We Believe

The Apostles’ Creed, Part I

A message by Jeffrey Westbrook

Crossroads International Fellowship

29 February, 2004

Text: Mark 9:24

Intro: - This series (An in-depth look at the Apostles’ Creed)

- Why study The Apostles’ Creed?

o We live in a world of accelerating change and constant motion—motion that we call progress; “ever onward, ever upward, ever faster, ever better” is the motto of our times.

o And yet not all change is always for the better. Our contemporary world has lost its moral bearings; we live in a world of relativism. As in the days of the Judges of ancient Israel, “Every man does what is right in his own eyes.”

§ C.S. Lewis – “We all want progress, but progress means getting nearer the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.” (Mere Christianity, p. 36)

o Even many in the church are losing their moral anchor, as they are carried away by the currents of the culture around us. Yet it is important for us as Christians to remember who we are, Whose we are. What do we believe? What sets us apart? If there is no difference between us and our beliefs and the world around us, then isn’t all this [church] a waste of time and effort?

o I Believe… the Apostles’ Creed for the Third Millennium, by Robert Mills: “One benefit of studying the Apostles’ Creed is connecting ourselves to what all Christians everywhere have always believed. In so doing we remind ourselves that despite ever-changing social circumstances Christian faith is not ours to redefine. Being deeply rooted in “the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3) is essential to the life and ministry of God’s people (Psalm 1:1-3).”

o “Studying this historic creed also moves us forward in our faith. For as we develop a deeper understanding of its teachings, we thereby grow in our knowledge of Scripture and ultimately our knowledge of God.” (Mills)

o The word creed comes from the Latin credo, which is the first word of The Apostles’ Creed in Latin, and means I believe. So, a creed signifies a brief, summary statement of that which we believe as Christians, that which we believe as the Church.

Thesis: It is important for us as Christians to understand what it means to believe and what it is we say we believe.

I. What does it mean to believe?

A. What is belief?

1. From the Greek: pisteuo (pisteuw) à “believe,” “belief,” “faith”

a. That is the word used in Mark 9:24 (summarize context of verse)

b. So in a sense, we’re saying “I faith in God the Father Almighty…,” except we don’t use faith as a verb in English

2. At least a dozen times in NT, “Believers” used as a name for Christians[1]

3. Belief is more than just mental ascent: also involves a change of who we are

a. “Saving faith is more than just understanding the facts and mentally acquiescing. It is inseparable from repentance, surrender, and a supernatural eagerness to obey.” (John MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus, p. 31)

b. “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved,” (Rom. 10:9). à Confess Jesus as Lord à if He is Lord, then we will conform our lives to His will.

c. “Faith without works is dead,” (James 2:26) & “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder,” (James 2:19). à So simple mental knowledge is not enough; belief means that it changes the way we live.

4. Three elements of belief (Mills)

a. “To say ‘I believe’ is to give intellectual assent to the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith.”

b. “To say ‘I believe’ is also to give evidence of our attitude of trust; an attitude that says to God ‘I will step out in faith, trusting You to guide my steps”

c. “And to say ‘I believe’ is to act. It is to weld our intellectual assent and our attitude of trust to faithful actions in our daily lives.”

B. Why is belief important?

1. Lewis: 2 kinds of faith/ belief

a. Belief as accepting the doctrines as true

b. Why is that virtuous, as it only makes sense to believe what we accept as true?

i. Because we are governed by more than just reason; our moods and emotions affect us

ii. Illus. of child learning to swim – knows he will float, but panics when adult lets go

iii. “Now Faith, in the sense in which I am here using the word, is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods,” (Lewis, M.C. p. 123)

c. Second meaning – belief goes beyond acceptance of facts; it really only comes after we try (and fail) to “be good;” and we realize that even if we could, we are only giving back what is Gods’ to begin with; when we realize these things—our moral bankruptcy—we realize our need to depend on God

2. Helmut Thielicke à “So what I believe—no matter what it is, whether it has a religious or just a this-worldly significance—exerts an elemental influence upon my life,” (I Believe: The Christian’s Creed, p.4).

