INTRODUCTION TO AFFIRMATIONS OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
As time marches on and the aging process begins to cast a shadow on my short-term memory, my mind seems sharper now than ever regarding long-term memory. It is interesting to me that, at 85 years of age, I am still recalling interpretations of Christian beliefs that have been hallmarks of my ministry for three score and more years.
After all, I have sat under the preaching, on a right regular basis, of no fewer than a dozen inimitable pastors with whom I was associated in my role as Church Consultant, Christian Educator and Community Counselor. In my associations, and during those years of Christian service, each of my pastors involved me in the ministries of preaching and teaching the Word.
Living in the latter days of my life on this earth, with the 21st century well under way, I find myself “up against it” regarding a lot that I read today, and hear, about endeavors by more than a few Christian ministers to re-define basic Christian doctrines – beliefs that, for me, were and still are “pillars” upon which to build one’s Christian life.
In our world of instant communication, we pick up on much negativism as to the validity of our Christian Faith - for instance, the brazenness with which professing Christians embrace ways other than Jesus Christ for being saved – even by folks who know that Jesus proved what He said: “I am the way, the truth and the life . . . No one comes to the Father except by me.”
An illustration of how some folks are thinking occurred at one of my favorite places for fellowship with friends - The Waffle House: One morning while sitting at one end of the coffee shop, I and everyone else could hear a guy at the other end waxing eloquent about religious issues. Although I for the most part had tuned him out, my ears perked up when he started talking about how one goes to heaven. Don’t know how the subject came up, but what I heard this guy say was: “All people of all religions will go to heaven if they’re good.”
Now folks, I’m in favor of everyone being good; and I’m in favor of everyone going to heaven; but it doesn’t matter what I am in favor of, or what the Waffle House customer’s view was; the fact is that the Bible tells us who will and will not go to heaven; and nowhere in the Bible does it say that “all people from all religions will go to heaven if they are good.”
Later in this series, I share my understanding of a Christian view of “how to go to heaven”. The “who and how” of receiving, by grace through faith, God’s gift of eternal life ought to be a major objective of all Christian preaching and teaching.
Pursuing an evangelistic objective, however, in no way diminishes but enhances the importance of affirming and acting upon all other major Christian doctrines – the necessity of which motivated me to reaffirm my Christian beliefs.
There were basically ten tenets which I felt the need to reexamine and work through in my own mind until I could say, “This I believe.”
Yes, reflected in my statements of belief are numerous interpretations and perspectives gained from a lifetime of intensive Bible study, as well as listening with an attentive ear to good teachers and preachers, not to mention all the research done through the years in preparation for teaching teachers – probably the most rewarding aspect of my ministry. Amen.
AFFIRMATIONS – SERMON IV: BELIEF IN GOD THE SON, SAVIOR, LORD OF LIFE
Granted, there is much about Christian doctrine that I cannot explain due to a lack of understanding on my part; it is at the point of admitting my inability to grasp certain teachings fundamental to Christianity that my faith “kicks in”. The incarnation of Jesus Christ is one of those doctrines.
How God could - or why He would - become flesh, I do not fully comprehend; yet, the Bible says so. A seminary professor of mine years ago told our class that Jesus, for all practical purposes, was “God with skin on.”
To believe God manifested himself in human form was important to me - for me to accept the gospel song writer’s assertion found in the title of his composition - “God Understands.” My belief in the concept of “God with me” and, therefore, “God understands” has been my source of COMFORT in times of sorrow as well as my HOPE in times of uncertainty.
Every Sunday school child is taught that Jesus grew in the same ways that all children grow. The second chapter of the gospel according to Luke has been of no small significance to me in my role as a Christian teacher:
“And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him . . . And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man . . . They found him in the Temple, sitting during the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions.” (Luke 2:40, 52, 46)
From Luke’s account of the boy Jesus, it is obvious that he went through the growing process as does every child, and that he subjected himself to certain limitations that we all experienced during childhood.
Had Jesus not been willing to become one of us physically, mentally, socially and spiritually, you might say that his lack of humanity would have left some of us wondering whether God really understands humans.
I am so glad that Jesus had to deal with some of the same emotions you and I must work through. Take, for example, the emotions associated with the grieving process. “When Jesus saw the sisters of Lazarus and their friends weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.” Then he asked to be taken to the tomb where it is said by John that “Jesus wept.”
