My Creed

My Creed MY CREED
By W. L. Oliphant My creed is what I believe. The term indicates just that, and no more. I once heard a young brother la-boriously try to prove that' we have no creed. There is no man without a creed, that is, no sane man. We all believe something. What this brother meant is that we have no manmade creed. In this I heartily agree with him. Jesus prayed for the unity of His followers. There can be no unity based on human creeds. The Divine unity described in the New Testament must rest on the Divine creed. As a basis for this lecture I have read two excerpts of Scripture. The first is found in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew, verses thirteen to nineteen. The second is John 14:1-6. In the first, Jesus asks His disciples: “Who do men say that I the Son of man am?” They give Him various answers. He then asks them the direct question: “But who say ye that I am?” Peter answers: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The Lord pronounces a blessing upon Peter, and promises that upon the great truth he had expressed the church will be builded. In the second reference Jesus has just informed His disciples that He is soon to leave them, but that He is going to prepare a place for them where they may dwell happily with Him without fear of separation. The disciples had learned to love the Master as they had never loved any one. He had been their constant associate for some three years. These years were entwined with the most sacred memories. He had answered • their questions, solved their problems and guided their feet in the paths of righteousness. In the beginning of His ministry, they had forsaken all to follow Him. This may have seemed a great adventure then; but now it has ceased to be an adventure. They have learned that certainly there is nothing to lose in walking with one who could even still the raging winds and quiet the turbulent waves of the sea for their protection. He had been a complete answer to all that their souls had craved. But now He is to leave them! No wonder their hearts were sad. And no wonder they listen eagerly and question earnestly, as Jesus tells them that there is a way by which this happy union can be restored. The saddest hour in the experience of any family comes when they are gathered around the bed of a loved one to engage in the last conversation before the family circle is broken by the monster, Death. How eagerly they listen to the last message of this departing loved one! They grasp each faintly uttered word. Oh, how those sweet words are cherished during the lonely days that follow! During these days, the most interesting subject is the happy reunion which will bring them again into the presence of the departed, and restore the happy companionship which now lingers only in fond memories. The family thinks more about heaven and the way there than they have ever thought before. When the disciples were made to realize that their happy little band was to be deprived of its happiness by the departure of Jesus, their source of happiness; I am sure Thomas was voicing their unanimous sentiment when he exclaimed, “Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way?” Listen to Jesus’ answer; “I am the way and the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.”

Christ is the “siimmum bonum” of religion. The word “religion” comes from the term “ligo”, meaning “to bind”; and the prefix “re” meaning “again”. True religion is the “binding again” of the human soul to God; the restoring of the peaceful relationship which existed between the soul and its Creator before the soul departed from God, into sin. Jesus Christ is the only link in all the universe which can do this “rebinding”. During His life upon the earth He was both God and man. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jno. 1:1). But, “He took not on Him the nature of angels but He took on Him the seed of Abraham” that he might be made “like unto His brethren” (Hebrews 2:16-17). We find him as man at a wedding, making merry, as we might do; but, as God, he changes water to wine. He wept beside the tomb of his friend Lazarus, just as we would do beside the grave of a friend; but as God, He speaks to dead Lazarus, and he bursts the bars of death, and comes forth to live again. Christ is the “one mediator” between God and man. He spans the entire distance between them. He is a complete creed—“The Way and The Truth and The Life.” The various ideas of Christianity might be summed up under the three headings: Way, Truth and Life. The Way.
To one man Christianity means a “way”—a mode of conduct. To him, morality is religion. He emphasizes honesty, veracity and cleanliness of life. To “go about doing good” is this man’s conception of being a Chris-tian. This is his complete creed.

Just recently I saw an abbreviated Bible. It contained nothing but the teachings of Jesus on matters of conduct, and a record of His good deeds. The tendency now in the religious world seems to be to humanize the Christ; to make of Him nothing more than a good man.

We would not for a moment detract from any man’s morality. Jesus Christ teaches the highest code of morals the world has ever known. No man can be a follower of the Christ without living upon the highest plane of morality. Nor would we want to subtract one good deed from any man’s life. Christianity means a life of service. The mission of the Christian is to bring happiness into the hearts of the fellow- creatures by acts of service. He is greatest in the kingdom of Heaven who renders the greatest service (Matthew 23:11).
But Christianity is more than morality or a code of conduct, and my creed, to be complete, must contain more than this. In the tenth chapter of Acts, wTe read of a man whose standard of living could not be questioned. In fact, the life of Cornelius would put to shame many professed Christians. Yet Cornelius was not a Christian before Peter’s visit to his house.