3. We all believe something—even if that something is nothing. And what we believe affects how we live, how we think (our worldview)

C. Belief is a process

1. Mark 9:24 – we must come to the point where we can say to God, “I believe,” and really mean it, like the father in Mark 9

2. But we must also come to the point where we can say to God, “help my unbelief”

3. “‘I believe; help my unbelief’ might seem a contradiction. However, only the existence of this father’s faith could have made him conscious of its weakness. His request for Christ to help him overcome his unbelief showed his insight into the power of Christ to do far more than merely heal his child. Although it may have been dimmed by the disciples’ failure, the father’s faith revived and flourished when he stood face to face with Jesus.” (Mills)

4. “Blessed are the poor in spirit” – we must come to recognize our spiritual bankruptcy; Jesus came to heal the sick, to seek and save the lost. We must recognize that on our own we don’t even have the power to believe.

II. What is it that we believe?

A. The basis of our faith

1. “This leads us to a vital truth point: Christianity is a doctrinal faith. It is not an “X” that you can fill in with whatever content you desire. Christianity is a life based on the doctrines of the Bible. We must never say, “As long as you believe in Jesus, it doesn’t matter what else you believe.” Unless the Jesus we believe in is the Christ of the Bible, he’s not the real Jesus at all.” – Ray Pritchard, “You Are What You Believe”

2. This is in contrast to the world around us; truth is not absolute; you believe what you want to believe, and I’ll believe what I want.

a. “When you start off with, “I believe,” the average mortal thinks that you are about to express what is your subjective, personal and private opinion with absolutely no weight or bearing of what objective reality is. It’s, “This is my tenuous, temporary opinion on ‘x.’” – Duncan

b. The world today says the only absolutes is that there are no absolutes; so for many people, the ultimate enemy is the person who believes that there are absolutes.

c. “In fact, there is a postulate in our age which says that ‘The root source of all problems is people who think that they’ve found absolute truth. And if we could just get rid of people who think they’ve found absolute truth, the world would be a much nicer place.’” – Duncan

3. So we believe that there is absolute truth, that this truth comes from God, that having a right relationship with Him and a right understanding of Him are important

4. Creeds are important in codifying what it is we believe

B. The Apostles’ Creed

1. History/ background

a. Earliest creeds are in the Bible; they’re statements of belief (Peter: “You are the Christ,” Mark 8:29; Paul: “Jesus Christ is Lord,” Phil 2:11)

b. Legend – Apostles’ Creed written by the apostles; each one added a phrase

c. Goes back to 2^nd c. in its earliest stages; first written form Interrogatory Creed of Hippolytus (ca. A.D. 215) (Q & A format, in 3 parts)[2]

d. The current form is first found in the writings of Caesarius of Arles (d 542)

e. Earliest use: baptismal confession of faith

f. Another early use: teaching new Christians the basic doctrines of the Faith

g. Also has been used in worship to state as a group what we believe

h. In pre-literate societies, it was extremely important in helping people memorize & recite these basic tenets in order for them to learn & remember

2. Overview

a. Three parts – first part about Father, second about Jesus, third about Holy Spirit, the Church, and other matters

b. Several points of belief (depending on how you break it down, 11 – 15)

c. Not comprehensive statement of everything Christian believes, but highlights the main points

d. It’s short and concise and compact, but don’t underestimate its theological weight à it says a lot

e. Don’t let frequent repetition and familiarity allow it to become meaningless; think about it, allow it to renew your mind (Rom. 12:2)

3. Its importance and purpose for us (3 d’s)

a. Definition – Defines what we believe as Christians

b. Defense – false teachings have always been around since the earliest days of Christianity; the Creed is a defense against false doctrine

c. Declaration – We declare our Faith before the world through reciting the Creed; we are called to make disciples of all nations; we are to be Jesus’ witnesses, so we are witnessing before the world

4. Five purposes for studying the Apostles’ Creed (Duncan)

a. Anchor the specific assertions of the Creed in text of the Scriptures — so you can see that the Bible really teaches these truths.

b. Address contemporary deterrents to belief — so you can stand against current cultural impediments to belief.

c. Affirm Christian confidence in biblical truth — so you can embrace the truth despite modern skepticism.

d. Arrest Christian defection from the biblical truth — so you can respond to false teaching that often goes under the name “Christian.”

e. Apply the truth to specific issues in the Christian life — so you can learn how good theology serves to lead to the good life.

Conclusion

Do you believe? Yes – everyone believes something. What do you believe? Do you understand it; not perfectly, but are you seeking to grow in your understanding? And does it make a difference in your everyday life? If you confess the truths in the Apostles’ Creed, it should affect your life, from the time you walk out of these doors until we gather together again next week.