Welcome, brothers and sisters.
This will be our final class on the creeds.
!
Father in heaven, Lord, we thank you for your rich example of faithfulness, Lord, to your church.
Lord, that the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
Father, that you have been faithful in the past, and so we can be assured that you will be faithful today.
And that you will guard us, protect us, and that you will bring us safely home.
Father, we pray that today will be edifying.
Lord, there be unity and love.
And, Father, just sincere thankfulness toward you.
We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
All right.
Well, ignore this for another 10, 15 minutes.
So today, this year marks the 1700th year of the Nicene Creed.
And Christians around the world have been pausing,
using this as an opportunity to reflect, again, at the rich heritage of the creeds that we have.
And creeds, if you recall, come from the word credo.
I believe, believing, confessing.
These are truths that God calls the church to believe and confess.
And in this class, I'm going to use the word creeds and confessions almost synonymously.
They're very similar in function.
It's been said confessions are about what we believe.
Creeds are about in whom we believe.
Creeds tend to be more ecumenical in the early church, universal in nature.
Confessions, on the other hand, come from the Protestant Reformation and tend to be more comprehensive.
There might be a more surgical way of distinguishing creeds and confessions,
but that's just a roadmap for us.
And we do have a rich heritage that reminds us that we join an assembly of believers across the ages,
both saints today and saints from yesterday, from the past.
As we're thinking about this, in the old world,
Christians often created graveyards on church property,
mostly in the UK, but here in Connecticut as well.
And it was a reminder that when you came to church,
that you join the communion of saints,
present and the past.
You walk into church,
and you join the saints who have gone before us,
those who have departed to a better place.
And being a member of the church universal is to be a part of that community,
a community that stretches back to antiquity.
And we're united in the faith that we confess.
And I've been encouraged just throughout this class
where we stand in line with generations of Christians
who believe the same things we believe today.
That should be a rich encouragement for us.
So let me recap some of what we've discussed,
and then we're going to pivot and look at creeds for today.
And when we discuss the creeds,
Christians can either have a healthy or an unhealthy relationship to the past.
An unhealthy relationship to the past is when we elevate traditions to the place of Scripture,
where we begin to venerate human teachers.
Or on the flip side, an unhealthy relationship to the past is when we try to reinvent the wheel every Sunday.
A healthy respect means we recognize that the Spirit of God has been at work in the church.
Every age, every generation of Christians are called to study, proclaim, and live out the Scripture.
But we have healthy models from our brothers and sisters in Christ
who have taken God's Word, applied it to the challenges of their day,
and we need to pay attention and learn from their example.
That's a healthy relationship to the past,
where we stand on the shoulder of giants.
You know, when there's a crisis,
you're going to have Scripture come to mind, right?
But what else?
Hymns will start to come to mind.
Maybe it is well, great is thy faithfulness.
And in sickness and chronic struggles,
how many times have people quoted as a comfort Heidelberg Catechism?
What is my only comfort in life and death?
Maybe some of you have quoted that answer,
that I am not my own,
but belong body and soul in life and in death
to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.
So in clear, powerful words,
this reminds us that we can rejoice
because we belong to the One who laid down His life for us.
True comfort and assurance.
Again, not Scripture.
And the Heidelberg Catechism wouldn't claim to be Scripture.
But maybe that statement reminds you of John 10,
where Jesus said,
I am the Good Shepherd.
The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
Or maybe it reminds you of Psalm 100, verse 3.
Know that the Lord, He is God.
It is He who made us, and we are His,
and we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
In the same way,
martyrs march to their death,
reciting the words of the creeds.
Again, not Scripture.
Remember, these creeds are helpful summaries
of biblical teaching.
Going back to our first class,
this is not the inspired, authoritative Word of God.
It's not additional, special revelation.
We do not claim infallibility for creeds.
Yet these creeds are helpful summaries.
They're hearing aids to help us strengthen
our understanding of the Scripture.
And these are summaries.
They're doctrinal aspirations of the Church.
Here's what we believe.
Here's what we aspire to.
When you come into our Church,
here's what you can expect to be taught.
We're not replacing Scripture.
We're using them as helpful summaries.
And so if someone asks you a question,
you know, who is Jesus?
What does it mean to be a Christian?
What is the Church?
What role do good works have in the Christian life?
You could say, well, you know,
I believe in what the New Testament teaches
on those things.
Okay.
And you could just start from Genesis 1-1
and start citing a list of Bible verses.
That's one way of doing that.
Or you could do what most people do,
and you start to summarize
of what the Bible teaches.
But as soon as we say to summarize,
we're moving in the direction of creedal statements.
In our second class,
we discussed how creeds were used by Christians
in the early Church.
