Why apostle creed is important

We joyfully desire to stand in the same faith with them—all the way back to the apostles. No creed or statement of faith can replace the Scriptures. As we have seen, however, this does not mean that creeds have no place in the Christian life. Those who would argue for no creed but the Bible have forfeited a great gift in maintaining biblical Christianity. This dubious position fails to understand the heart behind creeds and confessions.

These documents do not seek to replace Scripture. Instead, they accurately seek to summarize its content into succinct statements in order to equip Christians with brief yet crucial distillations of the faith.

Indeed, the affirmations of these creeds can bridge denominational divides as brothers and sisters from across the globe and throughout all history gather together around the pillars of the faith, the essence of what it means to be Christian. True Christian unity is unity in the truth revealed by Christ, not unity at the expense of truth, as is becoming all too common. It boldly confesses the grandeur of authentic Christianity in a series of powerful statements of Christian belief.

It contains within its affirmations spectacular and eternal truths. Albert Mohler Jr. We can think of our Catholic creed as a map for navigating through the real world.

It helps us stay within the righteous path and stops us from going astray. Click to View the Apostle's Creed. Sometimes called the Symbol of the Apostles, it is an early statement of Christian belief and has been used by Christians since the fourth century. These are:. Click to View the Athanasian Creed. The Athanasian Creed is an early summary of Christian doctrine.

The authorship is often attributed to Athanasius, the archbishop of Alexandria, who lived in the 4th century A. Since ancient times, the church has been bombarded with heresies and one of the most common one attacks the divinity and personhood of Jesus Christ.

The Athanasian Creed refutes this false teaching and emphasizes the importance of having a Trinitarian belief in God. In other words, all members of the Holy Trinity are uncreated, co-eternal and of the same substance. Through the Athanasian Creed, we are reminded that Jesus is part of the Holy Trinity and that his incarnation did not change his divine nature into a human one.

Click to View the Nicene Creed. The Nicene Creed is another common Catholic creed. This profession of faith is part of Mass and is recited at the start of Liturgy of the Eucharist and after the reading of the gospel and homily.

The Nicene Creed emphasizes many of the fundamental tenets of our faith. Its core affirmations include its statement of belief in the immortality of the soul, resurrection and forgiveness of sins through the baptismal process. Aside from its religious and spiritual relevance, the Nicene Creed is also historically significant because it reflects the issues raised in the First Council of Nicaea in During that time, many heresies were spread and of them was the doctrine of Arianism which refutes the divinity of Jesus Christ.

So, while the creed may set forth what is essentially and uniquely Christian, Protestants contend that the Roman Church sadly defaults on these same doctrines at a number of critical points. Because there is great need to summarize the teaching of Scripture and to identify with the faithful who have gone before, many Protestant churches still recite the Apostles' Creed.

This is why the Reformed churches consider the Apostles' Creed to be the best summary of the basic doctrines of the Christian faith, and this is why an exposition of the creed lies at the heart of the Heidelberg Catechism. This post was originally published in Tabletalk magazine. Teaching Series. Conference Messages.

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