Why is it important to study the Christian creeds, confessions, and catechisms?

Why should Christians study the historic creeds, confessions, and catechisms of the church? From one of our live events, Steven Lawson, Derek Thomas, and W. Robert Godfrey commend these clear summaries of biblical truth.
If you have a biblical or theological question, just visit ask.ligonier.org/ to ask your question live online.

[@How.To.Get.Saved.]

Having only come to Christ a few years ago, I've mainly focused on the Bible, but I'm excited to learn the creeds, confessions, and catechisms. Plus there are so many good books to read, for example, I'd like to learn church history. I need about 5 extra brains to be a Christian and more hours in the day. But I want my main focus to be on Christ and not trying to learn so much (although it's so tempting).

[@jessyjonas4988]

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work “ 2 Timothy 3: 16-17

[@jessyjonas4988]

“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” John3:8✝️

[@knatsomitab7376]

Amen

[@rangoman1815]

Amen! This verse is often ignored by the Evangelicals when it's comes to God's saving grace on the elect because they believe everyone is saved while God saves by His sovereign will only to the few people He chooses

[@mac8179]

Yesseth!

[@realree8888]

Hummm... and that's exactly what the confessions teach too. @@rangoman1815

[@NipkowDisk]

While I certainly agree that studying such is beneficial, they are nonetheless subordinate to Scripture and not to be idolized. Historic creeds, confessions & catechisms are mere guideposts.

[@voiceintheopen345]

guideposts? yes, but not exactly the best ones, In an attempt to study such, we as Christians, shouldn't overlook the essential teachings found in the bible, if we fail to do so then only one thing is out there for us: uncertainty and wrong teachings

[@user-bj1ve3pg7h]

Thanks

[@RealGeorgeyWashington]

Not a single person said that they're above scripture. 🙄

[@michaellacour7377]

Agree...this video explains how studying the catechism can increase your knowledge in scripture. Each question and answer of the westminster shorter catechism is followed by scripture from the old and new testament to give proof of what we believe. Wonderful resource to strengthen your daily Bible study and to prepare you to give biblical answers to those who do not know...

[@HearGodsWord]

All good things to read. I find the Westminster Shorter Catechism helpful.

[@yohanesliong4818]

Thank you

[@rogerchavez9824]

In Christ Alone!😇

[@lannyfaulkner6697]

YEA Dr. Lawson !!! YEA !!!

[@jessyjonas4988]

“One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” Romans 14:5

[@Lonesoul9791]

Who is the man who spoke after Dr Lawson( Second from the left)? He makes a lot of sense.

[@realree8888]

Derek Thomas

[@Lonesoul9791]

@@realree8888 thank you!

[@deeh1643]

I see the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith being neglected here 😄😉

[@realree8888]

Good observation three are Presbyterian and therefore hold to the Westminster confession and Lawson is a dispensations and is not confessional.

[@CoffeeGrinder86]

1689 here!

[@olgak6708]

How can i learn english by these videos?

[@NaijaCINE]

There are literally billions of christians in the planet and in history who have never heard of creeds, confessions, or catechisms. What becomes of them if they only know the scriptures and the holy spirit?

[@amichiganblackman3200]

Even if they have never heard of it, they benenfit from it. What needs to be understood is that the very language we use to talk about God (ex: saying Jesus is fully God, fully man) is a product of these creeds and confessions. Also if they never heard of a confession or Creed, God can build them up in other ways. Just because you don't need something doesn't mean it's not of benefit to others.

[@amichiganblackman3200]

Also there aren't billions of Christian on the planet and History. Most so called Christians are not real Christians.

[@kevinclint7588]

THERE ARE A LOT OF LIES,……..BUT THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUTH,………JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD AND SAVIOR ,………IS THE ONLY TRUTH,……THE ONLY WAY,…..AND DEFINITLY THE ONLY LIFE THERE IS,……….AMEN

[@ibperson7765]

Gen 6:6 Abram believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice. --- John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say unto you that he who heareth my word and believeth him that sent me hath life everlasting: and cometh not into judgment, but is passed from death to life. 20:31 But these [signs] are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: and that believing, you may have life in his name. 6:28b What shall we do, that we may work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said to them: This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he hath sent. --- 1 John 5: 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.

[@realree8888]

So you do agree with the confessions.

[@rogermetzger7335]

It seems to me that there are a limited number of ways for people to relate to creeds, confessions and catechisms? 1: If a person can find a set of creeds, confessions and/or catechisms with which he agrees, he can think or declare that all other creeds, confessions and/or catechisms are heterodox or heretical. 2: If a person can’t find a creed, confession or catechism with which he entirely agrees, he can say he has no creed but the Bible. The problem with the first position is that other people who subscribe to other creeds, confessions and/or catechisms are equally sure that anyone who disagrees with those documents are heterodox or heretical. Which leaves me with trying to decide among conflicting creeds, confessions and/or catechisms. The problem with the second position is that various people - all claiming to have no creed but the Bible and maybe even insisting on the use of only one Bible translation - can, nevertheless, interpret different Bible passages differently. Although my parents had encouraged me to memorize more than 150 Bible passages before I was ten, I’ve only been studying the Bible for myself (and comparing a variety of creeds with what I read in the Bible) for sixty-some years, I still haven’t found a way to take everything in the Bible “literally”. For that reason, I employ a variety of ways to encourage people to read and study the Bible FOR THEMSELVES but I don’t recommend any of the creeds I have read so far AND, even if I were to find one with which I could entirely agree, I would hesitate to recommend it for fear that someone might think that means I consider anyone who disagrees with it to be heretical. I believe the Lord has called different people to emphasize various aspects of the truth about who he is and how he deals with members of the human race. I think there are many different (and even seemingly antithetical) doctrines that have been helpful to various people at various times in history. Offhand, I can think of only one claim by professed Christians that I have taken as evidence that they weren’t “really” Christian. That is the claim to have achieved moral perfection. I admit, however, to be skeptical about a person’s profession of faith who considers someone with a different set of creeds, confessions and/or catechisms to be less Christian than himself. Arminians who think that about Calvinists, for example. Or vice versa.