We talked about people like Irenaeus
and Tertullian and Ignatius,
and who used the rule of faith
to summarize those matters
which were at the heartbeat of their faith.
The rule had things like the Trinity
and creation, God's grace,
Christ's incarnation,
his suffering, his resurrection,
the ascension,
his second coming in judgment.
They emphasized Jesus was really,
really, really, really human
in contrast to the heresies of their day.
And just like laws that are passed
after an offense,
creeds were often a response against heresy,
where theological error forced the Church
into articulating theological clarity.
I remember Raul said,
creeds are not intellectualistic.
You know, someone sitting in their study,
it's because from within and without,
they are clarifying,
because there's a threat to the Church.
And we talked about the Nicene Creed,
a response against Arianism.
You know, Aria said the Son was highly exalted,
even a divine figure,
but a creature, nonetheless.
There was a time when the Son was not.
And we saw Aria used evasive language,
maybe similar to Jehovah's Witnesses today.
But the Church had to formulate terminology
that became a guardrail to protect the Church.
Christ is of the same substance as the Father.
And we talk about Constantinople,
response to those who deny the divinity of the Holy Spirit,
or Chalcinon,
a response to the nature of Jesus,
fully God and fully man,
the hypostatic union.
So that's what we've been discussing
as these last six weeks.
So let's pivot for creed for today.
Are creeds still relevant?
One way we could say this,
to creed or not to creed?
That is the question.
Like Shakespeare,
we're thinking about creeds.
So first, I think three things
I want us to consider together.
First, I'm going to suggest
that creeds protect against authoritarianism in churches.
Authoritarianism in churches.
Second, we're going to discuss
how the Apostles' Creed
speaks to modern cultural issues.
And third, we're going to conclude
by looking at future creeds.
Creeds that have not yet been written.
So before we do that,
let's make sure that we don't miss the wood from the trees.
This is a reminder for myself, as it were.
If the creeds are large red oaks
that have withstood the test of time
in God's kingdom,
it's not the main tree, right?
It's not the gospel.
So let's keep the main thing the main thing.
There are godly Christians
who disagree
about the use of creeds.
And you know what?
We'll spend eternity with them.
This is an inner family conversation.
All right?
And more liturgical
Protestant traditions,
our brothers and sisters
in Lutheran traditions,
the Presbyterians,
Anglicans,
some Baptists,
creeds are used
within churches.
not only for protecting doctrine,
but teaching it
to help memorize
these fundamental truths.
And you'll often hear
that Baptists do not recite creeds.
Well, that might be true
of many Baptists in America today,
but that historically
has not been the case.
There's kind of been a fear
that only Roman Catholics
recite creeds.
We're Bible people.
Baptists are an an electric bunch, right?
So we are,
it's a wide tent.
And we have brothers and sisters
who are Baptists
who we love.
They're good Christians
who love the Lord,
love the gospel,
who disagree with the use of creeds.
And that's okay.
I just want to keep
the main thing the main thing,
that we both love Jesus
and we're committed
to the authority of Scripture.
But I want to suggest
that creeds protect
against authoritarianism
in churches.
Because, you know,
every church has a creed.
And even the pastor
who gets up to the pulpit
and claims,
we have no creed,
but the Bible
actually has a creed.
And I've been influenced
by Carl Truman
on this question.
And he has a book
called The Creedal Imperative
where he writes this.
The only difference
between someone
who claims no creed,
but the Bible,
and a creedalist
is this.
The creedalist
writes his creed down.
What he,
the non-creedalist,
really should say
is this.
I have a creed,
but I am not going
to write it down.
So you cannot critique it
or test it by the Scripture.
And I am going
to identify my creed
so closely
with the Bible
that I am not going
to be able
to critique it either.
So in other words,
he's saying,
when we refuse
to acknowledge
our own framework,
framework,
we refuse actually
for an opportunity
for others
to publicly scrutinize
what we as a church believe.
So creeds actually
help to avoid
authoritarian leaders
in churches.
How?
Well, every church
has boundaries.
Every church
draws boundaries.
And when you write
it down,
when you write
those boundaries down,
you give others
the benefit
of knowing
where those boundaries are.
And I wonder
if you've ever been
in a church
where there's
just underground landmines
where you actually
don't know
where those boundaries are
until you've crossed it.
And worse than that,
one person can change
that boundary in secret.
So rather than having
above-ground fences
where it's a clearly
delineation of
here's what we
as a church believe,
you have people
who are afraid
of abandoning
of crossing boundaries,
but they're not actually
quite sure where those are.
And I think historically,
J.A. Packer,
he wrote that
historic creeds
assist the church
in carrying out
four principal responsibilities.
The first is disciplinary,
so guarding.
You're guarding
the truth from error.
The second is doxological
or worship.
Third is declarative,
witnessing.
