Creeds are not an Element of Worship

Order of Contents

Introduction

Intro

Creeds in the Bible

Scriptures Sometimes Used as Warrant

The Only Creed Used in Worship in the Bible

Biblical Distinctions Between the Elements of Worship

Is a Creed a Vow or Oath?

Elements of Worship are Appointed Means of Grace

The Ecumenicity of Biblical Worship

Conclusion

The Early Church

The English Puritans

The Westminster Assembly

The Church of Scotland

The American Presbyterian Church

Introduction

Rev. Travis Fentiman

Free Church of Scotland (Continuing)

While creeds have their useful instructive purpose in everyday life and in the life of the Church,
should the confession of creeds be used as an act of worship to God?

As God teaches in the Bible that we are only to worship Him in the way that He directs by His
revealed will in scripture (see the Regulative Principle of Worship), we must look to the
scriptures to see if creeds are commanded, exampled or are necessarily inferred (WCF 1.6) to
be an act of worship, and this specifically in the regular, public worship of God.

While creeds may be read and expounded upon by the minister in worship as a statement of,
or teaching upon, the Christian faith (it falling under the scriptural directive for ministers to
teach the faith in worship, Mt. 13:54; Mk. 1:21; 1 Tim. 3:2; 2 Tim. 2:24; etc.), the specific
question at hand is whether the unison confession of a creed or catechism (a short summary of
doctrinal truth) by the congregation is an act of worship prescribed and approved by God for
the regular public worship of the Church

The position Biblically defended here is that of the Westminster Assembly: No.

Creeds in the Bible

While there are many elementary confessions and creeds in the Bible (Deut. 6:4; 1 Kings 18:39;
Matt 16:16; John 1:49; John 6:68-69; Acts 8:36-37; 1 Cor. 8:6; 12:3; 15:3-7; Phil. 2:6-11; 1 Tim.
3:16; Heb. 6:1-2; 1 John 4:2, 1 Tim. 1:15; 6:13, and others), and we are commanded to ‘hold
fast the form of sound words, which you have heard’ (2 Tim. 1:13, which necessarily entails the
guarding of a publicly owned set of Biblical teachings by appointed teachers governed by the
church, Titus 1:5,9; 1 Tim. 4:14; Acts 14:23; 16:4, etc., and thus subscription by vows to creeds
by church officers), yet none of these mentioned passages speak of creeds as an act of worship
or in the public worship of the church. It is not enough to show that creeds are in the Bible (as
is war, sleeping, eating, playing games, etc.), but that they were designed for worship. Clearly
God is able in scripture to communicate to us moral obligations in life not all of which are to be
in worship, as is the case with creeds.
Scriptures Sometimes Used as Warrant for Creeds in Worship

In the Old Testament Neh. 9:3 is sometimes used as warrant for creeds in worship. It says that
the children of Israel,

‘…stood up in their place, and read in the book of the Law of the Lord their God one fourth
part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the Lord their God.’

The context makes it clear, though, that, in the way this was done, the only persons to publicly
read the Word were Ezra and the priests (Neh. 8:1-8), the worshipping involved the people
saying ‘Amen’ (which is warranted in Scripture) and prostrating themselves on the ground
(Neh. 8:6), and the ‘confession’ consisted in that they ‘confessed their sins, and the iniquities
of their fathers’ (Neh. 9:2), otherwise known as prayer.

Whether these prayers of confessing sin were of an individual nature, or more likely, of a
corporate nature (see Neh. 9:4-38), it was not a creed. Prayer, which is an element of worship
(WCF, 21.5), the content of which is to be made for ‘all things’ and ‘all men’ (Mt. 21:22; 1 Tim.
2:1-2), is, according to God’s prescriptions, very different in nature than the element of a
creed, which was only to be offered to God (according to Deut. 26:1-11) upon very specific
conditions, including, amongst other things, the inspiration and prescription of its exact
content (discussed below).

