I Believe: I Believe in Jesus Christ, God s Only Son, Our Lord

Transcription

1 I Believe: I Believe in Jesus Christ, God s Only Son, Our Lord Last Sunday, I said something about the Apostles Creed that I haven t been able to get out of my mind. I said that to profess this Creed in its totality is to make a scandalous statement in the face of the major religions of the world. It says to the Hindu and Buddhist faith that there are not many gods that we pray to and bow down to this Creed says that there is One God who is Almighty and who is the Creator of everything that is. And when we make the second declaration of the Apostles Creed, that we believe in Jesus Christ, God s Only Son, Our Lord, we are saying to the Muslims and to the Jewish people that the fullness of God has come to dwell in Jesus Christ that Jesus was not just a prophet or a rabbi but that He was God s Only Son, and He is Our Lord. And as I said last week in an age of tolerance and accommodation, it s time we recognize the bold statement we are making when we recite this Creed. Especially the declaration we re talking about today: I believe in Jesus Christ, God s Only Son, Our Lord. Now you may be thinking right now why is it important that we understand the scandal that this creed brings into the landscape of world religions? I mean aren t we supposed to do everything we can to get along? Aren t we supposed to just love people where they are? Doesn t it make us religious bigots if we believe that we are better than other religions? The answer to all three of those questions is: YES. Yes, we ARE supposed to do everything we can to get along. YES, we are supposed to love people where they are. YES, it does make us religious bigots if we believe that we are better than other religions. BUT you knew there had to be a but didn t you? If we can t get along with people with whom we disagree in matters of faith If we can t establish a relationship with an unbeliever, for instance, then we never stand a chance of helping that person come to a place where he or she accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior. I mean look at what Jesus did. One of the biggest criticisms levied against Jesus was that he spent too much time with tax collectors and sinners and prostitutes. And when someone asked him about it, he said this: 12 Healthy people don t need a doctor sick people do. 13 Then he added, Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices. For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners. (Matthew 9: NLT) Relationship is vitally important. Jesus knew that and we ve got to remember it too.

2 2 It s why we must love people where they are. And yet, loving people where they are means not expecting them to reach a specific marker point that will merit our love before we give that love Nor does it mean condoning their sinful actions. There s a story in the Gospel of Mark where Jesus was dealing with a guy who was in love with his stuff. This guy ran up to Jesus and knelt in front of him and asked him: 17 Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? 18 Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother. 20 He said to him, Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth. 21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me. 22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. (Mark 10: NRSV) Jesus looked at the rich man loved him and told the man what he really needed to hear. Loving a person really loving another person requires that we do what we can to help that person become all God designed them to be. As Max Lucado says: God loves you just the way you are but he refuses to leave you that way. That s the kind of love Jesus demonstrated. And it s the kind of love we are to give, as well. And thirdly, believing in the unique truth of the Apostles Creed isn t saying that we are better, as if this was one team playing against another in a competition. This isn t about competition. This is about possessing something so glorious that you want nothing else but to share it with others. You get a call that a friend of yours has suffered the loss of a dear family member. So what do you do? You make a dinner and take it over to the house. Now, did you make that dinner because you think you are a better cook than your friend? No. You make the dinner because you want to and have the ability to help your friend in their time of need. This isn t about competition. This is about being blessed to be a blessing. The Bible says in Ephesians 1:3: All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. (Ephesians 1:3 NLT) So, because of the work of God the Father through His Son Jesus, we are united with Jesus, and because of that, we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. That ought to be something that makes every one of us in this room shout Amen! I mean do you believe it?

3 3 Or is it just a collection of nice-sounding words full of sound and fury but signifying nothing. I submit to you that they are not just nice sounding words, but words that have the potential to change a person s life, not just for a moment or for a season, but for eternity. And all of this hinges on one person: Jesus I believe in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, our Lord. What does that statement mean to you when you say it? For me it means that I believe that God gave His Only Son, Jesus, to be the Lord of my life. And as Peter said in Acts 4:12, it means that: There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12 NLT) This isn t saying that Jesus was a nice guy or that He was a good example for us to follow Jesus wasn t a mentor or a coach or a role model. He was and is Lord And to say that He is Lord is to claim His unique relationship with God, the Father. Do you remember how Jesus described that relationship? Look in your Bibles at John 14:1-6. In that passage of scripture, Jesus disciples are growing increasingly worried about what life is going to be like when Jesus leaves them and returns to heaven. So He says this to them: 1 Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going. 5 Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way? 6 Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:1-6 - ESV) Now I know what some of you are thinking right now. You re thinking: Is he saying that there is only one way to heaven, and it is through Jesus. Yes, that s what I am saying. I like what David Platt says about this. He says: Again, we cannot escape the offense of this gospel. Are you really saying there s only one way to God? people immediately ask. Yet even as we ask the question, we reveal the problem. If there were 1,000 ways to God, we would want 1,001. The issue is not how many ways lead to God; the issue is our autonomy before God. We want to make our own way. As I ve reflected on the way Jesus interacted with people during the 3 years of His life on this earth, I ve come to the conclusion that He wouldn t have been very well received in our culture today either.

