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Good News on the Third Day

“He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again.”

These words from the Apostles’ Creed are good news. They recognize the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the centerpiece of Christian faith.  The Creed is the oldest confession of Christian faith not found in the New Testament. It was not actually formulated by the apostles of Jesus, but it is based upon their teachings. It was used to instruct new believers in the essentials of the faith. It was their personal confession at baptism. The Apostles’ Creed brings us back to the true gospel as it is revealed in the New Testament.

Jesus was crucified

“Crucifixion” is related to the Latin word for “cross.” There is a word which captures the torture involved in this form of death. It is the word “excruciating,” which literally means “of the cross.” Think of Jesus’ excruciating agony  the next time you see a cross atop a church spire or worn as a piece of jewelry.

Jesus’ enemies hurled insults and mockery as he was dying. They challenged him to come down from the cross if he was really the Son of God. “It is because Jesus did not come down from the cross that we believe in him,” wrote William Booth. He stayed there to complete his rescue mission.

There was once an eccentric preacher named Alexander Wooten. He was approached by a young man who asked, “What must I do to be saved?” “It’s too late,” Wooten replied.

The young man became alarmed. “Do you mean that it is too late for me to be saved? Is there nothing I can do?”

“Too late!” said Wooten. “It’s already been done. The only thing you can do is believe.”

Jesus completed what he had come to earth to do. It was a demonstration of love so great that Jesus was willing to suffer for our sins so that we might be forgiven and accepted by God the Father. This forgiveness is offered to us. All that remains is for us to receive it by believing in Jesus. He died that we might live.

Jesus was buried

This detail is important because it is evidence that the human Jesus actually died. He was not in a death-like coma and later revived. His disciples did not stage these events in an attempt to contrive a phony resurrection. Everyone involved knew he was really dead.

The Roman governor Pilate sent a message to the centurion asking if Jesus was dead. The chief Roman executioner confirmed that he was dead. Joseph, a prominent member of the Jewish high council, and a secret disciple of Jesus, secured permission to bury the body of Jesus. With the help of Nicodemus, another Jewish leader, he wrapped the body of Jesus in a linen cloth with a large quantity of spices.

Often criminals who were crucified took several days to die. Their bodies were usually dumped unceremoniously into the public garbage heap to be burned or to be food for scavenging birds or wild dogs. Instead, the body of our Lord was treated with respect and care by two of his secret followers.

The New Testament tells us that they buried the body in a new tomb cut out of rock which was near the place of execution. Matthew’s gospel says that this was Joseph’s own tomb. If you go to the Holy Land today you may visit a first century tomb called the Garden Tomb. It matches the description we read in the gospels. It is cut out of solid rock. It has a trough in which a  stone could be rolled in front of the entrance. There is a chamber for visitors and a chamber with a ledge where a body could have been placed. It is near a hill called “skull hill” which many believe to be the place of Jesus’ crucifixion.

Whether or not this is the actual burial place, it is very much like the place we see described in the Bible.

He rose again

William Barclay wrote, “If Jesus had not risen from the dead we’d never have heard of him.” Indeed, the resurrection is absolutely essential to the Christian faith. If it did not happen, Paul said, our faith is empty, void, vacuous.  Biblical scholar C.H. Dodd said that this is “not a belief that grew up within the church; it is the belief around which the church itself grew up, and the ‘given’ upon which its faith was based.”

Novelist John Updike put it poetically: “Make no mistake, if he rose at all / it was as his body; / if the cells’ dissolution did not reverse, the molecules reknit, the amino acids rekindle, / the Church will fall.”

The New Testament gospels tell of events surrounding the resurrection of Jesus. The immediate response of his disciples was alarm, amazement, and unbelief. The news spread rapidly of the presence of angels, the empty tomb, and the subsequent appearances of Jesus to his disciples. “By far, the best proof of the resurrection,” wrote William Barclay, “is the existence of the Christian church. Nothing else could have changed sad and despairing men and women into people radiant with joy and flaming with courage.”

This is what believers celebrated last Sunday in Easter services all over the world. “He was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:25). “He was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). This is why the Apostles’ Creed insists, “On the third day he rose again.”

Pastor Randy Faulkner

A NOTE TO READERS: If this article is helpful to you, please consider passing it along to others. Reposting this on your favorite social media platform may be a way for you to join me in bearing witness about our faith in Jesus.

 

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He Suffered Under Pontius Pilate

“He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.”