In the New Testament, sometimes Phil. 2:11 is used in support of creeds in the regular, public
worship of the Church. The greater context (vv. 5-11) says,

‘…Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God… made Himself of no reputation… and became
obedient unto death… wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him… that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow… [v. 11] and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord…’

While verses 6-9 are a brief, poetic, summary form of doctrine about Christ’s life and death,
there is nothing in the context, or any available evidence, that demonstrates this passage to
ever have been used as a public creed or to have been used in the public worship of the
Church. Verses 10 & 11, that every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is
Lord, is an ethical obligation upon all people that derives from Christ’s exaltation and is a
prophecy of what will happen at Judgment Day, but as this is not in the context of, and does
not address, the regular, public worship of the Church, it can in no way serve as warrant for it.
Sometimes the argument is made that, as Paul directs his letters to be read to the
congregations, Col. 4:16; 1 Thess. 5:27 (they being inspired scripture, 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Pet. 3:15-
16, etc.), that Phil 2:6-11 and similar passages would have been read in the worship of the
churches and hence would have been elements of worship. Upon such a premise, though, this
would make our regular business, paying taxes, going on journeys, and getting robbed (Rom.
12:11; 13:7; 15:24-25; 2 Cor. 11:26) all elements of the regular, public worship of the Church;
but it is clear that one can read scripture in worship, as we do, without everything mentioned
in it (going to sleep, fighting in war, reciting poetry, etc.) becoming elements of worship.

Sometimes the various responses of the heavenly host in the book of Revelation are quoted as
warrant for using creeds in worship, such as 4:8-11; 5:9-14; 7:9-12; 11:15-18; 14:6-7; 15:2-
4; 19:1-7; etc. However, all of these responsive ascriptions of praise (whether declaratory
prayers, or songs, of praise) are not creeds (confessions of summary forms of doctrine and/or
experience, such as is found, for instance, in Dt. 26:1-11). One should also be cautious (as
were the reformers and puritans) about quoting aspects of worship as it takes place in heaven,
in the most difficult and apocalyptic book of the Bible, as normative for the regular worship of
the Church on earth, especially as many of such elements do not occur elsewhere in the plain,
historical and didactic portions of Scripture.

The Only Creed Used in Worship in the Bible

In all the Bible Deut. 26:1-11 is the only passage where a confession or creed is used in
worship. Israel is about to enter the promised land of Canaan after their 40 years in the
wilderness. God speaks through Moses and tells them that when they are in the land they are
to keep a yearly holiday named the Feast of Firstfruits. They are to take the first ripe portions
of their harvest before the Lord’s presence at the tabernacle (and later the temple in
Jerusalem) and give it to the Lord. In doing so, before the priest, they are to make a confession
remembering their humble beginnings and how the Lord had prospered them. The inspired
confession is given to them, word-for-word, by God. The passage reads:

“And it shall be, when you are come in unto the land which the Lord your God gives you for an
inheritance, and possess it, and dwell therein; That you shall take of the first of all the fruit of
the earth, which you shall bring of your land that the Lord your God gives you, and shall put it
in a basket, and shall go unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose to place his name
there. And you shall go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him,

‘I profess this day unto the Lord your God, that I am come unto the country which
the Lord swore unto our fathers for to give us.’
And the priest shall take the basket out of your hand, and set it down before the altar of
the Lord your God. And you shall speak and say before the Lord your God,

‘A Syrian ready to perish was my father [Jacob], and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned
there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous: And the Egyptians
evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage: And when we cried unto
the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our
labor, and our oppression: And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and
with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders: And
He has brought us into this place, and has given us this land, even a land that flows with milk
and honey And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which You, O Lord, have
given me.’

And you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God: And you
shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given unto you, and unto your
house, you, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.”

Is this regulation in Deuteronomy still binding now that we live in the New Testament? The
book of Hebrews (especially chapters 9-10) says all of these ceremonial stipulations have
ceased. There is no temple in Jerusalem, we do not live in the land of Israel or have an
inheritance therein, there are no Levitical priests, most of us are not descended from Jacob,
and the Feast of Firstfruits is not binding, Col. 2:16-17 (as Christ has fulfilled everything it
spiritually symbolized, 1 Cor. 15:20,23), and to try to celebrate the Feast of Firstfruits any other
way, not how Deuteronomy says to do, would be sinful

The next question is: Does the general element of a creed in worship carry over from the Old
Testament into the New Testament? Clearly the exact words of Deut. 26:1-11 could not be
truthfully confessed by most people today (truthfulness being a moral requirement for a
person confessing a confession). But do we have warrant to use our own creeds in worship
today?