And fourth is didactic
or teaching
or instruction.
So that's how the creeds
have normally been used.
And so for today,
I want to consider witnessing.
How does the Apostles' Creed
help us to witness?
And can the Apostles' Creed
speak to our modern challenges?
So in North America,
you know,
there's been a general idea,
I would say,
within the past 100 years,
maybe, of course,
farther back than that,
of what constitutes
Christian belief.
It's often been assumed,
right?
But for various reasons,
we've entered into
a consciously post-Christian,
even anti-Christian outlook.
So when churches
recite,
share the gospel
and evangelism,
they'll often use
something called
the Romans' road.
And I want us to talk
about that together.
The Romans' road
to evangelism,
where they present
the gospel
to a non-believer.
The ABC method,
admit,
believe,
confess.
All right?
And the Romans' road
typically goes like this.
Okay,
admit that you are a sinner.
And they recite Romans,
chapter 3,
verse 23.
All have sinned
and fall short
of the glory of God.
And they'll say,
well,
and then believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ
and you will be saved.
And believe that
He laid His life down
for sinners.
And then third,
confess Jesus
as the risen Lord
and He will welcome you
into heaven.
Okay,
so you may have seen
some of these ways
of presenting the gospel.
But let me ask this question
to all for all of us here.
What information
do you think
this assumes
about the non-Christian hearer
who is listening to this?
What are we assuming
about that?
Luke.
Yes, exactly.
I mean,
this kind of makes
no sense
if you don't know
what a sinner is
or what an idea of sin.
Exactly.
Anything else?
That they know
who Jesus is?
Like what He said
about Himself?
Yep.
Jesus
is undefined here.
Yep.
Excuse me?
God loves you
and has a wonderful
plan for your life.
This certainly
could create
a whole bunch
of pastoral issues
down the line.
Yes.
Anything else?
It assumes
that the modern reader
or hearer
acknowledges
the existence
of the biblical God.
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
Yeah,
that God has certain demands
on your life.
Yeah.
When a person
is suppressing
the truth
and unrighteousness,
all of this
doesn't mean anything.
He doesn't believe
miracles.
His conscience
is seared maybe.
Mm-hmm.
It's a smorgasbord
of belief
that you believe
and doesn't mean
a thing to me.
Right.
I'm trying to find out
where I'm going to get
my next meal.
You're talking about
a guy that rose
to the dead.
Yes.
Yeah.
So I would suggest
that the ABC method
is not enough
in our current day.
The gospel call
is not understood.
There's an ignorance
of who God is.
So if you told a pagan
that Jesus was Lord,
you know,
they might think,
okay,
he's one of many options.
And the problem,
this problem ran deep
in the early church
in the Roman Empire.
And so the Apostles' Creed
was actually born
as an instrument
for evangelism.
All right.
So do you think
you can find the gospel
in the Apostles' Creed?
Anybody want to give a shot?
Is the gospel in there?
Yeah.
Forgiveness of sins,
communion of the saints,
he ascended into heaven,
he's sitting at the right hand
of the Father,
he will come and judge
the living and the dead.
Mm-hmm.
Right.
It starts with creation.
God is the maker of everything,
including ourselves.
And the Father's care
for everything
is of heaven and earth.
And so he's Lord over it all.
Then the incarnation,
right,
the Son stepping down
into creation,
his humiliation,
into death,
and his resurrection.
He's reigning,
soon returning
as royal judge.
And what was his mission?
To suffer,
to die for the forgiveness
of sins.
And we have the Spirit's power
in our lives.
And we're going to talk more
about this section particularly.
And we have a future hope.
So really what the Apostles' Creed
is doing,
and you can make sense
why the writers of the Creed
would need to have this
written down,
is that they're providing
a biblical theology
of creation, fall,
redemption,
and restoration.
And it's giving content
to the entire scheme
of the biblical storyline.
And it's radically God-centered
and it requires
a reorientation
of our entire lives
when we confess
that Jesus is Lord.
And so I think
that schema
would be helpful
for people today
who don't understand
this part,
especially that God
is the creator.
Or who Jesus was.
And I think
it also does something
else besides
providing biblical theology.
And I've been reflecting
on Tim Keller's words
before he died
in his writing
on church renewal.
He wrote about the idea
of the church
needing to do
counter-catechesis.
And counter-catechesis
is what the church
has always done.
And it's using
biblical doctrine
to deconstruct
the beliefs
of the culture
around us
and then provide
alternative narratives
to the secular narratives.
So counter-catechesis,
he's not saying
using actual Q&A catechesis.
He's just saying
we need to provide
a Christian narrative
of what's most true
in the world
over and again
secular narratives
that are bombarding us
every day.
And I think
we can do better.
Those have still
yet to be written.