It is fitting that we read these words on this day of days. This phrase from the Apostles’ Creed reminds us of what happened to our Lord Jesus on Good Friday.

In Good Friday services today believers will be reminded of the stark facts surrounding Jesus’ agonized prayers in Gethsemane, his betrayal, his mock trials, his death on a cross, and his burial. Sometimes worshippers will be instructed to depart from services in silence to emphasize the solemnity of these themes.

“He suffered”

The gospel of Mark, chapter 15, recounts the sufferings of Jesus. He suffered open rejection by his own people. “Crucify him!” they shouted (v. 14). He was also rejected by friends who betrayed him, denied him, and fled the scene when he was taken captive.

He suffered torture. Roman soldiers flogged him (v. 15). This was a brutal whipping that lashed and lacerated his back, hips, arms and neck. It was not unusual for prisoners to die by this means.

He suffered mockery. Mark describes how the soldiers put a purple robe on him, twisted thorns together to form a rude crown for his head, and then knelt before him in sarcastic mockery of “the king of the Jews” (vv. 12, 16-20).

He suffered disgrace. If you and I had witnessed all this in person, we would probably have turned our eyes away in embarrassment and shame. He was paraded through the streets of Jerusalem with insults being hurled at him. He was too weak from the flogging to carry his own cross. He was led to the place of execution to be crucified with common criminals. He was stripped naked and soldiers gambled to see who would get to keep his clothes (vv. 20-24).

It is important to remember that he did not deserve this. The apostle Peter says that “he committed no sin” (1 Peter 2:22). Paul adds that he “had no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Hebrews 4:15 declares that Jesus “was without sin.” He was like “a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:19).

“Under Pontius Pilate”

Why was Pilate named in the Apostles’ Creed? Perhaps it was to establish the historical certainty and time of Jesus’ trial and death.  There are references to Pontius Pilate in the annals of Roman history, as well as in the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus. In 1964, archaeologists discovered at Caesarea in Israel, a first century inscription bearing the name and title of Pilate. Also, naming him in this way establishes the complicity of the Gentile governor in the death of Jesus. The Jews were not the only ones responsible.

Mark’s account of the interrogation of Jesus before Pilate reveals how eager the governor was to appease the Jewish leaders. He knew Jesus had done nothing wrong, but he was willing to violate all the laws of justice to keep himself in power and to try to keep order in Judea.

It has been said that when Pilate thought Jesus was on trial before him, it was he who was on trial before Jesus! William Barclay wrote this about Pilate: “He did the wrong thing because he was afraid to do the right thing. He was not the first, who, when confronted with the choice between worldly ambition and obedience to Jesus Christ — chose worldly ambition.”

“Was crucified, died and was buried”

Crucifixion has been described as a hideous death in which the victim literally dies a thousand deaths. It is hard not to think of Jesus as a victim of a great tragedy. Humanly, it is a tragedy and a travesty of justice. But theologically — and we are called to think theologically about this — it is not a tragedy, but a victory.

Mark does not explain the theological significance of the crucifixion. His gospel states the historical facts, but it does not interpret them. It is the teaching and writing of the other apostles that gives us the fuller explanation. Nor does Mark give a detailed description of all that was involved in crucifixion. Many contemporary scholars have researched the matter. History and archaeology give ample evidence to support the Bible’s brief description of events.

The Creed is correct. Jesus died by crucifixion. The Romans executed thousands by this method. They were experts at it. They knew when a victim had died. Jesus was buried. This is proof of his death. This is what we remember on Good Friday.

Why?

Looking at this from God’s point of view — and that is what it means to think theologically — we are given reasons for Jesus’ suffering. It was God’s purpose. It was his eternal plan. Jesus prayed shortly before he died, “What shall I say? ‘Father save me from this hour?’ No, it was for this very reason that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name” (John 12:27).

It was the Son’s obedience. Jesus said, “I lay down my life. . . . No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again” (John 10:18).

It was our sin that caused the death of Jesus. It was necessary that a perfectly sinless human being (God’s Son) die for the sins of the world. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). “Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

Not long after the release of his film “The Passion of the Christ” Mel Gibson was interviewed by Diane Sawyer. “Who killed Jesus?” she asked. “We all did,” he answered.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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The Virgin Birth Really Matters

I know this is not the Advent season but in our examination of the Apostles’ Creed we have come to the phrase concerning the Lord Jesus: “He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.” This matters. From the very beginning, Christians have believed in the sinless deity, miraculous conception, and the virgin birth of Jesus.

