If you are as old as I am, Christmas this past month was a real chore because good quality products are hard to find. It seems many of the products we purchase now do not stand the test of time. Back in the day, my parents would brag about buying appliances that were still in use 20 years later.

Yesteryear’s households provided quality and value that lasted. It may seem as though this is no longer true, but I believe there is still quality to be found even today! I am not speaking as a Christmas shopper, but as a Christian.

I recently discovered this valued product when my extended family from California visited for Thanksgiving. Our conversations and discussions centered around Christ and His precious Word, but this year, I found it difficult to communicate the gospel and the uniqueness that Christianity offers. How could I simply and accurately present the real issues and doctrines that need to be understood to see how good Christ and His gospel truly is?

While driving to dinner one night this amazing, valued product began to make itself known. The product begins with the authority of Scripture, then a brief explanation from Scripture of the triune God and His decree—God’s plan and purpose of redeeming man.

It was followed by God’s creation, His plan of divine providence, and the fall of man. The longer our conversation went, the more the story that God has recorded in Scripture about Christ began to shine!

There was clarity, simplicity and a total cohesiveness that truly made sense of all things with God’s real purpose revealed in Christ and His work to redeem man. The story of the Bible is truly mind boggling, but this valued product gave me confidence like never before. Now you might be curious…what was this amazing product? It’s the London Baptist Confession (LBC) of 1689.

The was a document written to organize and present what the church believes from the Scriptures. It was based on the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) and the Savoy Declaration (1658), with modifications to reflect baptistic views. Today, the LBC enables us to read our Bibles with the understanding of doctrines that the church has understood and believed since the time following the Reformation, 500 years ago.

It’s a real safeguard to trust the doctrine that has been proven to be true. The LBC is an amazing product. It’s not a product that has worn out or become outdated. In fact, in today’s church climate, it’s more valuable than ever before.

It has stood the test of time as what the church has believed with the necessary details that make it clear and definable. We can truly be thankful for the 1689 London Baptist Confession, a product of quality and value, that points the church to the glory of God and the wonderful work of His Son, Jesus Christ.