Why do we need them? Some view the Bible as insufficient. We should let that sink in: there are believers in God who believe that the Bible is insufficient… They would wholeheartedly defend the power of God, the holiness of God, and the omniscience of God but deny the Bible as the sole, stand-alone, need-nothing-else rule of faith… 

I’m particularly fond of this quote: “No later revelations are needed. Regarding all latter-date revelations we can say: If they are true, they are not new; if they are new, they are not true… The creeds of men are not needed. If a creed contains more than the New Testament it contains too much. If it contains less than the New Testament it contains too little. If it contains the same as the New Testament then there is no need for it. It is the self-willed arrogance of man which suggests that men can’t understand the Bible, but that they can understand the humanly-devised creeds.”*

Why are there so many creeds, catechisms, and councils out there? 

We should be reminded that there is Scriptural support for the statement above: 

¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; ¹⁷ so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17). 

³ Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all time handed down to the saints (Jude 3). 

Scripture makes one “fully capable, equipped for every good work.” Creeds, catechisms, and councils don’t do that unless they express what Scripture has already stated, which is unnecessary. 

Scripture reveals the “faith that was once for all time handed down to the saints.” Creeds, catechisms, and councils don’t do that unless they express the faith as clearly as Scripture already does, which is unnecessary. 

Creeds, catechisms, and councils either completely agree with Scripture and are thus unnecessary, or they disagree with Scripture and are thus contemptible and lead people astray. In either case, they are unnecessary. 

* Ferrell Jenkins, Biblical Authority: Practical Lessons to Guide the Bible Student in Determining, Understanding, and Applying Biblical Authority (Temple Terrace, FL: Florida College Bookstore, 1990), 5.