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Originally Posted by Galatians220  Also, I have this question, as I'm "just learning" in so many aspects: why are confessions or catechisms so relied upon? Can a person just be a thoroughly Reformed Christian and rely upon the Bible alone? Why and/or why not? (Having been forced to memorize the Baltimore Catechism in grade school, I sort of freak when I hear catechisms and confessions being so heavily depended upon...  )
Thank you, Pastor Klein, for starting this thread.
Margaret |
Relying on the confessions and relying the Bible are not mutually exclusive. The
church is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim 3:15) not individual Christians. The confessions are simply a systematic representation of the church's understanding of Biblical truth.
Also, the confessions allow us to have discussions about large doctrines because we are already convinced of the truth of the details. We can discuss the differences between justification and sanctification, for example, without reinventing the wheel by quoting Rom chapters 3-8 each time.
Rich has written a very good defense of confessionalism on the home page of PB.