WEBVTT 00:00:00.140 --> 00:00:03.640 The most widely accepted statement of Christian 00:00:03.640 --> 00:00:06.459 doctrine written in the history of the Church 00:00:06.459 --> 00:00:14.300 is found embodied in the Apostles' Creed. And 00:00:14.300 --> 00:00:19.980 this is the ninth in a series of messages that 00:00:19.980 --> 00:00:24.899 I am bringing to you on this, the Great Christian 00:00:24.899 --> 00:00:29.399 Pledge. I believe in God the Father Almighty, 00:00:29.879 --> 00:00:35.240 maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, 00:00:35.740 --> 00:00:42.100 his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by 00:00:42.100 --> 00:00:48.060 the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered 00:00:48.060 --> 00:00:52.500 under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and 00:00:52.500 --> 00:00:57.310 buried. He descended into hell. The third day 00:00:57.310 --> 00:01:01.890 he rose again from the dead. He ascended into 00:01:01.890 --> 00:01:05.549 heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the 00:01:05.549 --> 00:01:10.890 Father Almighty. From thence he shall come to 00:01:10.890 --> 00:01:15.409 judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the 00:01:15.409 --> 00:01:22.310 Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion 00:01:22.310 --> 00:01:28.909 of saints. the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection 00:01:28.909 --> 00:01:36.469 of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. 00:01:38.709 --> 00:01:46.489 The Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints. 00:01:47.930 --> 00:01:52.370 Now, the meaning of the term Catholic is general. 00:01:52.909 --> 00:01:57.769 are universal. It covers a wide range and when 00:01:57.769 --> 00:02:03.269 used in connection with the church, implies the 00:02:03.269 --> 00:02:07.890 worldwide missionary scope of the institution. 00:02:09.050 --> 00:02:13.990 The idea declared in this section of the creed 00:02:13.990 --> 00:02:18.710 is also found in Mark, the 16th chapter and the 00:02:18.710 --> 00:02:25.580 15th verse, where Jesus said, Go ye into all 00:02:25.580 --> 00:02:30.620 the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:37.500 The word Catholic is an adjective rather than 00:02:37.500 --> 00:02:41.699 a proper noun. In the subject called Christian 00:02:41.699 --> 00:02:46.080 Evidences, the Church of Jesus Christ is correctly 00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:50.860 presented as the greatest phenomenon of history. 00:02:52.490 --> 00:02:55.210 A man appeared on this earth 1 ,900 years ago, 00:02:55.310 --> 00:02:59.969 possessing none of those human achievements which 00:02:59.969 --> 00:03:04.849 are generally associated with greatness. He lived, 00:03:05.069 --> 00:03:09.610 toiled, preached, healed, and then was crucified. 00:03:10.590 --> 00:03:15.610 He made bitter enemies. His life was one of poverty. 00:03:17.270 --> 00:03:21.979 Foxes have holes. and birds of the air have nests, 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:26.520 but the son of man hath not where to lay his 00:03:26.520 --> 00:03:32.680 head. Crucified at the age of only thirty -three, 00:03:32.840 --> 00:03:37.340 his body was laid to rest in a quiet tomb, and 00:03:37.340 --> 00:03:40.939 then the thing happened which only a few persons 00:03:40.939 --> 00:03:46.740 were expecting. He came forth in triumphant resurrection. 00:03:49.319 --> 00:03:52.900 After that, he presented himself to his followers. 00:03:53.780 --> 00:03:57.620 Before sending into heaven, he admonished them 00:03:57.620 --> 00:04:01.599 to return to Jerusalem for special prayer in 00:04:01.599 --> 00:04:05.639 order to be clothed with supernatural power. 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:11.740 There was a lightning flash at Pentecost, and 00:04:11.740 --> 00:04:17.199 the church started its march across the centuries. 00:04:19.060 --> 00:04:25.500 That was the beginning of the church. Many women 00:04:25.500 --> 00:04:30.620 talk about the day of Pentecost. There is no 00:04:30.620 --> 00:04:40.399 day of Pentecost. We are living now in the day 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:45.699 of Pentecost. Know that. The church started. 