WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.860 I would like to begin a series of heart -to -heart 00:00:04.860 --> 00:00:11.900 talks on the great Christian pledge, which is 00:00:11.900 --> 00:00:18.460 better known as the Apostles' Creed. The most 00:00:18.460 --> 00:00:21.300 widely accepted statement of Christian doctrine 00:00:21.300 --> 00:00:24.780 written in the history of the Church is found 00:00:24.780 --> 00:00:31.420 embodied in the Apostles' Creed. But the strange 00:00:31.420 --> 00:00:37.520 thing is that no one knows exactly when and with 00:00:37.520 --> 00:00:44.380 whom it originated. This creed was in use among 00:00:44.380 --> 00:00:47.280 Christians during the early part of the second 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:54.280 century. And to this very day, literally tens 00:00:54.280 --> 00:01:01.509 of thousands are professing... repeat this great 00:01:01.509 --> 00:01:07.750 Christian pledge every Lord's Day. Oh, it's thrilling. 00:01:07.870 --> 00:01:15.030 It's marvelous. And so for just a little while, 00:01:15.250 --> 00:01:22.730 you and I are going to begin the study of this 00:01:22.730 --> 00:01:28.439 great pledge that is known. as the Apostles' 00:01:28.459 --> 00:01:33.879 Creed. The document consists of 110 words, divided 00:01:33.879 --> 00:01:37.659 into 12 sections, each dealing with a different 00:01:37.659 --> 00:01:42.480 segment of the New Testament truth. And the remarkable 00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:47.840 thing is that every cardinal doctrine of historical 00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:52.040 and evangelical Christianity is herein emphasized. 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:57.890 No Christian who sincerely seeks to gear his 00:01:57.890 --> 00:02:03.709 beliefs according to this pattern will ever go 00:02:03.709 --> 00:02:07.549 astray. And I mean that with all of my heart. 00:02:10.030 --> 00:02:13.569 Some hold to the view that the creed originated 00:02:13.569 --> 00:02:17.289 on the day of Pentecost. Each of the twelve apostles 00:02:17.289 --> 00:02:22.770 contributing a clause writing under the inspiration 00:02:22.770 --> 00:02:26.509 of the Holy Spirit. I know this is a very pleasant 00:02:26.509 --> 00:02:31.830 thought, but it cannot be substantiated. I cannot 00:02:31.830 --> 00:02:37.849 tell you for a fact that it is a truth. The text 00:02:37.849 --> 00:02:43.750 arranged in its natural divisions is as follows. 00:02:44.490 --> 00:02:48.990 I give you now this, the great Christian pledge, 00:02:49.389 --> 00:02:56.699 the Apostles' Creed. I believe in God, the Father 00:02:56.699 --> 00:03:02.719 Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus 00:03:02.719 --> 00:03:08.680 Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived 00:03:08.680 --> 00:03:15.080 by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered 00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:22.060 under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and 00:03:22.060 --> 00:03:27.139 buried. He descended into hell, and the third 00:03:27.139 --> 00:03:31.599 day he rose again from the dead. He ascended 00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:35.039 into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of 00:03:35.039 --> 00:03:40.520 God the Father Almighty. From thence he shall 00:03:40.520 --> 00:03:46.360 come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe 00:03:46.360 --> 00:03:49.560 in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, 00:03:49.939 --> 00:03:55.560 the communion of saints. the forgiveness of sins, 00:03:56.020 --> 00:04:03.159 the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. 00:04:04.819 --> 00:04:13.680 Amen. This creed must be right. It must be right 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:17.060 because it has survived the wear and the tear 00:04:17.060 --> 00:04:21.300 of the centuries. It has witnessed the rise and 00:04:21.300 --> 00:04:25.019 the fall of empires. It has stood beside the 00:04:25.019 --> 00:04:27.480 graves of those who boasted that they were going 00:04:27.480 --> 00:04:29.920 to wipe Christianity from the face of the earth. 00:04:30.939 --> 00:04:34.980 It has carried martyrs through flames of persecution 00:04:34.980 --> 00:04:39.139 into the very presence of the Lord himself. It 00:04:39.139 --> 00:04:42.740 has anchored the faith and thrilled the hearts 00:04:42.740 --> 00:04:50.709 of uncounted millions. The statement begins with 00:04:50.709 --> 00:04:59.170 a positive declaration. I believe. Early Christians 00:04:59.170 --> 00:05:03.670 harbored no doubts. There were absolutely no 00:05:03.670 --> 00:05:09.209 doubts in their minds. They knew what and in 00:05:09.209 --> 00:05:13.149 whom they believed. No question marks hung like 00:05:13.149 --> 00:05:16.529 ugly specters over the articles of the faith. 00:05:17.639 --> 00:05:20.439 They believed in the inspiration of the scriptures. 