But I think
the Apostles' Creed
actually helps with that.
It helps us
to understand
the kind of world
we live in.
It helps us
to understand
a counter-narrative
of what's most true
in the world.
And as pilgrims,
we need to avoid
being squeezed
into the mold
of this world
but constantly
being renewed
by the...
renewing our mind
with God's truth.
And so,
I want us to consider
the Apostles' Creed
almost in a
counter-catechetical way
where we're
contrasting it
with secular creeds.
And so,
let's consider
the secular creed
together.
So this month,
Pride Month,
is almost a liturgical
calendar
to a modern
secular creed.
Rebecca McLaughlin
has called
one creed
you might see
during the election day,
during the election season,
where you might see
a sign like this.
It says,
In this house
we believe,
so credo,
we believe
black lives matter.
Women's rights
are human rights.
No human
is illegal.
Science is real.
Love is love.
Kindness is everything.
Right?
So we've gone
from an age
of moral relativism
to an age
concerned
acutely
with issues
of what is
of justice,
of what is
right and wrong.
And that is a creed.
That's a secular creed,
as Rebecca says.
And the point
isn't to disentangle
these ideas
but just to recognize
we live in a very
creedal age.
And we face
challenges
of rival
conceptions
of what is
most true
of things like
rising individualism
and autonomy
and freedom.
Everyone has
the right
to decide
what's right
for them.
That's true
freedom,
right?
Throw off
traditions
and expectations.
Let what's
inside of you
come outside.
Our biggest
problem
could be
political repression,
trauma from your past,
people's judgmental
attitudes.
the problem
comes from
outside of you.
And Charles Taylor
calls this ethic
expressive individualism.
It's a story
we live by.
It's the air
we breathe.
And Pride Month
is almost an annual
liturgical calendar
where we can
act these beliefs
out as a culture.
But on top of that,
the secular creed
has a very
has an understanding
of power
that would be
different than
what I think
Christians'
idea of power
is.
Where in the
secular creed,
the idea of power
is almost always
harmful.
You know,
freedom is the
ability to do
what you want
and power
is the ability
to make others
do what you want.
Christianity
is just a raw
form of power
to control
and to oppress.
And according
to some,
everything can be
reduced to matters
of power.
Who has it?
Who doesn't have it?
And any use
of power
power is
of a dominant
group maintaining
its state of
dominance by imposing
its control.
And power
invokes negative
emotion that's
damaging,
it's bad.
It's like a sheep
in the jaws
of a tiger.
Many find
themselves in the
jaws of an
abusive leader,
an abusive
pastor who abuses
the sheep.
But the creed
has a lot to say
about power
and how Christians
understand power.
And I'm indebted
to our brother
from down under,
Reese Bezant
for his thoughts
on this.
After all,
what is power?
What does the
scripture say
about power?
And do you have
any thoughts?
I would say
certainly there
are examples
of leaders
using their power
to enslave
its victims.
Think of Pharaoh
and the Israelites.
But the scripture
also has a lot
more to say
about what is power.
And the creed
is going to get
into this.
The scripture
says the gospel
is the power
of God.
So according
to the gospel,
God's power
actually brings
life.
And Jesus
uses his power
to rescue
captives
and to set
them free.
So power,
according to the
scripture,
can actually
heal creation.
And things
can be powerful
and they can
bring life.
So think
about a
defibrillator
restarting
someone's heart.
Powerful.
Think about
a helicopter
rescuing
a sick
patient,
airlifting
them to
the hospital
to get
the care
they need.
Think of
the power
of a
compassionate
leader
who stands
up for
those whom
God has
called to
protect.
That's power.
And according
to the scripture,
by God's power,
Jesus was
raised from
the dead.
And the
power of
the gospel
raises
those who
are dead
to new
life.
Right?
He who
raised Jesus
from the dead
will also give
life to your
mortal bodies.
Paul says,
in this
same power
is the
same power
working in
your heart,
brother and
sister,
by the
Holy Spirit.
The power
of God
brings
perseverance.
So,
according to
the
scripture,
God's
power
brings
healing.
And let's
consider the
last part
of the
creed
together.
here.
I don't
know if
that's...
I think
I can...
Here we go.
Try it
again.
Here we go.
There it was.
It was.
I hope you
memorized it.
Okay.
It's okay.
So powerful.
There we go.
Okay.
So I want us
to consider this
section together.
I believe in the
Holy Spirit.
And the sentences
that follow are all
about the Holy
Spirit's power
and how the
Spirit works
powerfully to
help us in our
lives to live
lives to the
glory of God.
The Holy Spirit
is working
powerfully in
our lives.
To consider
2 Timothy
chapter 1
verse 7,
God gave us
not a spirit
of fear but
of power,
of love and
self-control.
