What Do Christians Believe?
If someone asks, “What do Christians believe?,” there are a number of ways to answer the question. One is to point to scripture and say that Christianity believes the Bible. Another possibility is to affirm the existence of God: “Christians believe that there is a God.” To be more specific, we can say that Christians believe that God has made himself known in Jesus Christ. It is a better and more complete answer to say that Christians not only believe in God but that he has come among us in the person of Jesus Christ.
Those answers are good but still not as specific as we might wish. How do we say, with more detail and clarity, what we believe as Christians? Historically, one way Protestants have done so is by writing confessions of faith. The word “confession” does not mean the same thing as when we “confess” our sins. It has the meaning of an affirmation. To confess is to confirm a truth. In confessions of faith, Christians declare what they believe to be true about God, human life, the world, and many other topics contained in scripture. The time of the Protestant Reformation was a time in which many such documents were written to define the meaning of true religious faith and practice.
The Bible is a long document. It is made up of historical accounts, stories, laws, prayers, and various other writings. The whole of scripture teaches us about God, life, and ourselves. The task of theology is to discern, from the entire witness of scripture, what is true about faith and practice. Confessions of faith are historical documents that have sought to do so. There are two confessions that almost all Christian denominations affirm. They are the Apostles’ and the Nicene creeds. These articulate basic Christian beliefs. For that reason, they are important to know and understand.
The exact origin of the Apostles’ Creed is unknown. A legend says that it was created by the twelve apostles before they were scattered from Jerusalem. Each contributed a phrase, beginning with Peter. This became the twelve phrases of the Apostles’ Creed. While that is a nice story, it is more likely that the creed arose in baptismal settings. Those who were baptized were asked to affirm their faith. They would be asked, “What do you believe about God?” They would respond with a statement like the first part of the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.” In the same way, they would respond with the second and third sections of the creed when asked, “What do you believe about Jesus Christ?” and “What do you believe about the Holy Spirit and the church?”
Church confessions, such as the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds, the Westminster Confession of Faith, and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, seek to be reliable expositions of what scripture teaches us to believe and do. They articulate the great themes in scripture and have the ability to unite the church, across many lands and languages, in common mission and ministry. These documents are useful because Christians must affirm the central truths of the faith. It is in Jesus Christ that we have salvation. We cannot affirm what we do not understand. For that reason, it is important to understand our faith, think clearly about it, and know the message we have been given to proclaim to the world. Both the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds are written as affirmations of faith. The Apostles’ Creed begins, “I believe …” The Nicene Creed begins, “We believe …” These remind us that faith is always personal. To be a Christian is to personally affirm our faith in Jesus Christ and the God who sent him to be with us.