00:05:21.160 --> 00:05:25.519 They believed in the fact of sin. They believed 00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:28.060 in the necessity of a redeemer, the deity of 00:05:28.060 --> 00:05:33.699 Christ. They believed his virgin birth. They 00:05:33.699 --> 00:05:37.300 believed in the blood atonement. They believed 00:05:37.300 --> 00:05:40.060 in the actual resurrection of the Lord Jesus 00:05:40.060 --> 00:05:44.759 Christ and in his second coming. These and other 00:05:44.759 --> 00:05:47.680 fundamentals were accepted. without any doubt 00:05:47.680 --> 00:05:51.879 whatsoever in their minds. And upon this foundation, 00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:54.199 the great denominational systems of the world 00:05:54.199 --> 00:05:58.800 had been built. A preacher once asked an actor 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:07.379 how it was that members of the theatrical fraternity 00:06:07.379 --> 00:06:10.060 were often able to hold the attention of audiences 00:06:10.060 --> 00:06:14.220 better than even the clergy. The actor replied, 00:06:15.230 --> 00:06:19.850 We actors present fiction as though it were fact. 00:06:20.810 --> 00:06:28.009 Sometimes ministers present facts as though it 00:06:28.009 --> 00:06:36.110 were fiction. Beloved, there is no fiction about 00:06:36.110 --> 00:06:41.730 our Holy Father. There is no fiction regarding 00:06:41.730 --> 00:06:46.329 God Almighty. No wonder the early Christians 00:06:46.329 --> 00:06:53.550 looked up and said, I believe. We believe. We 00:06:53.550 --> 00:06:56.730 know in whom we have our faith and our trust 00:06:56.730 --> 00:07:01.310 and our confidence. There is no doubt whatsoever 00:07:01.310 --> 00:07:08.750 in our minds. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, 00:07:09.149 --> 00:07:14.750 maker of heaven and earth. The text of the creed 00:07:14.750 --> 00:07:19.810 starts where Genesis begins. In the beginning, 00:07:19.949 --> 00:07:25.069 God. Now the men who wrote it could almost reach 00:07:25.069 --> 00:07:27.350 back and touch the hem of the master's garment. 00:07:27.410 --> 00:07:30.930 And the events associated with our Lord's life 00:07:30.930 --> 00:07:35.430 in the flesh were vivid, very vivid before their 00:07:35.430 --> 00:07:40.129 minds. They had recently seen God unveiled in 00:07:40.129 --> 00:07:42.709 human form. And to them the Heavenly Father was 00:07:42.709 --> 00:07:50.149 real, very real, believe me. Jesus said, He that 00:07:50.149 --> 00:07:56.930 hath seen me hath seen the Father. They had seen 00:07:56.930 --> 00:08:02.370 Jesus. They had been in his presence. They felt 00:08:02.370 --> 00:08:06.649 his glory. They knew the reality of his majesty. 00:08:08.009 --> 00:08:12.949 They believed every word that he spoke. And Jesus 00:08:12.949 --> 00:08:20.649 being real to them, God Almighty was very real 00:08:20.649 --> 00:08:26.009 to them, for Jesus had clearly told them, He 00:08:26.009 --> 00:08:34.370 that hath seen me hath seen the Father. Maker 00:08:34.370 --> 00:08:38.090 of heaven and earth. The writers of the creed 00:08:38.090 --> 00:08:42.690 possessed an exalted conception of God. They 00:08:42.690 --> 00:08:45.330 were conscious of his power. They were conscious 00:08:45.330 --> 00:08:49.990 of his majesty. For just a few minutes, meditate 00:08:49.990 --> 00:08:54.750 upon the bigness of the universe. Contemplate 00:08:54.750 --> 00:08:59.690 the movement of heavenly bodies, worlds, suns, 00:08:59.690 --> 00:09:04.990 systems, planets. Consider the further fact. 00:09:05.789 --> 00:09:09.330 That a reign of law operates throughout the entire 00:09:09.330 --> 00:09:13.490 universe, implying the existence of an infinite 00:09:13.490 --> 00:09:19.970 mind and a marvelous architect. And who will 00:09:19.970 --> 00:09:24.250 say with men who penned this immortal document, 00:09:24.889 --> 00:09:32.629 I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of 00:09:32.629 --> 00:09:37.419 heaven and earth. The existence of God cannot 00:09:37.419 --> 00:09:44.379 be proved. His nature so transcends human standards 00:09:44.379 --> 00:09:49.840 of comparison that a definition is absolutely 00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:56.440 impossible. If a demonstration of God's existence 00:09:56.440 --> 00:10:04.679 were possible, he would be too limited. Too circumscribed 00:10:04.679 --> 00:10:09.779 to fulfill the office of supreme being and ruler 00:10:09.779 --> 00:10:13.360 of the universe. Consider something a moment. 00:10:15.340 --> 00:10:19.179 Electricity remains a riddle to science. Men 00:10:19.179 --> 00:10:22.740 know how to produce it, but are ignorant regarding 00:10:22.740 --> 00:10:28.840 its ultimate essence. The word life likewise 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:30.879 wanders through science without a definition. 