The Spirit
brings power
but it's a
different kind
of power,
isn't it?
It's a power
that the world
does not have
a category for.
So how does
the Spirit
work powerfully?
The writer
of the creed
start with,
I believe in
the Holy
Catholic
or Universal
Church.
Where is
God's power
most evident?
God's power
most evident
in the world.
Where is
His power
most evident?
As we see
God's power
working itself
out,
what is
God's primary
strategy to
make us like
Christ?
Well, it's
the church,
isn't it?
This is a place
where God's
power is
evident.
And the
gospel is
the power
of God
which saves
us.
But week
after week
the gospel
is applied
to all
of life
as we
become more
like Christ,
more holy.
It's a holy
church.
We belong to
the holy
universal
church,
a people
for God's
own possession.
sin.
You know,
one of my
favorite
descriptions of
the church
is in
Ephesians 1
verse 23
where Paul
says the
church is
the fullness
of Him
who fills
all in all.
The church
is where
Christ dwells
and is made
manifest.
This is where
His presence
is known.
So where is
God powerfully
working?
He's working
in the church,
isn't He?
And isn't
it sad
in our
modern day
that,
you know,
for example,
after COVID
there are some
who have not
returned to
gathering with
the church
or those
who think
watching a
service on
their couch
is equivalent
to being part
of this church.
They have not
partaken of
one of God's
greatest gifts.
The Spirit
works powerfully
in the church
and how
many of us
need to be
reminded that
the church
is God's
primary way
of displaying
His new
creation to
the world.
The Spirit
is working
powerfully.
But not only
that,
the Spirit
works powerfully
in the communion
of saints.
I'm going to
ask this question.
In a divided
world,
how might the
communion of saints
be a witness
to God's,
the Holy Spirit's
power in the
church?
not a rhetorical
question.
How might this
demonstrate God's
power?
How might this
demonstrate God's
power?
powerfully?
How might this
be a witness
of the
church?
How might this
be a witness
of the
communion of
saints?
Surely you can't
be talking about
promulg killing all
those tens of
thousands of
Irish Catholics.
Well, this would
be the communion
of saints.
Yeah, of course
the church has not
lived up, right?
This is
aspirational.
This is what we
aspire to.
Of course we're
not going, the
communion of saints
is not going to be
perfect until glory.
And I take your
point.
But isn't it a
witness to the
Holy Spirit's power
that he's so
powerful that he
binds us together?
The communion of
saints is us,
right?
And not only us,
but those who have
left us.
The union we have
in Christ, this
communion with
each other binds
us together.
So, brother and
sister, we have
much more in
common than that
which divides us.
Wouldn't that be a
wonderful testimony
for us to church to
save the world?
We have the
communion of saints.
We are bound
together in the
gospel.
And I think in a
divided world, that
witnesses to God's
power in the
church.
In Hebrews, I was
thinking of Hebrews,
which tells us that
we have this
communion together
with all saints in
glory.
Hebrews 12, verse
22.
But you have come to
Mount Zion, into the
city of the living
God, the heavenly
Jerusalem, and to
myriad of angels, the
general assembly, and
church of the
firstborn, who are
enrolled in heaven, and
to God the judge of
all, and to the
spirits of the
righteous made
perfect.
This idea that we
have come to this
great assembly, which
is in heaven, the
spirits of the
righteous made
perfect, those
present and past.
So the spirit works
powerfully in the
church, in our union
in Christ together.
The spirit of God
works powerfully in
the forgiveness of
sins.
Does the Holy Spirit
play a role in the
forgiveness of sins?
I mean, at first
glance, right, the
Father sends the
Son to die.
The Son secures our
forgiveness through
redemption, but does
the spirit play a role
at all in the
forgiveness of sins?
What do you think?
The answer is yes,
but it's all
Trinitarian.
It's one plan
working together.
How does the spirit
play a role in the
forgiveness of sins?
Yes, he applies the
work of forgiveness
into our hearts.
Yes.
He reminds us of the
forgiveness of sins
that we have in Christ.
And isn't that one of
God's greatest gifts to
us?
You know, Jesus didn't
want us to take this
for granted.
And neither did the
writers of the creed,
and we're so likely to
forget this.
Remember, Jesus tells his
disciples to do two
things regularly.
He gives us the
model of the Lord's
Prayer, right?
Pray like this.
And in the Lord's Prayer,
it says we need to ask
for forgiveness.
And we need to extend
forgiveness to others
for their sins against us.
And secondly, he says,
at the communion table,
Jesus tells us the bread
is broken, the cup poured
out for the forgiveness
of sins.
He's saying, church,
don't forget this.
Your sins are forgiven.
And of course, that's easy
to talk about, harder to
live, isn't it?