This is because it is what the Bible teaches. There are skeptics who say it doesn’t really matter whether or not Jesus was born of a virgin. But they must concede that the early church, the earliest creeds,  and the New Testament taught these things. When Christians affirm their faith in the virgin birth of Christ, it is not with fingers crossed or with mental reservations. It is because we believe Luke who recorded what the angel Gabriel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

Luke was a physician. But he was not writing on the basis of his medical experience. This was not a case study for peer review in a medical journal. What he was describing is a great miracle of the Holy Spirit. He wants us to draw certain conclusions.

First, Jesus was fully human. He had a human birth. While his conception was supernatural, his birth was according to natural processes. This agrees with the idea that in Jesus Christ, the human and the divine are united in one person.

Second, Luke implies that Jesus was without sin. This is taught repeatedly in the New Testament. Here our Lord is spoken of as “the Holy One.” It is inconceivable that God could be incarnated in human flesh if it involved sin. This is attributable to the Holy Spirit and to Jesus’ divine pre-existence.

A third conclusion is obvious from Luke 1:35. We are told that this Holy Child “will be called the Son of God.” As Mary’s son, he was fully human. As the Son of the Most High, he was divine. How could he be the Son of God if he had a human father? The virgin birth really matters. It involves the entrance of God into the stream of humanity. It highlights our Lord’s absolute uniqueness. He is “Immanuel, God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

To deny this is to deny the supernatural character of the gospel. It is the story of a great miracle. If one denies the miracle of the virgin birth of Christ, it is only a short step toward denying the many miracles, the resurrection, and the second coming of Jesus Christ as well.

The trustworthiness of the Bible is at stake. Let’s just say it plainly. If Jesus had a human father, the Bible is not true. It comes down to this: can we trust the Bible? Were Matthew and Luke and the other writers of the New Testament guilty of falsifying their testimony about Jesus? If the virgin birth is open to question, so is everything else the Bible teaches.

On the other hand, if the Bible is truthful and trustworthy, then we can accept the fact that it contains the record of supernatural events that are beyond our comprehension and must be accepted by faith.

When we recite the Apostles’ Creed, we acknowledge that God used miraculous means to bring his Son into the world. This was a special act of his love in providing a Savior who “was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.”

This matters. It means that Jesus was, and is, human like us. He understands our problems and needs. This also means that Jesus is divine. He is the powerful Son of God who is able to save and sustain all who put their faith in him.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

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Jesus is Lord

I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.

These are the opening lines of the Apostles’ Creed. They repeat the theme of the earliest Christian confession of faith: “Jesus is Lord.” This was a dangerous thing to say in the environment where the early believers lived.

First century Romans were compelled by the state to confess, “Caesar is lord!” The Romans attributed divinity to Caesar who was to be revered not only as a king but as a god. Emperors were invested with divine authority in religious ceremonies. The declaration, “Caesar is lord” was a unifying principle throughout the various regions of the empire. It was a test of the loyalty of the people.

There were many cases where Christians would be singled out for their refusal to say those words. Many of them paid with their lives when instead they uttered the confession, “Jesus is Lord!”

The apostle Paul included these words in one of the most profound Christological passages in the New Testament. He wrote of Jesus, “God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that ‘Jesus Christ is Lord,’ to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians2:9-11).

In the time of Paul, these words were subversive. They taught the Christians to challenge the divinity of Caesar by declaring the absolute authority and deity of Jesus. No wonder Paul was martyred as an enemy of the state by the Roman government!

Whenever Christians today recite the Apostles’ Creed, or its equivalent, we are declaring that there is no higher authority than Jesus in our lives, that we worship him as we worship God. We are agreeing with Paul that his name is above every name.

Paul uses three distinct names or titles for Jesus in Philippians 2. “Jesus” is his human name. It was in common use among the Jews of his day. In his writings Paul mentions the name of Jesus over 200 times. Only four times is the name Jesus referred to without another title attached.

“Christ” is an honorific title referring to his Messiahship. It means he is God’s anointed king. In the Old Testament, prophets, priests, and kings were anointed when they began their service for God. The title “Christ” meant that Jesus was divinely commissioned to be the king of Israel and to bring salvation to the world.

