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A fourth reason for the necessity of creeds and confessions in the church is the preservation of Christian liberty. “God alone is Lord of the conscience, and has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are, in anything, contrary to his Word; or beside it, if matters of faith, or worship” (WCF 20.2). Therefore, the church has no power to require assent to any doctrinal teaching unless that teaching is expressly taught in Scripture. Creeds and confessions, accordingly, constitute a necessary safeguard to the liberty of the Christian. They declare what a particular church or denomination will and will not teach, and individuals may decide on the basis of that declaration whether or not to become members of that particular church. Conversely, creeds and confessions provide wholesome parameters for the governing officers of the church of which they are part. In framing doctrinal declarations or in the exercise of church discipline, church courts must operate within the doctrinal boundaries established by their church’s confession. Were an elder or a court of the church, in the course of their official labors, to transgress or to step outside of their church’s confession, members of the church would be within their rights to express their disagreement in keeping with the rules and procedures of their church or denomination. Simply the awareness that confessions function in this fashion encourages biblical knowledge and theological vigilance on the part of members, and an encouragement to church officers “not to go beyond what is written” (1 Cor 4:6).