You know, forgiveness may
be one of the hardest
things many of us face
in our lives.
Truly.
Has God really forgiven
you for all that
you've done?
Could he?
Has he forgiven me?
Could he forgive all the
sins that I know
condemn me?
The voice of the accuser.
And C.S. Lewis once
reflecting on his church
reciting the Apostles'
Creed.
He wrote this in his
Weight of Glory.
He has a small essay
called On Forgiveness.
And he writes this,
we say a great many
things in church,
in Adam Church too,
without thinking of
what we are saying.
For instance, we say in
the Creed, I believe in
the forgiveness of sins.
I've been saying it for
several years before I
asked myself why it was
in the Creed.
At first sight, it seemed
hardly worth putting on.
But again, if one is a
Christian, I thought, of
course one believes in
the forgiveness of sins.
It goes without saying.
But the people who
compiled the Creed
apparently thought that
this was part of our
belief which needed to be
reminded of every time
we went to church.
And I have begun to see,
as far as I'm concerned,
they were right.
To believe in the
forgiveness of sins
is not nearly so easy
as I thought.
Real belief in it
is the sort of thing
that very easily slips
away, even if we don't
keep on polishing it up.
So this is very easy
to forget.
And Jesus didn't want
you, brother and sister,
to take that for granted.
In Christ, you have been
forgiven.
And for Lewis, he needed
to be reminded of this
truth over and over again.
I think Jesus would agree,
don't forget this, you
have been forgiven.
He is not only able, he
is willing to forgive your
sins.
Now, this is a radical idea.
This kind of turns the
world upside down.
Right?
The world today pretty
much believes I'm pretty
much a good person.
And if God is real, he
will accept me because
doesn't he accept
everybody?
But the church confesses,
no, we believe in the
forgiveness of sins
when we confess Jesus
Lord.
And I wonder, it goes on
to believe, I believe in
the resurrection of the
body.
I wonder if you've ever
heard someone who thinks,
you know, Christians are
just always hung up talking
about sex.
And view the body as
basically bad.
You know, Christians care
nothing for the material
world.
Christians hate the body
and are just interested in
flying off to some
spiritual realm somewhere.
But again, the writers of
the Creed thought it was
very important to say not
only that we believe in the
resurrection, but we
believe in the resurrection
of the body.
So it stresses the
physicality of the
afterlife.
And so Christians have been
very positive about the
body and the material
world since the very
beginning.
We love creation.
We love the material
world.
When Jesus died, he came
back not as a spirit, but
as a body.
He bodily rose from the
dead.
And life is a life of body
and spirit.
And there's going to be a
day where we will be
raised in our body.
So Alzheimer's disease,
those who have been
ravaged by that horrible
disease, will be changed and
transformed.
Paul, remember he says,
well, at the final
resurrection, we will be
raised and changed in
glory.
So Jesus wants us to
remember in his word that
we will be raised to new
life and that new life will
be bodily.
And the Creed writers want
us to remind us of the
same thing.
And the final clause, we
believe in the life
everlasting.
2 Corinthians 3, verse 12,
therefore, brothers and
sisters, since we have such a
hope, we are bold.
So when we declare the
Creed, what we are saying
is that this is what's in
our hearts.
This is what the world
needs to know.
The world needs to know the
power of the Holy Spirit,
the power of the Spirit in
their lives.
And this is a hope that we
declare and devote our lives
to.
The truths we believe are
not localized by our own
specific culture or
demographic.
No, these truths are
universal.
We stand shoulder to
shoulder through the ages
of Christians who make
the same profession.
And so, brother and
sister, I think this is a
flag I personally want to
fly.
This is a profound way of
summarizing the Christian
faith, universally
recognized.
There's only one thing
missing in that group.
And I've been looking at it
for the last ten minutes.
And it's plain.
It's, I believe in the
Holy Spirit.
But I, Raul, believes in
the indwelling of the
Holy Spirit.
There's nothing in all
that about it.
Because it wouldn't be
true if it wasn't, if
his spirit wasn't
indwelling me.
You just said, I believe
this because it's in my
heart.
Yeah.
If the Holy Spirit wasn't
in you, you wouldn't
believe that.
Right.
So that's the only thing
for me.
Sure.
And this is just a side
point.
Yeah.
I mean, it doesn't mention
grace either.
It doesn't say everything
we want.
But I think if we use
this as a teaching tool,
that we could, it's
certainly we would get
to that point.
The Spirit is indwelling
the saints.
Yeah.
This is a teaching tool.
We have to explain what
this means.
And I highlighted these
in red because we could
also talk about the
nature of Christian
discipleship.
Christ comes, his
descent, right?
He was conceived, born,
suffered, crucified,
descended.
And then there's the
ascents.
