Have you ever been challenged on what you believe? Or that what you believe is not sufficient to get you into heaven? In the past year, I’ve been told by different people that because I don’t speak in tongues, belong to the Roman Catholic Church, or believe in the right creation model I’m not guaranteed to be saved.
Even Scripture can be confusing on this:
“Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:7-10, NIV)
Okay, since the day I gave my heart to the Lord, I have considered myself to be saved. I know that I am a work in progress and that I am being sanctified (i.e., purified, made holy) by the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in me.
But I still sin. By a strict reading of John’s passage above, I am ‘of the Devil’, I am not ‘born of God,’ I am not ‘a child of God.’ Add to that I don’t speak in tongues, I’m not Catholic, and I believe the earth is more than 6000 years old. I’m doomed.
Here’s what I do believe:
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
I will start with what’s contained in this creed and trust that God is continuing to work in me. It doesn’t answer all my questions, but it is an excellent summary of the doctrines of the Christian faith.
April 18th, 2009 13:58 pm
Good question. But what if someone doesn’t believe every line in the Nicene (or Apostle’s) Creed? I know one fellow who insists that Jesus is literally sitting at God’s right hand (as if God had a right side or even hands) What if someone has a problem with the doctrine of the Virgin Birth? Would that jeopardize salvation?
April 18th, 2009 15:09 pm
A creed is simply a man-made summary of doctrine, but the Nicene is the best thumbnail summary I’ve found.
What if someone has a problem with the doctrine of the Virgin Birth? Would that jeopardize salvation?
Well, I think at that point you begin down the slippery slope into ‘Jesus was just a man who had things together.’ Can He be God and not have been born of a virgin? I don’t see why not. God can do what He wills. I’m not sure where the slippery slope begins, but for me it seems near that position.
As for Jesus sitting at the right hand of God, that one doesn’t bother me so much. I read it as Jesus being honored by God with a position of authority and respect. It’s not a problem for God to have sides or hands – after all, we were made in His image. That always reminds me, though, of the All in the Family episode where Archie said that he had been made in the image of God. Mike’s reply: ‘God looks like you?’