Future & Fulfillent

Welcome & Intro

Good morning, Cornerstone!  Welcome to the final week of our Apostles’ Creed series.  For the last 11 weeks, we have explored the “I believe…” statements within our Apostles’ Creed.  Today, we arrive at the last line: “life everlasting.”  If everything we’ve confessed is true—if the Father made us, the Son redeemed us, the Spirit indwells us—we ask ourselves, then, what response does this final line call for?

Illustration In “Walk the Line,” the 2005 biographical drama about Johnny Cash, there’s a scene where young Johnny is singing along to hymns with his mother.  His brother, Jack, makes a comment about Johnny’s ability to remember songs so well, saying, “God’s given you a gift, Johnny, you can hear a song once and play it right back.”

Now, Johnny’s older brother, Jack, was also gifted, but in another way.  He liked reading and dedicated himself to studying Scripture, and he could quote it back in much the same way as Johnny could music.  This bestowed upon him the perception of being deeply religious in contrast to Johnny’s musical inclinations.  Jack was perceived as the more responsible of the two brothers, even favored for having declared at a young age that he wanted to be a preacher.  It likely also served a major role in their dad’s indictment of Johnny when his brother died, “The devil took the wrong son.”

We judge from our perspective, which is why we were told not to.  In John 8, Jesus is recorded replying to the Pharisees, “15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.”

Application

It’s good not only that we worship together but also that we confess together!  Many of you have seen The Chosen Series.  In Season 3, before the disciples are sent out “Two by Two,” in Dallas Jenkins’ portrayal, the disciples gather to encourage one another as they head out on their own for the first time.  They recite Psalm 3 together.  Though creative liberties are certainly taken throughout the series, being heavily dramatized, while this isn’t recorded, this was neither uncommon nor is it improbable that something like this took place.  The Psalms are a collection of 150 ancient Hebrew poems, songs, and prayers from different eras in Israel’s history, each with its own purpose.  They recall God’s faithfulness, and in repeating them, we are reminded of God’s qualities of loyalty, steadfastness, and provision.  This isn’t exclusive to Old Testament Jews.  When we look at Paul’s letters, we see doctrinal statements that are, in part and parcel, his joyful worship.  Many commonly recited benedictions are actually the closing remarks from his letters!

Philippians 2:5-11, often called the “Christ Hymn,” refers to Christ’s act of humility in becoming human, taking the form of a servant, and being obedient even to death.  Today, most scholars agree that this was most likely an early creed or hymn of some sort, and that makes sense; Paul was a Jew!

Worship begins with holy living and is joyfully expressed in song, just as today, God gifts us, unfortunately, with only some who are truly talented in that way, and a good song spreads far and wide, and songs or Psalms were established in the early church in the same way that today our theology is communicated through music.  We have somewhat of a canon in hymnals, the same songs that are often sung from church to church.

Point 1

This is why Creedal Statements are part of our worship.  Because confession is worship, and it’s part of our worship, and they both take place in eternity!  Theology and doxology, which is the Greek compound word meaning “words of praise,” are meant to be integrated.

And the Jews were not culturally different from us today in that things were perceived as “feminine” or “masculine.”  2 Samuel 6 (16-23), when the Ark returns to Jerusalem, David dances “with all his might” before the Lord, wearing a simple linen ephod.  Michal watches from a window and despises him, later mocking him for behaving beneath his dignity.  David’s reply is unforgettable: “It was before the Lord… and I will become even more undignified than this.” His concern is God’s honor, not human approval.  Scripture concludes the scene by noting that Michal remained childless—a sobering reminder of how seriously God regards contempt for genuine worship.

The point is clear: in worship, humility before God matters far more than dignity, decorum, or the opinions of others.

Point 2

Confession is worship, and worship is confession!  In repeating our praises to God, recalling His tributes and accomplishments, we are reminded of God’s qualities of loyalty, steadfastness, and provision, and as a byproduct, we’re encouraged, or at the very least, filled with a right understanding of our place in respect to Him; filled with awe.  And what else do we have in response to that?

There’s a song by Jim Croce, “I’ll Have to Say I Love You In a Song.” It’s an oldie-but-goodie; in it are the lines, “Every time I tried to tell you, The words just came out wrong, So I’ll have to say I love you in a song.”

There’s a saying from St. Augustine’s commentary on Psalm 73, where he says, “He who sings prays twice.” He says this about the power of music in worship, teaching that singing not only expresses prayer but also deepens it, believing that when people sing, they engage both their hearts and minds in devotion to God.

The fact is that there aren’t many Scriptures that explain God’s nature that don’t primarily focus on his deeds.  This is why doctrine and praise were always meant to be tied together.

Transition

And you say, ‘That’s well and fine, pastor, but today’s about life everlasting!’

Ok!

John 10:28: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.  No one will snatch them out of my hand.”

John 11:25: “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.  The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live.’”

