Why Do We Confess the Creeds?

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

In everything, Christians are to adorn and teach the doctrine of God our Savior (Titus 2:1-10; 2 Timothy 3-4). This is what the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write to Timothy and Titus, as well as to you and me. In everything, we are to adorn the doctrine of Jesus Christ.

Some decades ago, the seemingly innocent phrase “No Creed but the Bible” became popular among many Christians, especially among Baptists and Pentecostals. But they were not the only ones with this idea. This phrase seems innocent since Christians are to revere God’s Written Word, after all, this is where God speaks to us. But there is some irony here, “No Creed but the Bible” is in fact a creed, since a creed is a statement that expresses what people believe and teach.

Shortly after Christ bodily ascended into heaven (from whence He came and will one day return from), false teaching arose. Many of these false teachings were taught against immediately by Christ’s apostles Paul, Peter, and John in their epistles, since they were taught by Christ who is Himself the Truth (John 14:6). One of the earliest Creeds was in fact written by Paul: “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” (Romans 10:9). As the Apostles all eventually died, their teachings did not die. It was due to the Holy Spirit’s work that the apostolic teaching has survived all these centuries even as this one holy Christian and apostolic Church had to combat false teaching after false teaching. Now, most of these false teachings dealt with the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. In order to confess the truth and avoid errors, the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed were written to defend the truth of what the Bible teaches about the triune God. Every word from each of the creeds is taken directly from Scripture.

Each Creed was written to protect the Christian Church – and each individual Christian – from false doctrine, since only sound doctrine has the power to save.

Even better yet – with possibly the exception of the Athanasian Creed – each Creed was written in a way that they would be easily memorized. This is certainly a comfort to remember God’s saving work through the Creeds. So, when we have a question about the Christian faith, we can always remember what we have been taught in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.

In Luther’s Small and Large Catechisms, the Creed immediately follows the Ten Commandments. This is all on purpose. The Ten Commandments are written on the hearts of all people by virtue of their creation. They reveal our sin and prepare us to receive the gifts of salvation confessed in the Creed. Luther teaches in the Large Catechism that “the Commandments teach what we ought to do. But the Creed tells what God does for us and gives to us.”

In each Creed, we recite a summary of all of God’s work in creation and human history as taught in the Bible.

Ultimately, we need the Creeds. Although we can believe in a god through what we see and touch in nature, we cannot fully know the one true God by nature alone. Nature cannot reveal God’s identity and His name. The Creed and its source – God’s inerrant Scriptures – however, gives us as Paul Harvey famously used to say: “the rest of the story.” The Creeds teach us to know God more fully and about how all of humanity was saved and how God continually provides for His people through Word and Sacrament in the one holy Christian and apostolic Church:

I believe in one God,
the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth
and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of His Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father,
by whom all things were made;
who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary
and was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered and was buried.
And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures
and ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of the Father.
And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead,
whose kingdom will have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord and giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified,
who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church,
I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins,
and I look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Adelsen

Sermon for Pentecost 9: "Do Not Be Afraid!" (Genesis 9:8-17 & Mark 6:45-56)

 

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

[Intro]

Eight people are left on earth. Noah and his family had witnessed the extinction of a world of men and beasts. They – along with two of every kind of creature – had been saved. They were surrounded by the evidence of the destruction worked by God in His righteous wrath against sin. Noah and his family were frightened. They were wondering: “What’s next?” What doom was on the horizon?

We also have the Twelve apostles. They, too, were terrified! As they were struggling against the currents upon the Sea of Galilee, they see what looks to be a specter or ghost or could it be the Leviathan? They all believed a watery grave awaited them.

These twenty people – the eight on the ark and the 12 on the boat – all were full of fear and trembling.

On this Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, God’s voice comes to calm all fear as He says, “I establish my covenant with you. Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid!” (Genesis 9:9, Mark 6:50)

[God’s Covenant]

Only eight people are left on the earth. They had seen the perils of water, but now they have seen God’s delivery from water. They had seen God’s righteous wrath against sin. Now, it is God Himself who makes the most solemn and binding promise that He can make to man.

God spoke: “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth” (Genesis 9:9-11).

This divine covenant is not anything that we can pledge. This is a pledge to us from God. This covenant is bound to God Himself to carry out. And this covenant was not made only to Noah and his sons, but this covenant includes every one of their descendants: you and me!

God did not stop there, He gave Noah, his family, you and me an additional proof and guarantee that He would execute His covenant with Himself. God spoke saying, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations. I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. … When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between [Me] and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth” (Genesis 9:12-13, 16).

As Noah and his family were in need of assurance, God gave them this assurance: He would never again cause the extinction of the world through a world-wide flood.

