In 1994, many prominent Evangelicals and Roman Catholics came together to sign a document called “Evangelicals and Catholics Together.”
This treatise was a call for everyone who identifies as Christian to lay down “existing divisions . . . [and] confess our sins against the unity that Christ intends for all his disciples.” The founders of the initiative, Fr. Richard Neuhaus and Chuck Colson, developed the treatise out of their conviction that Christians should set aside theological and practical divisions for the sake of Christ’s mission across the globe.
While many theologians have since commended or criticized the movement, it raises important questions for missionaries who have been set apart for evangelism, church planting, and other tasks in a global context. In what ways can different churches partner together in God’s mission? How should churches relate to one another? What should unify churches? The answers to these questions can help missionaries navigate the complexities involved in cultivating partnerships with global churches.
Unity at All Costs?
It is well known that Christ desires for his disciples to be unified. In John 17:20-21, Christ prayed, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” Later in the New Testament, the apostle Paul calls all Christians to be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). The kind of unity that Christ and the apostles speak of is not a unity based on whatever is common among churches. A Korean-speaking church in America could be united to a church in South Korea, but what would be the foundation for their unity? Is it merely their common culture and language? Unity based on external factors alone is built on shifting sand and will not stand against waves of disagreements and misunderstandings.
The unity that God desires for his people is built on Christ and on our confession of him as Lord (Matthew 16:15-18), the cornerstone of the church (Matthew 21:42), and the author of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). The unity of the church should never be based on aesthetics, language, culture, or proximity. Rather, it should be based on our confession of a common faith in Jesus Christ.
By “a common faith,” I am referring to beliefs that are the same between churches. Heretics (Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc.), other religions, and even demons believe in Christ’s existence, but they do not confess the faith found in the Scriptures. Our common faith in Christ must be expressed in the form of affirmations and denials in order to separate from unbiblical cults and religions. It is not simply enough to say that we believe in Christ and the Bible. What we believe about Christ and the Bible is the substance of our faith. It will either identify us as disciples of Christ or unbelievers. While the Bible is certainly sufficient and the final authority for our faith, we must draw out the specific implications of what its doctrines mean for our faith. In light of the sufficiency and authority of the biblical text, how should we confess what it teaches?
The Need for Creeds and Confessions
The substance of our faith has historically been written down in the form of creeds and confessions. Theologian Carl Trueman defines creeds and confessions in his book Crisis of Confidence as “human attempts to summarize and express the basic elements of the Christian faith.” For over a thousand years, the church has formulated these statements during periods of theological turmoil to unify the church against false teachings. In the third and fourth centuries A.D., common heresies such as Arianism—a view suggesting that Jesus was created by God with some divine attributes—infected the church. During the Council of Nicea, a creed was written with precise language to affirm the deity of Jesus and deny heretical distortions. The Nicene Creed, alongside the Athanasian Creed and the Definition of Chalcedon, was created for the purpose of teaching the substance of the Christian faith while also rebuking common heresies during their time. These creeds did not supersede Scripture but summarized and explained what the Bible taught to combat heretical teachings.
During the Reformation, the gospel itself was at stake. When separating from the Roman Catholic Church, each Protestant group professed that God justifies sinners by grace alone through faith alone and that no one can be justified by their own works. They articulated these beliefs in their confessions of faith in order to have clear dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church. More confessions were written in the Post-Reformation era, specifically in England when many Puritans left the Church of England. These groups—including the Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Baptists—wrote confessions of faith to articulate their beliefs. As each group highlighted their distinct beliefs, they could have clearer dialogue with one another.
The history of creeds and confessions is not about the church splitting hairs over minor doctrines but about churches seeking unity despite theological differences. On this point, I believe it is wise for biblical churches across the globe to adopt historical creeds and confessions in order to foster unity with each other.
This idea is often contrary to standard missiological advice. Some missiologists may say that creeds and confessions are “too western” and “suppress theological development.” Yet many of these were not developed in the West, nor were any of them written in the 21st century. Most historical creeds and confessions did not originate in the United States, yet thousands of American churches use them. Theological development in a nation does not have to begin at ground zero. Like the church in the US, churches in South America, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Europe can build upon what the saints of the past have confessed after careful study of the Scriptures. They do not have to reinvent the wheel.
If a church in South Korea adopts a confession of faith like the Second London Baptist Confession or the New Hampshire Baptist Confession, then, from the start, they share common ground with many confessional Baptist churches located in North America. Confessions are essential because they allow churches to fully understand their beliefs and recognize the areas in which they differ from those of other churches. This understanding becomes foundational as they decide to what degree, and in what manner, they can partner together in outreach, mercy, and missions.
Not only do creeds and confessions help churches navigate partnerships, but they also help protect church plants from heresy. Churches, particularly those on the mission field, are surrounded by people who preach a false gospel. Having a summary of what the Bible teaches is helpful for teaching a congregation what is true. Likewise, missionary teams who assist these new churches would benefit from confessions of faith as well. Missionaries are ambassadors for Christ and sometimes the only teachers of the Bible in their region. It is crucial for a missionary team to teach the same message and the same doctrines in order to prevent confusion and division in churches. By adopting the same confession of faith, the missionaries confess biblical truth with one voice.
Conclusion
The best way biblical churches can be unified to each other, despite lower-tier theological differences, is through adopting historical creeds and confessions. If we desire for global churches to partner together in faithful evangelism, mission work, and strengthening each other, then adopting a confession will encourage churches in that direction.
There have been many attempts to unify God’s church—like the Evangelicals and Catholics Together treatise in 1994, but they ultimately failed because they downplayed what truly unifies the body of Christ. It is not language, aesthetics, culture, or even moral values that unite the church. The only thing that truly unifies the body of Christ is our confession of a true, common faith in Jesus Christ. Let us recognize that and seek to unify ourselves on it.
