formation at the common table

The Faith Once Delivered

Faith Once Delivered

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The Faith Once Delivered

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The Faith Once Delivered

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Unity in Essentials, Charity in All Things

The Christian faith is not endlessly malleable, nor is it rigidly narrow. From the beginning, the Church has lived within a tension: holding fast to what must not change, while exercising charity where faithful Christians differ.

The phrase “the faith once delivered” comes from the New Testament itself. It speaks not of innovation, but of reception—of a gospel entrusted to the Church, to be guarded, proclaimed, and lived out across generations.

“Contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3)

This category exists to explore that faith carefully: to clarify what Christians confess together, to distinguish between essentials and secondary matters, and to model how truth and unity belong together.

The Shape of the Apostolic Faith

From the earliest days, the Church proclaimed a recognisable core message:

  • Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God
  • He became incarnate for our salvation
  • He suffered, died, and was buried
  • He rose bodily from the dead
  • He reigns at the right hand of the Father
  • He will come again to judge the living and the dead

This proclamation was not private speculation, but public confession. It shaped baptism, worship, teaching, and community life (Acts 2:36–42).

As the Church encountered misunderstanding and distortion, this faith was summarised in creeds—not to replace Scripture, but to guard its faithful reading.

Note: Creeds functioned as boundaries, not exhaustive explanations. They preserved the heart of the gospel while allowing theological reflection within those bounds.

Scripture at the Centre

The Christian faith is irreducibly scriptural. The Church does not stand over Scripture, nor does Scripture float free of the Church. Instead, the faith once delivered is received through the Scriptures, read within the worshipping community, and confessed together.

From the earliest centuries:

  • Scripture was publicly read in worship
  • Teaching was accountable to the apostolic writings
  • Interpretation was guided by the rule of faith

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching.” (2 Timothy 3:16)

The authority of Scripture does not eliminate interpretation; it demands faithful interpretation, shaped by humility, prayer, and the witness of the wider Church.

Essentials and Secondary Matters

While the core confession of Christ has remained stable, Christians have not agreed on every question of practice, emphasis, or expression. The early Church recognised this reality and learned to distinguish between matters that touch the heart of the gospel and those that allow faithful diversity.

Historically, the Church has treated as essential:

  • The Triune nature of God
  • The full divinity and humanity of Christ
  • Salvation by grace
  • The resurrection of the dead
  • The authority of Scripture

Other matters—such as forms of church governance, modes of worship, spiritual gifts, and certain interpretive questions—have been treated as secondary, even when held with conviction.

“If in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.” (Philippians 3:15)

This distinction does not weaken truth; it protects unity.

Charity Without Relativism

Christian charity is not indifference. To love one another in truth requires honesty, patience, and restraint. The New Testament repeatedly calls believers to guard sound teaching while also bearing with one another in love (Ephesians 4:1–6).

This means:

  • Disagreement need not imply disloyalty
  • Conviction need not lead to division
  • Unity does not require uniformity

“Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” (Ephesians 4:15)

Where charity is lost, truth becomes harsh. Where truth is abandoned, charity becomes empty. The faith once delivered calls the Church to hold both together.

The Role of Tradition and Discernment

Tradition is not the accumulation of opinions, but the living memory of the Church. It reflects how Christians across time have read Scripture, confessed Christ, and responded to error.

Engaging tradition does not mean uncritical acceptance. It means listening before speaking, learning before correcting, and recognising that the Church existed before any one generation.

Discernment, likewise, is not merely personal intuition. It is exercised within the Body, tested against Scripture, and shaped by prayer.

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits.” (1 John 4:1)

A Framework for Unity Today

Christian Fellowship does not exist to flatten differences or police opinions. It exists to confess Christ clearly and make room for faithful obedience within that confession.

Within The Common Table, this category seeks to:

  • Clarify the shared confession of the Church
  • Address disputed questions with humility
  • Refuse both false unity and needless division

The goal is not to win arguments, but to remain faithful together.

Receiving the Faith Anew

The faith once delivered is never outdated, yet it must be received afresh by every generation. Each age faces its own questions, temptations, and confusions. The Church’s task is not to invent a new gospel, but to proclaim the same gospel with clarity and love.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

At The Common Table, these reflections are offered as an act of stewardship — receiving what has been handed down, guarding it carefully, and living it faithfully in our time.

Scripture for Study and Meditation

References & Sources (Authoritative)

Early Church & Creeds

Theology & Doctrine

Scripture & Interpretation

Further Reading