We can only imagine what Noah and his family were thinking. Certainly, they were in awe of the words of God and of His covenant promise as He spoke: “Whenever the rainbow appears in the sky, I will remember my covenant between Me and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth” (Genesis 9:16).

Now, why would God need a way to remember His covenant promise? How could God forget? Of course, God never forgets His promises. This is God saying that the terms of His covenant between Himself and us would always be before Him.

But, unlike the triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – we are prone to forget. Today, how many in society, when they see a rainbow in the sky recall God’s covenant promise to Noah and us? Many may think of the Great Flood, but it is likely that most will not recall God’s covenant promise that He made to you and me.

In recent times, the sinful culture has pronounced a new meaning to the rainbow. It is no longer about God’s covenant with us. It is now a pronouncement that there is no need to lead a chaste and decent life with what we say and do. The culture pronounces that those who live contrary to God’s intention of marriage are in fact “born this way.” Now, I used to argue against the phrase “born this way,” but now I understand it. I actually agree with it. Yes, we are all born “this way,” we – you, me, and every person upon this earth – are born as enemies of God (Romans 5:10), due to sin, which every human being inherited from our first parents: Adam and Eve.

But while we were God’s enemy, He sent His Son to reconcile us to Himself – and all by grace through faith in His Son. Now, this doesn’t mean that we continue to live in our sin. Instead, we repent and confess our sins to God and receive His forgiveness.

You see, sin at its core, separates us from God. Sin separates us from His everlasting covenant with you and me.

The Sixth Commandment “You shall not commit adultery” does not apply to only husbands and wives. This commandment applies to all human beings, whether married or not, or cohabitating, and to all kinds of sexual desire and activity. God says that we are to fear and love Him by refraining from lustful desire or activity of any kind, whether heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or otherwise. We are to live sexually pure lives in modesty and in self-control. And our identity is not in our sexual preference, whether that be gay, straight, or otherwise.

Remember, our identity is in our Baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection (for which we have witnessed again here this morning, as God adopted Aiden). Through our Baptism into Christ, we are God’s children and thus, heirs of heaven. Since our identity is in Christ, we trust in God’s grace knowing that it is sufficient for us, and we look to Christ daily for forgiveness, strength, and contentment.

So, let God’s rainbow in the sky help us remember that He has kept His covenant promise these many centuries. There has been no world-wide flood. He has kept His promise, and He keeps every promise. Even the promise of the Savior.

[Terror Upon the Sea]

As God calmed the fears of Noah, the Twelve disciples thought they were about to be succumbed to a watery grave. Now, unlike when Jesus calmed the storm previously in Mark 4(:35-41), the disciples this time had no danger of drowning. The Sea of Galilee this night was just being unfavorable. You see, the sea is not the problem. What terrifies them is seeing Jesus and not understanding who He is.

After the disciples had struggled for hours upon the sea, Jesus makes His way to them – as He walked upon the sea.

It is likely the disciples yearned for Jesus as they fought the sea currents, but when Jesus finally arrives, every disciple comes to fear and trembling. “It is a ghost!”

You would think that when Jesus finally comes that the disciples would become calm. This is the same Jesus who displayed His divine mastery to the disciples over wind and wave just recently. It appears that they forgot.

Instead as Jesus comes closer to them, they all cry out, “It is a ghost!”

You see, the disciples believed that Jesus was a ghost, or worse! This is what is terrifying them. It is not a matter of the sea. There are no crashing waves. There is no storm. It is only Jesus. The Twelve believed that a watery grave was their fate.

In their fear, Jesus speaks to them, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid” (Mark 6:50). Here, Jesus speaks His covenant name: I am. This is the same name that God spoke to Moses. This is the same name God spoke to Noah and his family. “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” This is the incarnate God speaking to His disciples and to us saying, “Wherever you are, you are never away from My care. If I am with you, you have nothing to fear.”

Now, who or what are your ghosts? What do you fear? Are we trusting in something or someone that is not helpful for you? If we are trusting in anything other than the one true God, then we should be very afraid. But when Jesus is there – when we call upon Him for security – we have nothing to be afraid of at all. So, when “It is I” – the “I” being Jesus, the “I am” – then we have nothing to fear.

[Little Faith]

After witnessing the feeding of the 5,000, and so many other signs and miracles performed by Jesus right in front of their very eyes, the disciples should have understood so much more than they did. They should not have been so “utterly astounded” (Mark 6:51) at witnessing Jesus walk upon the sea. They should have comprehended that the One who had multiplied the loaves of bread, calmed the sea, healed the sick, and raised the dead, could really walk on the water.

