What We Believe: The Church, the Last Things

Introduction

Tonight, what we’re doing is finishing off our look at the Apostle’s Creed. It’s been a long term, with much going on. By now, what I hope you’ve been able to see is the basics of Christian faith. Remember, in the first session, we looked at the nature of belief. We saw that it had three parts, knowledge, obedience and love. Now, at this point, today, you have everything you need in terms of knowledge. You’ve heard about God, who he is and what he’s done.

You’ve especially seen who Jesus is. Two weeks ago, we saw that Jesus is the one who is the Son of David, the king who was promised in the line of David who would reestablish a kingdom for God, and that kingdom would have no end. Similarly, he is the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, through whom God saw fit to create everything, and who works in perfect unity with God. So, this Jesus isn’t just an important person. According to the Bible, he is actually God himself, come in human flesh to redeem the world. We see this as well in Jesus’ third title, the Son of Man. This is a reference to Daniel 7:13-14. This chapter describes one like the Son of Man who comes on the clouds and is given the authority to rule. By calling himself the Son of Man, Jesus takes that role onto himself.

The creed helped us to see that this was true by pointing to two parts of Jesus’ life that showed us who he is and what he has done. The first was his virgin birth. Jesus’ mother didn’t have sex to produce him, but he came about through the work of the Holy Spirit. Secondly, he died on a cross and rose again. This is significant because it brought about the forgiveness of all our sins.

Then the creed spoke about what this means for us. We saw that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God, where he intercedes for us. In other words, Jesus is next to God, applying the work he did on the cross to us. He is reminding the Father that he bought us on the cross, that there our sins are paid. And thus we get to enjoy God’s fatherhood and favour.

We also saw how Jesus’ life, death and resurrection opened the way for the Spirit to come, who leads us and guides us into all godliness and life. Through what Jesus has done, we have the immense privilege of having a full member of the Godhead living inside us, using us as his own temple.

Finally, we saw how Jesus is coming at the end of time to judge the living and the dead, and we saw how that’s a good thing because that judgement brings us into freedom if we’re in Christ, and punishes the wrongdoings of those who aren’t in Christ. All things, on this understanding of the world, are going to be made new in Jesus, and when they’re made new all that was bad about the old things is going to be washed away, through his judgement.

Today we’re going to finish off looking at this creed, and we’re going to do that by looking at three things:

The church

The forgiveness of sins

The resurrection and the life to come.

The Church

Our first item is to look at what the creed says with regard to the church. So, let’s read it, and then we’ll unpack it through the teaching of Scripture. The creed explicitly says “I believe … in Christ’s holy universal church, the fellowship of Christians”. There are three parts to this. The church is holy, universal, and the fellowship of Christians.

So firstly, what do you understand by the idea of holiness? What does it mean for something to be holy?

The word basically just means set apart. Often, in modern English, set apart for God.

So, what does it mean for the church to be holy?

It is set apart for God.

This is an idea we find throughout the Bible. Post-fall, God’s community is always called holy. They are called to be different from the mass of humanity around them. For example, in Exodus 19:6 and Isaiah 62:12 God is speaking about his people, the nation of Israel, and how he desires that they be a holy people.

Isaiah 62:12 NIV

They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted.

Exodus 19:6 NIV

you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

For Israel, this means that they are to be set apart for God. This is why we have the whole book of Leviticus, full of its laws, including the strange ones like not cutting your hair a certain way and not having tattoos. These laws, alongside the laws about religious festivals and moral concerns, were designed to mark the people of Israel as separate from their neighbours. They are not arbitrary, but designed to be outward markers of Israel’s difference from the nations surrounding them.

So, like Israel, the church is to be distinctive. They are to be marked out from the rest of the world. How are we to be distinctive today? Obviously, it’s not the same for us because we’re no longer one nation. Well, the church is to be marked by one important idea, that has many implications. Let’s look at John 13:34-35

John 13:34–35 NIV

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

This is what marks, or at least, should mark the church out today. Love, for both the people in the church and more importantly, for the God of the church. That is how we are to be marked out.

How many people are in God’s church? Is it still national, like it used to be?

To answer, look with me at Galatians 3:26-29

Galatians 3:26–29 NIV

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

You see here, all types of people belong to Christ, and all types of people belong to his church. That’s why the church is not only holy, but universal. It is present everywhere somebody confesses the name of Jesus. And its power is there as well.