1 Timothy 3:16: “And most certainly, the mystery of godliness is great: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”

Our hope in orthodox Christianity is not in this lifetime, and this is a good thing!  How terrible would that be?  Think of those in poverty; think of those who, not just today but in the course of human history, have been victims of trafficking or slavery?  Those who have experienced nothing but constant war or injustice.  What comfort would it be to tell them that this was it?

Our hope is not here.  There is A hope in this current life, but it’s only a shadow of our future hope.  It’s found in our fellowship with one another, our sharing of burdens, our care for one another, running the race with endurance; the process of growing in our faith through perseverance, which is sanctification.  This can be satisfying for a time, but if it is ALL there is, I would submit that it’s not quite enough.

Endurance and perseverance are not their own reward.  That’s not why people should join us.  Our eternal hope is to join the angelic choir and sing God’s praises forever!  Testifying to His greatness with a new, uncorrupted likeness to Him through which we become heirs.  As Mark Driscoll once put it, “For some of us, this is the closest some of us will ever have to come to hell.  For others, though, this life is the closest they will ever be to the throne of God.”

Point 3

In addition to declaring God’s identity, the Creeds also outline His present and future actions.  We can know who the Lord is from what He has done.

His accomplishments include creating everything, seen and unseen, taking on flesh, dying, rising from the dead, and ascending.  Currently, He’s ruling, constructing a church, expanding his reign throughout every people group, city, and country, granting us fellowship with one another, reconciling us to Him, and pardoning all our transgressions.

He will raise us from the grave so that we can live with Him eternally in a restored and renewed creation.

So, our first point was that confession is worship, and it’s part of our worship.  Second, that through confession, we are filled with a right understanding of our place in respect to Him, which prepares in us a proper response, because the third point is that eternal life doesn’t start at the end of this one.

It started the day the Spirit opened your eyes to know God as your Lord and Savior.  Because knowing this fact, and I mean knowing it—in your heart, not your head, it is said that that is the longest 8 inches in the world, Hebrews 11:6 teaches that the one who believes He exists will draw near to Him because they believe He rewards those who seek him.  It is the logical result of a proper understanding of your place in regard to God.

There’s another saying by a 4th-century monk, Evagrius of Pontus, who said, “A theologian is one who prays, and one who prays is a theologian.” It underlines the interconnectedness of our prayer and our theological understanding.  This maxim by Evagrius inspired a 5th-century disciple of Augustine, Prosper of Aquitaine, to pen the precept, “Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi,” which is Latin for “the law of prayer [is] the law of belief [is] the law of living.” Because how we pray, as Evagrius points out, reflects what we believe about God, whether He is a wish-granting genie or the Almighty.  And what we believe about Him, as Prosper adds, ultimately informs how we go about our life and spiritual walk, whether it is of consequence or not.

Eternal life doesn’t start at the end of this one.  It began on a cross 2,000 years ago.

Application

Now, I wish everyone were going to Heaven, but we know that isn’t the case.  Billy Graham once said, “If God doesn’t bring judgment upon America, He’ll have to go back and apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!”  Part of believing God is just is that he also punishes.  If how we prayreflects what we believe about God, and what we believe about Him informs the way we go about our life and spiritual walk.  What we profess to believe, I’d say, is pretty important, wouldn’t you?

Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).  Sure, there are Scriptures like the account in the synoptics, found in Matt 18 and chapter 9 of both Luke and Mark, where John says to Jesus,

“Teacher, we saw someone else driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus replied.  “For no one who performs a miracle in My name can turn around and speak evil of Me.

Warning

The problem with interpreting this to mean that there is license to say whatever you want about Jesus is probably best articulated by Christ himself in The Parable of the Good Shepherd, in which Jesus says, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold.  I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.  So, there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

He isn’t describing separation or division at all; rather, He is foreshadowing His future ministry and the inclusion of Gentiles.

Listen to the parable real quick, John 10:1-10:

1 “Truly, truly I say to you, the one who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.  2But the one who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.  3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep listen to his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  4When he puts all his own sheep outside, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.  5However, a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 Jesus told them this figure of speech, but they did not understand what the things which He was saying to them meant.

7 So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  8All those who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.  9 I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  10The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.

Why do they follow Him?  Because they know His voice!

And the point is, it doesn’t matter if you know His voice from Scripture or a hymn!  “God’s given you a gift, Johnny… You can hear a song once and play it right back.”  Had that gift been met with support and fostered, we may well have never heard of the infamous outlaw country singer!

Transition

If how we confess reflects what we believe about God, and what we believe about Him informs how we go about our life and spiritual walk, then what we profess is pretty important.  “The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10).  I’d say that pits us pretty firmly against death, wouldn’t you?  There’s not much more diametrically opposed to death one can get than life everlasting!

This might as well be Romans Road:

Romans 3:23—We’re all sinners; Romans 6:23—The penalty for sin is death; Romans 5:8—Jesus paid our penalty; Romans 10:9-10—Salvation comes through faith in Jesus; Romans 10:13 Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved!

