The following churches adopted declaratory statements: One significant reason given was that under a strict subscription model, "many persons had difficulty in taking office because of certain expressions of doctrine contained in the Confession of Faith.
[2] The Church of Scotland never adopted such a declaratory statement, on the basis that its ability to adjust its Confession was restricted by its inclusion in the Acts of Union 1707.
[3] The declaratory statements typically touch on issues such as the love of God for all people, the free offer of the gospel, the salvation of infants, and freedom of religion.
B. Warfield was an early critic of declaratory statements in general, calling them "clumsy" and preferring system subscription.
The former were insistent upon dogmatic definiteness on questions that belong to the integrity of the Reformed Faith and therefore lie close to the heart of the Christian religion.