The Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC) is a great denomination. I was part of it for a few years, and was trained in their seminary. If it wasn’t for our differences on divorce and remarriage, I would probably still belong to them.

I appreciate the reformed catholicity of how they go about confessions. In order to be a member of the CREC a church must subscribe to the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Definition of Chalcedon. Great. And one must also subscribe to one of ten reformed confessions they have in this book. Most of them are from the Reformation era, but some of them are new. They allow exceptions and amendments to the confessions, and they acknowledge that the confessions are not exhaustive nor are they the best articulation.

I think this is good. I would probably go broader than strictly reformed and permit subscription to the Lutheran confessions, too. And I would also permit member churches to write their own confessions and submit them for review and approval by higher courts of presbyters and bishops.

The ten confessions in this book are

1. Westminster Confession of Faith (1647)
2. American Westminster Confession of Faith (1788)
3. Three Forms of Unity
   • Belgic Confession
   • Heidelberg Catechism
   • Canons of the Synod at Dordt
4. Belgic Confession (1561)
5. Heidelberg Catechism
6. London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689)
7. Savoy Declaration (1658)
8. Reformed Evangelical Confession (A modern selection of the 17th century Westminster Shorter Catechism)
9. Second Helvetic Confession
10. 39 Articles of Religion

I personally agree with a large majority of what is written in these confessions. And I don’t find much that would warrant breaking communion over. The main exception would be the Westminster Confession of Faith’s permission to remarry. I view this outside the pale of orthodoxy. I would also reject the London Baptist Confession precisely because it is Baptist. But other issues that I would disagree with, I wouldn’t necessarily break fellowship over. For example, if someone thought the Pope was the Anti-Christ, I wouldn’t break communion over this issue, even though I think it’s untrue.

I have a more Augustinian view of the Sacraments, or a more Lutheran view perhaps. And so this does factor in to differences of how I view regeneration, the elect, and final perseverance. I’m also not opposed to numbering the sacraments more than two, provided they other five are considered lesser sacraments. The 39 Articles permits some leeway here. Two dominical sacraments or gospel sacraments. Five lesser sacraments.

I’m also not a Sabbatarian, so that would be a difference, with the WCF at least.

It would be far too laborious of a task to go through each confession, commending it’s strengths and pointing out its weaknesses, so I won’t do that.

In general, these are good confessions, especially for those who are more reformed and evangelical in their outlook. Though, I suspect many reformed and evangelical Christians might be surprised to discover how “catholic” some of these confessions are.

For example, Heinrich Bullinger in Chapter XXI of the Second Helvetic Confession writes: “[T]he faithful receive what is given by the ministers of the Ord, and they eat the bread of the Lord and drink of the Lord’s cup. At the same time by the work of Christ through the Holy Spirit they also inwardly receive the flesh and blood of the Lord, and are thereby nourished unto life eternal. For the flesh and blood of Christ is the true food and drink unto life eternal; and Christ himself, since he was given for us and is our Savior, is the principal thing in the Supper, and we do not permit anything else to be substituted in his place.” (Of the Holy Supper of the Lord, The Sign and Thing Signified)

I particularly appreciated the Second Helvetic Confession. And it’s worth noting that the 39 Articles is an Anglican confession, and it made it’s way into this reformed compendium, because well, that confession is certainly reformed, or at least moderately reformed.

Good stuff. Anyone interested in reading distillations of historical, magisterial reformed theology, should check these out.