Heresy & History

Heresy has always been an issue to truth. It seems that even from the beginning of time the truth has been taken and adjusted to become dangerous. The first account that we see of this goes as far back as Genesis 3; where we find a serpent in the garden taking the truth of God and making it heretical.

The early church was no stranger to this issue. One of the ways that the church came to combat these different heresies was “the use of various creeds”. (Gonzalez p.77)

These creeds were called the symbols of the faith by the early adherents of Christianity. We learn that symbol did not mean what it means to the English speaker today, but “it meant “a means of recognition,” such as a token that a general gave to a messenger, so that the recipient could recognize a true messenger.”

“Likewise, the “symbol” put together in Rome was a means whereby Christians could distinguish true believers from those who followed the various heresies circulating at the time.” (Gonzalez p.77)

These creeds would literally act as a means of identifying the members of the local church, in a similar way that a denomination may help identify someone that claims Christianity in the modern day.

We can even find the beginnings of an early church creed mentioned by Paul in 1 Timothy 3:16. Many of these creeds would take the key tenants of the faith and make them easy to remember and easy to convey to another.

In the 21st century we cannot downplay the need and purpose of creeds and confessions of faith. 

They will act for us in the same way that they did for the early believers. These creeds can help us identify those religious organizations and denominations that may claim to be orthodox, but do not align with the scriptures.

These creeds and confessions can also help us to ensure that we are staying true to what the scriptures have taught and what has been consistently held throughout the ages. 

While we can never use creeds or confessions of faith to replace scripture, we can use this history to combat the heresy of our age

To quote Albert Mohler from his review of a book called The Secret, “There are no new heresies, only heresies dressed up and repackaged for a new generation.” (Source)


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