Sermon – Romans 1:1-7 – And In Jesus Christ His Only Son Our Lord

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon – Romans 1:1-7 – “And In Jesus Christ His Only Son Our Lord”

Lent 4

March 10, 2013

I am continuing this morning with our study of the Apostles Creed. So far we have seen that it calls us to believe in God. This belief is more than believing that some facts about God are true. This belief in God is a matter of trusting God with your whole life. The God we believe in is the same God Jesus invited us to call “Our Father”, and is also the creator God of the ancient Hebrews. This God has power and authority over both the spiritual and physical worlds. And as we will see today, this God left the spiritual world though His Son to come into the physical world to save it. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Romans 1:1-7 ^NIV Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God-- ² the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ³ regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, ⁴ and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵ Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. ⁶ And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. ⁷ To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

The second article of the Apostles Creed begins with this statement, “And In Jesus”. Jesus, we know, was a man who live two thousand years ago. In what sense are we to believe in someone from so long ago? How could we believe in, trust our lives to someone who live thousands of years ago? Well, the only way we can believe in, trust completely, this Jesus is if he is still alive today. And he is. Jesus is in heaven with God and so we can trust him with our lives.

To believe in Jesus is to believe that God entered into the physical world to restore it. God's creation had been so distorted by sin that it was no longer recognizable. Evil seemed to have corrupted everything. God could have sent a comet to destroy the Earth if he wanted to. But he didn't. Rather he came to Earth as a man to begin the long and difficult process of restoring creation. And he left behind a church to continue this work. We know all of this because the name God gave his son was Jesus, ya-shua, which means Yahweh Saves.

The Creed teaches us that this Jesus, who lived two millennia ago, was the Christ or Messiah. Christ means “anointed one”. And so we believe that Jesus is the anointed one, who came to fulfill Old Testament prophecy, the messianic expectations of the Jews, and serve as our prophet, priest and king. As our anointed prophet, Jesus speaks the Word of God. His teachings are reliable indications of what God wants from us. As our anointed priest, Jesus listens to our prayers and delivers them to God. And as our anointed king, Jesus has all power and authority over the world we live in. So when we say “I believe in Jesus Christ” we are trusting in the anointed one sent by God to save us.

The creed also teaches us that this Jesus the anointed one, is also the only Son of God. This is a truly extraordinary statement. It says that Jesus and God are one. And it says that God has entered into the physical world to begin the process of restoration that will one day “deliver us from evil”. How do we know that Jesus is the Son of God? How can we be sure of all of this? Well the evidence is in and the witnesses have testified that Jesus, who was put to death like a common criminal, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. This is sufficient proof that Jesus is exactly who he says he is, he is the Son of God. So we believe that God, the maker of Heaven and Earth, came into the physical world to restore it from the corruption of sin by being born as a man named Yahweh Saves and by being anointed as our prophet, priest and king fulfilling the prophecies of the Old Testament, and lives today having been resurrected from the dead. So what should be our response to all of this? The only response I can think of is to pledge total loyalty to this Jesus. He is our God and anointed King. So we should call him “Lord”. And so the Creed reads, “(I believe) in Jesus Christ His Only Son Our Lord.”

This proclamation that Jesus is Lord is the oldest Christian creed. Paul tells us that the earliest Christians called Jesus “Lord”, and he said that if you do this and believe in the resurrection you will be saved. Calling Jesus “Lord” is more than just a confession of our lips. It is an attitude that we have that causes us to follow Jesus and do he tells us. Calling Jesus “Lord” and believe in our hearts his resurrection from the dead is what makes us Christian. This is the only non-negotiable part of the creed. Confessing that Jesus is Lord is not optional. If you don't do it you are not a Christians. But confess that Jesus is Lord and you become a child of God.

Calling Jesus “Lord” and following him have from time to time throughout history caused conflicts with government because the government wants your total loyalty and will use force to get it. If the will of God is a odds with the will of the government, Christians have to make a choice. Do we renounce the Lordship of Jesus Christ and follow the government? Or do we defy the government and follow Jesus at the risk of our lives? This choice has been presented to the church over and over again throughout history and will no doubt will happen again. What will we do when it does?

On the 20^th of January in the year 250 AD the church was presented a stark choice. Either renounce the Lordship of Jesus Christ and accept the Lordship of the emperor or die. The Bishop of Rome, Pope Fabian, was martyred for his faith on that day. The emperor Decius had issued an official edict of persecution. Christians were ordered to renounce their faith or face the same fate as the bishop. Church pastors were the primary targets of this law. Government officials would demand that pastors renounce the Lordship of Jesus Christ by burning their Bibles or face death. Many pastors did that to save their lives. Many pastors went into hiding to avoid making the difficult choice. Many pastors proclaimed that Jesus Christ is Lord all the way to their deaths as Christian martyrs.

This persecution lasted eight months and when it was lifted Cornelius was elected as the new Bishop of Rome, but the church was divided. Many pastors, who had renounced the Lordship of Jesus Christ by burning their Bibles, wanted to return to the church. Cornelius said that they could if they underwent a Sacrament of Penance where they would confess what they had done and receive God's forgiveness. Many of the bishops disagreed with this saying that renouncing the Lordship of Jesus Christ after being baptized is an unpardonable sin. Three bishops who believed that the lapsed should not return elected one of their own, and priest named Novatian, as Pope Novantus. The church had two popes. Eventually the church decided that God could save even those who had renounced the Lordship of Jesus Christ. No matter how bad the sin, if we confess and humbly repent God will forgive us and take us back. Novatian was declared a heretic and excommunicated from the church.

Declaring that you believe in “Jesus Christ His Only Son Our Lord” is a matter of life and death. It is a statement not about who you think Jesus was but about who you will serve and obey today. You are making a political statement that you will follow Jesus wherever he leads even if this leads to your death. We know that we have been called as witnesses to what Jesus has done. But did you know that the Greek word for “witness” can also mean “martyr”. So it is possible that you have been called to be a Christian martyr and lose your life for your faith. But always remember that the Lord we follow is also the God who saves.

But we can't stop here with just a profession of our belief in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. As you heard earlier the Apostle Paul said that through our faith in Jesus Christ we have been given grace and apostleship to go out into the world and call people into a life of faith and obedience. These are gifts provided to all who profess that Jesus is Lord and believe in the resurrection. With these gifts all of you are now empowered to talk with your family and friends and the people you work with or go to school with about your faith and your obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. These gifts allow you to invite people to church to engage in conversations that lead to a life of faith and obedience.

We can boldly proclaim our faith knowing that death cannot stop us because in Jesus Christ our Lord we have been promised resurrection to new life. And so we joyfully proclaim our belief “in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord.”

Lord Jesus Christ, we are ready to follow you wherever you lead even if this means to our own death. We do this because of your promise of eternal life through the resurrection of the dead. We thank and praise you for leading the way. Amen.