00:04:46.860 --> 00:04:53.639 its marvelous march across the centuries when 00:04:53.639 --> 00:04:58.959 the Holy Ghost came. Our Lord warned his followers 00:04:58.959 --> 00:05:01.779 that they would live in an unfriendly environment. 00:05:02.300 --> 00:05:05.899 He told them, he warned them. In fact, he said, 00:05:06.019 --> 00:05:09.160 I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. 00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:13.639 And despite all the changes of the centuries, 00:05:14.220 --> 00:05:17.040 In spite of the dissension within, enemies without 00:05:17.040 --> 00:05:21.120 fire, dungeon, sword, the cause of Christ has 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:25.699 prevailed. Like the mighty army moves the church 00:05:25.699 --> 00:05:31.959 of God. Brothers, we are treading where the saints 00:05:31.959 --> 00:05:41.180 have trodged. The communion of saints. Do you 00:05:41.180 --> 00:05:44.629 want to know something? Finest fraternal feelings 00:05:44.629 --> 00:05:48.449 known to mankind exist between the members of 00:05:48.449 --> 00:05:52.129 Christ's body. Christians throughout the world, 00:05:52.170 --> 00:05:54.930 regardless of where they are, whether they're 00:05:54.930 --> 00:05:58.189 in Russia today or whether they are in the United 00:05:58.189 --> 00:06:04.990 States of America, regardless of racial or geographical 00:06:04.990 --> 00:06:10.889 boundaries, are partakers of the same eternal 00:06:10.889 --> 00:06:17.600 life stream. For as we have many members in one 00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:21.579 body, and all members have not the same office, 00:06:21.860 --> 00:06:30.480 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and 00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:40.600 every one members of one another. Members of 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:45.839 the same church. Oh, I know somebody says, I'm 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:48.500 a member of this church and I'm a member of the 00:06:48.500 --> 00:06:52.600 other church. You just had your membership in 00:06:52.600 --> 00:06:57.360 that church. The church that Jesus is talking 00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:03.540 about, you do not join. You are born into his 00:07:03.540 --> 00:07:10.420 church. And when you are born into his church, 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:19.339 then you become a member of his body. Thus, in 00:07:19.339 --> 00:07:22.959 the truest sense, Christianity is an organism 00:07:22.959 --> 00:07:28.800 rather than an organization. If one part of the 00:07:28.800 --> 00:07:31.699 human body suffers, pain is registered throughout 00:07:31.699 --> 00:07:35.620 the system. And in like manner, when Christians 00:07:35.620 --> 00:07:38.139 in any part of the world suffer persecution, 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:42.360 regardless of where they are, The entire body 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:46.339 of Christ reacts. From the stoning of Stephen 00:07:46.339 --> 00:07:50.500 down to the present hour, the blood of martyrs 00:07:50.500 --> 00:07:54.860 has been the seed of the church. Persecution 00:07:54.860 --> 00:07:59.259 drove the early Christians close together. Persecution 00:07:59.259 --> 00:08:05.500 will do the same thing today. Those early Christians 00:08:05.500 --> 00:08:10.389 leaned heavily upon each other. In time of sorrow 00:08:10.389 --> 00:08:12.649 and suffering, they sought to comfort one another. 00:08:13.149 --> 00:08:18.730 To them, communion and fellowship became the 00:08:18.730 --> 00:08:25.290 sweetest thing next to heaven. John wrote about 00:08:25.290 --> 00:08:28.709 this feeling of heart, this marvelous warmth 00:08:28.709 --> 00:08:33.850 of the heart, which existed in apostolic times. 