why Be a Confessional Church? ▼ last word on a subject. But for a confes- Confessions are part of expression to the unity of the church, to sional church, they are certainly, after identify who we are and how we under- the Bible itself, the first word—the point the glue that cements stand Scripture, to teach our members of departure and framework for our the fundamentals of the Christian and communal reflection on the meaning of us together as a Reformed faith, and to avoid the dangers Scripture. of false doctrine and practice. As such, confessions help us give expres- denomination and with Can our current confessions still help sion in some small way to that visible unity us do that? There are some in the CRC of the church for which Jesus prayed. other denominations that who have called for abandoning some or When we speak together confessionally, all of our three confessions because they we testify to a bond of unity that reaches also hold to them. don’t speak today’s language or address across congregational and even denomi- today’s issues. In their view, we should national lines. To confess that my only confessions interpret certain teachings of either raise our Contemporary Testimony comfort in life and death is that I belong to Scripture. (“Our World Belongs to God”) to the level Jesus Christ (Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A Third, confessions are important teach- of a confession or compose an entirely new 1) is to join a confessional chorus of broth- ing tools for the church. They can be confession. ers and sisters not only in the rest of the effective means by which to instruct new These people are right that we must CRC but in the United Reformed Churches believers, long-time believers, and chil- continue to wrestle with the question of in North America, in the Evangelisch- dren of believers in the fundamentals how best to be a confessional church in reformierte Kirche in Germany, in the of the Christian faith from a Reformed twenty-first-century North America.