Tools for Confessions of Faith

When carefully considering the pages of the Holy Scriptures, one discovers that the use of biblical confessions of faith is not only legitimate, but imperative to fulfill the purpose of upholding, preserving, and defending the faith once delivered to us. Confessions are like a wall of protection against false doctrine, a solid foundation for true unity, a measuring rod for teachers of the Word and candidates for ministry, and a sure path that gives us a sense of historical continuity in the things we believe. For this reason, subscribing to a confession has been one of the distinctive marks of churches that embrace the Reformed Baptist faith.

Despite this, there are many churches that, even having a confession of faith, have not enjoyed all these practical benefits. Unintentionally, their confessionalism has become a merely descriptive name that plays no significant role in their practical life. Why have so many of us gone through this? Because of ignorance!

To give an example, when we consider the antiquity, the original language, and the cultural difference that separate us from a confession like the Second London Confession of Faith (also known as the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith), it is possible that even those of us who subscribe to it may be unaware of the true value of this document by overlooking the details and its emphases, or by not understanding the context in which it was written. Due to this ignorance, we lose the ability to objectively judge its content in the light of the Scriptures; and we can come to misinterpret, redefine, or even belittle what was intended to be affirmed. "I need someone to explain it to me!"—I remember having thought many times on this journey through confessionalism—has the same thing happened to you?

A few years ago, I had the privilege of attending Dr. Renihan's "Introduction to the 1689 Confession of Faith" course in California (USA). It was fascinating! It was as if for the first time I was seeing the paragraphs and chapters of our Confession in color. Discovering the "world" surrounding the Confession of Faith was an experience that changed my way of thinking about it. I learned that each chapter has a specific context that must be considered, that each edition or change made to the paragraphs of the Westminster Confession must be evaluated (since not all were made due to doctrinal differences, but with the purpose of clarifying the same truths), that the chapters of the Confession were presented under a structure that is centered on God's Covenant with men, among many other details that have served as tools in my personal study and teaching ministry in our local church.

This fascinating course has been profitably summarized and presented in this small book that we now have the great privilege of placing in your hands. I long for it to be as useful to you as it has been to all of us who have been exposed to the teaching ministry of this beloved servant of God.

(Taken from the Spanish Foreword)