00:08:34.009 --> 00:08:39.210 This is what he said. We know that we have passed 00:08:39.210 --> 00:08:47.909 from death unto life. How? Because we love the 00:08:47.909 --> 00:08:52.090 brethren. And I pray to God that there shall 00:08:52.090 --> 00:08:58.690 again return to every one of us who are members 00:08:58.690 --> 00:09:06.350 of his body, members of the body of Christ, who 00:09:06.350 --> 00:09:09.230 have passed from death unto life, that again 00:09:09.230 --> 00:09:15.850 we shall have this marvelous love among the brethren. 00:09:17.250 --> 00:09:25.289 That we too can say with John, we know that we 00:09:25.289 --> 00:09:31.029 have passed from death unto life because we love 00:09:31.029 --> 00:09:37.720 the brethren. We need a fresh baptism of the 00:09:37.720 --> 00:09:41.919 love of God in our hearts, one for the other. 00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:45.740 When the writers of the Creed referred to the 00:09:45.740 --> 00:09:47.879 communion of the saints, they were undoubtedly 00:09:47.879 --> 00:09:50.940 thinking of two groups, the saints in heaven 00:09:50.940 --> 00:09:55.580 and also those remaining on earth. Now the word 00:09:55.580 --> 00:10:02.299 saints means a devoted one. Saints are persons 00:10:02.299 --> 00:10:12.610 devoted. The forgiveness of sins. Sin originated 00:10:12.610 --> 00:10:17.529 in the bosom of a free moral agent, Lucifer, 00:10:17.529 --> 00:10:21.690 the archangel. The prophet Isaiah, looking back 00:10:21.690 --> 00:10:26.289 upon the collapse of the kingdom of Lucifer, 00:10:26.450 --> 00:10:30.370 described this exalted being as deliberately 00:10:30.370 --> 00:10:36.289 and defiantly. placing his will in opposition 00:10:36.289 --> 00:10:39.269 to the will of God. And this is what the word 00:10:39.269 --> 00:10:44.090 says. For thou hast said in thine heart, I will 00:10:44.090 --> 00:10:48.029 ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above 00:10:48.029 --> 00:10:51.570 the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount 00:10:51.570 --> 00:10:55.250 of the congregation in the sides of the north. 00:10:55.710 --> 00:10:59.870 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. 00:11:00.509 --> 00:11:08.059 I will be like. the most high. Now the word sins 00:11:08.059 --> 00:11:14.519 is not the plural for sin. There was one root 00:11:14.519 --> 00:11:20.759 sin known to the human family and all sins originate 00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:28.279 from this source. Sin is perverted free moral 00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:33.570 agency. Lucifer had the capacity to accept or 00:11:33.570 --> 00:11:39.210 reject. He could say yes. He could say no. He 00:11:39.210 --> 00:11:46.470 could choose to defy God, or he could choose 00:11:46.470 --> 00:11:52.129 to accept the rulership of God. It was his wrong 00:11:52.129 --> 00:11:56.230 choice that brought discord into the universe. 00:11:57.409 --> 00:12:02.440 This ultimately resulted in sin and suffering 00:12:02.440 --> 00:12:08.899 for our humanity. Man is likewise a free moral 00:12:08.899 --> 00:12:14.139 agent. He can either accept or reject the plan 00:12:14.139 --> 00:12:19.460 of salvation. By yielding the will to God, one 00:12:19.460 --> 00:12:23.299 is literally transplanted from the first Adam 00:12:23.299 --> 00:12:30.669 to the second Adam. Remember, every person listening 00:12:30.669 --> 00:12:34.070 to me this very moment has been created with 00:12:34.070 --> 00:12:39.029 free moral agency. The Lord is not willing that 00:12:39.029 --> 00:12:42.149 any should be lost. He is not willing that any 00:12:42.149 --> 00:12:45.250 should perish. In the day of judgment, no man 00:12:45.250 --> 00:12:50.769 can look the Father in the face and say, you 00:12:50.769 --> 00:12:57.649 made the decision for me. You... sent me to hell. 00:12:58.370 --> 00:13:03.970 No. He is not willing that any should perish. 