Confessions of Faith or No?

Confessions of Faith and the Church’s Duty to Guard the Truth

So turn in your Bibles of 1st Timothy 3 and we're doing a Wednesday night series. This is week 3 on What is a Reformed Baptist and we are going to spend at least two lessons but maybe more on Confessions of faith, okay.

Um, we're just kind of walking through this. We've covered some history we've done some introductory. Now, we're kind of getting to What is a confession of faith? Why should we have a confession of faith?

Is it biblical to have a confession of faith? So we want to think through all of that. So 1st Timothy chapter 3 verse 15 Paul says. If I delay you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God.

Which is the church of the Living God a pillar and buttress of the truth. So just make some comments there. First of all in 1st Timothy 3 Paul is talking about the offices of what you know. Two offices.

What are they?

Yeah.

Overseas and Deacons elders and Deacons. These are only two offices. The reason I say that is because there's a Formality in the structure in 1st Timothy 3 and so if you just say well the church. So if you try to say well The church is you know, just wherever any Christian is or the church is each individual Christian is the church or whatever.

You missed the point of what Paul is saying. Okay, Paul is talking about the institution of the church the the church as a whole as it finds expression in the formal unity and Order and Institution of the local church it is The pillar and ground of the truth.

The church doesn't create the truth the church. Must I put these on your sheet protect the truth, right? So we don't create the truth. We protect it. The truth has enemies. Did you guys know that you know people lie today?

The truth has enemies Obviously the chief of which is Satan and his lies the church must promote the truth. So we're not just on the defensive. We're also storming the gates of hell as Jesus says and Proclaiming the truth of God in Christ and then perpetuate the truth.

And what I mean here is the church in each generation is Responsible to pass on the truth to the next generation. The church in each generation is responsible to pass on the truth to the next generation Ephesians 6 14 it's on your sheet stand therefore having fastened on the belt of truth.

Okay, so we have true we have the truth that truth. Well, all truth is God's truth, but God has given us a book. We have a book from God a book that we affirm is the inerrant infallible necessary Clear authoritative and sufficient Word of God.

This book the Bible has been attacked. It has been confiscated. It has been neglected. It has been burned. It's been torn to pieces. It's been outlawed and guess what we have still today. Here it is the Word of God shall prevail.

So maybe something let me say something very clear. So everyone hears this tonight at Providence Baptist Church. We unapologetically Unashamedly and unwaveringly stand upon the Word of God.

Amen.

Why a Confession of Faith Is a Servant of Scripture

But we're talking tonight about confessions of faith. If all this is true about God's Word and it is then why confessions of faith because a Distinctive of part of what it means to be a reformed Baptist Church is that they hold to a confession of faith.

Switch the reformed Baptist confession of faith is what the second London Baptist Confession of faith or we might or we call it here the 1689 for shorthand. I'll I'll get to that later. But if all that is true what I said about the Bible, why do we need a confession of faith?

Okay.

I'm gonna read a quote and I want you to tell me if you agree with it. The quote is Our appeal is to the Bible for truth. Raise your hand if you agree with that quote our Appeal is to the Bible for truth.

Do you guys agree on zoom? Okay. I see those hands. I agree with the quote. But there's a problem with the quote.

The quote.

Comes from a book that was written in 1946 and The book is defending the false religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. Listen here's a here's a song from a Jehovah's Witness hymn book. Though men God's Word have ridiculed and falsehoods have preferred We like our Lord let God be true.

We stand firm on his word. For us who preach the truthful word it has the final say it's truth. We seek since we are meek in God's Word we obey.

So.

We are saying Providence Baptist Church is saying we are a church that loves Believes stands firm upon the Bible and then we have the Jehovah's Witnesses saying what? Saying the same thing right. Saying hey, we believe the Bible.

So this is where I'm going to make a case for a confession of faith. A confession of faith is a servant of the Bible. Okay, it is a tool that serves the Bible. It's Subservient to the Bible and it seeks to point us to the Bible and say this Hey, we're not only saying the Bible is our highest authority, but we're also saying We're not ashamed to put into writing what we believe the Bible actually Teaches.