“Lord” denotes his authority as absolute ruler and divine sovereign. When the early Christians called Jesus “Lord,” they were actually confessing that Jesus of Nazareth is the God of Israel, Yahweh, the only true God. In Philippians 2, Paul is quoting the prophet Isaiah. In one of the most outstanding statements of monotheism in the Bible, the God of Israel says, “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other. . . . Before me every knee will bow and by me every tongue will swear” (Isaiah 45:22-23). Without hesitation Paul applies these very words to Jesus Christ!

Is Jesus your God and savior? You cannot know God without knowing him. A university student wanted to share her faith in Jesus with a friend. The two of them agreed to read and discuss the Bible together. They read though the opening chapters of the gospel of John where Jesus is called God several times. After several weeks of study the young friend exclaimed, “Why, I see what it means. It means that Jesus is God!” She had been reading it for weeks and had only at this point come to the realization of it. It was not long after that that she committed her life to Jesus as her God and savior.

Jesus Christ is Lord.  He is now the Lord. In some parts of the world it is still dangerous to make that confession. The name of Jesus is cursed and blasphemed. Many people alive today have never heard his name uttered in reverence or prayer. So when we say, “I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,” it is a witness to a world that needs to know him.

Someday every tongue will make that confession.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Do Christians Worship Three Gods?

Christians do not worship three Gods. Christians worship one God who is eternally manifested in three persons, each sharing the same divine essence or nature. If this is hard to understand, it is even more difficult to explain.

There are many facts which we accept which we cannot explain: how electricity works, the relation of “mind” to the function of the brain, the apparent infinity of an expanding universe, the origin of gravity, for example. The Christian belief in the tri-unity of God is a great mystery. It is above and beyond human reasoning. It is not the sort of belief that would have been invented by humans.

The doctrine of the Trinity is embedded in many parts of the Bible. These biblical references are the basis for confessions of faith we call creeds. When Christians recite the Apostles’ Creed, they affirm their faith by saying, “I believe in Jesus Christ, his (God’s) only Son, our Lord.” To call Jesus “Lord” is to use the same word that the ancient people of God used to refer to almighty God. This is a confession that Jesus is divine, along with the Father.

If we recite the Creed in sincerity, we do so believing that it is saying what the Bible teaches about Jesus. We should trust any doctrinal statement only insofar as it is derived from holy scripture and faithfully declares the truths of holy scripture. If we believe in the deity of Jesus Christ and in the Trinity, it is only because we find these truths in the Bible, and we do.

We find a clear intimation of this in the words of Jesus to his disciples in John 14: 15-18. He has identified himself as being one in essence with God the Father (vv. 9-11). He is about to go back to the Father after his death and resurrection (v. 12). He promises his disciples that he will ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit to them (vv. 16-17). When this happens, Jesus says, “I will come to you” (v. 18). Jesus will be with them in the person of the Holy Spirit. Then he adds that when the Holy Sprit comes, both the Father and the Son will be in those who love and obey him (v. 23).

Jesus says that he, the Son, possesses the same divine nature as the Father (v. 11). He came to reveal the Father (vv. 7-10). He then says that the Holy Spirit possesses that same nature (v. 16). When he refers to the Spirit as “another Counselor” (helper, comforter, advocate, encourager), he uses a word that means “another of the very same nature” as he is.

‘You know him,” Jesus says of the Holy Spirit, “for he lives in you and will be in you” (v. 17). This is the same thing he had told them about the Father (v. 7). Just as the disciples knew the Father because they knew the Son, so they would also know the Spirit because they knew the Son. Each of the persons of the Holy Trinity is distinct from the others, yet they are one in their essential being. To know one is to know the others. What Jesus is saying is that it is impossible to know him without knowing the Father and the Holy Spirit.

This agrees with other New Testament passages which bring out the idea of the Trinity. A few examples are the baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:13-17), his ascension and Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), Paul’s theology of salvation in which the Father chooses, the Son redeems and the Spirit seals believers (Ephesians 1:3-14), and the closing words of John’s epistle, “And we are in him who is true — even in his Son Jesus Christ. He (Jesus) is the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20).

In one of his hymns, Isaac Watts wrote: “Almighty God, to Thee be endless honors done, / The undivided Three and the mysterious One. / Where reason fails, with all her powers, there faith prevails and love adores.”

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14). 

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Creator of Heaven and Earth

“You are worthy, our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being” (Revelation 4:11).