4 4 He certainly didn t assimilate into the culture of His day. I mean, for goodness sake, He didn t get crucified because He won the contest for Mr. Popularity. No, He called the religious leaders a brood of vipers. He said to the people about their religious traditions, I have come not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. And then consider his claim that I just mentioned a minute ago when He said that He was the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. That wasn t Peter or Paul or any of the other disciples who said that about Jesus. He spoke those words Himself. And well you know what happened to Him because of that kind of talk They killed Him because of it. But He wasn t going to set aside His Lordship because it might offend other people. That s not why He came. I have come so that you may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10) Jesus came so that His joy may be in us, and that our joy may be made complete. (John 15:11) Jesus came so that we would know God in the very way God wanted to be known. It s why He didn t acquiesce to the whims of the culture. It s why He didn t compromise His message just because He might offend. Look at what happened that day with Zacchaeus. Remember what happened? Zacchaeus was as crooked as they come. Everybody knew Zacchaeus. And everybody hated him. But Jesus walked right up to the sycamore tree Zacchaeus had climbed so that he would be able to see the Jesus parade as it came into town, and Jesus said, Zacchaeus, come down out of that tree, for I m going to your house today. And well I don t know what happened in that house that day, but I do know this When Zacchaeus came out of his house after meeting with Jesus, he wasn t the same Zacchaeus who walked into that house a few hours earlier. And I love how Luke tells the story in Luke 19. During the setup of the story, Luke tells about how Jesus came into Jericho and how Zacchaeus climbed a tree so that he could see who Jesus was and about how Jesus came to the tree. In the beginning of the story, it was Jesus this, and Jesus that. But then look at what happens at Zacchaeus moment of conversion: Zacchaeus stood there and said TO THE LORD, Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much. (Luke 19:8 NRSV) I believe in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, our Lord.

5 5 I don t know exactly what Jesus said that day to Zacchaeus, but I don t think He minced any words with him. Somehow, Zacchaeus discovered for himself that the way to God was through Jesus. And he radically changed his life because of it. There s another story. Jesus was in Jerusalem teaching in the Temple. But the religious leaders were trying to trap Him, and I believe they thought they had devised the ultimate trap. While Jesus was teaching, they brought a woman to Him who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd and said to Jesus: Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The Law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say? (John 8:4-5 NLT) Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with His finger. But they kept demanding an answer, so Jesus stood up and said, Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone! Then Jesus stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, one by one, starting with the oldest in the bunch, they dropped their stones and walked away. Before long, it was just Jesus and the woman there, and look what happened: 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, Where are your accusers? Didn t even one of them condemn you? 11 No, Lord, she said. And Jesus said, Neither do I. Go and sin no more. (John 8: NLT) Did you notice everybody else in the story called Jesus Teacher. But what did she call Him? Lord. And then, did you hear what Jesus said to her as He sent her away. He didn t say, Neither do I condemn you, you re free to go. No, Jesus said to her, Neither do I. Go and sin no more. You know what that says to me? Grace changes people. At least it ought to. Up to this point, nobody had been saved by grace like this woman. And Jesus could have really laid into her. After everybody left, He could have spent hours lecturing her on the importance of purity and faithfulness. But He didn t. Why? Because He was the way, and the truth, and the life, and He wanted her to know that the way to God through Him was paved by an amazing kind of grace that saves wretched people like her. Do you? I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord. He wants to be your Lord and your Savior. I know He wants each and every one of us to recognize Him as the way, and the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the father except through Him. And if that still sounds too exclusive to you, then consider this: A pioneer missionary in Africa tells how he was taking the gospel to a new tribe, far to the north. With his bearers, he arrived at a village, a point beyond which his porters refused to go. The missionary appealed to the local chief. Was there someone in his village who could act as his guide to the distant northern tribe?

6 6 The chief summoned a man, tall, battle scarred, carrying a large axe. A bargain was made and the next morning the missionary set off through the bush, following his new guide. The way became increasingly rough and the path had all but disappeared. There was an occasional mark blazed on a tree, occasionally a narrow path. Finally the missionary called a halt. He asked the guide if he was sure he knew the way. The man pulled himself up to his full height. White man, he said, you see this axe in my hand? You see these scars on my body? With this axe I blazed the trail to the tribal village to which we go. I came from there. These scars I received when I made the way. You ask me if I know the way? Before I came, there was no way. I am the way! It s that same word I believe Jesus wants to impart upon each and every one of who are here this morning. I am the way, the truth and the life. And ANYONE who comes to me will come to know God as a Father who is almighty; who is Maker of heaven and earth; and they will know His love and grace through Me, His only Son. And I will be their Lord. And if you re here this morning, and you haven t made the decision to allow Jesus to be Lord of your life Then I pray that today will be the day for you to say and believe: I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, My Lord.