The most widely accepted statement of Christian
doctrine written in the history of the Church
is found embodied in the Apostles' Creed. And
this is the ninth in a series of messages that
I am bringing to you on this, the Great Christian
Pledge. I believe in God the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by
the Holy Ghost, 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 sitteth on the right hand of God the
Father Almighty. From thence he shall come to
judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the
Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion
of saints. the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection
of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints.
Now, the meaning of the term Catholic is general.
are universal. It covers a wide range and when
used in connection with the church, implies the
worldwide missionary scope of the institution.
The idea declared in this section of the creed
is also found in Mark, the 16th chapter and the
15th verse, where Jesus said, Go ye into all
the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
The word Catholic is an adjective rather than
a proper noun. In the subject called Christian
Evidences, the Church of Jesus Christ is correctly
presented as the greatest phenomenon of history.
A man appeared on this earth 1 ,900 years ago,
possessing none of those human achievements which
are generally associated with greatness. He lived,
toiled, preached, healed, and then was crucified.
He made bitter enemies. His life was one of poverty.
Foxes have holes. and birds of the air have nests,
but the son of man hath not where to lay his
head. Crucified at the age of only thirty -three,
his body was laid to rest in a quiet tomb, and
then the thing happened which only a few persons
were expecting. He came forth in triumphant resurrection.
After that, he presented himself to his followers.
Before sending into heaven, he admonished them
to return to Jerusalem for special prayer in
order to be clothed with supernatural power.
There was a lightning flash at Pentecost, and
the church started its march across the centuries.
That was the beginning of the church. Many women
talk about the day of Pentecost. There is no
day of Pentecost. We are living now in the day
of Pentecost. Know that. The church started.
its marvelous march across the centuries when
the Holy Ghost came. Our Lord warned his followers
that they would live in an unfriendly environment.
He told them, he warned them. In fact, he said,
I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves.
And despite all the changes of the centuries,
In spite of the dissension within, enemies without
fire, dungeon, sword, the cause of Christ has
prevailed. Like the mighty army moves the church
of God. Brothers, we are treading where the saints
have trodged. The communion of saints. Do you
want to know something? Finest fraternal feelings
known to mankind exist between the members of
Christ's body. Christians throughout the world,
regardless of where they are, whether they're
in Russia today or whether they are in the United
States of America, regardless of racial or geographical
boundaries, are partakers of the same eternal
life stream. For as we have many members in one
body, and all members have not the same office,
so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and
every one members of one another. Members of
the same church. Oh, I know somebody says, I'm
a member of this church and I'm a member of the
other church. You just had your membership in
that church. The church that Jesus is talking
about, you do not join. You are born into his
church. And when you are born into his church,
then you become a member of his body. Thus, in
the truest sense, Christianity is an organism
rather than an organization. If one part of the
human body suffers, pain is registered throughout
the system. And in like manner, when Christians
in any part of the world suffer persecution,
regardless of where they are, The entire body
of Christ reacts. From the stoning of Stephen
down to the present hour, the blood of martyrs
has been the seed of the church. Persecution
drove the early Christians close together. Persecution
will do the same thing today. Those early Christians
leaned heavily upon each other. In time of sorrow
and suffering, they sought to comfort one another.
To them, communion and fellowship became the
sweetest thing next to heaven. John wrote about
this feeling of heart, this marvelous warmth
of the heart, which existed in apostolic times.
This is what he said. We know that we have passed
from death unto life. How? Because we love the
brethren. And I pray to God that there shall
again return to every one of us who are members
of his body, members of the body of Christ, who
have passed from death unto life, that again
we shall have this marvelous love among the brethren.
That we too can say with John, we know that we
have passed from death unto life because we love
the brethren. We need a fresh baptism of the
love of God in our hearts, one for the other.
When the writers of the Creed referred to the
communion of the saints, they were undoubtedly
thinking of two groups, the saints in heaven
and also those remaining on earth. Now the word
saints means a devoted one. Saints are persons
devoted. The forgiveness of sins. Sin originated
in the bosom of a free moral agent, Lucifer,
the archangel. The prophet Isaiah, looking back
upon the collapse of the kingdom of Lucifer,
described this exalted being as deliberately
and defiantly. placing his will in opposition
to the will of God. And this is what the word
says. For thou hast said in thine heart, I will
ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above
the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount
of the congregation in the sides of the north.
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.
I will be like. the most high. Now the word sins
is not the plural for sin. There was one root
sin known to the human family and all sins originate
from this source. Sin is perverted free moral
agency. Lucifer had the capacity to accept or
reject. He could say yes. He could say no. He
could choose to defy God, or he could choose
to accept the rulership of God. It was his wrong
choice that brought discord into the universe.
This ultimately resulted in sin and suffering
for our humanity. Man is likewise a free moral
agent. He can either accept or reject the plan
of salvation. By yielding the will to God, one
is literally transplanted from the first Adam
to the second Adam. Remember, every person listening
to me this very moment has been created with
free moral agency. The Lord is not willing that
any should be lost. He is not willing that any
should perish. In the day of judgment, no man
can look the Father in the face and say, you
made the decision for me. You... sent me to hell.
No. He is not willing that any should perish.
You make the decision. The choice is yours. You
choose to do as you please. Know that man is
a free moral agent. If you are lost, it is because
you choose to be lost. The will of the Lord Jesus
Christ was completely submerged with that of
his Father. Even in the Garden of Gethsemane
he prayed, Nevertheless not as I will, but as
thou wilt. This attitude was exactly the opposite
of Lucifer who said, I will. The story of the
temptation in Eden is lived in every mind. Sin
appearing first in Satan, then in man, finally
brought about the defilement of nature. All have
sinned. Every man, every woman, all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. No amount
of human effort can restore the right relationship
between God and man. The fallen man made necessary
the atonement of Christ. But watch something
now. Something that is most important. The law
could not atone for sin. For the word says, it
is the blood that maketh an atonement. for sin.
All that the law could do was to reveal sin,
nothing more, nothing less. It could only reveal
the sin in man. There was no salvation. There
was no forgiveness for sin in the law. That's
the reason the apostle says that the law was
given for this purpose. The purpose of revealing
right from wrong, of revealing sin, till the
seed should come. That is, pure Christ should
come. And when the seed, Christ, came. When Christ
came, who is the seed, a fuller discovery of
divine grace was made. For... In Christ we are
pardoned and justified. We are not pardoned and
justified through the law. We are only pardoned.
We are only justified. We are only forgiven through
Jesus Christ our Lord. The law was our schoolmaster
to bring us to Christ. It teaches what is right.
It teaches what is wrong. But the forgiveness
of sins only comes through the Son of God and
atonement is made through His shed blood. If
we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and
the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. What
is one to do? Look up and say, Dear Jesus, I
confess I'm a sinner. I am sorry for my sins.
The only person that Jesus Christ cannot help,
the only one whose sins he cannot forgive, is
the man or the woman who refuses to acknowledge
that he is a sinner. But your starting point
right now is to acknowledge you're a sinner.
Confess your sins to Him. And the minute that
you confess those sins, that moment, the blood
of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth you from
all sin. You pass from death unto life. You become
a member of His body. And your mighty Creator
becomes your... Heavenly Father, Amen.