The last thing we are looking at under this section is the fellowship of believers. To look at this, let’s take a look at a rather long section: Ephesians 4:1-6

Ephesians 4:1–6 NIV

1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

This passage here describes the ideal of church life. Our life is to be worthy of our calling, which is the gospel that saved us (v1). Look at the things that mark a life like this. We are to be humble and gentle with one another, patient and bearing with each other. We are to be unified, like the unity of our faith.

Look as well at Ephesians 4:11-13, because this is an important descriptor of another thing that must happen for us in the church.

Ephesians 4:11–13 NIV

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

We are given teachers who instruct us in the Bible, so that we may come to know God more, and in so doing become holier. So, the church should be a place where you are loved, treated well, recognised. But also a place where God works to save you, bring you closer to himself and challenge you in your sin.

The Forgiveness of Sins

Along these lines, the next thing the creed says is that we believe in the forgiveness of sins. Why does this get mentioned by itself? Well, because it’s one of the most important doctrines in the whole of Christianity. Let’s take a look at how.

The first thing we need to do is understand sin. The best place to do that is to look at the word itself. The word in both Hebrew and Greek that we translate sin mean missing the mark. They are properly used of archers who stray from a target, or anythign like that. So, from this we get that to sin means to miss the mark. What mark is that?

Romans 1-3, after introducing us to Paul and his mission, are there to help people understand why that mission is so important. In this section of the letter, Paul sets about proving that everybody, both Jews and Gentiles, have sinned, that is, they hae missed the mark, and his sobering conclusion is found in Romans 3:10-11

Romans 3:10–11 NIV

10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.

So, that’s what sin is. Now, what do you think it means for sins to be forgiven?

To forgive something is basically to decide that you are not going to exact payment for that thing from the person who owes it to you. So, outside the Bible, the most common use of the word is in finance, where you can forgive a debt. You basically decide you’re not going to collect on that debt.

So, following this, to forgive a sin is when God decides not to punish somebody for the sins they have committed. This is what the Bible tells us in 1 John 1:9

1 John 1:9 NIV

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

But that’s not the whole story. You’ll notice, even in the financial example, that the debt doesn’t ever totally disappear. Somebody always has to pay the debt. It’s just that when the debt is forgiven, the person who was owed the money “pays” it.

It’s the same with sins. Even though we don’t pay the debt of our sins, there is still a debt that sin creates that needs to be paid. So, when sins are forgiven, who pays the debt?

If you’ve been to church at any point, you’ll know that the answer is Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross, he did so as the payment for our sins. On account of this, we have the ability to come to God as people fully and completely forgiven.

The Resurrection of the Dead

The last thing our creed touches on is a direct result of the forgiveness of sins. We’re talking about the resurrection of the dead. Now, if you remember, we spoke about this at some point last year. The Bible doesn’t end with everybody enjoying spiritual life on a cloud, a la the Simpsons.

No, the Bible speaks about a wholly different view of the end of days. And it involves the resurrection of the dead. Look at Daniel 12:1-2

Daniel 12:1–2 NIV

1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.

Notice v2 in particular. Some will rise to life, and some to death. And who will be the judge of that? Well, take a look at John 5:27-29

John 5:27–29 NIV

27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. 28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.

Do you see this, the Son of Man will be the judge. Who is the Son of Man?

Jesus. So you see, the judgement of the last days we spoke about last week is this time when the living and the dead will be judged.

And why do you think it will be good to be resurrected? Look at 1 Corinthians 15:42-44

1 Corinthians 15:42–44 NIV

42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

See, we have a spiritual body coming. This doesn’t mean that the body isn’t physical. In Pauline theology, the natural flesh is a word-picture meaning the natural sinful inclination of the heart, and is contrasted with the spiritual, which refers to that which has been conformed to God. So this body, despite being physical, is unmarred by sin and decay. It is perfect and beautiful, and we will enjoy it forever.

Application:

So, what from this study can we use? Well, the most important part is that of the church, because that has the most to do with the daily practice of our Christian lives. The church is God’s chosen place for us to meet together, to get to know and encourage one another as we are taught the word of God. That’s the purpose of the church. And so the question is: Are you plugged in? Are you joined to a local body? Do you have people sitting over you?

Remember that your sins are forgiven. Let this make you a more forgiving person.

Understand that, with this end in mind, you can trust the rest to God.