He rose, he ascended,
he's seen, he will come
again.
So there's a cross, but
then there's a crown.
And so we could talk
about the nature of
Christian living, picking
up your cross, and there
is a crown at the end.
But I didn't get there.
So I think, brothers and
sisters, that the
Apostles' Creed does
speak to modern issues.
And it's not just an
archaic document that is,
that we should just file
in the filing cabinet
somewhere.
I think this, again,
reproduces accurately
Scripture, and Scripture
is always going to speak
to our modern age.
church.
So that's old creeds.
We have a few minutes
left.
What about new ones?
What about new creeds?
Semper reformanda, right?
There's always going to be
new questions for the
church to answer.
There are new challenges.
There are new heresies.
So should we have new
creeds, new confessions,
to combat new challenges?
And I think I want to say
the answer is yes.
So I think, you know, we
could look at the
Westminster Confession.
We'll be an example of
Protestant churches trying
to recover the
Apostolic Gospel from a
form of medieval
Catholicism.
We could look at the
Barman Declaration, where
it reiterated during
Nazi Germany the
independence of the
church and the state
and the secular Nazi
totalitarian ideologies
in the church.
and the Barman
Declaration, again, a
summary of what
Scripture teaches that
the church is
independent from the
state.
Perhaps today's day and
age, we don't face a
similar Westminster
confession.
And, you know, the
church, there are
places in the church
that are being co-opted
by the state.
And so maybe they need
to revisit the Barman
Declaration.
But for us, you know,
I think this is one
issue I was reflecting
on.
You know, the moral
issues we face track
with the brilliant
technological innovations
in the last, you know,
even ten years.
In an age of
artificial intelligence
or transhumanism, where
machines are helping
humans advance beyond
our creaturely
limitations.
Our reproductive
technology like IVF
or the dehumanizing
impact of social media,
smartphones, where many
have distinct online
identities divorced from
their day-to-day
living.
Or think about
medical ethics as it
relates to euthanasia.
All right?
An age of free-willing
sexuality.
What do we believe
about sexuality?
So I think the
defining question that
the next generation has
to answer is, what does
it mean to be human?
What is the purpose of
our bodies?
Right?
What we need is a
biblical anthropology.
anthropology.
And what is the soul?
I think a creed would be
very helpful in
articulating a biblical
anthropology.
That would be helpful for
Christians today to
articulate and to teach
from.
You know, we've seen an
explosion in the last
decade of men presenting
as women, women presenting
as men.
There's a lot of confusion.
And I think if you're like
me, you struggle with some
of these things.
You know, you have a
host of issues.
You have pronouns.
And what about new names
for people at work?
Puberty blockers.
What about a child who
feels isolated and
expresses internal
wounding?
And it's painful when
they feel distressed
about their own bodies
in a highly sexualized
culture.
You know, loved ones who
are confused.
And there are those
within the church who
say the compassionate
approach, the life-giving
approach is to affirm
that person.
But again, this is not
an issue for the ivory
tower.
Right?
One example, Fuller
Seminary just a couple
weeks ago said, you
know, the incarnation
should be a basis for
which we affirm same-sex
marriage.
Because the God
becoming man, it's a
mystery.
And so this same issue
is a mystery.
That's how we should
treat this issue.
Again, is that a valid
view for the incarnation?
What do you do when
you're a 13-year-old
and identifies as
trans?
The pediatrician is
telling you that you
have to validate that
child's beliefs.
And the child begins to
ask you to use their
own pronouns.
And you go to a
pastor for counsel and
they say, here's what
you need to do.
Follow the scripture and
love your child.
That's all I tell you.
Just follow the
scripture, love your
child.
That's not helpful.
That would be pastoral
malpractice.
So wouldn't it be good
if we had theologians
from around the world
to come together to
answer wisely,
scripturally, these
challenges in our day
and age?
Wouldn't it be nice if
we had a statement
that engaged wisely
with these issues based
in the scripture?
That it was so good
that we could use it to
reinforce in our
teaching and to
counter secular
narratives?
You know, of course,
we don't need a
confession to do that.
We could just reinvent
the wheel, each church
doing that.
Or we could acknowledge
that, you know, we need
the help of others.
We need thoughtful
theological reflection
of the church at large
to help us answer
faithfully this problem
in our day.
And I think the church
that isolates itself
from the wisdom of
others is clearly at
a disadvantage.
So if you're
interested in these
topics, don't worry,
we're going to have a
class in the fall,
Lord willing, on
ethics.
But I think there's
modern challenges
and it would be
wonderful if we could
have brothers and
sisters across the
world from different
denominations engaging
with this issue
scripturally.
So I'm going to pause
there.
I went through a lot.
Any questions?
Let me remind you that
it was creeds avoid
authoritarianism.