So a confession of faith is man's attempt to say here is what we confess that the Bible teaches. That's what the word confession means. Sometimes you hear the word confession and you think I'm saying sorry for my sins or something.

But in this sense, we mean confession is we confess the truth. Tom Hicks says it's on your sheet. A confession of faith is a brief summary of the Bible's theology. That expresses a church's standard of teaching for church officers and members.

Confessions of faith also serve to protect against heresies and errors. Okay, the Bible does not need a Defender. It is I think Spurgeon said this it is the anvil that is broken or worn out many hammers.

But a confession of faith is simply saying to the world. When we Ephesians 614 when we gird ourselves with truth, this is what we mean by truth. We have a specific set of Propositional truths that we believe that the Bible is teaching and we're not afraid to put it.

Into.

Writing Spurgeon said whatever we find in this book that we are to stay so this is what we do. We're laying it out. We lay out our doctrine. We confess these truths and we're not just giving vague or nuanced positions.

But rather we're standing for what we believe it is that the Bible teaches now a confession of faith is not so much a Necessity. So listen to this is very very important for the argument. I think a confession of faith is not so much a necessity as it is a reality.

So think through that statement again a confession of faith is not so much a necessity as it is a reality. Okay, what does that statement mean? It means that everyone already believes something about the Bible.

So you can write down what you believe the Bible teaches or you cannot write it down. But it doesn't change the fact that you confess something about the Bible. It's very interesting to me that a lot of not a lot of places, but there are some places.

They're saying we don't need a we don't need a confession. We've got the Bible. That's all we need. Well, you understand that's a confession. That very statement is something that you've just confessed about the Bible.

So there's it's really impossible to get around this. Tom Nettles Excellent Quote. He says just as each person uniting with the Baptist Church. Should be able to give some expression of what is believed.

So each church should make plain to the membership and to the world the truths that are believed. By the church as a whole so if someone comes to join this church and and and we say what do you believe and they say we believe the Bible and.

Then they say what do you believe and we say we believe the Bible. Should we go ahead and just say okay? Then we're in unity and let's go forward. Should we do that? What they might be. Jehovah's Witnesses.

Right, right. We just already proved that so just because someone says I believe the Bible it doesn't necessarily bring. Well, it doesn't bring clarity at all what they actually believe the Bible teaches.

Does that make sense to you? Okay. Let me lay it out more four problems. This is really what we'll cover tonight. Four problems with rejecting a confession of faith. Four problems with rejecting a confession of faith.

The one we just talked about number one it denies reality. So if you reject a confession of faith first problem is. You're denying reality. To say that you don't like confessions of faith is to pretend that you don't already make a confession of faith.

Okay, but you do. Everyone has a set of beliefs. For example, you go to a church that says well, we don't have a confession of faith and you say Can I move the pulpit over this way? No, no, right. No, they have a set of beliefs about stuff, right?

I've actually seen that happen, but think about this. Just listen to me. Think through this well because I know you might have some pushback. Maybe from other people or maybe in your mind you're wrestling with this think through this every time someone stands in this pulpit every time a Sunday school teacher or a children's worker opens their mouth and.

Uses.

Non-biblical words not unbiblical. What I mean is non-biblical. So as soon as they say this verse means. Okay, they're not just reading scripture. But they're talking about what it means as soon as they try to explain a text or teach a text or preach a text.

They are in essence doing what? They're making a confession of faith. They are making a statement about what the Bible teaches. They are using man's words. To explain the doctrine of the Bible. I'm just explaining that to you because some people will say I don't need man's words I just need the Bible.

Okay, then that means every time you get in the pulpit you say nothing, but what? You just read scripture because as soon as you begin to explain scripture, what are you doing? You're confessing you're using man's words to explain the Bible.