The only warrant Scripture gives in worship is for the use of an inspired creed, no more and no
less. Could the Old Testament Israelite make up his own uninspired confession to confess
before the Lord’s presence on the annual day instead of the God-inspired confession
preserved in the Canon that God had said to confess? The answer, of course, is no. God told
them exactly what to say, and to deviate therefrom would be to add or subtract from how God
commanded them to worship (Deut. 4:2; 12:32).

Thus, there is no warrant for the use of uninspired creeds in worship. God originally gave an
inspired creed to be used in worship, has since abrogated it by his revealed will and apostolic
authority, and has since neither inspired nor directed by his will for any other creed to be used.
Biblical Distinctions Between the Elements of Worship

Historically the element of preaching (WCF 21.5) in reformed worship has been understood as
a human, verbal act (Acts 8:35; Rom. 10:8), limited to called and ordained ministers (see Larger
Catechism, #158, 1 Tim. 2:7; Rom. 10:15; etc.) acting with the authority of, and as the,
ambassadors of Christ (2 Cor. 5:20), which preaching is to include persuading, declaring,
exhorting, rebuking, and teaching (Acts 13:32; 2 Tim. 4:2; 2 Cor. 5:11, etc.).

In much of modern reformed theology about worship, the very well defined element of
preaching has been turned into the more general element of ‘teaching’, which is said to be
able to be expressed through the many ‘forms’ of preaching, reading Scripture, reciting creeds,
singing, drama, etc., and that by lay-persons alike, such as the congregation. Thus, reciting of
creeds by the congregation is often defended as being a form of ‘teaching’. Does such a
broad-reductionism, influenced by modern American educational philosophy, hold water?

Whether it is preaching, reading, praying or singing, all the elements of worship have their own
specific regulations, appointed by God’s will, including who is at liberty to do them:

Preaching is appointed to be done by adult, male (Lk. 3:23; 4:18; 1 Tim. 2:11-12; 1 Tim.
3:2; Titus 1:6) ministers alone (L.C. #158), not by other men, women or children.

The reading of the scriptures in public worship has likewise been prescribed to ministers and
teachers alone, and not by the congregation (L.C. #156).

Leading in public prayer is to be done by recognized men with holy lives, not by any man,
woman or child (1 Tim. 2:8-12, 1 Cor. 14:34; Isa. 3:12).

Singing is to be participated in by all alike (Ex. 15:20-21; Ps. 118:15; 126:2; Eph. 5:19; Col.
3:16).

The only creed appointed in Scripture, on the other-hand, was to be confessed by Israelite,
male, heads of households during the Old Testament period once a year only (Deut. 26:3,11),
not by anyone else (Deut. 4:2) and not by the whole congregation (common men, women and
children) weekly.
Scripture also forbids women (and consequently children as well, Isa. 3:12) from speaking
during worship (1 Cor. 14:34-35; 1 Tim. 2:8-12), precluding them from partaking in an audible
confession of faith during worship. Modern culture may be egalitarian, but God’s Word is
not. If laymen, women and children may exercise the element of ‘teaching’ in worship by
reciting a creed, then, on such a paradigm, it follows that they may also preach (contra 1 Tim.
3:2; Titus 1:6, etc.; L.C., #158).

Similarly, the content and aims of the different elements of worship are differently regulated
by God’s will expressed in scripture:

The content of preaching is to expound the Word, is free within the bounds of God’s moral
guidelines, is to include the ‘whole counsel of God’, is directed to the people (Isa. 61:1; Acts
8:5) and is to aim at their conversion and upbuilding (Acts 20:27; 2 Cor. 5:20; Eph. 4:11-15; 2
Tim. 4:2).

The content of prayer is also free (Mt. 21:22), or may follow a form (Mt. 6:9), is to include
adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplications (Ps. 18:1-3; Ps. 51; 1 Thess. 5:18; 1 Pet. 5:7),
is directed to God (Mt. 6:6,9) and is to especially include that all men would ‘be saved’ and
‘come unto the knowledge of the truth.’ (1 Tim. 2:1-4)

The reading of the scriptures is to be of the God-inspired, completed canon (Acts 13:15; Luke
4:16-17; Isa. 8:16,20, etc. not the Apocrypha, Christian stories, secular literature, etc.), the
whole thereof with time (all the Word, and all that is the Word), is directed as God’s voice (2
Cor. 6:2; Heb. 3:7-15; etc.) to the people (Neh. 8:2-3) by an articulate reading in the common
language conveying the sense (Neh. 8:2-3; 1 Cor. 14:15-16).