[@realree8888]

Put yourself back in history as near as 300-400 years ago and 1. You could not afford a Bible because the overwhelming number of people could not and did not have a Bible. 2. You were illiterate therefore like the overwhelming number of people you could not read. Therefore you would rely upon your pastor and church to hear the word and most likely at that time that church would have been confessional.

[@rogermetzger7335]

​@@realree8888 I don't need to go back even that far. By the time my paternal grandmother came to the United States from Europe as a young mother, she spoke German and Croatian fluently and two or three other languages well enough to shop in ethnic shops owned by people who spoke neither German nor Croatoan. My grandmother, however, never learned to read or write even German or Croatian. And yes, even after she immigrated to the United States, she was accustomed to relying on other people to read the Bible. After she married my grandfather, he read HIS Bible for her every day - and continued to read it aloud to the whole family after they had children. He was Lutheran and (not surprising because both his parents and hers were German) the Bible he read at home was the translation into German by the sixteenth-century reformer, Martin Luther. It is easy to understand that there may have been more than one reason for the development and use of creeds. Almost certainly, one reason was to indoctrinate people with an understanding of the gospel of Jesus that was and is represented as THE understanding of Jesus' apostles. Another reason was to serve as a supplement to catechism classes - or as a substitute for people who didn't take catechism classes. Creeds are preferred by conservatives as encouraging continuity with the "traditions" of the past. Many of those traditions, however, were borrowed from cultures that were very different from the culture in which Jesus apostles were raised. So the question becomes, "Should the teachings of Jesus be understood as overturning SOME of the traditions of Judaism while retaining what he, himself, as the great I AM had taught through the Hebrew prophets of antiquity? Or should the teachings of Jesus be understood as not only "new" but as antithetical to the concepts and instructions to be found in the Hebrew Bible?"

[@strikevipermkII]

I cannot fathom the dichotomy that this presents. They accept the value of a creed, they accept the need for a creed, they explain what goes in to making a creed, they accept the years and thought and effort and everything that goes in to making a creed. And yet, when presented with a creed that does not conform to their idea of God, they reject it. Not one that someone just came up with off the street, mind you, but one that has more years, more study, more theology, more Christology, more understanding than theirs.

[@tomh3721]

Such as?

[@dovybar]

Such as?

[@johnmurdock5710]

As such?

[@jessyjonas4988]

The Holy Scriptures are sufficient for Salvation. We don’t need education ( there are many saved in their illiteracy )for Salvation, Praise Jesus We don’t need special education to be saved praise God. The Holy Spirit is able like the wind to do the work of grace in our hearts. Thank you Jesus

[@carmensiekierke3579]

@jessy, explain the Trinity. Explain the two natures of Christ: divine and human. You are correct that a small child can understand Jesus loves them and died for them........but as a young child only knows the ABC's, that child grows to mature adulthood learning and studying.

[@jessyjonas4988]

@@carmensiekierke3579 learning and studying all great but not necessary for Salvation. Praise Jesus

[@jessyjonas4988]

@@carmensiekierke3579 The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us…Deuteronomy what kind of a god would i be worshiping if I can explain Him that would be a god of my making

[@carmensiekierke3579]

@@jessyjonas4988 Jessy, would you please tell me how you exegete Scripture?

[@jessyjonas4988]

@@carmensiekierke3579 Pray before reading the Word ask the Holy Spirit to lead me into all truth.

[@supersmart671]

3:46 is a bit harsh statement...there are non chalcedonian churches. Don't you think they are with in the pale of orthodoxy

[@aitornavarro6597]

Min 2:07 Arminius was reformed as well, so Arminians are also reformed. Don't hijack the term.

[@barbaud5920]

Sorry . not true.. only the bible is Gods word. dont twist scripture

[@carmensiekierke3579]

@Barb, Christians who are confessional do not say the creeds and confessions are the same as Scripture. Do you know why the Nicene creed was written?

[@rangoman1815]

Twist where?

[@MrPatdeeee]

"Why is it important to study the Christian creeds, confessions, and catechisms?" Kind Sir...I believe with NO intended disrespect...that man-made "creeds, confessions and catechisms"...IS driven by satan. Yes I do believe that. For a perfect relationship between Jesus and any Born Again Christian; needs NOTHING but the Born Again loves Jesus with all of our heart, soul and mind; and prays sincerely often; to Jesus ONLY; confessing our sins and problems is our fault. And NO one else. End of Story. And all of the other man-made "euphesims"; are totally moot when it comes to Jesus. Who IS the only true God there ever willl ever have been. Praise Jesus' Holy Name... ...In any case kind Sir, Please Pray OFTEN and Praise Jesus OFTEN; for He is the ONLY true "God Almighty"; there will ever have been. And may Jesus bless you and yours always. AMEN!

[@benjamincervantes2729]

Is that your creed?

[@realree8888]

Put yourself back in history as near as 300-400 years ago and 1. You could not afford a Bible because the overwhelming number of people could not and did not have a Bible. 2. You were illiterate therefore like the overwhelming number of people you could not read. Therefore you would rely upon your pastor and church to hear the word and most likely at that time that church would have been confessional.

[@Batis_Patikilye]

Utter slander and falsehood you typed