Faith entrusted through the Creeds

Faith entrusted through the Creeds

In modern Christianity, there are many who think that rattling through the words of an ancient creed has no meaning and purpose for Christian life. Therefore, in most of the newer churches there is no place given for the reading of the creeds at worship and for that matter they may not even introduce their congregations to the Apostles or Nicene Creeds. However, the traditional Churches like Methodist, Anglican and Roman Catholic do have the reciting of the Creeds, at worship. When candidates are prepared for Confirmation or Adults Baptism, the Creeds are used as a guideline to teach the doctrines of the Christian Church.

With the recent discoveries made on the snares of heretical and false doctrinal teachings that people are exposed to, the Church should not only expose the cults who are in to such teaching, but also, be proactive in conveying the doctrinal truths on which the Church resolutely stand. Therefore, the time has come for the church in Sri Lanka to encourage every believer in Christ to be more focused on the historical Creeds of the Christian Church. The Creeds should be introduced to people as parameters of the Christian faith so that they will not be swayed with the erroneous teachings that false prophets preach & teach.

Both in the early times and in the present day, the Christian Church is called upon to make public what it believes in simple language. The historical Creeds systematically state what a Christian is called upon to believe. The Creeds are an actual declaration of what the faith stands for. The word Creed originates from the Latin word Credo and it means "I believe". Both the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed begin with the words “I believe…….”. When a person says “I believe”, it becomes his personal confession of the shared beliefs of a Universal Church to which other believers have also subscribed.

One of the earliest of the creeds in the New Testament church could be traced in St. Paul’s letter to the Romans 10: 9 “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (New American Standard Bible). For all adult converts of the New Testament Church, this was an important statement of faith that led them to receive Baptism.

The public confession of faith by a follower of Christ was required by Christ himself as found in Matthew 10 :32 "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.”

“It is not enough to believe in him, with the heart, but confession of him must also be made with the mouth; and which lies in ascribing their whole salvation to him, giving him the glory of it; declaring their faith in him to others, and what he has done for their souls; and subjecting themselves to his ordinances, and joining in fellowship with his church and people: which confession, as it ought to be both by words and deeds, and to be hearty and sincere, so likewise visible, open, and before men.”          (Gills-exposition-of-the-bible/matthew-10-32.)

May we all be encouraged to read and understand the great truths revealed to us in the historical creeds so that the “faith entrusted” to us by the great Apostles of Christ will guide our path without falling in to the traps laid by false teachers and false prophets.

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (2 Peter 2:1-3)

Rev. Asiri P. Perera

March 8th 2020