The singing of praises is to be made with a melodius (see the many titles to the psalms, Eph.
5:19) and joyful noise (Ps. 81:1; 95:1), the content appointed for such in the regular worship of
God being the inspired, sufficient and complete Psalter (see Schwertley’s, Exclusive Psalmody:
A Biblical Defense), which Psalms are to be directed to the Lord (Ps. 9:11; Eph. 5:19).

A creed, on the other hand, is restricted to not just inspired content, but the exact creed given
by God for the purpose in the canon (Deut. 26:1-11) and is to be directed to God (Dt. 26:5).

For all of these reasons, while preaching is to include teaching, there is no such thing as an
element of ‘teaching’ that may be expressed by in a variety of ‘forms’, including crossing over
the boundaries of God’s Word regarding who exercises the teaching, the content of it, and its
aim.
(Sometimes, in defense of the modern-revised Regulative Principle of Worship, Col. 3:16 is put
forward as demonstrating that singing is simply one allowable form of teaching:

‘teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with
grace in your hearts…’

It is very true that, because many of the Psalms are instructive (‘maschil’ means ‘instructing’,
see the titles to Psalms 32, 45, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 68, 69, 142), that we are able to be, and
are, taught by the singing of them. Many of the elements of worship share harmonious
overlap in this regard. Another instance is many of the Psalms being sung prayers (see the
titles to Psalms 17, 86, 90, 102, 142); thus we sing prayerfully when we sing these prayerful
songs (though some Psalms are not prayers: Ps. 1, 2, 24, 110, many parts of Ps. 119, etc.).

All of this, though, does not make praying to be singing, singing to be preaching, preaching to
be the congregation reciting creeds, nor any of the clear, distinct, Biblical prescriptions
delineated above to be lessened. For an extensive (and devastating) critique of the loose view
of the Regulative Principle of Worship, see Rev. Brian Schwertley’s article: A Biblical Analysis of
John Frame’s ‘Worship in Spirit and in Truth’.)

Is a Creed a Vow or Oath?

Nor is the weekly confession of a creed in worship a religious oath or vow (which are exampled
in scripture as worship, see the proof-texts in WCF 21.5), as they have different natures and
circumstances. An oath is a swearing to the truth of something that may be in doubt upon due
necessary circumstances, calling upon God to judge therein (either to confirm or punish). A
vow is of a similar nature, but promises to perform something (for both see WCF, ch. 22). Both
oaths and vows are especially grave, may be imposed by authorities, sealed with signs and
tokens, and are only occasional, not a part of regular worship (both in the Bible and in WCF
21.5). Creeds, however, are often claimed to be a part of the regular weekly worship of God
(unlike the elements of oaths and vows), and yet creeds are simply a confession of faith and do
not necessarily entail the other aspects of oaths and vows. Children commonly say creeds
informally in doing their catechisms at home, and yet they are not taking oaths and vows every
time.

The Westminster Assembly (1640’s) recognized the difference between the creeds and
confessions of councils (ch 1.5,7,10; ch. 31) and lawful oaths and vows (ch. 22). They explicitly
included oaths and vows in worship (ch. 21.5) and excluded creeds. Their minutes record:
Session 342, Dec. 16, 1644

Ordered—That Dr. Burgess inform the Honorable Houses of Parliament that the reason why
the Assembly have sent up nothing in the [Westminster] Directory [for Public Worship]
concerning the Creed and the Ten Commandments, is because they reserve it for the Directory
for catechizing, where they conceive it will be most proper.

(Alexander Mitchell and John Struthers, Minutes of the Sessions of the Westminster Assembly
of Divines, Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1874, p. 21)

Thus: who performs the act of worship, the inspiration of the content, and the nature of the
element is all regulated by God’s will in scripture, and does not transfer between the elements
of worship. Creeds, having a different nature and regulations, do not fall into the categories of
the other elements of worship such as preaching, reading of scripture, praying, singing, oaths
or vows, and hence must be established from scripture as being in worship by their own
warrant. Yet, scripture gives no warrant for the use of uninspired creeds in worship.