Monthly Archives: September 2009

True Faith

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Q. 20. Will all men, then, be saved through Christ as they became lost through Adam?

A. No. Only those who, by true faith, are incorporated into him and accept all his benefits.

Q. 21. What is true faith?

A. It is not only a certain knowledge by which I accept as true all that God has revealed to us in his Word, but also a wholehearted trust which the Holy Spirit creates in me through the gospel, that, not only to others, but to me also God has given the forgiveness of sins, everlasting righteousness and salvation, out of sheer grace solely for the sake of Christ’s saving work.

Q. 22. What, then, must a Christian believe?

A. All that is promised us in the gospel, a summary of which is taught us in the articles of the Apostles’ Creed, our universally acknowledged confession of faith.

Q. 23. What are these articles?

A. I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ, his only-begotten Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall 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.

 There is an exclusivity to Christianity.  Scripture does teach, “God desires everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4).  But the very next sentence goes on to say, “there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 2:5-6).  Jesus himself said, “God so loved the world he gave his only begotten, so that whoever shall believe in him … shall have everlasting life.”  To be saved, we must have a saving knowledge, that is, a saving relationship, with Christ.

Rich Mullins sings of the Creed, “I believe what I believe is what makes me who I am.  I did not make it, it is making me, it is the very truth of God, not the invention of any man.”  Simply and succinctly the creed sums up what we need to know.  Let it lead and guide you as you study God’s word and grow in your relationship with Christ the Lord.

Prayer

Thank you, Father, for your salvation in Christ alone, and for ancient faith and creeds which show us your truth.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Truly God, Truly Man

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Q. 16. Why must he be a true and righteous man?

A. Because God’s righteousness requires that man who has sinned should make reparation for sin, but the man who is himself a sinner cannot pay for others.

Q. 17. Why must he at the same time be true God?

A. So that by the power of his divinity he might bear as a man the burden of God’s wrath, and recover for us and restore to us righteousness and life.

Q. 18. Who is this mediator who is at the same time true God and a true and perfectly righteous man?

A. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is freely given to us for complete redemption and righteousness.

Q. 19. Whence do you know this?

A. From the holy gospel, which God himself revealed in the beginning in the Garden of Eden, afterward proclaimed through the holy patriarchs and prophets and foreshadowed through the sacrifices and other rites of the Old Covenant, and finally fulfilled through his own well-beloved Son.

 These questions today bring us to the heart of our Christian Faith.  If you want to know how Christianity is different from all the other religions in the world, look no further.  The Apostle Paul wrote, “God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us” (2 Cor 5:19).  In no other religion will you find God breaking the barrier between the transcendent and the immanent.  Only in Christ will you find God bearing our burden of sin and restoring us to righteousness and life.  Indeed, Christ alone is “our righteousness, our holiness, our redemption” (1 Cor 1:30).

The entire testimony of Scripture makes this known.   From Genesis to Revelation we are promised a deliverer, and we find our deliverer in Christ. The law demonstrated our need, the prophets told us what to expect, the Temple sacrifice foreshadowed how Christ would complete our salvation.

The truth remains, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Prayer

Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ we come to you, we praise you, and we give you thanks for our righteousness, our holiness, our redemption which is a gift from Christ’s own hand.  We thank you that there is no other name but Jesus, not even our own, by which we are saved.  It is in his name we pray.  Amen.