WHY A CONFESSION?

Some may wonder why read study or discuss a creed confession or any other digest of biblical teachings. I believe that these historic documents divulge to us what our predecessors believed. It is instructive and even encouraging to see how their thought process worked. In the Baptist tradition; Baptists have not historically been a creedal nor a confessional denomination. But throughout history it has at times been necessary to identify what you believed so as to avoid persecution confusion or other misunderstanding. The London Baptist Confession of 1644 is no different. The Baptists at that time needed to identify how they viewed the scripture and declare where they stood. Below is a quote that, I think, very clearly defines the difference between a confession and a creed.

"A confession is voluntary and serves to inform, educate, and inspire; a creed is required and serves to discipline and exclude. A confession offers guidelines under the authority of Scripture; a creed tends to become binding authority, in subtle ways displacing the Bible."

H. Leon McBeth

The reason I like this particular confession is that the very words of the confession very closely mirror the words of scripture themselves. I would encourage any who are interested to look at the particular articles and the scripture references and see how closely the 1644 Baptists explanation were with the very words of scripture themselves.