Westminster Confession of Faith

Definition and Meaning

A confession of faith is an official document that sets out, point by point, what a church believes. The Westminster Confession of Faith is the principal doctrinal standard of Presbyterianism. It consists of thirty-three chapters and treats Scripture, God's decree and predestination, the covenant, justification, sanctification, the church and the sacraments, the Lord's Day, and other subjects.

The same assembly also produced the Larger Catechism and the Shorter Catechism. A catechism is a manual of Christian instruction written in question-and-answer form. The Confession and the two catechisms are collectively known as the "Westminster Standards." The Shorter Catechism contains 107 questions. Its first question, "What is the chief end of man?" and its answer, "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever," are widely known.

Historical Background

The Westminster Assembly was convened by the English Parliament in 1643, with English theologians and Scottish commissioners taking part. The Confession was completed in 1646 and adopted by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1647. It is regarded as a systematic statement of Reformed theology in the period after the Reformation, and Scripture proof texts are attached to each of its articles.

The Confession was later revised by a number of churches or used as the basis for their own confessions.

• American Presbyterians revised certain articles, including those dealing with the civil magistrate's involvement in church affairs.
• Congregationalists used it as the basis for the Savoy Declaration (1658).
• Baptists produced the Second London Confession, commonly known as the "1689 Confession." This confession altered the content to teach believer's baptism by immersion in place of infant baptism and congregational church government in place of presbyterian polity.

Practice in the Korean Church

In 1907 the Independent Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Joseon is reported to have adopted the Westminster Shorter Catechism as a doctrinal standard, together with the Twelve Articles of Faith. Since then, most Korean Presbyterian denominations have adopted the Westminster Standards as the doctrinal basis of their constitutions.

• The Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong), the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin), the Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapShin), and others include the Confession and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms in their constitutions. The ordination vows for ministers and elders in these denominations reportedly include a pledge to receive these documents as a summary of the teaching of Scripture.
• The Presbyterian Church of Korea (TongHap) includes in its constitution both the Westminster Standards and a confession of faith composed by the denomination itself.
• The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea is also reported to have adopted and to use its own confession of faith.

In congregational life, the Shorter Catechism is widely used as a textbook for catechumen and confirmation instruction, new member classes, and doctrinal study. Some also hold that the Confession's article on the Sabbath influenced the strict tradition of Lord's Day observance in Korean Presbyterianism.

Denominations in the Wesleyan tradition, such as the Korean Methodist Church and the Holiness churches, do not take this document as a doctrinal standard. On questions of predestination and free will, these denominations hold positions closer to Wesleyan theology and Arminianism.