Do you confess?
This question could pertain to a number of different contexts. One might think by such I mean “going to confession,” as many over the ages have been wont to do. In hopes of being absolved of their sins, sincerely they go to a finite man who sits across from them in a confessional box or booth. One may also think the question refers to the private, pious, and most biblical practice of confessing one’s sins to God the Father in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and, while such a duty is requisite of any man who would name the Name of Christ as His Lord and Redeemer, it is not this practice to which I refer with the question set before us, either. Instead, I am referring to having a Confession of Faith or a Creed which you own as the Confession of your faith.
Do you have a Confession of Faith? Is there a systematized outline of the things which you believe the Holy Scriptures to be teaching? Such is a fallen practice in our day, particularly in “democratic” cultures where one’s individualism and lust for “freedom” from perceived bonds of structure and authority are identified as a heavy yoke under which no man need be placed. No longer do we find the phrase “This is what the Bible means” in and of itself. Instead, we primarily hear or read “This is what the Bible means to me.” Few people are willing to reach, study, examine, and test their own “findings” against the well-formed and careful body of thought articulated by many a godly and pious man;consequently, they become slaves to their own individual misinterpretations. This has left the Christian faith open to attack by charlatans and hirelings who care not for the inviolable truth of the Scriptures, nor the flock of Christ.
May it never be so, however, amongst Christ-confessing people! The purpose of this site will primarily be one of appreciating the Westminster Standards and the men who fashioned and outstandingly articulated the theology therein based on the timeless truths of the Scriptures. It is the sincerest desire of this author (and I mean that on the most generic level as the person who posted these words here) that you will be edified in your reading, examining, and mulling over the work of these godly men, as well as their spiritual descendants.
A podcast discussing the importance of Confessions and Creeds