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Publications I Believe . . . The Apostles' Creed for the Third Millennium By Robert P. Mills, Associate Editor The Presbyterian Layman
The Nature of Faith Suggested Scripture readings Mark 9:14-29; Hebrews 11:1-10 The father of a demon-possessed boy brought his son to Jesus’ disciples, who tried but failed to drive the demon out. Disillusioned and despairing the father cried out to Jesus, “If you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.” Jesus replied, “All things are possible for the one who believes.” Immediately the father responded, “I believe …” Every Sunday countless Christians around the world echo this father’s faith as they recite an ancient creed that begins with the words “I believe.” But what, exactly, does it mean for a contemporary Christian to affirm “I believe …”? Or, to state the question in theological terms, What is the nature of faith? Faith In the New Testament the Greek pisteuo, from a root meaning “trusting, worthy of trust,” underlies the English words “believe,” “belief” and “faith.” Various New Testament authors use this word to convey not only belief but also obedience, trust, faithfulness, and hope. In writing about the difficulties of translating this term Edward Dowey observes: It is unfortunate that we cannot say in English ‘I faith in God,’ as is done in New Testament Greek or in German. The trouble with ‘believe’ is that it is too mental or theoretical to represent adequately the trust that is part of faith. John Baillie distinguished between believing from the top of the mind and believing from the bottom of the heart, which is faith. Faith, in the New Testament sense, includes knowing, but goes beyond what can be merely known. Diogenes Allen draws a similar distinction: Faith is not a particular feeling or emotion, so that one might conduct a search to determine whether one has had such a feeling or experience. One may, for example, have been ‘born again’ and experienced an immense thrill. I personally have known such a thrill, but to experience such a thrill is not essential to having faith because some people have never had such an experience and yet they have faith. In Christianity, faith involves the recognition and acceptance of God’s saving work in Jesus Christ. To recognize the good that God intends for us to receive is to have experienced God’s grace; faith is our consent to receive that good. \ ‘Triple-A Faith’ John Brokhoff uses an alliterative approach to the nature of faith as affirmed in the Apostles’ Creed. He refers to “Triple-A Faith,” with the first ‘A’ being: Assent. This is an intellectual admission, that a certain person or thing exists. It is the acceptance of a fact or reality. This is the easiest part of faith. It is an admission which does not require any responsibility about what you believe. Faith as assent gives content to our faith. What then shall we believe? We believe in giving assent to the truths that God is our creating Father, that Jesus is the Christ, and that the Holy Spirit is God our Comforter. When we say ‘I believe,’ we are agreeing to the truths contained in the Apostles’ Creed. This is what we Christians believe. Attitude is Brokhoff’s second ‘A.’ Many people stop in their faith with assent, but this is not enough to believe. Faith goes beyond intellectual belief or assent to the attitude of trust. In the Apostles’ Creed we do not confess ‘I believe that’ but rather ‘I believe in ...’ There is a world of difference between ‘that’ and ‘in.’ There is a difference in saying ‘I believe you are a human,’ and ‘I believe in you.’ To believe in you means I put my trust in you. As Christians, we say we ‘believe’ in God, because our religion is essentially a relationship with God based on trust. We Christians trust not only the promises of God and live accordingly, but we trust our very lives completely to God by surrender and commitment. We trust the everlasting arms of God, underneath us, to save us from fear, death, and hell. By faith we commit our lives into God’s hands and we relax. Action is Brokhoff’s third ‘A.’ By assent we said, ‘I believe that;’ by trust we said, ‘I believe in.’ But faith is more than assent and attitude; it is action, obedience, or works. Undoubtedly this is the most difficult dimension of faith. A fact of life is that we do what we believe in. Faith prece Nazis believed the Jews were a menace to society, there was a holocaust. Because we believe that Jesus is the Christ we will be baptized and join the church.
The father of the demon-possessed boy believed. He assented to what he knew about Jesus. His attitude of trust was evident. He acted on hisedes our actions. Because Columbus believed that the world was round, he set sail to go to India by going westward. Because th faith. The father brought his son to Jesus and declared, “I believe.” Yet in the same breath he also cried out to Jesus, “Help my unbelief.” “I believe; help my unbelief” might seem a contradiction. However, only the existence of this father’s faith could have made him conscious of its weakness. His request for Christ to help him overcome his unbelief showed his insight into the power of Christ to do far more than merely heal his child. Although it may have been dimmed by the disciples’ failure, the father’s faith revived and flourished when he stood face to face with Jesus. Addressing this still prevalent phenomenon William Barclay comments, “The Church may disappoint us; the servants of the Church may disappoint us; but when we battle our way face to face with Jesus Christ, he never disappoints us.” The father came to Jesus seeking help for his son. He quickly recognized the limitations of his own faith and thus realized that he needed help as well. The relationship of doubt and faith will be explored in Chapter 3. Here, however, this father’s timeless supplication, “I believe; help my unbelief,” helps to remind third millennium Christians what it is to confess our faltering and imperfect faith, using an ancient creed that begins with the words "I believe." I believe To say “I believe” is to give intellectual assent to the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith: that God is our Father, the creator of the heavens and the earth; that Jesus is his only Son, our only Savior; that the ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit makes us one with God and with each other. To say “I believe” is also to give evidence of our attitude of trust, an attitude that says to God: I will step out in faith, trusting you to guide my steps; I will return good for evil, trusting your goodness and your mercy; I will follow your call through the lonely places, trusting the promise of your presence with me, now and in the life to come. And finally, to say, “I believe” is to act. It is to weld our intellectual assent and our attitude of trust to faithful actions in our daily lives. These elements of faith come together each time we confess the first words of the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe.” For reflection and response 1. What do you mean when you say “I believe …?” 2. What is the difference between believing “from the top of the head” and believing “from the bottom of the heart?” 3. Have you ever said to God, “Help my unbelief?” If so, how has God answered that prayer? 4. What do you hope to gain from this study of the Apostles’ Creed? Pray and give God thanks for his desire to give abundantly to us and especially for his gift of faith. You may wish to pray Psalm 23 or to use that psalm as a model for your prayer. Scripture passages for further study II Chronicles 20:14-24; Habakkuk 2:1-4; John 6:25-29, John 20:30-31; Romans 10:14-17; Ephesians 6:13-17. Additional resources Diogenes Allen, Christian Belief in a Postmodern World (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1989). William Barclay, The Gospel of Mark (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1956). John R. Brokhoff, This You Can Believe: A New Look at the Apostles’ Creed (Lima, OH: C.S.S. Publishing, 1987). Edward Dowey, A Commentary on the Confession of 1967 and an Introduction to “The Book of Confessions” (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, n.d.). |
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