Matthew 8:13 “ ... And as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.”
“Do you actually believe all that about Adam and Eve and all that stuff?” a young lady once asked me. I didn't answer her question directly. I simply said she was starting at the wrong end of the Bible.
But her question brings to light again the fact that we are living amidst an avowed age of doubt. Everywhere, we hear the question, “What can a man believe?” This is the direct opposite of the Middle Ages, when devils roamed the streets and fear held men in chains. We are free from all the superstition and ignorance of that period. But our very freedom has brought with it the terrifying problems of uncertainty. Definite belief, however superstitious, is always more comforting than the tragic suspense of complete lack of certainty.
Youth, especially, suffers deeply and is deeply vexed by the difficulty of making constant decisions. In business, in marriage, in religion, there are so many things to be decided; and there is so fatal a result if the decisions are wrong, that the days of youth are often times of tumult and inner turmoil.
Today, all this is harder because convictions are supposed to be unfashionable. We claim to be above all dogmatism. Yet the very claim of such freedom fastens us more firmly in our vital need. What can we believe? What does it mean to believe? Is there anybody who “doesn't believe anything?”
To believe means to accept as true, to place confidence in, to have faith. Everybody believes in something: That he exists, sees, walks, knows, hears, has the sense of smell. The only alternative to some such belief is utter mental and philosophic chaos, such as was once advocated by Berkeley and Hume.
Let us safely conclude, then, that we need some safe anchorage for our thoughts. There must be some sure fact in which we can believe. In the field of religion, then, what shall we say to those who claim that creeds are needless; that they are too narrow, too binding, too confining. Are they right? Can they be right?
Is a creed necessary in religion? This is an age of codes and regulation. In all business life systems are used and definite laws govern and regulate all activity. Some oppose all law and regulation. They are disregarded and termed anarchists. Knowing that utter confusion would result otherwise, business in general accepts regulation without question.
So in the spiritual realm, some oppose the acceptance of any definite and binding conviction. They say there's no hell, for instance, because subconsciously they fear it. They are like Branch Cabell's Jurgen , who says, “Whatever you believe, you'll get.” The kind of heaven you imagine is the kind of heaven in which you will eventually dwell; and the same is true of hell. Many seem to have that idea today.
But if we must have definite beliefs and definite regulations in the material realm of business, we must also have some system and order in our spiritual affairs. This belief and this system can be codified, and that is a creed. Men may live good lives without a creed, it is true. But the kind of thought that refuses to be compressed into logical channels is slovenly thought. And the kind of life that cannot accept a sensible order of things is a slovenly life. Some people have as their credo, the plan of living the best and most serviceable life possible. The Jews' creed was the Ten Commandments. Actually, everybody of normal mental power lives his life according to some regulation. Everybody has a creed, even though he may deny it.
Our task in life, then, as I see it, is to choose as the regulating agency, the creed, the best and most trustworthy creed possible. And in spiritual life, our task is similar. We need the best creed and cannot be satisfied in the depth of our hearts and souls unless we have attained the highest possible standard.
What creed can I accept? Even in spiritual affairs, we must try to be logical, thoughtful, sensible, modern . The creed we follow must be simple and yet complete. It may take almost any form.
Horace Bushnell, a great preacher of a past generation, started his religious life on the premise “I know there is infinite difference between right and wrong and that Thou lovest those who do right. Help me to do right.” Such a simple prayer can become an effective guide in life. For most of us, an eternal question comes from the Bible: “What think ye of Christ?” The answer to that question is a creed.
If we are sincere in our efforts to establish our religious life on a sound basis, we must start with the ancient, traditional creed of the Church known as the Apostles' Creed. It would be a waste of time to argue about other lesser-known statements.