Just as it was when Jesus calmed the storm, as we heard just weeks ago, the disciples still do not understand who Jesus is. Like the crowds – who “ate and were satisfied” (Mark 6:42) when Christ fed the 5,000 – His disciples couldn’t see what was right before their very eyes. Some thought He was just a prophet, some thought He was a bread king, others thought He was just a great teacher. Who is Jesus? As Jesus earlier spoke to them after calming the sea saying, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:40), we hear today that the disciples’ hearts were hardened. Now, this has nothing to do with rejecting God’s truth. Rather, this “hardening” is the spiritual condition of the disciples, which is the “littleness of faith.” Indeed, they have some faith – a little faith – but this faith needs to grow into understanding who Jesus truly is: God in the flesh.

We, too, often have little faith. We – like the disciples – often don’t see what is right in front of us. We often turn to fear. We begin to trust in people or things that promise relief and safety, but in reality, they only promise what they could never fulfil. Even in our little faith, God the Father doesn’t give up on us. Despite our little faith, He sent Jesus to be our Savior from sin, eternal death, and hell.

So, turn to the one true God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – who always fulfills His promises and says: “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

God comes to us today to serve us as He did Noah and the disciples. He serves us through His Word and Sacraments. He comes to us today to take upon Himself our fears and increase our faith.

Unlike the triune God who never forgets His covenant promise, He comes to us today to remind us that the powers of sin, death, and Satan are defeated through the power of Jesus’ atoning death upon the Cross and His bodily resurrection from the dead! This we need to hear repeatedly, because unlike God, we are prone to forget. We are prone to forget how God so loves us so much that He took it upon Himself to save us from sin's power, which is eternal death. He comes to us today speaking this promise of forgiveness of sins, which guarantees eternal life and salvation. He comes to us today reminding us all that we have nothing to fear, since we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone!

In the Lord’s Supper, Jesus pledges Himself to you and me as He says He will never leave us or forsake us. All we have to do is trust in Him. Through the very Words of Christ, “This is My body” and “This is My blood,” Jesus speaks to us another special covenant promise: that in this Sacrament, Christ’s saving death is proclaimed, and the fruits of His atonement are distributed for the forgiveness of our sins. “For as often as [we] eat this bread and drink the cup, [we] proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).

Unlike the sick at Gennesaret – who undoubtedly heard about the miracle healing of the woman with the 12 years of the flow of blood (Mark 5:25-34) – we don’t get to touch only a fringe of Christ’s garment for our healing. Instead, Jesus invites us to touch Him and taste Him as He takes our sins away through our eating and drinking of His body and blood under the bread and wine.

Although God never forgets His covenant promise, there is something that God does forget. You see, when we repent of our sins – all that we have done against God in our thoughts, words, or deeds – He immediately forgets that sin. God the Father immediately sees us as He sees His Son as perfectly righteous. It is by faith in Christ alone that our sin and fear are taken away! In response to this grace, we “give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1).

Yes, God’s steadfast love endures forever and so does His covenant, so “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid!” (Mark 6:50) Amen!

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

T SOLI DEO GLORIA T

Funeral Sermon: "Trusting the Certain Hope in Christ" (Romans 15:1-7, 13)

 

Don, Pam, Jodi, and Sue, family and friends of Darlene:

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!

[Intro]

3    Lord, let at last Thine angels come,
To Abr’ham’s bosom bear me home,
    That I may die unfearing;
And in its narrow chamber keep
My body safe in peaceful sleep
    Until Thy reappearing.
And then from death awaken me,
That these mine eyes with joy may see,
    O Son of God, Thy glorious face,
    My Savior and my fount of grace.
Lord Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, my prayer attend,
And I will praise Thee without end.

                               (Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart, LSB 708 stanza 3)

Text: Public domain

Back on August 20^th, I sang those words from Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart (LSB 708) to Darlene upon hearing that she was going to have brain surgery due to brain cancer. As she was preparing for surgery, she knew that she may not survive. She kept on telling me that she was ready for whenever Christ would call her home. She was ready to die unfearing.

She made it through surgery, but her surgeons could not get all of the cancer. Thanks be to God that He granted her these many months. Despite this news she received after her surgery, she kept on living as she no longer feared death, since she truly believed that her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed the power of eternal death. She knew this. She believed this. She is living this truth of her faith today.

You see, despite what many of us may do – by worrying about tomorrow – she knew that her Lord would never leave her, nor forsake her (Hebrews 13:5; Joshua 1:5). She trusted in her Lord’s deliverance. She trusted that her ailment would be healed. Today, we see the wages of sin, which is death (Romans 6:23a), but – by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone she has received the free gift of eternal life in Christ (Romans 6:23b) – this death is but a portal by which we enter heaven with Christ and His rod and staff leading us.

Since death is a form of separation, it is also a farewell, so to speak. If I remember right, Darlene never liked farewells. So, don’t be ashamed to grieve. But, know this, although we grieve the loss of our loved ones, Christians do not grieve as others do who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

The Word of God declares, “that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not proceed those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18).