Now, is that wrong? No, it's not the whole point. I'm making is that's not it's not wrong to do that. Otherwise, we just all we would do is there'd be no teaching we would just explain or we would just read the Bible.

Okay.

So if someone says We don't need a confession of faith. They're denying reality a written confession of faith. Acknowledges our reality and says look we're actually going to publicly own What we believe instead of pretending that we don't have beliefs about the Bible.

Confessions of Faith and the Church’s Responsibility to the Past, the Present, and the Scriptures

So number one to reject is to deny reality number two. It is historical snobbery. And here's what I mean, it says in 2025 we are smarter than everyone else in the history of the church and we don't need them.

Okay in One sense it can even be a violation of the fifth commandment which says what honor your father and mother. Okay, what it does is it dishonors our parents in the faith? It rejects the ones who's gone before us and says 2 ,000 years of church history.

I don't need that. Historical snobbery. Tom Hicks says the second London Baptist confession contains the theological insights of the church throughout history including the doctrine of the biblical canon Orthodox Nicene Trinitarianism and Christology the Augustinian doctrine of human nature and the reformed doctrines of the sufficiency of scripture and salvation by grace alone as well as a Congregational doctrine of church government.

The doctrinal content of the second London Baptist confession is the fruit of some of the most gifted and Faithful theologians throughout church history and it is the confessional standard of the reformed Baptist.

What are we saying? We're saying we take this confession of faith because we're not historical snobs. I could probably use a better word for that. We're not historically arrogant. We are humble and we want to learn and benefit and grow from those who's gone before us.

Okay, number four. No, sorry number three. It is an embrace of hyper individuality. If you reject confessions face faith. Then in essence you're saying all that matters is what I personally believe now a lot of Americans live that way.

All that matters is what I personally believe and I don't have to confess truth along with the church. It's just me God in my Bible. This is a Bible belt mentality I've seen for many all that matters is me and my relationship with Jesus and I don't need anything or anyone else.

The problem with that is we go back to First Timothy 3 15 and does it say individuals are the pillar and buttress of the truth or the church? It's the church now the church is made up of what? Individuals so we're not we're not.

We're not opposed like each person in here individually needs to confess the truth of Christ. Each person in here individually needs to personally call upon the name of the Lord. Personally trust Christ, but what we're saying is we're against hyper individuality.

Which says I don't need the church and it's just me in the Bible and I don't have to learn from anybody. That's gone before me. Okay fourthly. It ignores our present condition. Okay. We live in a world today in American culture.

I should say that is apostatizing before our eyes. We have watched individuals churches denominations walk away from the faith and then not to get too deep back in this but let's just talk about our world today.

I Think about the train stabbing of Eric. Did you say your name? Iriana? Is that how you say name? I are why a na I think about the train stabbing. I think about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Look at our culture today.

Our culture is coming apart at the seams. It's like the book of Judges and lawlessness abounds. Now, are you gonna look at our culture today and you say, you know what the solution is, you know what the solution is less truth less truth.

Let's look around and let's minimize if we could just minimize truth in our culture today. Everyone would get along better. False, that's not true. And so to say look we don't need truth. We don't need to confess truth.

We don't need to have a confession. It's just ignoring what's going on in our world today and then fifthly and most importantly it disregards scripture. We'll look at a couple of passages. 2nd Timothy 1 you could turn there.

Maybe it's on your sheet. I don't remember 2nd Timothy 1. 2nd Timothy 1 verse 13 and 14. Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

Now when Paul says there in verse 13 the pattern of sound words. What he's talking about is to follow his teaching.

Okay.

He's not saying Only okay. These are one in the same but listen, there's a careful nuance. He's not just saying only follow the words of the Bible though. That's true. But also follow what Paul but what Paul has what?

Taught.

Don't just follow the words of the Bible. But also follow Paul's teaching of the Bible. Do you think that when Paul spoke that it was scripture? Just in case you're gonna say yes, I'm telling you don't say yes.

