CHRIST IS THE ONLY CREED
The church has always been tempted to reduce faith to formulas. We write statements, draw lines, and argue over precision, hoping clarity will produce life. Creeds can serve a purpose, but they were never meant to replace a Person. Christianity did not begin with a document; it began with a risen Christ standing before ordinary people and saying, “Follow Me.” Before there were confessions to recite, there was a Savior to trust.
The apostles did not preach a system; they proclaimed Jesus. Paul reminded the Corinthians that he resolved to know nothing among them except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2). That was not intellectual laziness; it was spiritual focus. He understood that Christ Himself is the center that holds everything together. When Jesus is reduced to a footnote beneath theological arguments, faith becomes brittle and joyless.
Jesus did not ask Peter to affirm a creed; He asked him a question. “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). The church is built on that confession, not on perfect articulation, but on revealed trust. Peter’s answer was not polished, but it was true: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16). Where that confession lives, the church stands. Where it is replaced by lesser loyalties, the foundation begins to crack.
To say Christ is the only creed is not to despise doctrine; it is to place doctrine in its proper place. The Word of God leads us to Jesus, not away from Him. Truth is not an abstract concept; truth has a name, and He took on flesh (John 14:6). When Christ is central, grace stays warm, obedience stays human, and love stays visible.
In a noisy religious world, this remains the quiet anchor. Not Christ plus my tribe. Not Christ plus my certainty. Christ alone. He is enough to save, enough to unite, and enough to keep us faithful when everything else shakes.
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Lord Jesus, keep me grounded in You. Guard my heart from replacing devotion with arguments and faith with formulas. Let my confidence rest fully in who You are. Amen.
BDD