Second is the Apostles'
Creed speaks to modern
issues.
And third, there is a
place for new creeds,
for new challenges.
questions.
Yeah.
Do you really think it's
possible to address some
of these issues like an
anthropology that speaks to
our day, et cetera,
et cetera, in a creedal
statement that is as
succinct and memorable as
the Apostles' Creed?
That's a good question.
That would be hard to do.
But I think...
So that's why I was
increasing confessions very
similarly.
It's distilling certain
elements of the
scripture.
But I would say maybe.
But of course we would
need a more fuller
exposition on sort of
like a biblical
anthropology.
I mean, you know, we
could say the main parts
are, you know, we're
creating God's image.
We're a union of body
and soul.
We have creature
limitations.
You know, we all are
dealing with effects of
the fall inside our
bodies.
And we're going to be
renewed one day.
I mean, there's...
That's kind of the broad
framework.
But I don't know.
I mean, that's why I
need thoughtful
reflections from people
who are much smarter than
I.
But that's why the
church should come
together, I think, and
come up with something.
It doesn't have to be a
creedal statement like the
Apostles' Creed.
The Barman Declaration
or the Westminster
Confession, like, they're
much longer, more
comprehensive.
So that's probably how
that would have to be
handled.
Richard, are you doubtful that
something like that could
happen because you don't
imagine that the Bible
would give us sufficient
clarity on some of these
new issues like technology
or gender or that?
Or is it because you're
doubtful that maybe
universally Christians might
agree on the solutions?
I'm just curious as to what,
where your doubtfulness
arises.
I guess my doubtfulness
arises because
I don't think we have
the wherewithal to
come up with anything
that is as succinct as that
to meet the needs of our
generation.
I guess what I would
suggest is since the
Nicene Creed or the
Chalcedonian Creed, the
Apostles' Creed, there have
been some subsequent ones.
There's a reference to the
Heidelberg Confession or the
Westminster Confession of
Faith or maybe the London
Baptist Confession of Faith
or the Philadelphia Confession,
Baptist Confession of Faith.
It would be interesting to
give him a read and see if
you thought, well, I think
that's true and I think that
that's succinct and I think
that that's a wonderful turn of
praise.
I think you might be impressed.
it's as if the Holy Spirit
doesn't leave us abandoned with
inadequate gifts for the
church to meet the needs of
each moment that we find
ourselves in.
Maybe there's hope that the
Holy Spirit would raise up
those who could actually be
good shepherds to guide these
areas.
that might be a hope that we'd be encouraged to cling to.
I have no doubt about the ability of the Holy Spirit
to give this church.
What I do doubt is that a creed can meet these challenges.
I am hopeful, maybe in my lifetime,
that there will be thoughtful theologians
who will engage wisely and faithfully and scripturally on these issues.
And maybe we have to come up with new terminology,
like the way the Nicene creed it.
I don't know.
But I think looking forward,
there is certainly a place for this to be worked out
again in community with other Christians across the world,
just like the way they did in the Nicene creed.
I'm hopeful, but we'll see what the Lord has.
We'll see what the Lord has for us.
Any final thoughts?
I guess I think succinctness comes with the more ecumenical something it is, right?
Because I think the more specific to a particular Christian tradition
something it's going to be,
the more you have to explicate it
and describe exactly what you mean.
One of the benefits of the Apostles' Creed,
the Nicene creed,
is that basically any Christian can affirm it, right?
And there's certain...
I mean, I like the idea of them being gargoyles,
because there's a lot of play in between the gargoyles.
Mm-hmm.
And the gargoyles are there.
So I think, you know,
we could do an anthropological creed.
It just might not be as...
I mean, it could be succinct.
It could be saying,
we believe in God Almighty,
the created man in his image,
male, female.
Already that's starting to become controversial,
right, to the world.
Now what those things mean
is probably going to be played in the gargoyles.
Mm-hmm.
I think there's probably value
in just stating,
like, putting all those...
Mm-hmm.
And the more succinct it is,
I guess is what I'm saying,
there's probably less specific.
Yeah.
Well, there's still work to be done,
brothers and sisters.
So that's why I wanted to leave this for you,
is we have reminders of the past,
but God is calling our generation,
Semper Reformanda,
new challenges to engage wisely
with the scriptures,
and I think there are new creeds
that have yet to be written,
or confessions,
like Lord willing.
We'll see what the Lord has for his church.
Let me close in prayer.
Father, I thank you, Father,
for your Holy Spirit
who works powerfully in our lives.
We pray your Spirit would be with us
as we gather together as a church,
as we celebrate the communion of saints
that we have with one another,
that there's far more that unites us
than divides us in your household.
We pray you'd be glorified in Jesus' name.
Amen.