[00:00:00] Today we'll start what I plan to be a complete line-by-line series on the Apostles' Creed. No history or background today, we'll just start at the top.
Welcome to 3onefive, where we're talking on apologetics, biblical studies, and worldview. Just one point, 15 minutes or less. I'm Jones Oliver
So let's jump right on in with the question: What do you believe? When new believers were baptized in the early church, that church we think of in the first few centuries following the life of Christ, when they were baptized, they'd be asked the question: What do you believe? And what followed was a personal confession that began with the words, "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth."
Now, of course, many recognize these simple words as the opening phrase, the Apostle's Creed.
Romans ten, nine: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Now, I don't think it's coincidental that confess and believe are tied together here in this letter from Paul. So today I'd like to focus on this simple phrase, "I believe," from [00:01:00] the Apostle's Creed.
And I do agree with Albert Mohler when he says, "these two words are among the most explosive words any human can utter." In our brief time today, I'd like to break this two-word phrase into three main points: pronoun, worldview, application.
The first is, why is the pronoun I used instead of we?
Now, I may seem like a funny place to start today, but fundamentally we know that confession is personal. It's not we, because we don't believe. Our belief isn't dependent on each other. I can't believe for you, You can't believe for the person sitting next to you, or for those that you so often pray for to know Jesus as their Savior. That said, when we do confess together, I believe we're galvanizing together with a common faith within a local church, members of a larger visible church, the body of Christ.
But on a side note, you will see other confessions that use we. Why is that? I can't say for certain, but the pattern I see is that the Apostles' Creed was written and edited with a single believer in mind, used to teach and establish a structure of faith.
The other [00:02:00] creeds that we often refer to were written at critical moments in church history, at councils by a group defending against a heresy or false teaching. In this case, the group that presented the defense is represented by we.
We see that example with the Nicene Creed
And our second point today, your belief is reflected in your worldview. We did introduce worldviews in episode two, so if you'd like a refresher on that, go check it out.
Back to our verse from Romans 1:9 clearly shows us that our confession is tied to our belief. Now, I'm not talking about a let go and let God belief. This is not a God said it, I believe it, that settles it. This I believe is not a statement of faith without evidence, but it's a statement that has held up to 20 centuries of scrutiny and found to be true. But our culture wants none of that and goes on to simply parrot Pilate when it asks, "What is truth?"
The Bible is not simply a preference over other religious material. This God is not simply a preference over studying anything else. When we say it's true, we don't mean that may be true for you, but not true for me.
When we state that we believe in God, the Father [00:03:00] Almighty, when we say we believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, when we say we believe in the Holy Spirit, we defy relativism.
We defy this culture's worldview. We defy, "Did God really say?" Instead, we admit we're sinners and that we need a Savior. We're saying that, that there is truth, that it has a baseline, that it doesn't move. We're saying that there is an ultimate source of this truth, and it's not within us. When we say, "I believe," we're confessing the truth and salvation through Christ alone
But as Jesus told Peter, and we have to take note of this, it's not by worldly means that we have come to know this, but it's been revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. And because of this, we come to this understanding humbly.
But we also recognize that this I believe is not simply an intellectual exercise.
It's not a textbook. This is not simply Trivial Pursuit, the Bible edition. This believe is a verb.
And this brings us to today's third and final point. This believe manifests itself in fruit Now you might be [00:04:00] thinking, "Certainly we're not saved by works, we're saved by faith." And certainly someone will quote, "For by grace you've been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing.
It's the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." And that is true. But Paul also continues in that same passage in Ephesians, " For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." The key phrase here, "created for good works."
I like what Matthew Henry writes about this: "Wherever God by his grace implants good principles, they are intended to be for good works." In other words, good works or good fruit are the evidence of a life redeemed, the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith Yet we must note we receive no merit for these works. Our good works, our labors, our fruit are simply worship and praise. If we go back to the garden, how can we imagine any other way? Before sin, the command was to work and keep the garden. Without sin, how could that [00:05:00] labor be anything but worship and praise to our Creator?
If we look ahead to the new heavens and new earth, free of sin, will our activities be works or worship? I would say worship. But sin, as we know, corrupts that model. Our works, our worship to God pivoted, and our minds became set on earthly things. Yet Jesus redeemed His people so that we could put off the old self and put on the new self, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
Martin Luther summed it up well when he said, "Our works do not generate righteousness. Rather, our righteousness in Christ generates works."
There are two sides to this coin. It's also by fruits that we measure false teachers. Are grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.
And we're left with this warning, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire
so our belief bears fruit. That leaves the question, what does that look like? These good [00:06:00] works, they're the outworking of a visibly changed life. It's fundamentally a changed character. In summary, these words, if you will, are catalyzed by the two greatest commandments: you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, skillfully describe what works of the flesh look like, and then shows us the free gift of the fruit of the Spirit. Ultimately, Paul's teaching against any work that tries to justify, earn, or assure ourselves of a salvation.
And that love can only come by way of the Spirit, that indwelling of the Spirit secured by Christ's work of justification on the cross
In closing, the Apostles' Creed is a personal confession of a Christian's true faith. It's a confession of sin, it's worship, and it's praise.
So even if your prayer is, "I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief," start there
thank you for listening. Till next time [00:07:00]