I do not understand everything I believe. I believe what the Apostles’ Creed says when it leads me to declare, “I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.” I believe this. I really do. But that is not the same thing as saying I understand how God could speak everything into existence.

Faith in God as creator leads to humble worship. This is one of the reasons why the living creatures around God’s throne give thanks and praise to him. He created all things. This is one of the reasons we worship him. We know that we did not create ourselves. God is our creator. We owe him our worship.

The Bible is replete with references to God as creator. This is not incompatible with science. Faith in a creator is a reasonable faith.

Science teaches us that truth is knowable through experimentation. It says that the universe operates in orderly, predictable ways. It tells us that we can trust our senses, language, numbers, and logic to formulate scientific theories. When experiments are repeated and the results are the same, we say that we have discovered a scientific law. The laws of science reveal the magnificent creative power of almighty God.

This is the conclusion of a leading scientist, Francis Collins, former head of the National Institutes of Health and director of the Human Genome Project. When his team completed the mapping of human DNA, he wrote, “For me it was both a stunning scientific achievement and the occasion for worship.” Collins, who is a Christian, said that there is the possibility of a “richly satisfying harmony between science and faith.” Dr. Collins told this story in his book The Language of God.

So when I confess, “I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth,” it is not because I understand everything about God or his wonderful works. It is because his creative power is evident in the universe all around me. It is not unreasonable to believe that the universe did not create itself. Everything we see in nature is derived, dependent, created. God is the creator.

The Bible does not tell us when creation occurred. It does not give a scientific explanation of how creation occurred. It does tell us that creation unfolded in a sequential pattern, one creative day following another. Science cannot explain the origin of matter. The Bible gives us that information. “He is the Maker pf all things. . . . The Lord Almighty is his name” (Jeremiah 10:16).

We are told that the Trinity was involved. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:2 says that “the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” In Hebrews 1:2 we read that God has spoken through his Son “through whom he made the universe.”

The Bible tells us why creation occurred. Why is there something and not nothing? It is because God willed it so. The God we worship created all things for his own good purposes. Being exists. Matter exists. Persons exist. Consciousness exists. Why? Because God is a self-giving God of love and pure grace. Creation is a free act of grace.

There is a faint parallel in the work of human artists. Humans are creative because we are made in God’s image. The creative process involves thought and feeling, then expression. This is true of an artist painting on a canvas, a musician composing a masterwork, an architect designing a building, or a florist preparing a bouquet. The conception begins in their thoughts and imagination, then is made visible in the creative act.

It is the same with God.  Just as we can know something real about artists from looking at their creations, so we can know something about God from looking at his creation. This leads us to awestruck wonder and worship.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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I Believe!

“We believe. That’s what we do to live. Believing is like breathing: we do it, but we only know we are doing it when someone calls our attention to it.” So wrote philosopher James Sire in his book Why Should Anyone Believe Anything At All?

Today I am calling your attention to belief in God. I have read that surveys show that more than 80% of Americans say they believe in God. That raises questions. What kind of God?  What can we know about him? Does it matter whether or not we believe in him?

James Sire was right. Belief is automatic. It is a part of what it means to be a human being. Everyone believes in all kinds of things. As far as God is concerned, the important thing is to know what and in whom and why we believe.

The Apostles’ Creed begins with the declaration, “I believe in God the Father Almighty.” This is to say more than “I think,” or “I feel,” or “I hope.” It is a declaration of trust in the God who is revealed in the Bible. It is to make a personal commitment to the truth that God exists. It says a relationship with him is possible.

Not everyone is ready for this. Some time ago student volunteers affiliated with a Christian campus ministry at an eastern university were conducting a survey of fellow students. They asked questions about belief in God. One student replied, “I think people should believe whatever they like, whether there is a God or not.”

Another said, “God is everything each person thinks of him or her.” Another student answered, “God exists in each individual and the form their God takes is entirely up to them.”

These survey responses showed that the highest authority in these students’ lives was self. There was no higher moral authority than themselves. This is hardly surprising in a postmodern society when the very idea of absolute truth is being called into question.

According to the Bible, God is more than a psychological category. He is not a philosophical construct. He exists as a “Father,” who created us and to whom we must someday be accountable. He is a living person and he invites us into a relationship with himself through Jesus his son.

The statement we read in the opening phrase of the Apostles’ Creed is based upon Bible verses like this one: “For us there is but one God the Father from whom all things came and for whom we live, and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came, and through whom we live” (1 Corinthians 8:6).

