A Most Critical Foundation

Everyone’s a Theologian

Matthew 7:24–25 ESV

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

Everyone’s a theologian, but not everyone is a good one. Everyone wants to believe their own things about God, life and eternity, but few question whether that which they believe is good and solid and Biblical. Individualism does not work here. You are not allowed to make it up as you go. Oh, you may venture into belief with that attitude, but it won’t end well. You need a proper foundation.

There is a secular creed that contemporary culture often touts on websites and yard signs. It is highly political, often misleading. and downright offensive. You may have seen this before.

Black Lives Matter;

Love is Love;

Gay Rights are Civil Rights;

Women’s Rights are Human Rights; and

Transgender Women are Women.

Although we don’t have the time to get into each one, such groupings are a type of creed. People ascribe to such things. And, as Rebecca McGlauthlin states: “Without Christian beliefs about humanity, the yard sign’s claims aren’t worth the cardboard on which they are written.” (Rebecca McLaughlin, The Secular Creed, 2).

In contrast, historic Christianity has been delivered to us. And we must believe the things that Jesus revealed about Himself, the Father and the Spirit, or we are on dangerous ground.

So today’s message is the first in a fuller explanation of a statement that we read or recall each time we take the Lord’s Supper. It is ascribing to some sacred truths that have transformed us. As Alister McGrath states: “The Christian faith offers us a new way of seeing ourselves and our world.” (McGrath, The Landscape of Faith, 12). Today begins a new sermon series on the Apostles’ Creed.

First, let us ask, why believe in the Apostles’ creed?

For one, the Apostles’ creed provides direction for your faith.

There are many reasons to adopt a creed. It allows you to stay on the road of belief while avoiding bumping into guard rails unnecessarily. I benefitted by this as a young believer. I needed to know what was acceptable to embrace and what was not.

The term comes from the Latin, “credo,” or “I believe.” Alister McGrath states:

“Faith is not just about believing in God; it is about trusting him and allowing him to take hold of us and transform us. Coming to faith doesn’t mean merely having a new idea. It means recognizing in our minds who God is and what he is like and responding to him in our hearts.” (McGrath, I Believe, 22).

And so it is a statement of commitment.

Historical Value

Just to give you some background on this most ancient of creeds, the earliest portions, found in the Old Roman form, date back to the mid second century, around 140 A.D. It was thought to have been a baptismal formula, something that was recited when individuals converted to Christianity. This makes sense as church leaders were often engaging people with mixed literacy levels at best.

The Creed also tells us that the Christian faith is not only historical, but something that was handed down since the days of the Apostles. Jude 3-4

Jude 3–4 (ESV)

3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

There are two verbs that are most noteworthy. First, we are to contend for the faith. You know, it is hard to contend for something without knowing it. The definition of ἐπαγωνίζομαι is:

...to exert intense effort on behalf of something. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (ἐπαγωνίζομαι)

Next, our faith is something that was “delivered” to us. Here, the verb means: “...to convey someth. in which one has a relatively strong personal interest, hand over, give (over), to entrust.” (William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 761. )

Never forget that it was for this faith that the apostles gave their lives. Peter was crucified; James was thrown off the temple; Andrew was crucified with ropes; John was exiled and boiled; Paul was beheaded. They don’t give their lives for a lie. And it was for this redemption that Jesus died. It is a precious thing and not to be taken lightly.

The creed links your faith with Christians from the past. The Apostles’ Creed was used in the early church. It provides a framework of belief for new converts.

You’ll notice that it affirms the belief in Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Well, remember that Jesus said in Matthew 28:18-20

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Practical Value

At Central, we recite the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed when we partake of communion, some four or five times per year. One can be seen as an elaboration of the other.

It affirms the Father’s chief role as that of Creator. And the Son’s chief role as Redeemer. And the Holy Spirit's chief role as sanctifier and sustainer.

All three persons of the godhead operate together in perfect unity and never separated from the other.

That the Son and Spirit had a role in creation, though led by the Father.

That the Father and Spirit had a role in redemption, though led by the Son.

And that the Son and Father have a role in sanctification, though the primary work is done by the Holy Spirit.

All three work in unity and love. Jen Wilkin states:

“God the Father initiates the plan of salvation. God the Son accomplishes salvation. God the Spirit applies salvation.” (Jen Wilkin, 38).

Finally, the Apostles Creed is thoroughly Scriptural.

Psalm 121:2 “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

And Paul would also state that he would bow his knees in Ephesians 3:14-15

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,” This sounds much like the opening line of the creed: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.”

Several of the Creed’s lines are found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. For instance, Christ:

“...died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures… .”

The gospels plainly speak of Jesus’ biography. The Apostles’ Creed gives you the abridged version. That his birth was miraculous; that life intersected with human history and he suffered the most painful death, emotionally, physically and spiritually.

Never before had He been separated from His Father in eternity past. But now, He experienced hell like no one ever had, having His fellowship with the Father severed for a time, as He bore our sins.

And now, having ascended into heaven, is seated at the Father’s right hand, “…from whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.”

Why does Jesus get so much attention in the Apostles’ Creed? Probably because there were several aberrant beliefs about the Lord circulating that it made the subject of Christ and His work a necessary part of clarification. Get Jesus wrong, and you get God wrong.

And some did get him wrong. Some denied His humanity. Some denied his divinity. Some denied His virgin birth. Some denied his death and resurrection.

The last paragraph addresses the Holy Spirit and the church; the benefits of belonging to the church. By joining the Lord’s family, you are deemed a beneficiary of all of these gifts. You are rich!

Finally, the Creed is something that can and should be remembered. It is to be meditated upon.

I grew up without the Apostles’ Creed. I attended a church that did not value such historical documents. Oh, if you asked the church leaders, they would not have denied the creed or its teaching, but we never repeated it.

But now that I’m a Christian of some accumulated years, I have come to appreciate it and the blessing of rolling it off my tongue. By knowing it it can occupy your mind in a healthy way and drown out the noise of the worries of this world. Take for instance the statement: “I believe in the forgiveness of sins.” It means that Jesus has paid the price for my forgiveness of sins past, present and future. And that, as Romans 8:31-39

Romans 8:31–39 (ESV)

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

37 ...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Conclusion

And why does this matter? Because what you truly believe has a profound impact on how you live.

As Jen Wilkin puts it: “Living well matters. Simply put, theology is part of life well lived. Theology helps us live all of life well.” (Jen Wilkin and J.T. English, You Are a Theologian: An Invitation to Know and Love God Well.)

A famous story in the London Times in the 1900’s posed a question to several scholars and authors, “What is wrong with the world?” Various types of responses were offered. Among them were healthcare, education, human rights, etc. G.K. Chesterton offered this response: “Dear Sir, I am.”

The point is that we’ll never truly know how much we need God in our lives and in our world if we cannot first see that the real problem is sin and that God is the only hope, the only answer. And that is why Jesus Christ is of such extreme and precious value to you and me.