The Rule of Faith and Liturgical Changes

Especially in a generation in which Christian faith is in decline and the world is becoming increasingly hostile to Christian faith, the members of our church need clarity on what Christians believe.

Someone recently mentioned to me that it seems like our church is changing. There have been a few changes specifically around our worship service. If you’ve been in our church for a long time, the most obvious change may be the use of the Heidelberg catechism during our Profession of Faith after the sermon.

This fall, we have taken one commandment from the Ten Commandments per Sunday, both to guide our Confession of Sin and for our Profession of Faith (instead of the Apostles' Creed). It has made things feel slightly different in the service, so I thought it would be helpful to give some rationale for why we are doing what we’re doing.

The Rule of Faith

The Rule of Faith is the historic way that Christians have summarized an answer to the question, “What is Christianity?” It has generally consisted of the Apostles’ Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord’s Prayer. When someone would become a Christian, these three concise creeds would be the basic content of discipleship.

The Apostles’ Creed is a summary of Christian doctrine, the Ten Commandments the summary of Christian ethics, and the Lord’s Prayer a summary of Christian spirituality. The Rule of Faith is mentioned as early as the 2nd century church father Irenaeus. Augustine wrote about it. Calvin used it to structure his Institutes of Christian Religion. And the reformed catechisms used it as its overarching structure following Calvin (for example, the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechism).

Especially in a generation in which Christian faith is in decline and the world is becoming increasingly hostile to Christian faith, the members of our church need clarity on what Christians believe. We always want to present the faith in a way that is as loving as possible. But strengthening the fundamentals of Christian truth and life is, without a doubt, the order of the day.

Interestingly, at the same time that our culture becomes more and more individualistic and suspicious of organized religion, many people are converting to Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.

The Sunday morning liturgy is the primary time in which God’s people are being discipled, and currently we have only included the Apostles’ Creed as a part of the service. But Christian ethics is an especially huge issue in our culture right now, so we are including the Ten Commandments both in our Confession of Sin and Profession of Faith. During Advent, we’ll return to saying the Apostles’ Creed (which is a summary of the gospel). Then in the spring, we will work through the catechisms, teaching on each line of the Lord’s Prayer. In our new schedule, we will say the Apostles’ Creed about half of the Sundays of the year.

There are also some other fundamental teachings that we may be including in the future as well: the Sermon on the Mount (Jesus’ extrapolation on the Ten Commandments), New Testament creedal statements (e.g. Col. 1:15-20, Phil. 2:5-11, 1 Timothy 1:15-16, etc.), and the Nicene Creed (which we will use on some special days of the church calendar, like Easter). 

These changes may feel stiff or old-fashioned to some members of our congregation, but I believe that this pattern not only has historic precedent, but is also strategic as we try to reach this generation.

Stability in an Age of Anxiety

I was listening to a sermon recently by a seminary president who was talking about the individualism of our culture, and how skeptical our culture is of institutional religion. It struck me—that may be true, but what are the implications of that? Does that mean that we should downplay the institutional nature of the church in order to reach this generation?

Interestingly, at the same time that our culture becomes more and more individualistic and suspicious of organized religion, many people are converting to Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. My experience is that the younger generation is actually far more hungry for institutional religion than boomers or GenXers.

Why is that?

Humans were not made to live atomized lives, independent of communities with clear rules and boundaries. An institution is like a family. It gives people a sense of belonging and clarity around thoughts of “This is who I am and this is what I believe.” It creates stability and assurance and confidence. 

It seems clear to me that a major reason why anxiety and depression are skyrocketing in our generation is because young people are being told, “You choose your own identity, you create and perform your own authentic self—no one tells you who you are.” As freeing as that sounds, it turns out it is crippling and a massive burden. Humans are made after the image of God, so that means that their identity is a gift to be received. You are not meant to be your own creator.

The way that God intends to form human beings is in the institution of the church. It is true that institutions can be rigid and suffocating for people who live inside them. They are like families, and families can be suffocating. But it would be a huge mistake for someone to then conclude, “I don’t need a family.” Yes, we do. Of course, we need a loving family, a family filled with joy and kindness. We don’t want a dead institution; and I really don’t believe we are that.

The liturgy of worship, the church calendar, and the Rule of Faith are ways that the Lord gives clear boundaries to our family. If the church is a house, these are well built walls that protect us from the storms outside and comfort those on the inside. We all need to know, “This is what I believe. This is the theological tradition that has withstood the test of time and that Christians across centuries have agreed is the teaching of the Bible.” There is security and clarity in this approach to the Christian faith—so let’s embrace it.

I believe with the rampant anxiety in our culture, we are on the brink of seeing a huge swing toward institutional, historic Christianity. It would be a huge mistake for us to minimize and sideline this aspect of the faith. Instead, we should lean into it all the more.