A confession is simply a summary of orthodox doctrine, and here you will find teaching and Scripture references on a wide range of issues from a Reformed Theological perspective.
Additionally, it is helpful to begin using a catechism. A catechism teaches doctrinal positions in a question and answer format. These are great for both children and adults. One last note of advice: While creeds, confessions, and systematic theologies are indispensable resources, we should recognize that they are intended to summarize and present the truths of the Bible.
Our theological studies must always begin with, and be checked against, the authority of Scripture. So how should you proceed? Get a hold of some of these recommended resources. Study the Scriptures and consult the knowledge of others. Pray that God would give you wisdom.
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Please check your inbox and confirm your subscription. Something went wrong. Other creeds and confessions of faith have followed in an effort to more clearly define foundational biblical teachings. They were written not to add to the Scripture in any way, but to respond to heretical teachings and to more clearly define the meaning of the biblical text.
While studying doctrine does require thinking more deeply than most social media posts require, and while doctrinal statements are historic by nature, doctrine is anything but dry and irrelevant. We love new things. The new car smell intoxicates all of us. But the faith once and for all delivered to the saints is not something we invented. We stand on the shoulders of godly men and women who have held in trust the enduring message of God.
A church unaware of or unhinged from historical Christian theology is a dangerous thing. Love, for example, as much as we long for it, is not discovered within ourselves. The same is true for our understanding of an eternal God and His work in the world. So doctrinal statements are humble expressions of our need for understanding that comes from outside of our own heart and mind.
Many churches are known for what they do, maybe for their unique style of public worship, or by the personalities of their leaders. Although unhealthy churches can believe all the right things, a church cannot be healthy if it chooses to ignore the foundational, historical, theological tenets of the faith. Luella and I had been teaching our children that God created the world and everything in it, and as our family drove to Burger King, my son looked out the window at the telephone poles that lined the street, mulling over the "doctrine of creation" in his little brain.
Justin was very young at the time, so he didn't actually know anything about doctrine, at least at an academic level. But his question was still deeply theological. Why was our little philosopher thinking about those telephone poles? Because he was a human being; he was simply doing what God designed us to do. You may be a plumber, a Fortune CEO, a housewife and stay-at-home mom, a music teacher, or a professional athlete, but you're also a full-time thinker. Some of us think improperly and inconsistently, and some of us reveal our thinking more publicly than others, but if you're a person, you think.
You've never had a thoughtless day in your life. Little children, like my Justin, never quit asking questions. Teenagers constantly obsess over what's fair and unfair. Husbands and wives argue because they've interpreted a particular situation differently. Older people look back over the years and try to make sense of it all, often paralyzed by regret. Thinking about life, and our desire to understand, is a deeply and uniquely human thing to do.
It gets to the heart of how God wired us to operate, yet it tends not to get the publicity that it should. Most of the time we don't realize that we're thinking, and we fail to understand the profound significance it has on our lives.
Every day, at some point and in some way, we'll try to make sense out of our lives. Some will dig through the mound of artifacts from our past, looking back on their journey and trying to figure out "if only" they had or hadn't done this or that.
Others will endlessly toss around their current situations, locations and relationships, evaluating certain responses compared to others. Still more will gaze into the future, hoping to somehow divine what's to come and prepare themselves for it.
Chances are, you've probably done all three already today. Or, if you're reading this in the morning, it won't be long before you do. Every human being has constructed a superstructure of life assumptions that functions as the instrument they use to make sense of life.
It can be the result of a combination of things, such as upbringing, education, life experiences, and personality traits, but we all look at life through this interpretive grid. I want you to stop and write down that sentence. If there's only one thing you take away from this long article, it needs to be this concept. It's crucial that you become more conscious of the vibrant mental activity that so influences the choices you make, the words you speak, and the things you desire.
You and I don't act out of instinct like the rest of the creatures in the animal kingdom. We don't do what we do because of what we're experiencing in the moment. Rather, we think, speak, and act based on the way we've thought about and interpreted what we're experiencing. Social experiments have proven this time and time again. If you place three different people in the very same situation, they can have three remarkably different reactions. Because each individual has interpreted that situation through their personal thinking grid.
The God who designed you to be a thinker is the same God who inspired the writers of the Old and New Testaments to pen his truths.
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