Confessional Christianity

In Philippians 2:6-11, according to numerous commentaries and scholars, the Apostle Paul is apparently quoting from an early Christian hymn. If this is so, then what are some of the ramifications? Well, for one, it is apparent that the post-ressurection Church in its infancy was a confessional Church. And throughout the Scriptures, there are other examples of confessing God as the True God, or Jesus as the Christ.
This trend moved passed the closing of the Canon and was carried, as we can find in early Baptismal confessions where adults were asked specific questions, confessing a statement very similar to the Apostle's Creed, which later became a standard baptismal confession for entrance into the Christian community.
As the Church developed throughout the early centuries, more confessions were written to combat heresies which crept up. These were designed to provide consice statements into the views of the Church catholic, as short summaries of major doctrines.
Take for instance the Apostle's Creed.

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
And
in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy
Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified,
dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the
third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth
on
the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come
to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
the holy catholic Church;

the communion of saints; the forgiveness of
sins; the resurrection of the body;

and the life everlasting. AMEN

This is an excellent summation of basic Christian doctrine, and is profitable for use within the context of worship. Why? Because all of those statements are true. Sometimes people have a problem with two phrases, "he decended into hell" and "the holy catholic church". That is unfortunate because the term hell is hades in Greek, which means "the dead". It does not mean that the early church thought Christ literally went to hell for sins. It is better rendered in a more modern version, as "he decended into the dead", meaning that when Christ died, he really died. He came under the power of death, and overcame the power of death when he rose again on the third day.
The second problem statement is "the holy catholic church", and that is unfortunate as well because it does not mean the Roman Catholic Church. It means the Church universal, of whom Paul says he persecuted in 1 Corinthians 15:9 & Galatians 1:13, and for whom Christ died Ephesians 5:29.

Anyway, back to my rambling. Throughout church history, Christians have publicly confessed their faith, and I believe that part of the problems we have in today's church settings is a disconnect from our roots. We, as Christians, have confessional roots, and I believe it is a disservice when we neglect those roots. Sometimes, the argument is that confessions and creeds, are dead liturgy and really offer nothing to the worship of God because it is vain, overused repetition.
That's too bad to see it that way because as Christians, we should be willing to confess our faith in a public fashion. It may not always be in the forms referenced previously, but I do believe there is some wisdom in the confessions of the old creeds.
Here's why:
It provides a connection to the past, which is important.
It provides a good summation of Christian doctrine. "Christian what is it you believe?" is the ancient question to start the recitation of the Apostles Creed.
It is Biblical to confess our faith. As I mentioned before, there are many places within Scripture where God's people confess their faith in Him, and given that precedent, confession is something that Christians must be doing with and in their lives.


Book of the day Eccumenical Creeds and Reformed Confessions.