The Apostles' Creed - Pt. 2

 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. (Jude 2-4, 17-21 ESV).

 

After yesterday’s devotional I felt as if a bit more foundation needed to be laid for this series to really be encouraging and meaningful. I have often heard people disparage creeds and catechisms. In fact, I heard some people object to creeds in the church, saying, “I believe in God, but I only accept the truth of the Bible.” That statement alone accurately proves the unfortunate ignorance of some believers who have not been appropriately disciple. Though the Apostle’s Creed isn’t printed in the Bible, it faithfully summarizes the Bible’s teaching. It is an incredible tool for remembering the basics of our faith. It is also a wonderful weapon against the chaos and confusion of today’s most common heresies.

 

Jude’s short letter reveals the need for a summary of the truth. In his day there was an urgent need to defend the truth about Jesus Christ. In some ways like us today, people in the first century faced a swirling clash of ideas and claims about truth and religion, and it was easy to be misled by false teachings. Jude, an early church leader who was also a brother of Jesus, saw that false teaching threatened to mislead the church. He urged believers to hold on to the truth entrusted to them.

 

God the Holy Spirit, using the eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ apostles, forged the truth that we find in the New Testament. Then, from the days of the early church through the next few centuries, leaders and teachers summarized the main points of that truth as they taught new believers who were preparing for baptism. And by around the fourth century, a general statement emerged that has become known as the Apostles’ Creed. Our grasp of God’s truth can still be threatened today. When we understand and say the Apostles’ Creed, we are reciting God’s eternal truth to help us stand firm in our faith in Christ, and we do so with believers down through the centuries and around the world. It is, after all, the truth that sets us free! Tomorrow we begin with the first declaration