Okay, no Paul did not everything that Paul just said to somebody a scripture, right? But when Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that scripture. But Paul wrote scripture under inspiration Holy Spirit, but Paul also taught and he's telling Timothy you need to and the words of Tom Hicks attain or Follow a well-organized body of doctrine.

The pattern of sound words. So this pattern from Paul that Timothy heard from him. He was to follow another passage Romans 6 17. Romans 6 17 but thanks be to God. That you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching To which you were committed.

Again, I'll read from Hicks. Remember we're going through we say well a lot of quotes from Hicks if you remember we're using his book. What is reformed badness? So he says the word standard refers to a type or form of teaching.

The Bible is not a form or pattern of human teaching but the very Word of God. Paul is saying that the church had received and was committed to a comprehensive summary of biblical teaching. That was faithful to the scriptures.

Do you understand? What Paul is telling a church at Rome is not only have they received the scriptures. Amen, but they've received the teaching about.

The scriptures.

So the argument I'm making is that the scriptures themselves expect a Conformity to the teaching of the scriptures. To not only say I believe what the Bible says But to be willing to say I believe what the Bible says.

And here it is. Here's what it says. Here's what it says. Here's what it teaches. I'm not afraid to put that in writing. Okay, so argument it is every local church's responsibility before God to gird ourselves with truth to protect the truth promote the truth perpetuate the truth until Jesus returns, okay, and to do that We have to have.

Some.

Standard of teaching make sense and. That's what it is in a confession of faith. It doesn't stand above the scriptures. It's below the scriptures. For example, if you find something that is Wrong, or sorry, I shouldn't say that because you can't find anything that's wrong.

Here's it erase that from your minds if you find something that you think is wrong in Romans 9. Can you change it if you find something that you think is wrong in? Chapter 11 of the confession on justification.

Can you change it?

Theoretically, yes now we'd want to be cautious and slow and patient and wrestle with the scriptures. But you see the difference one is unalterable. The other is subservient to the scriptures. Hopefully that makes sense now.

We believe at this church in one of the soul. Ought we believe in all five solace. What. But the one I want to bring up is sola scriptura, okay, and the very first line of our Confession says the holy scriptures are the only this chapter 1 paragraph 1 the holy scriptures are the only sufficient certain and infallible standard of all saving faith.

All saving knowledge faith and obedience. Okay, is the is a confession of faith. A sufficient certain infallible standard of all saving faith knowledge and obedience. No, because it's only what? The Bible.

James Renahan says an opening sentence asserting the foundational role of scripture in the church immediately alerts readers to Baptist Church's commitment to the centrality of.

Scripture.

You understand so a confession of faith serves the scriptures it is because Reformed Baptist churches have such a high view of the scriptures that they use a confession of faith. I'm gonna give you another biblical thought.

Turn to Acts. This is not on your sheet. Acts chapter 20. Acts chapter 20. Okay, Acts chapter 20 verse 27 and then verse 31 Paul says for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God verse 31.

Therefore be alert remembering that for three years. I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears. So in three years Paul taught the church at Ephesus. He says the whole counsel of God's Word.

Okay in his teaching was he seeking to stand? Over the scriptures or to articulate rightly what the scriptures teach. Well, we know the answer. He's teaching in Ephesus for three years the whole counsel of God's Word and in that teaching He is not standing over the scriptures as a master over them, but he is standing under them as a servant.

Okay, and I'm just arguing. This is the exactly the point of a confession of faith. It serves the scripture. It gives us an overview of the whole Bible the whole counsel of God's Word. Just like Paul gives the whole counsel of God's Word in his three years in Ephesus so our confession of faith is a servant to the scriptures.

It doesn't shape the Bible. It serves the Bible. Don't press these analogies. I'm gonna give you too far. But here's two illustrations. One. If the Bible is a delicious steak and it is and so much more.

Then a good confession of faith is a plate and a knife and a fork. What is it doing? Don't think of it as chopping up the Bible. Think of it as a way to help you. What? Digest the Bible so you can take the steak and You don't have to have.