Rendering service to humanity does not of itself, make me a Christian. I cannot earn my way to Heaven. My own righteousness is but “filthy rags” in the estimation of God. All of us have “sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). No man can blot his own sins from the records of heaven. No man can Pear the penalty for the sins of another, for he is himself, guilty. Only the innocent Son of God could pay the penalty for man, and thus save lost humanity from death. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can atone for sin. If I am saved, I must have access to the blood of the Lamb of God. A lifetime filled with service cannot atone for a single sin. I cannot buy my way to the home of the soul. Confucianism is a “way”, Buddhism is a “way”. Nothing more can be said of them. But Christianity is more than a “way”. My creed must embrace more than a mode of conduct.
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The Truth.
Truth is the goal sought by every honest mind. The mind cannot possibly rest until truth seems to have have been discovered. If I am contemplating a move t'o a new country, I want to know the truth about that country. If I am purchasing a piece of property, I want the truth about that property. I want the truth about its value, its location and its title.. I will employ an attorney to examine the title, and I will not' make the purchase until I am assured that he has learned all the truth about the matter, and that the owner can, in truth, give me a bona fide title.

I most surely want to know the truth about my title to an everlasting home. I would regard him as my most dangerous enemy, who would attempt to make me believe a falsehood about things eternal. Jesus said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Only the truth can free us from sin. The whole truth can never be found in a creed written by man. “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17). The truth which makes free from sin can only be found in Jesus Christ. When Peter confessed: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God”, he recited the only creed containing all truth. Since Christ is “The Truth” this creed contains all the fundamentals of Christianity. Believing is an essential element in becoming and being a Christian; but the value of my belief depends upon what' I believe. It is not eating—merely eating—that builds and maintains the body; it is the content of my diet. Just as in eating, I must eat something; so in believing, I believe something. Only the truth is worth believing. Christ is “The Truth.” In my search for a definition of Christianity, I am sure I would find a group who would answer: “Why, Christianity is a truth, or a system of truth. Christianity is a doctrine—a set of doctrines.” This answer is fine as far as it goes. I do not have much sympathy for the man who has no definite convictions of faith. There would be no reason for the church if it did not stand for a definite belief. In this age of being “broad and liberal” I am sure there are many who greatly undervalue the question of what to believe. But Christianity is more than a list of doctrines. There is danger in overestimating the theories of truth we hold, to the expense of the service we render. Many of us, I am afraid, having learned what we believe to be the truth, have become satisfied in just holding this truth. We cannot imprison truth in a cage of inactivity and expect her to remain there. Remember, there is the possibility of “holding the truth in unrighteousness.” If we have the truth, are we acting in harmony with the truth ? Are we carrying the truth to others? Are our lives conformable to the truth, as it is in Christ Jesus? Is the church living up to the demands justice would make of an institution pos-sessing the truth? Let us not expect to save ourselves or convert the world by coldly, ritualistically, lifelessly, holding on to a set of theories—even though these theories be true. “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). My creed must embrace more than a set of theories. The Life.
In answer to our question: “What is Christianity?” we would perhaps find a third group, who say: “Christianity is life. Religion is something ‘put in’; not something ‘put on” or something ‘done’. It is an experience of the heart and soul”. In some of the mystic cults of our day, we find a very striking example of the class who limit Christianity to a religious experience. These folks are often very hazy as to doctrine; acting upon the assumption that what we believe is immaterial. In this class, we frequently see fanatics who base their relationship with God solely upon “visions”, “dreams”, and “impressions”; seemingly without' regard to whether these “experiences” are in harmony with the truth of God as it is revealed in Christ. We must not forget that any “experience” which does not' harmonize with the revelation of Christ cannot be God-given; Christ is “The Truth”.

Those who make “experiences” the supreme test of the religious life, are often lacking in the expression of Christ as “The Way”, in their lives. The mode of living exemplified by Jesus is frequently not expressed in their characters. We must remember that Jesus Christ is also “The Way”.