The customary treatment throughout the early church when church leaders erred in their treatises, that is, committing blasphemy or becoming a heretic, was death.  That swift earthly judgment might be merciful if today’s alternative is to be allowed to continue on and propagate that message.  To paraphrase Billy Graham, if God doesn’t condemn today’s heretics, there will be an apology due to those who were killed as an act of mercy to the fledgling church.

Again, I wish everyone were going to Heaven.  And there are many things we don’t know, and I’m not the one in the judgment seat.  But Paul said in his first letter to the Corinthians, “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.  Otherwise, you have believed in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:2).

As I close this series, I want to point out that our creeds are among the few things that have stood the test of time throughout most of our history as a people.  Through the Reformation, lampstands were removed, and the orthodox confessions of faith that we call Creeds stood the test of time and have been received and repeated by generation after generation.

If anything, it is a modern pride, an innovation of the last 100 years or so, that has suddenly supposed maybe we don’t need these anymore.

Again, it’s hard to find texts that describe who God is that don’t rely mostly on what he has done, while The Apostle’s Creed is not as much a direct quotation from the Bible; it’s a coherent summary of core biblical teachings, and creeds not only declare who God is, but also what He has done, is doing, and will do.  In reciting them, we are reminded of God’s qualities and faithfulness, and we are encouraged.  How we pray reflects what we believe about God and how we go about our life and spiritual walk.

Summary

In closing, I would be remiss if we did not answer the question, “If this is true, what response does it call for?”  If “life everlasting” is really a thing, heaven is older than the Christian Church.  It’s older than Christianity because our God has been saving, leading, and instructing his people by all of His Words for much longer than the last 2,000 years.  

In fact, the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11 contains a long list of saints who left behind faithful examples for us.  And it says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

The author doesn’t say, “Therefore, since you have some examples,” or “Therefore, since you know these stories,” he says, “Therefore, since [you] are surrounded.”  Not only are these saints not dead, but they’ve got us surrounded!

So, my encouragement to you this morning is to not regard confessing creeds together as some sort of terrible duty, as the Hebrews did in Malachi.  A “nuisance,” reduced to “mourning” as described in Amos (5:21), but rather, see confession as worship, and part of our worship that we’ll sing in eternity, because it fills us with a right understanding of our place in respect to Him; which is the proper response, the earlier we get that, the better, because eternal life doesn’t start at the end of this one.

In the same way that “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27), what a blessing we have to be able to join our voices with the timeless echoing of the saints, expressing our faith together in unity.

Not that it is its own reward, but because how we worship reflects what we believe about God, and what we believe about Him provides us our endurance because it is the reason for our sanctification; becoming more like God in thought and deed!  This is our eternal hope!  For this reason, we proclaim this is who we are, this is what we believe, and this is who our God is.  The one who has created all things has rescued us by His Son, sent us His Holy Spirit, our Lord, and giver of life, so that we might know Him and be brought into His rest.

Because, if it is also true that “No one comes to the Father except through the Son” (John 14:6b), how you go about your life and spiritual walk is a direct reflection of who you confess Him to be.

Close

We’ve spent twelve weeks confessing this Creed together—line by line, truth by truth.  Referencing and illustrating these truths by myths and stories that permeate our culture, drawing relevant truths, and I’ve said a couple of times, about how many of the world’s cultures seem to have similar stories, that capture us—whether its a brave prince who slays the dragon or awakens a sleeping maiden, journeying into the darkness, facing trial, tempting fate and risking death—returning transformed or achieving prosperity or liberation for others.

C.S. Lewis noticed, too, how these patterns show up in fairy tales and myths across every culture and century, independent of one another.  He was then—an atheist—when, after struggling to square them with reality, on a famous walk with his friend J.R.R. Tolkien—a Christian—explained that all those stories echo a deeper story underneath every story.  That God has “put eternity into the hearts of man,” our hearts, recognizing the faint reflections of the true narrative—the truth underpinning every hero’s journey formula.

Tolkien said the Gospel is the “true myth”—not a made-up tale, but the myth with explanatory power for the whole world... One that actually happened.  Our hero doesn’t just point to rescue; He is the rescue.  He leaves glory, enters our broken ordinary world, faces the dragon of sin and death, descends into the grave, rises victorious, and returns us to life everlasting.

Well, friends, that’s our story too.  The Creed we’ve confessed isn’t dry doctrine—it’s the true myth that was, at the foundation of the earth, and has indeed become fact.  Jesus is the Hero we’ve always longed for, the One who turns our “ordinary world” into the beginning of everlasting life.  And that’s exactly why the Creed ends where it does—with life everlasting.  Not as wishful thinking, but as the certain climax of the Story God has been telling since Genesis 1.

And here’s what that means for your Monday: When life feels like a dead-end trial, remember—you’re not the hero who has to save the day.  You’re in the Hero’s story, you’re His prize.  Confess it, live it, pass it on.  The best really is yet to come.