I'm sure I've done this in my life before. You don't have to have a fork and a knife or even a plate. If you want grab it right off the grill and just you know, eat it or something. You may not even grill it.

It's too rare for me. Okay, but listen to the analogy if the confession of faith helps us digest the Word of God. Secondly if the Bible is gold and it is and so much more a good confession of faith is like a chest.

To carry the gold in it helps pass the gold from one generation to the next it helps keep nefarious Characters from trying to scuff up or steal or harm the gold the chest serves the gold. But it doesn't add value to the gold.

The gold is not more valuable because now the chest is there, right? The gold has its own value, but the chest helps serve the goal. I hope that makes sense. Rob Ventura says the 1689 has been in greater or lesser use Among the churches at various stages of history.

But whenever it was heartily embraced and faithfully applied the churches were the strongest and purest. Doctrinally and morally. I'm not trying to be silly about this, but I think the second London Baptist confession of faith.

I'll explain this why I think it's the best confession of faith. Okay, you say that sounds arrogant. No. No, let me explain myself. If there was another one that was better than we would use that one, right?

Doesn't that make sense? So you understand that the 1689 the point of it is to help digest the Bible serve the Bible defend the Bible. You know protect us from going astray and poor doctrine articulate what we believe.

Someone says, you know, I just think this. I just think that that. Well, what is our what is our confession say? And the reason you ask that is because the confession is going to take us back to what?

The scripture and then we go to the scriptures. Questions comments about that and then I'm probably got about. I still got a little time left.

Give a quick history, but any questions comments anything you want to say up to this point? Oh, sorry. Yeah. Yeah.

Excellent. That's excellent point. That's exactly what a confession is. It is us. It is systematic. It's taking the system of thought from the scriptures and boiling it down for something readily and easily accessible.

You know, so yes, that's excellent. And I would argue that we want to be a church that doesn't just say oh, yeah. We believe that or we hope or we hold to that. But we actually continue to bring it out in front of us and think about it and use it and pastor Jacob say he and I have both used it in counseling situations and help.

It's it's a great tool but on one hand you Will talk about this later on one hand you want to avoid what I would call hyper confessionalism, which is Almost treating the confession like it is on par with the Bible.

It's not the other I would call nominal confessionalism. Which is well, yeah somewhere in the back drawer Alex. Go look in the back door. I think we got that confession somewhere. You know dust it off.

Yeah, you know, you never you just say yeah, we're 69 cuz you're trying to be cool.

Exactly check what I got today. Yeah.

Excellent. Excellent. It's glasses. It's not yeah, so it's sir. So so it's important and it serves the scriptures and it keeps us it keeps us or sorry. It's not foolproof there, you know, oh if you just if you say you believe this confession, you'll never go astray.

Well, that's not true, but it helps guard against error. You know, I don't think that sounds right about how you're articulating the Trinity. We can go the confession. Remember it's it is Almost 2 ,000 years of Trinitarian language because it goes back to Council and I see and all that and it flows out of the scripture.

So that's just an example Alex.

Yeah.

Pass on that's right. You could say well you can go listen to all these sermons or whatever. It's like no. No, here it is condensed. So let's spend the rest of our time a Quick trip down memory lane. Let's just articulate again when we talk about 16.

What is it? What is the second London Baptist Confession of Faith? Well, it was published in guess the year.

Not 1689.

1677 and it was Published anonymously and it stated put forth by the elders and brethren of many congregations of Christians Baptized upon profession of their faith in London and the country. Most likely it was written by Nehemiah Cox.

That will be on the test. You need to know that name.

And.

He was from this is we missed a great opportunity to name our church this but he was one of the pastors at the Petit France Baptist Church in London. Now a few questions is published. 1677. Why is it called 1689?

Why is there a second London Baptist. What happened to the first. Glad you asked those questions. That gets me excited. So I'm gonna teach you on that. So it helps us to know a little bit of English history to set the context but context wrong.