For two thousand years the Apostles' Creed has been a mainstay of Christianity in all its branches, from the most orthodox to the loosest. Can we still accept it today? What points of contention are we likely to raise in regard to it? Assuming that we are normal human beings, the acceptance of most of the creed is obvious. God created the world. Jesus was born, lived, suffered, was crucified, died, was buried. We believe in the spiritual fellowship of the communion, in God's forgiving spirit, in some form of immortality. The questions left for consideration are the Triune form of the Godhead, the Virgin Birth, the Resurrection of the Body, whether it be Christ's or ours. How shall we treat these questions today? They are alive and vital in our thinking.
Taking these three items in order, we face first the question of the Holy Trinity, the triune God. This deals with the nature of God and is a problem of the field of Theophysiology . Volumes have been written about it. But 5,000 years ago the Psalmist asked “Who can understand thy ways, O Lord?” And that question has baffled every age to the present one. God is still a mystery today. No man has seen God and no one has given a description of Him. Great minds have worked on the problem and never solved it. For most of us, who are submerged by the Einstein theory or even our own government's gold policy, the understanding of greater things is an impossibility . But in its simplest form, this problem is actually not insoluble. We know there is one God, Who has revealed Himself to man in three ways; by making the world, through the life and teachings of Jesus, and through our own souls or consciences. That, in essence, is the Trinity.
The question of the Virgin Birth of Jesus, which has frequently caused an unseemly stir among savants, has been quieted somewhat of late. The explanation of the need for a Virgin Birth, the avoidance of original sin, is a moot question of theology. And strangely enough, theology is often far removed from pure religion. While theology is interesting, it is not important. Life is important, and the living of it to the full is the aim of religion. Students in our seminaries, preparing for the ministry, spend much of their precious time studying theology. Then they come out and deal with people and face the problems of life, from which theology is often distant and vague. The fact remains that God can give life and God can take it away. The God Who possesses all this power can certainly arrange a Virgin Birth if it is essential to His plans. God, Who made the world, has power over men and women, also. On that basis we can accept the miraculous birth of Jesus. That basis will not suit the die-hard theologians. But if they wish to argue, they must find some other opponent than myself .
The doctrine of the resurrection of the body simply requires a proper interpretation. Old people who died certainly don't want their emaciated and decrepit bodies back again, even at the Judgment Day. But Christ Himself, and in later years Martin Luther, plainly explained this fact. The body we receive is a body, but a glorious, spiritual one. In other words, in the immortal life for which we hope, we won't be losing our individuality, as the Buddhists claim. We are individual personalities during the life on earth because our appearances, our voices, our characters are different. Through all eternity, we shall maintain that individuality. In that light, the resurrection of the body is something good and desirable.
If you have followed me so far, you will concede that even today we can keep the Apostles' Creed as our solid basis of faith and hope. We can make as many creeds of our own as we like, providing always that our premises are sound and our reasoning logical. But the great, ancient code which bears the name of the Disciples is still the best and most complete of all.
But is a creed practical? What effect should it have on life? It is time to return to the text, which contains the words of Jesus to one who believed. “As thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.” Faith was the expressed condition for receiving the power of Christ in his life. Luther's explanation to the Creed only once tells us what to do. After speaking of God, he says “For all this we are in duty bound to thank, praise, serve and obey Him.” That is the result of a creed, of belief, in our lives. A code must be lived up to. It must bring added inspiration, mental solidarity, spiritual peace. It must lead us to action. Paul said “I believed, therefore have I spoken.”
Faith is the mainspring of all effort. If we believe, we sill follow that belief by action. “Peace on earth, goodwill toward men” is a message for all people. If we believe it, we will spread it. Service to God, obedience to His command to love our neighbors, church attendance to praise Him, prayer to thank Him, brighter lives as the result of this all - that is what a creed will accomplish.
To say “I believe” is simple. To mean it is a great experience. As a matter of fact, not to have a creed it not practical. A train can't run without tracks, an automobile can't run without a steering mechanism. A creed is not only practical; it is a necessity. Shout out “I believe” as Luther did. People will honor you for it. Shout “I won't believe” and you will be disregarded. We must be constructive in religion.