This morning, you will be hearing more about this sure and certain hope in Christ!

[Joys and Desires]

Throughout her earthly life, Darlene left some life lessons to pass on to her family. Two of these life lessons are: Number One – Stay close to family and to the teachings of the faith. Number Two – Don’t let the negative world events change you into someone else, but always contribute to humanity in a positive way. This is Darlene in a nutshell. She always remained positive, and her positivity and friendliness has certainly rubbed off on so many people throughout her earthly life.

Her greatest joy was meeting and marrying Don and being blessed by God to raise her three daughters: Pam, Jodi, and Sue, and being blessed by God to become a grandmother to seven grandchildren.

Her greatest desire was that everyone would know the love of Christ – that she knew and trusted – but at the same time, she was careful not be too pushy as she shared Christ’s love with her family, friends, and neighbors.

The love of Christ that she received – by faith – was always sufficient in keeping her going every day of her life. As Darlene neared death, she knew where she was going, due to her faith and trust in Jesus Christ, who is in fact, “the Way, and the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6a).

Darlene lived her life in hope. But for many people, “hope” leaves room for doubt. We might say, “I hope to make it on time” or “I hope the rain will not spoil my plans.” Yes, this use of hope leaves room for doubt and uncertainty.

But for Darlene, there was no doubt. There is no uncertainty. This is what the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write in our reading from Romans 15. So, Paul’s meaning for “hope” is this: a sure and certain confidence. Today, Darlene is living out this hope as a saint in the Church Triumphant in heaven.

[Patience and Hope]

In Romans 15, the Apostle Paul groups together patience and hope. Paul informs us that we have patience and hope through the Scriptures, since God’s Written Word is the instrument through which God Himself, who is the actual source of “patient endurance” and “encouragement” works in order to give us “hope.”

Now, why would Paul group patience and hope together? Well, hope is not something we can see or touch. Therefore, patience is necessary. So that we may not weaken as we are patient in hope, Paul adds the word “encouragement.” We always need encouragement, and this encouragement is always found in the Word made flesh: Jesus Christ.

Paul continues writing: “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus” (Romans 15:5).

Here, Paul is saying this: We do not have patience and consolation of our own doing, we actually receive patience and consolation from Christ alone.

In Christ alone, we receive patience and consolation to continue living our daily lives. Through Christ, we are able to look past differences, so we can live in harmony. “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us” (Romans 12:4-6a).

So, through Christ, we live in accord as we follow His example of humility. So, we do not look only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2:4). Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross is the power source. You see, Christ’s love for us enables us to love all people. This is a gift of God through the Holy Spirit that enables us to imitate Christ more and more.

Paul concludes by writing, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).

The Triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – is the source and goal of the Christian hope. So, whoever trusts in the one true God lives alone by hope.

Therefore, the expression “the God of hope” actually means “the God of those who have hope”; for He is not the God of those who fear and despair. He is rather their Enemy and Judge. In short, God is “the God of hope” because He is the Giver of hope.

God the Father gave us this sure and certain hope through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, “not to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:17). It was through Christ taking upon Himself our human flesh that our hope of salvation occurred through His atoning suffering and death upon the cross and His bodily resurrection from the dead. He died the death that we all deserve, due to our sin. It is only through Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection that we received this hope of forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation! All we have to do is believe and trust in Jesus Christ alone, since we have been saved truly by God’s grace. For wherever there is hope, there God is worshiped.

Today, at this very moment, Darlene is where hope is found. She, along with her fellow saints, is in the presence of hope revealed in heaven.

On November 10, 1940, this same God of hope marked Darlene as His child through the waters of Holy Baptism. As the Triune name of God was spoken over her, she was baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection and received the robe of Christ’s righteousness that covers all of her sins. This very robe is what she is wearing today as she has passed from the great tribulation – the life we live now, brought on by sin, which leads to pain, sorrow, and persecution – to the Church Triumphant, where there is no more pain, no more sorrow, no more hunger, and no more thirst.

Darlene is now before the throne of God and He is sheltering her with His presence. She is no longer suffering the effects of sin, since sin’s power has been destroyed. She is now completely satisfied. She and her fellow saints are doing what she loved to do here on earth: sing. She – with her fellow saints – is making a joyful noise to the LORD with song! (Psalm 100; Revelation 7:10-12)

May we follow Darlene’s example in trusting the certain hope that is found only in Jesus Christ, so that we too, may die unfearing in peaceful sleep until Christ’s reappearing:

When from death He awakens me,
That these mine eyes with joy may see,
    O Son of God, Thy glorious face,
    My Savior and my fount of grace.
Lord Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, my prayer attend,
And I will praise Thee without end.

Amen!

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

T SOLI DEO GLORIA T

Darlene Dammann's obituary: https://hantge.com/obituaries/darlene-e-dammann/