Everyone believes. What we believe determines our destiny. Several years ago a drug was being prescribed by doctors to women with problem pregnancies, for relief of morning sickness. It worked — that is, it relieved the discomfort. But unfortunately it also caused many babies to be born with birth defects and severe handicaps.

The women who took the drug were sincere in their belief that it would help them. They were misled and the consequences were devastating. The drug was, of course, withdrawn from use by pregnant women. Its side effects were too costly.

Belief in the wrong version of God or Jesus may be even more costly. It can cost you your eternal happiness. According to the Bible, “one God, the Father” is the creator, who through Jesus his son, is ready to make it possible for us to live, really live.

Our response should be to say from our hearts, “I believe!”

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

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We Need the Creed

Some readers of this blog can quote the Apostles’ Creed from memory. To them it is as familiar as the words to “Jesus Loves Me this I Know” or John 3:16. Others, who were brought up as I was, were taught to say, “Baptists are not a creedal people. Our only creed is Christ,” or “The Bible is my creed.”

But even Baptists have had their written statements of faith such as the historic “New Hampshire Confession” and “The Baptist Faith and Message.” The Apostles’ Creed is the oldest and most widely-accepted of the Christian statements of belief. It is a simple, concise summary of convictions held in common by all Christians.

It is important to know what we believe and why we believe it. In today’s world, the very idea of absolute truth is being questioned. Everything is up for grabs and truth is whatever individuals want it to be. In this environment Ray Pritchard has written that the Apostles’ Creed “is a  radical challenge  to the skepticism of our age.” It can be a buttress for our faith in an uncertain world.

There are examples of early Christian creeds in the New Testament. It is believed that the great formulation of the doctrine of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 is a quotation by Paul of a statement of faith that was already being circulated by followers of Jesus just a few short years after his resurrection.

1 Timothy 3:16 is another example of an early creed quoted by Paul. It was already in use in the churches at the time he wrote to Timothy in Ephesus. It begins with the phrase “by common confession,” or “beyond all question,” a statement of certainty and conviction.

Perhaps the most commonly used and familiar of the early creeds was the courageous declaration, “Jesus is Lord” (Romans 10:9, 1 Corinthians 12:3). The trinitarian benediction in 2 Corinthians 13:14 is also believed to be an early creed. Jude 3 speaks of “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” One of the ways the faith was transmitted orally was by the repeated recitation of creeds. This was before the writing of the epistles and gospels of the New Testament.

It is not necessary to believe that the twelve apostles personally composed the Apostles’ Creed, to believe that it reflects their teachings. It is not a part of the New Testament, but it is based upon the Bible. It is considered to be ancient in origin, perhaps dating back to the fourth century. The creed is regularly  quoted in churches and by individuals all over the world to reinforce the faith of God’s people and as a public witness to that faith.

“As the Lord’s Prayer is the Prayer of prayers,” wrote Philip Schaff, “the Decalogue the Law of laws, so the Apostles’ Creed is the Creed of creeds. It contains all the fundamental articles of the Christian faith necessary to salvation.”

I intend to explore the Apostles’ Creed over the next several weeks in this blog. This is because it matters what we believe. The creed begins with the words “I believe,” or credo in Latin, which gives us the English word “creed.” What we believe is a matter of life and death. The creed points the way to eternal life.

                                                The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ his Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

He 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, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic (universal) church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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A Serious Responsibility

I wish there were more churches that emphasize  the expository preaching of the Bible. In biblical exposition the pastor reads the text of scripture, explains its meaning and suggests ways for people to apply it to their lives. When I served as a local church pastor, this is what I endeavored to do. People  need the plain teaching of the word of God.

To teach the Bible is a sacred privilege and solemn responsibility. James 3:1 says, “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” I know that I am accountable to God for my teaching ministry. That produces in me a deep reverence not unlike fear and trembling.

Having written that, however, I confess that it was a joy to serve in healthy churches among people who expected and valued Bible exposition Sunday after Sunday.

I worked hard at it. I studied the Bible many hours every week. There were other pastoral duties, of course, such as administration, counseling, pastoral visitation, and evangelism. But I gave priority to the hours for study and preparation for preaching.

My preferred method was expositional preaching, that is, teaching the Bible verse by verse. Dr. David Allen was a well-respected Bible expositor. He was asked one time, “What are you going to preach on next Sunday?” He replied, “The next verse.”