00:10:31.389 --> 00:10:34.429 The most powerful microscope cannot make it visible 00:10:34.429 --> 00:10:39.389 to the natural eye. Thought motivates the brain, 00:10:39.549 --> 00:10:43.850 but having no weight, form, or substance, mental 00:10:43.850 --> 00:10:49.769 processes defy material demonstrations. It was 00:10:49.769 --> 00:10:52.610 Sir Isaac Newton who discovered the law of gravitation, 00:10:53.169 --> 00:10:58.269 but gravity remains a mystery. Astronomy concerns 00:10:58.269 --> 00:11:00.610 itself with the movement of heavenly bodies. 00:11:01.080 --> 00:11:04.179 but then it breaks down when it tries to explain 00:11:04.179 --> 00:11:12.000 what moves the movement. The solution to these 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:15.700 and similar questions is found in the faithful 00:11:15.700 --> 00:11:23.720 creed, I believe in God the Father Almighty, 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:32.679 maker of heaven and earth. My friend, Faith begins 00:11:32.679 --> 00:11:42.080 where reason and logic ends. The moral image 00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:47.620 of God is engraved upon every soul. God created 00:11:47.620 --> 00:11:52.179 man in his own image. In the image of God created 00:11:52.179 --> 00:11:57.200 he him. Then the human likeness of the infinite 00:11:57.200 --> 00:12:03.259 became marred by sin. But in his present state, 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:08.779 man possesses, to a limited degree, the attributes 00:12:08.779 --> 00:12:15.440 of the Creator. Like God, he has capacity to 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:22.500 think, to feel, and will. And for this reason, 00:12:22.600 --> 00:12:30.000 humans are religious. Consider with me. in regions 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:33.139 where the light of Christian truth has never 00:12:33.139 --> 00:12:39.600 penetrated. The worshipful instinct finds expression 00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:43.179 through idol worship in heathen religion. The 00:12:43.179 --> 00:12:48.340 existence of religious intuition confirms the 00:12:48.340 --> 00:12:51.759 fact that the spiritual image of the mighty creator 00:12:51.759 --> 00:12:59.429 was originally stamped in the human soul. Deepest 00:12:59.429 --> 00:13:04.070 craving of men the world around is for communion 00:13:04.070 --> 00:13:10.809 with God. And it's just like that. A well -known 00:13:10.809 --> 00:13:15.169 writer puts the matter like this. Prove your 00:13:15.169 --> 00:13:22.110 God? We can't. Let us be frank about it. We can 00:13:22.110 --> 00:13:28.409 approach him, but we cannot prove him. He needs 00:13:28.409 --> 00:13:38.309 no human proof. Know that. God needs no human 00:13:38.309 --> 00:13:44.129 proof. Faith can grasp him when proof would merely 00:13:44.129 --> 00:13:48.350 blink wonderingly in his direction. On the other 00:13:48.350 --> 00:13:54.350 hand, he cannot be disproved. Think that over, 00:13:54.429 --> 00:13:57.549 my friend. Just how would a fellow go about it? 00:13:58.289 --> 00:14:02.470 Just how would you go about disproving God? Careful 00:14:02.470 --> 00:14:08.309 now. That's a mighty big assignment. And so, 00:14:08.429 --> 00:14:15.149 we do not rise to defend this creed. It is not 00:14:15.149 --> 00:14:23.919 necessary. We rise to declare it. God the Father 00:14:23.919 --> 00:14:28.240 Almighty. Oh, isn't that thrilling to you? As 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:31.899 a loving father, he's prepared for us a written 00:14:31.899 --> 00:14:35.620 message. The supernaturally inspired word, said 00:14:35.620 --> 00:14:38.740 Peter. Holy men of God spake as they were moved 00:14:38.740 --> 00:14:43.320 by the Holy Ghost. And Paul continued, all scripture 00:14:43.320 --> 00:14:47.210 is given by inspiration of God. Great truths 00:14:47.210 --> 00:14:50.970 which the mind of man could not invent, unaided 00:14:50.970 --> 00:14:53.529 by supernatural inspiration, are here recorded. 00:14:54.549 --> 00:14:57.230 No amount of human reason and research could 00:14:57.230 --> 00:15:01.389 produce the factual statements contained in these 00:15:01.389 --> 00:15:03.750 pages regarding the mysteries of life, of death, 00:15:03.870 --> 00:15:07.750 and of the future state of the soul. The apostles 00:15:07.750 --> 00:15:13.289 and the prophets were illuminated. Inspired instruments. 00:15:14.539 --> 00:15:23.179 Of the Holy Ghost. Sure. These things also we 00:15:23.179 --> 00:15:27.539 speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, 00:15:27.620 --> 00:15:31.899 but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing 00:15:31.899 --> 00:15:40.200 spiritual things with spiritual. This introduction 00:15:40.460 --> 00:15:45.320 of the Apostles' Creed presents the one true 00:15:45.320 --> 00:15:52.659 God, the Almighty Creator, and a personal loving 00:15:52.659 --> 00:15:59.399 Father. No wonder the psalmist said, Like as 00:15:59.399 --> 00:16:06.179 a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth 00:16:06.179 --> 00:16:11.759 them that fear him. Amen.