The Apostle's Creed Series #1

"I Believe"
Romans 1 :16-17

The choir just sang a beautiful anthem with wonderful words: I believe in joy...I believe in hope... I believe in peace... I believe in love... Lord, I believe!

"Lord, I believe!" Those are powerful words in any age. Those words can become a source of great friction when they are used to put others down. However, they can be a source of great comfort and strength when backed by truth and experience. The words, "I believe" remind us that we live in a world grounded by some things important. Week after week we gather in worship and recite with one another the Apostle’s Creed, which begins with those same two words, "I believe." With that we say, "These statements are important. They are bedrock. They ground my life in something real.

As many of you know, the Apostles’ Creed is one of the oldest creeds of the Christians faith. In the early church it was used as a sort of primer for teaching new believers the basics of the Christian faith. At their baptism, they would be read each of the phrases of the Apostles’ Creed and then asked if they affirmed this as their faith.

The early church also used the Apostles’ Creed in worship much as we do, to help those gathering express in worship their common confession in the one true God. Every time we recite the Apostle’s Creed we are reminded that we are not alone in our beliefs; we are connected to millions around the world who believe the same, as well as to all those who have gone before throughout the ages. Our faith has roots and history.

Some ask, "Why do we even need a creed if we have the Bible?" Some have chastened us for using a "manmade creed" instead of God’s Holy Word alone. However, there are four good reasons that creeds developed in the early church and continue today:

1) The creeds help the church distinguish truth from error (what we believe.)

2) They provide a basis for refuting heresy (what we don’t believe.)

3) They provide a basis for Christian fellowship. There is no unity without common beliefs.

4) They ensure consistent teaching among all the churches. There is something comforting about going to a Christian church in another city or nation, affirming with them the words, "I believe," and knowing that you are among God’s family.

Over the next few weeks I want to look with you at the various phrases of the Apostles’ Creed, the key tenants of our faith, to see how these biblical truths relate to our daily lives. This morning I want to begin by focusing on perhaps the most important and the most difficult words in the entire creed: "I believe."

We live in a strange time when the very concept of belief is under fire. There are some who believe that faith itself is dangerous. One of the basic premises of Dawkin’s best-selling book The God Delusion is that religious belief in general is the root of most of the problems in the modern world. Anyone who believes in absolute truth is dangerous. If you divide the world into people who are right and people who are wrong, you’re a problem. You are a social threat.

Finally, there are those who just don’t know what to believe. Consider this quote from a young man when asked what he believed: "I don’t know what I believe in. I guess I believe there’s some Higher Power, but I don’t know fro sure. Right now I’m at a point where I don’t know what to believe, so I’m open to everything. I like to believe in everything, because I don’t know what it is I truly believe in." Well, he’s right about that anyway.

There was a time in Israel's history when they were just a group of loosely affiliated tribes. The book of Judges describes it as a time when "...everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6). It was a time of chaos. Even today, if we don’t believe anything, or try to believe everything, or just don’t know what to believe, we risk living lives of chaos.

Against this, Jesus said that what we believe is important in every way that matters. When He said in Mark 16:16, "Whoever believes in me will be saved," he also said, "...but whoever does not believe will be condemned." Jesus also said in John 6:29, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." In Romans 1:16, Paul declared that the gospel is "...the power of God that brings salvation to "everyone who believes." He said in Romans 3:22, "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." He hammered in the importance fo belief in Romans 10:9-10 when he said, "If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart (that is, from the depth of your being) that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Peter said in 1 Peter 1:8, "Though you have not seen him (Jesus), you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy..." Is there any doubt that what we believe is important? Not surprisingly, before they were called Christians, followers of Jesus were called "believers". What set them apart from the rest of the world was not their morals but their belief that Jesus was the Son of God, who died and rose again.

When we recite the Apostle’s Creed and say "I believe", we are not simply saying that we believe these things to be true for us, but that we believe them to be true, period! These statements are what we believe to be the truth about God, about Christ, about the Holy Spirit, about the Church, about reality. Unfortunately, too many Christians believe that it is perfectly fine to pick and choose what to believe and what not to believe. Do you with your scientific mind set find it hard to believe in miracles? Fine! Just cast out all references to the supernatural, from the resurrection to the virgin birth, and focus instead only on Jesus’ moral teachings. Some say, "I have a hard time believing in judgement." Others say, "I have a hard time accepting the need for atonement." Well, friends, the issue is not whether or not you have a hard time believing some things. The real issue is whether or not these things are true! Some will say, "No one can know truth for certain, so no one can claim that there is an absolute truth." Friends, it is OK to question ideas and to challenge beliefs. That is how we learn and grow. Let’s just be sure we are fair about it. C.S. Lewis once wrote, "I do not wish to reduce the sceptical element in your minds. I am only suggesting that it need not be reserved exclusively for the New Testament and the Creeds. Try doubting something else. Try doubting what your sceptical peers, parents, media or teachers say about God, truth, the Bible and the purpose of life. Try doubting your own intellect or heart. You’ve been wrong about things before. Doubt your belief that you are competent to run your own life. But not only that, I would also counsel you to make a genuine effort to seek God.

Friends, Christianity ultimately is not about morals and lifestyle, nor is it simply about going to church and practicing religion. It is about belief. It is about faith in certain claims and truths, and then basing our lives and our hopes on those truths. We will have plenty of time in the next several weeks to explore all these beliefs in some detail. For now. Let us join with other Christians throughout the ages and around the world in affirming this faith that truly binds us together as one:

"I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; the third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen"