Intro The Athanasian Creed says, “The Father is infinite; the Son is infinite; the Holy Spirit is infinite.” Once a year, on Trinity Sunday, we haul out this leviathan of a creed. And while we are confessing that creed, we begin to think that, like God Himself, the Athanasian Creed must also have an infinite nature!
Just look at some of its ideas that make the creed so long! There’s “one God in three persons and three persons in one God, without confusing the persons or dividing the divine Being.” Then there are the words, “coeternal,” “coequal,” “begotten,” and “proceeding.” Those aren’t everyday words, because the Creed isn’t expounding everyday words or ideas. Now if that’s not bad enough, then there’s that dreaded “C” word: “catholic.” Now I know some of you think I must be a closet-door Roman Catholic, for what other reason would I chant and wear a chasuble during the Lord’s Supper? But did you know that those are fully Lutheran practices? In the Missouri Synod, when we still worshiped in German, the pastor chanted all his parts in the Divine Service, except the sermon and Bible readings. And sometimes on festival days, the pastor would even chant the Gospel reading! Here’s the real deal with the word “catholic.” It’s a Lutheran word. But we’ve let the Roman Catholic Church steal that word away from us, so much so, that we’ve forgotten that “catholic” is also supposed to describe all Christians. Catholic means “according to the whole” or “the fullness of the faith.” Such is the shortness of our collective memories. Main Body But did the last part of the creed make you just a bit uncomfortable? It says that when our Lord comes again, “all people will rise bodily and give answer for their deeds. Those who have done good will enter into eternal life, and those who have done evil into eternal fire.” What is the creed saying? Is it saying that good works somehow save us? Well let’s see what Scripture says. In John Chapter 5, Jesus says that “the time is coming when everyone in their graves will hear the Son of Man’s voice and come out. Those who have done good will come out to the resurrection that leads to life. Those who have done evil will come out to the resurrection that leads to condemnation” (John 5:28-29). And that’s not an isolated passage. Many scriptural passages tell us that God will judge our works on the Last Day. 2 Corinthians reads, “For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each of us may receive what he deserves for what he has done in his body, whether good or evil” (2 Corinthians 5:10). And the book of Revelation says, “Then the sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead; all were judged according to their works” (Revelation 20:13). Know this: God will judge you by your works on the Last Day. So says Scripture. So says the Athanasian Creed. How then does this all tie together? Faith is the linchpin. Without faith in Christ, all the best works we do for others are nothing but filthy, bloodied rags to God (Isaiah 64:6). That’s because sins infects and stains even the best works anyone could do--and that sin makes all our works unacceptable to God. Why? Because God is perfect, righteous, and holy. It’s only when someone has faith are his sin-tainted works washed and made clean, made acceptable to God the Father. And it’s by those works, washed clean by Christ, that God will judge you on the Last Day. But apart from Jesus Christ, everything--everything--is a sin in God’s eyes, because unclean and unwashed sin infects, taints, and ruins everything you do. Do you now see the difference between works done in faith and works done without faith? To describe it another way, true good works, deeds that someone does because of God-given faith, are the fruits of faith. And God the Father accepts such works as holy because the Holy Spirit makes them holy, and because Jesus Christ, who is seated at God’s right hand, is interceding for us on our behalf. With the Trinity at work like this in your life, your faith-created works are, indeed, good to God. That’s why Scripture says that Jesus “is the end of the Law” (Romans 10.4). But faith does more than create good works in our lives. Faith also confesses the sinfulness of our fallen nature. That’s why faith lives in repentance. That’s why faith wants to be in worship, not make excuses for not being there. For it’s in worship that we get to cry out to God for His great mercy. And that’s why--even amid of all the perplexing, confusing, and bewildering language of the Athanasian Creed--we confess that faith is more than just believing in doctrines. Faith includes worship. “This is the catholic faith: We worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God, without confusing the persons or dividing the divine Being.” And again, “The Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped.” True worship directs us away from ourselves toward the Object of faith. At least that’s what’s supposed to happen during worship. And what is the Object of our faith? Whom do we worship? As the Athanasian Creed states so well: “We worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God.” This is important. When God reveals Himself to us as three Persons in one God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--He is showing us that His heart is full of mercy. God is showing us that He wants to save us. For apart from the Trinity, we wouldn’t know a merciful and loving God. We would only know God’s wrath and anger. For the Father sent His Son to redeem us, showing us His love. As John 3:16 says: “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one-and-only Son, so that all who believe in Him may not die but have eternal life.” And when the Son ascended into heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit. This was so the Holy Spirit could point us to Jesus Christ and bring us His cross-won forgiveness. The entire teaching of the Trinity directs us to Christ. The Father sent His Son. The Spirit testifies of this, and points us to the Son. Only in Christ is there salvation from death, hell, and the everlasting damnation. Jesus called Himself “I Am” in our Gospel reading for today. And Jesus later tied this “I am” thought together by saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Why else do we worship? Why else should we involve ourselves in the life of the Church? Why else should Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church even exist here in Kimberling City, when there are other, bigger churches to attend? This is why. When you encourage and support faithful preaching and the faithful administration of the sacraments, you are faithfully involved in the Holy Spirit’s work. Our Lutheran Confessions put it this way. Creation is now behind us, and redemption has also taken place. But the Holy Spirit unceasingly continues His work until the Last Day. He has appointed a community on earth, through which He speaks and does all His work [that’s the local congregation]. For He has not yet brought together all His Christian Church, nor has He completed the granting of forgiveness (LC II, 61-62). That’s what we at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church are all about. We who have received forgiveness are part of a congregation, part of the Church. We exist so God’s life-giving forgiveness can continue to be given out as Christ has commanded, in the Holy Spirit. We worship the Trinity because the Father’s forgiveness in Christ has been made known to us--and to others--by the Holy Spirit. Conclusion The true God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--is your God. You are His people. You are the object of the Father’s love. God gave His one-and-only Son to die for you, to save you, to raise you from your death, to free you from your sin and the demanding standards of His Law. This the Holy Spirit has made known to you. The Holy Spirit has brought you into eternal life by washing you in the waters of baptism and feeding you with Christ’s body and blood at His Table. You are forgiven, freed to love God with your whole heart, soul, and strength. You are free to love Him in your work, in your play--in every part of your life. You are free to worship Him: to receive His gifts and then respond in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. Amen. -- Rich Futrell, Pastor Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Kimberling City, MO Where we are to receive and confess the faith of the Church (in and with the Augsburg Confession): The faith once delivered to the saints, the faith of Christ Jesus, His Word of the Gospel, His full forgiveness of sins, His flesh and blood given and poured out for us, and His gracious gift of life for body, soul, and spirit. ___________________________________________________________________ 'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author (as long as no charge is made for the work and it is not made part of a compilation), as well as for quoting or use in a congregational setting _with_or_without_attribution_. Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list. 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