When troubles come our way, and we find ourselves wringing our hands and weeping, remember that God the Son truly cares because He too has “been there.”
When you feel tired, remember: Jesus did too – John 4:6 – “Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired from the journey, sat down by the well.”
When you are “dying” from thirst, remember: Jesus likewise agonized because of his thirst – John 19:28 – “Knowing that all was now completed, so that the Scriptures could be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I thirst.”
When you get so hungry that you could eat something you don’t like, remember: Jesus did too – Matthew 4:2 – “After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.”
When you feel so weak that all you want to do is sleep, remember: Jesus felt that way too – on his getting into a boat and falling into such a deep sleep that he might have slept through the storm had he not been frantically awakened by his disciples.
Folks, everything that we struggle with – even death itself – Jesus, in his humanity, experienced; so take heart in knowing that He who was present when humanity was created is never absent when we need him most.
How can that be? How can he be with us in the “here and now” even though he is no longer among us physically?
It is at this point of amazement that I must affirm my belief in the divinity of Jesus. As the Roman soldier confessed, so must we: “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
The name “Jesus” was the name given to him for living on this earth in the flesh; but it was no accident that he was given that name because of its meaning – “God saves.”
As merely human, there was no way for Jesus to “save” humanity apart from establishing earthly kingdom that would one day perish as have all kingdoms ruled by human beings. He made it clear to his followers that his was not an earthly kingdom; rather, his was a “spiritual” kingdom. Thus, He taught us to pray: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
The only way a spiritual kingdom could be established would be for the founder of that kingdom to be divine. So, in his divine wisdom and foreknowledge, God the Almighty chose his one and only Son – a divine heavenly being - to become a human being for thirty-three years.
As a man, Jesus would be tempted in all points like we are – the only difference being that he would never sin. You and I are smart enough to know that there is no way humanly possible for a human being to be tempted for thirty-three years and never sin - unless that person was of divine origin!
One reason the Bible says that Jesus was God’s ONLY Son is that there has never been another like him; he was the One and Only; still is; he became a human for thirty-three years, and only because he came from God and therefore was divine could it have been that he never sinned - even though tempted in every way that humans could have been tempted.
The humanity of Jesus had to be manifested for him to identify with us and, later, for us to identify with him as Lord and Savior – which was God’s purpose for sending His Son into the world to begin with.
Yes, it infuriated many of the religious folks in Jesus’ day when Jesus referred to God as his Father – but, according to the Scripture, he was and is God’s Only Son; he had to be, if the world through him was to be saved.
Salvation on God’s terms required human sacrifice – and Jesus was human. Salvation on God’s terms required divine sacrifice – and Jesus was divine. Salvation on God’s terms required the fulfillment of prophecy by a Messiah sent by God – and, therefore, to his earthly name “Jesus” was added the messianic title “the Christ”.
Today, we affirm our belief in Jesus the Christ, God’s only Son! We declare our belief in his humanity and in his divinity.
Today, tomorrow, and throughout all the tomorrows of life, there are two things Jesus said about his and his Father’s relationship that I want to remember and never forget:
“I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30) There was unity in their relationship. Jesus’ thirty-three years on this earth did not destroy oneness between the Father and the Son. Let us Christians be known for our “oneness in Christ” and, therefore, our unity within the Fellowship.
“To see the Son is to see the Father.” (John 14:9) Jesus resembled his Father; the Father’s qualities were reflected in Jesus; if we want to know what God is like, we have to learn what Jesus was like; to live like Jesus is to live a life pleasing to God the Father. Let us Christians be known for our “likeness to Christ” and, therefore, our reflection of God’s love and mercy.
Folks, Jesus prayed that his disciples – including you and me – would be “one” just as he and his Father are one. We would do well to reflect a spirit of Christian oneness in all of the relationships we are privileged to enjoy in this life.
The highest and most privileged relationship that is ours as Christians to enjoy is our commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord of life – individually and collectively – in the “here and now” and in the “hereafter.”
In the first century, the signal or sign by which Christians identified themselves, both in writing and in speaking, was to say and really mean it, “Jesus is Lord.”
Say it because you really mean it: “Jesus is Lord.” Amen.
