No Creed but Christ

No Creed but Christ

There are those who cry out that they do not want any creed but Christ. We answer, "What Christ?" And the answer to that question is, of necessity, a creed.

A minister once said that it was a shame that the church could not follow Paul on the road to Damascus. He had not been bothered with questions of theological dogma. He had simply said, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" The minister evidently had not read the Word of God very closely. If we realize that the Greek word for Lord was undoubtedly the same as the translation of the Hebrew ,Jehovah, we have the beginning of a creed in the very question.

Further, we must realize that before Paul asked for orders he had previously asked another question, "Who art thou, Lord?" Take it any way you like, the answer to that question is a creed, and the Lord wants us to be clear and plain in our concept of that answer. He keeps questioning until the relationship is firmly established.

As the disciples were discussing the roadside gossip, the Lord came to them and broke into their thoughts. "Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am?" The answer to that question is a creed, and the disciples' answers showed the varying creeds of the world, all of them false. This did not satisfy our Lord. He kept on questioning. The "but" in His phrase of inquiry is luminous. "But whom say ye that I am?" The "but" shows that Jesus Christ was not satisfied with the thought of the world. Indeed, how could eternal Truth be satisfied with Satanic error?

It was Peter who answered, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:16). This answer satisfied the Lord and He immediately explained to the disciples that the answer was a divine revelation, not merely a thought that might have equal value with other opinions. This was truth. Everything else is to be excluded. Christ is the translation of the Greek word that is equivalent to the Hebrew Messiah. "Thou art the Messiah!" This embraces the whole of the Old Testament. This is indeed a creed. "Thou art the Son of the living God!" This embraces the heart of the Godhead.

The second Psalm shows us one of the many sides of the creed of Christ. In this Psalm, the Father answers the rebellion of the world with this prophetic statement about the coming of Christ, "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee." And He continues to show that this Son is to be His final answer to the world. What a creed! And we have every right to say that this is Christ's own creed.

1. Are the creeds and confessions outside of scripture of any use? Why or why not?
2. If confessions are written by men why should we abide by them?
3. If we ought to abide by the confessions, should it be a total affirmation or it is okay to have some contention with your confession? Why or why no?
4. If Christ followed a creed or confession, why should we not abide by a confession.