The Rule of Faith
Jan 5, 2025 • Nathan G. Wheeler, Ph.D.
New Testament passages such as 2 Timothy 1:13 and Jude 3 testify to a standard set of teachings regarding the gospel. These basic Christian doctrines were known to the apostles and those they taught, so they are assumed as common knowledge behind the texts of the New Testament. As church history continued beyond the time of the apostles, Christian leaders began to put that common faith in writing in the form of brief summaries of the gist of the apostolic teaching. These summaries were called "the rule of faith" or similar phrases.