|
What Christians Believe Last week I
began a 4 week sermon series which linked in with the Confirmation
Preparation Programme, currently underway. I began by looking at the
question - “What does it mean to become a Christian?” – and we saw
that we needed to break THAT question down into two others: 1) What IS a Christian? Very simply – we saw that a Christian is - above all else, a Follower of Jesus Christ; one who belongs to Christ. 2) How do I become a Christian ? We looked at the example of Zacchaeus and how Zacchaeus made a personal response to Jesus which was characterised both by sincerity and repentance. So, today, in the second sermon of our series, we look at the question , What do Christians Believe? If we want to find out “What Christians Believe”, there are many sources we can access to help us in our search. I looked up that question on the Internet, and the search engine Google came back with 753,000 responses. Needless to say, I didn’t read them all! You can find what Christians believe in a number of other places as well! Of course the Bible, for a start! Then if you read through our Anglican Church Prayer books, and in our hymn and song books, you will also find reflected there, the beliefs which are important to us. And of course these are expressed through our worship also. You will also find our Christian Beliefs summarised in the Creeds and other historic statements of the Church. Perhaps the one place where we will find the most fundamental beliefs of our faith – those which are common to all Christians and about which all Christians agree - is in our Baptism and Confirmation Service. When an adult comes for baptism, or godparents bring their children for baptism; or candidates come for Confirmation, they are asked just three questions:-
And to each question , the candidate replies:- I believe and trust in God, / in Jesus Christ;/ in the Holy Spirit. These three basic beliefs which are at the heart of the Christian faith are not dry dusty academic theories, but living words which express a living relationship with a loving God. The more we understand and trust in the foundational truths of the faith, the more we will come to appreciate the uniqueness and sweetness of the Christian Life. Firstly : We believe in God the Father, Maker of all things. You don’t have to be a Christian to believe in God, do you? Many people acknowledge the existence of a superior being without accepting Christianity. But what Christians believe is that God’s nature can best be described in terms of a loving Father. God is not only the Creator of all that is, but He is continually showing and demonstrating His love for us. It is for us to discern and to see his hand at work in our lives. Jesus told the story of the Prodigal son, otherwise, and perhaps better described as the story of the Loving Father, to show us just what God is like, and how much God loves us. As extraordinary as it may seem, the same God who created the universe and everything in it wants us, small as we are, to know him as intimately as we know our own parents. Jesus taught us to pray – Our Father in heaven, and just as He trusted the Father completely, so he wants us to share in that same relationship, and to enjoy his love in our lives everyday. I Believe and Trust in God the Father, maker of all things, is the first fundamental belief of what Christians believe. 2) I believe and trust in His Son, Jesus Christ who redeemed mankind. At the heart of the Christian Faith is Jesus Christ. There is overwhelming evidence to believe that what the New Testament says about him is indeed factual and accurate. Jesus was certainly a great teacher, and no one has ever given more profound insights into our human condition or God’s purposes. The Gospels record some of the greatest spiritual and moral teaching ever given, including the Sermon on the Mount and many famous parables. This teaching was backed up by his actions. Jesus went about healing the sick and the handicapped, restoring them to a whole new way of life. But special as these things are, they don’t, of themselves, make Jesus the central point of the Christian faith, though they certainly point us towards that conclusion. The gospels clearly indicate that it’s not the teaching, or the miracles that are the central point of Jesus life – but rather his death! The Bible says that “God loved the world so much that He gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life”. (Jn.3;16) And his death, on the cross, was in order that the sin barrier, separating us from God, might be broken down, once and for all. The Resurrection of Jesus was the proof that his work was completed and successful. That’s why Jesus is at the heart of the Christian Faith. Only in him and through him can we receive forgiveness and new life. 3) The third fundamental belief in our Christian faith is to believe in God, the Holy Spirit.- who empowers and encourages the People of God. There’s enough evidence in the world around us to make belief in a Creator God a reasonable option; and there’s enough historical data to demonstrate the existence in Palestine 2000 years ago of a teacher and miracle-worker called Jesus. Even on that basis, many have accepted him as God’s Son. But Christians have always believed in the Holy Spirit, one God but three persons. The evidence for the Holy Spirit, who is the third person of the trinity, is quite different. His existence can’t be demonstrated by science or history, - but in the experience of every Christian he’s as real and personal, and just as much God, as the Father and the Son. He was present at Creation and appears throughout the Old Testament. Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and when he was baptised the same Holy Spirit came to give him power for ministry. It was God’s Spirit who raised Jesus from death to resurrection life. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter and the other disciples experienced the coming of the Holy Spirit, and they told their hearers that they needed to repent and be baptised for their sins to be forgiven, following which they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Ever since, Christians have regarded baptism as the time when the Holy Spirit comes on someone to make them a Child of God. At confirmation, the Bishop, together with the congregation, asks God to confirm you with his Holy Spirit, to give you the strength to live for him day by day. Confirmation marks the beginning of this new life. The Holy Spirit shows us Jesus, and how much we need him daily; he plants the seeds of faith within us and enables them to flourish and grow; he gives us strength to serve God and to face difficulties for him. We can’t see the Holy Spirit, but, like the wind, we know the Holy Spirit is there by the effect he has on our lives. The questions in the Baptism and Confirmation Services don’t ask you if you believe there is a God, but whether you believe and trust in Him! The Christian life and journey, begins at that point. When we affirm what we believe at Confirmation, we acknowledge that we know God is our loving heavenly Father, through his Son Jesus Christ, by the power of his Holy Spirit. |