00:13:04.990 --> 00:13:11.970 You make the decision. The choice is yours. You 00:13:11.970 --> 00:13:21.990 choose to do as you please. Know that man is 00:13:21.990 --> 00:13:29.769 a free moral agent. If you are lost, it is because 00:13:29.769 --> 00:13:35.730 you choose to be lost. The will of the Lord Jesus 00:13:35.730 --> 00:13:38.710 Christ was completely submerged with that of 00:13:38.710 --> 00:13:41.210 his Father. Even in the Garden of Gethsemane 00:13:41.210 --> 00:13:44.970 he prayed, Nevertheless not as I will, but as 00:13:44.970 --> 00:13:49.830 thou wilt. This attitude was exactly the opposite 00:13:49.830 --> 00:13:54.700 of Lucifer who said, I will. The story of the 00:13:54.700 --> 00:13:59.799 temptation in Eden is lived in every mind. Sin 00:13:59.799 --> 00:14:03.399 appearing first in Satan, then in man, finally 00:14:03.399 --> 00:14:10.799 brought about the defilement of nature. All have 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:16.600 sinned. Every man, every woman, all have sinned 00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:20.710 and come short of the glory of God. No amount 00:14:20.710 --> 00:14:23.750 of human effort can restore the right relationship 00:14:23.750 --> 00:14:29.750 between God and man. The fallen man made necessary 00:14:29.750 --> 00:14:34.649 the atonement of Christ. But watch something 00:14:34.649 --> 00:14:40.610 now. Something that is most important. The law 00:14:40.610 --> 00:14:45.669 could not atone for sin. For the word says, it 00:14:45.669 --> 00:14:50.139 is the blood that maketh an atonement. for sin. 00:14:51.600 --> 00:14:56.379 All that the law could do was to reveal sin, 00:14:56.639 --> 00:15:05.200 nothing more, nothing less. It could only reveal 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:14.000 the sin in man. There was no salvation. There 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:19.779 was no forgiveness for sin in the law. That's 00:15:19.779 --> 00:15:22.440 the reason the apostle says that the law was 00:15:22.440 --> 00:15:26.059 given for this purpose. The purpose of revealing 00:15:26.059 --> 00:15:30.120 right from wrong, of revealing sin, till the 00:15:30.120 --> 00:15:35.320 seed should come. That is, pure Christ should 00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:42.419 come. And when the seed, Christ, came. When Christ 00:15:42.419 --> 00:15:45.659 came, who is the seed, a fuller discovery of 00:15:45.659 --> 00:15:50.190 divine grace was made. For... In Christ we are 00:15:50.190 --> 00:15:53.950 pardoned and justified. We are not pardoned and 00:15:53.950 --> 00:15:58.950 justified through the law. We are only pardoned. 00:15:58.990 --> 00:16:06.929 We are only justified. We are only forgiven through 00:16:06.929 --> 00:16:11.610 Jesus Christ our Lord. The law was our schoolmaster 00:16:11.610 --> 00:16:16.669 to bring us to Christ. It teaches what is right. 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:22.000 It teaches what is wrong. But the forgiveness 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:29.399 of sins only comes through the Son of God and 00:16:29.399 --> 00:16:36.059 atonement is made through His shed blood. If 00:16:36.059 --> 00:16:42.259 we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and 00:16:42.259 --> 00:16:49.070 the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, 00:16:49.470 --> 00:16:52.450 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 00:16:52.450 --> 00:17:01.929 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. What 00:17:01.929 --> 00:17:12.950 is one to do? Look up and say, Dear Jesus, I 00:17:12.950 --> 00:17:18.690 confess I'm a sinner. I am sorry for my sins. 00:17:18.910 --> 00:17:22.710 The only person that Jesus Christ cannot help, 00:17:22.829 --> 00:17:27.569 the only one whose sins he cannot forgive, is 00:17:27.569 --> 00:17:31.609 the man or the woman who refuses to acknowledge 00:17:31.609 --> 00:17:37.049 that he is a sinner. But your starting point 00:17:37.049 --> 00:17:41.069 right now is to acknowledge you're a sinner. 00:17:42.979 --> 00:17:48.539 Confess your sins to Him. And the minute that 00:17:48.539 --> 00:17:52.619 you confess those sins, that moment, the blood 00:17:52.619 --> 00:17:57.819 of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth you from 00:17:57.819 --> 00:18:04.180 all sin. You pass from death unto life. You become 00:18:04.180 --> 00:18:09.059 a member of His body. And your mighty Creator 00:18:09.059 --> 00:18:15.529 becomes your... Heavenly Father, Amen.