While true faith and right living may suffer at the hands of over-emphasis of “religion as an experience”, we should carefully avoid robbing the religion of Jesus Christ of its heart influences. All true religion emanates from the heart. God, through the Holy Spirit, wrote the message of the New Testament upon the “fleshly tables of the hearts” of the apostles. This message is adaptable to human hearts; it cannot mold the faith and life of the individual, until it has become the message of his heart. The religion of our Lord means more than simply believing and living according to set standards; it offers a heart’ filled with heavenly joy and comfort. The admonition: “Let not your hearts be troubled”, is applicable to every child of God. No sweeter message could be uttered by lips—human or divine—than this from the great apostle Paul. “In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and thanksgiving let' your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus” (Php_4:6-7, A? V.). Let us balance the-ledger: Over one column, let us write: “Things About Which To Be Anxious.” On the other side of the book, let us title a column, “Things To Be Taken To God.” What have we in the first column? “Nothing”. What, in the second? “Everything.” This divine philosophy leaves absolutely nothing for the Christian to worry and fret over. Trouble comes into every life; life cannot be all roses. But Christians have a wonderful advantage over those who have not accepted the Christ. We can forget about all the anxieties of life, casting them all upon our Lord, knowing that “He careth” for us (1 Peter 5:7). Do we really believe the teaching of the Bible on this question? Are you worrying and fretting about something? Do you believe that “all things work together for good to those who love the Lord?” (Romans 8:28). Certainly I am not worrying because something good is going to happen to me! But I must, or quit worrying; if I believe this statement from God’s word. With a God who knows and can control all the laws of the universe, as my Father; I should be willing to “let the peace of God which passeth all understanding, guard (and guide) my heart and my thoughts.” Of course, finite as I am, I may not understand all of God’s ways and means; but why should I expect to understand them, when they “pass all understanding?” I can, in simple, child-like faith, commit everything tq the God who has buried my past; guides my present, and holds my future in His hand; resting securely and happily upon the conviction that “if God be for me, who can be against me?” (Romans 8:31).

We sometimes sing: “The best life to live is the life of a Christian”. This is true from every viewpoint. The Christian life is a life of true joy and happiness. A mother once told me that she did not want her daughter to become a Christian until she was older and had “had a good time.” Poor, deluded mother! What a false conception of pleasure! She, herself, had not tasted the real joy of serving God. Christianity does not rob us of a single legitimate pleasure; it deepens and broadens our joys. A friend of mine owns a farm in Oklahoma. The soil of this farm is very productive. For many years he had enjoyed the products of this farm. When the “oil boom” started in that state, it was found that a good pool of oil lay beneath the surface of my friend’s .farm. Wells were drilled, and the oil production was immense. My friend reaped the benefits of. this production; but he did not cease to enjoy the blessings derived from the surface of his land. While Christianity leaves us all the clean surface joys of life; it also digs deep into our natures, and causes streams of hitherto unknown joys to flood our souls.

Christianity is “life”—a wonderful “experience”. He who has tried to make it simply “way and truth”, has missed the greatest comforts and joys of life. In elim-inating the “life” from our Lord’s religion, we present to the world a cold, uninviting atmosphere. If every Christian lived close enough to his Lord to show by his life that Christianity is something real, we would not have much difficulty in getting the unsaved to want to be Christians. A young man once said to me: “I have been thinking seriously of becoming a Christian. My parents are members of the church. I do not un-derstand why they have never said anything to me about this matter. Christianity does not seem to mean much to them.” What could these parents expect of their children ? Can we expect the world to be attracted to Christ', if they cannot tell that He means anything in our lives?

Two boys were skating on the ice one day, when sud-denly the ice broke and one of them fell into the water. He was unable to pull himself out. The other boy came as near the edge as was safe and extended a pole to the drowning friend. Each time the boy grasped the pole, his hands slipped off, and he went back into the water. Finally he managed to say to his companion: “You are giving me the icy end of the pole. Turn it around”. I wonder if we have not sometimes offered the world the “icy end of the pole”, and then wondered why they did not cling to it, and be saved. My creed must contain life. I cannot consistently ask the world to accept a dead creed. Christ is “The Life.”

Jesus Christ is the embodiment of real religion—a complete creed. He is the “Way, and the truth, and the life”. Let' us live a whole religion. I want to walk in “the way”: Jesus Christ is “The Way”. I want to be guided by “The Truth”, my soul desires life, abundant life; Jesus Christ is “The Life.” May God help us to always cling to Him who is “The way, and the truth, and the life”; making Him our “all, and in All” (Colossians 3:11). Thank God for a creed that contains all truth! May we emphasize it upon the hearts of men by teaching and living it, until the whole world shall see the beauty of our creed, and come confessing: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”