As I exegeted the text, to discover its meaning, I then did my best to present it in accordance with the intention of its human author and the Divine Author. If I was teaching on a particular theme, such as the Holy Spirit, or family life, or what the Bible says about the future, I would select a biblical passage that emphasized that subject and then I would prepare an expository message based upon that text.

For most of my pulpit ministry I taught through books of the Bible. In this way I covered most of the books of the New Testament, some of them more than once. This method required me to give attention to all the major themes of the Bible, not just to gravitate to my favorite topics. This also ensured that I could not bypass difficult subjects that the church needed to hear.

I also taught through many Old Testament books, surveying selected psalms, the prophets, prominent characters, and foundational themes such as creation, Messianic prophecies, and highlights of Israel’s history.

In addition to teaching the content and interpretation of the scriptures, I sought to show their relevance to the lives of the people today. I tried to illustrate my messages with stories and examples from contemporary life. This was to try to help the people apply the teaching to their lives as Christians.

Believing that Jesus Christ is the main theme of the Bible, I wanted to include the gospel in every message in some way. The Bible’s message is how sinners like us may be brought into a right relationship with God. This is only through faith in Jesus Christ, his sacrificial death for our sins, and his glorious resurrection.

In view of the eternal importance of this subject, it is clear why those who preach and teach the Bible will be held to a higher standard of accountability. It is a serious responsibility.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

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When My World Got Smaller

I was encouraged recently by reading the story of Philip in Acts chapter 8. He preached the gospel to large numbers of people in Samaria. Then he was called away to minister to one man. After that he lived in relative obscurity. At least we are not told any more about him except for a brief mention in Acts 21.

His story blessed me because it reminded me of my own experience. In the good providence of God, I was also honored to preach the word before large numbers of people. For four decades I was privileged to serve as senior pastor of two significant churches, Calvary Baptist Church of Covington, Kentucky, and Metropolitan Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

By God’s grace, I was invited to preach and teach overseas in several countries of Africa, Asia, South America and Europe. I did not seek these opportunities. I simply went through the doors the Lord opened and obeyed his call. Looking back on all this fills me with amazement.

When I retired from local church ministry in 2018 at the age of 72, I went through a period of emotional withdrawal. I really missed the regular weekly rhythm of study and preaching, the care of souls, and planning for corporate worship. My ministry focus changed to an investment in the lives of a few individuals who were interested in discipleship, and writing this blog every week.

Then came the Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2022. Tremors, choking, balance, difficulty with handwriting became distractions to me, and I am sure, to others. This motivated Connie and me to move from Oklahoma City to Valdosta, Georgia, to live near our daughter Carrie and her family. This move was a big adjustment after 32 years in OKC. The Lord is giving us new friends and a new home here in South Georgia.

This is where the story of Philip touched me. I read that the Lord led Philip away from his influential public ministry in Samaria where he had been preaching to large crowds. Many had been converted to faith in Jesus and were baptized in his name. But Philip was called away to a solitary ministry to one man.

Then I noticed that Philip’s world got even smaller. He was led by the Holy Spirit to a life we know little about in Caesarea. What was he doing there? We only know that he was identified as “Philip the evangelist” (Acts 21:8). He had a house in Caesarea which was, apparently, his permanent residence. Did he have a ministry from that home base? Twenty years separate his public ministry in Acts 8 from his private life in Acts 21. Surely he continued to be a witness for the Lord, even in obscurity.

We are told he had four daughters “who prophesied” (Acts 21:9). This means that they were believers, and that they were equipped by the Holy Spirit with the gift of prophesy. They used their gift to serve the Lord. This says good things about Philip’s influence as a Christian father. Those twenty years were not wasted. They were invested wisely in his family.

What I learn from this is that fame is not important. Large numbers are not important. Ministry to a single individual can be as important as ministry to a crowd. What matters is faithfulness. In my case that means that I want to be ready to fulfill whatever ministry the Lord sends my way, personal witness, occasional preaching or teaching, and mentoring, despite obvious physical limitations.

What matters is family. I am delighted to be able to enjoy gatherings with Carrie’s family. I am proud of my son-in-law and his international ministry which is flourishing. My adult grandsons honor me by wanting to continue breakfast Bible studies. I enjoy golf and fishing with my granddaughter. I want to use whatever influence I have to be an example to my family of how to finish well.

Like Philip.

Pastor Randy Faulkner