The reformed confessions: embarrassment or blessing to a missionary church?

Abstract

The historic reformed confessions are sometimes blamed for the apparent lack of missionary zeal among churches of the RCSA, and called an embarrassment to the church. This article investigates these allegations and attempts a missionary read- ing of the confessions. Because of the specific focus of the con- fessions, they should not be expected to give guidance on the whole life of the church. However, careful reading of the creeds does offer a surprisingly abundant missionary harvest. They offer both the foundations and the limits for mission, and in defining the identity of Christians, also define the missionary identity of the church. As the community of fellowship with Christ, the church is both a unique instrument in the “missio Dei” and the end objective of mission (mission as church plant- ing). Creeds offer beautiful expositions of the loving, fellowship- seeking heart of God who has not given up on fallen humanity, but who continues to call people to fellowship with Him in his self-revelation in creation, Scripture and the incarnation of the Son. Surprisingly, it is the Canons of Dordt (2.5) which offers the only explicit call to mission in the three creeds!