In September of 1973 I woke up one morning to a terrifying new reality. I had gone to sleep the night before with a question posed to me by my roommate Tom, “Just what is the ‘unforgivable sin’ that Jesus talks about?” Whereas my life up to that point had been fun and fulfilling, it was now totally unsettled. I was trapped in a spiritual hurricane, hanging over the abyss of hell. Amidst the quagmire of depression and terror, I forced my thoughts to Jesus. Could he save me? Even this was compounded by anxiety. How could a man who lived thousands of years ago – and particularly, how could his crucifixion – save me from a living hell that could extend eternally? I was desperate for peace, for a sense of God’s love and presence in my life. How could mere “belief” in what seemed to be an obscure history have any relevance?
The 18th Century German philosopher, Gotthold Lessing, a firm proponent of Enlightenment’s faith in human reason and experience, held that historical truths which are in doubt cannot be used to prove metaphysical truths (such Christ’s salvation). As he put it: “That, then, is the ugly great ditch (of history) which I cannot cross, however often and however earnestly I have tried to make that leap.” But clearly, scripture – as well as 2,000 years of Church teaching – affirms that certain historical truths are to be believed and confessed. Why?
Why Is Right Belief Crucial?
Whether we realize it or not, each of us has been “born into the Enlightenment” and “nurtured in Romanticism”. What do I mean? Most in the 21st century, along with many Christians, evaluate and process “what is true” by what we “experience”; what we “feel”. These criteria have become the hermeneutical or interpretive lens through which we determine what is true and what is to be believed.
Scripture, on the other hand, directs our focus – not to “religious experiences” or what we “feel” but to a grand, overarching “story” – a historical (yet eternal and cosmic in scope) drama. This is the story of God and his rescue of humanity as well as His entire creation. More specifically, scripture tells us of a man, Jesus of Nazareth, who lived and died for our sins… and who was resurrected then ascended to God the Father. It frames this with the broad historical saga set forth in the Old Testament that “sets the stage” for the climax of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Let’s consider the Bible as one Genesis-to-Revelation drama. This drama contains a number of “actors” of whom God is preeminent. While containing history, prophecy, wisdom literature, and poetry; it is essentially a “plot”- a story of God’s plan of rescue. This plot can be envisioned as a “five-act” play, with “acts” related to (1) God’s good creation, (2) the Fall and exile, (3) the election of a people through whom God’s rescue is to be launched and the eschatological promise of His Messianic fulfilment, (4) Jesus, God’s only Son and the Savior, and (5) the sending of the Holy Spirit within the Church. The point is clear. Man searches for inner enlightenment – for a religious experience. Scripture directs us to God’s revelation within a historical “story” and more specifically in the Person of His Son. This is what we are called to believe… to confess.
Did Paul dismiss personal “spiritual experience”? Not at all. Whereas he underscores the centrality and necessity of faith in “Jesus Christ and Him crucified”, he acknowledges that this “historical” message showcases “God’s power” in the lives of those who believe (I Corinthians 2:5). The drama is real. The “Actors” are real. It must now be believed.
Creedal Confession of What Christians Believe
Creedal confession is found throughout Scripture. The Shema – “Hear O Israel, the LORD is one” is Israel’s ancient and abiding declaration of allegiance. Likewise, numerous feasts, Shabbat services, and festivals re-dramatized God’s mighty acts of creation and deliverance.
The first Christians also were instructed to believe – to confess – historical truths of Jesus Christ in the context of this overarching story. Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, reminds them:
“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15: 1-6, ESV).
To the Romans, Paul writes:
“…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. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10: 9-10, ESV).
Creedal Confession in the Early Church
The earliest use of creedal confession within the Church was in the catechizing and in the baptismal rite of new believers. Knowing that the new Christian would likely face social as well as political resistance, the Church insisted that he openly declare his allegiance to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Additionally, distortions and heresies pertaining to the message began to occur within several decades of Jesus’ resurrection. These distortions were to be resisted. Docetism, influenced by Greek philosophy’s denigrating of the physical world, did not accept the true humanity of Jesus. Consequently, it dismissed Jesus’ literal suffering and death on the cross. According to these “docetics” or Gnostics, Jesus must have been a purely spiritual “phantom” who came, not as the incarnate Son of God who took our humanity and our sin upon himself, but as a messenger of purely spiritual wisdom and ecstatic enlightenment.
The apostle John, in his first epistle, warns the Church against such error when he writes:
“many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.” (I John 4: 1b-3, ESV).
Simply “believing in Jesus” while distorting who He truly is, was to be firmly rejected. For this reason, churches throughout the world clarified their baptismal confessions to clearly articulate who Jesus is – actual human being and the Father’s only Son – and implicitly who Jesus is not (merely a “spiritual” being). An important example of such a baptismal confession is the Apostles’ Creed which dates from the late 2ndcentury:
I believe in God, the Father almighty,creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
Such creeds and confessions remain for us today, a vital summary of God’s grand story. These are not religious relics to be dismissed in our quest for “higher spiritual” insights or experiences. Rather, they point us to the profoundly simple and revolutionary truth found in all of Scripture. As such, they provide a crucial interpretive key to understanding of Scripture and the drama of God’s salvation.
As we consider what we believe and confess – and what we will pass along to future generations – we must humbly consider what the entire Church, including Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox, has believed, confessed, and taught for centuries.
Returning to my own story from that September of 1973, my doubts and depression lingered for the next eight or nine months. Although the darkness began to dissipate as I read God’s Word and met with fellow believers, waves of doubt would occasionally well up. One day, while alone in my apartment near the university, my peace began to be swamped by doubts. I recall vocally confessing, “I don’t care if I suffer this darkness for the rest of my life! I believe in Jesus Christ, who loved me and died for me.” The dark shadows of doubt vanished. Fifty years on, I continue to worship through my confession of faith in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – and in the marvelous drama of God’s victory.