Get too bogged down in that. But at the time of the first London Baptist Confession in 1644 a man by the name of Oliver Cromwell was in power and there was religious freedom for the Baptist. By the way, the first London Baptist Confession is a good confession.

It served Baptists well, but in 1660 Charles the second returned to the throne as King of England. Turns out that Since they had beheaded Charles the first.

The.

Parliament and it was mostly Puritan Parliament. He kind of had a problem with Puritans and separatists so go figure that includes Baptists. Okay, they weren't Puritans. They were separatists. Anything outside the Church of England was essentially outlawed.

That's the act of uniformity happened 1662 August 24th 1662 there's what is known in church history is the Great Ejection. It asked some 1 ,800 ministers from their churches because they didn't conform to the Church of England.

Now this put three like-minded groups of people in a difficult time the Presbyterians. We're not Church of England the Congregationalist. We're not Church of England and then who? The Baptist okay now first London Confession 1644 published in 1646 though the Presbyterian Confession was published and it is known as the Westminster Confession of Faith in 1658 the Congregationalist published their Confession of Faith known as the Savoy Declaration, it's largely mimics the Westminster John Owen Thomas Goodwin.

There's some of the Savoy writers. So you have two groups you have the Presbyterians and Congregationalist in 1658 that now share a similar Confession of Faith. So that kind of leaves the Baptists on their own because no one ever asked Baptist anything.

They just do their own thing and then Baptists like hey, we're Christians, too. You know, but in the 1670s you have some of the Baptists who began to defect to the Quakers. And beyond that you have a man named Thomas Thomas Collier.

He writes a theology book. He was a reformed Baptist then he writes one, you know apostatizing denying reform Baptist doctrine. So he's defected all this is going on persecution false teaching apostasy.

This led to Nehemiah Cox most like he was him and maybe his fellow elder William Collins to write in 1677 what we have today the second London Baptist Confession. So here's what they do. This is important all that to say to set this up.

They take the first London Confession of Faith. They take the Westminster Confession of Faith and they take the Savoy Declaration and They put it in a bottle and they shake it up. And out comes the second London Baptist Confession.

That's didn't exactly happen that way, but they took these three confessions what are they again the first London the Savoy the Congregationalist the Westminster Presbyterians and they Write the second London Baptist Confession why.

Because they're saying look we're not crazy. We believe just like you guys believe on all these important doctrines. We have some important differences in baptism and the way we do church. But in terms of the Word of God in terms of the gospel in terms of the covenants in terms of the six-day Creation in terms of God's sovereignty and salvation.

There is much much much that we can agree on. Okay, even with the first and second London Baptist, there's no theological substantial theological changes.

Okay.

How do I know that because men signed both there were men alive in 1644 and then again in 1677 and 1689 who signed both? Okay. Now, why is it called 1689 because in 1685 you remember Charles II died and then you have William and Mary.

Yeah, William and Mary come to throne and this begins to result in religious freedom for Baptist. So what happens is in 1689 that why is this year important over a hundred churches that were? Reformed or a particular Baptist whole they hold a meeting and actually what's today the 17th so That'd be two weeks ago two weeks ago today, September 3rd 1689.

They hold a General Assembly and These churches decide to adopt the confession of faith that we hold here at Providence Baptist Church. So this is how it got its common name of the 1689 Second London Baptist confession of faith.

Now, why is all that matter? I'm just trying to tell you again in in Church history and in theology, sorry not church history in theology We don't care about being progressive that's a kind of a bad word actually.

We want to be regressive in the sense that we want to go back. Stand on those who've gone before us. So when we adopt this confession of faith, we adopted it in 2023. I think it was March of 2023 when we adopted this confession of faith.

We were signaling. Hey. We're going backward and we're gonna stand upon the shoulders of those who've gone before us. And we stand in a long line of godly men and we use the confession as they used it not as a way to Mold the Bible but as a way to teach what the Bible Teaches to articulate the truth of the scriptures.

All right, so that will conclude we can stop the recording and then we can ask questions.

Again.