"No creed but Christ, no book but the Bible, no law but love, no name but the divine."
What is a creed?
1. any system, doctrine, or formula of religious belief, as of a denomination.
2. any system or codification of belief or of opinion.
3. an authoritative, formulated statement of the chief articles of Christian belief, as the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, or the Athanasian Creed.
Miriam Webster - 1: a brief authoritative formula of religious belief the Nicene Creed
2 : a set of fundamental beliefs; also : a guiding principle
The New Testament Church has no creed but Christ. Nothing fancy made up by men.
Where did this idea come from?
In 1801, at Cane Ridge Kentucky, a spot in the woods and pastures of Bourbon County, 20-30,000 people gathered together. Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists and others along with unsaved persons, from Ohio, Tennessee, and Kentucky- for several days listened to sermons, sang and prayed together, and shared communion together. It was a great spiritual awakening. It was the greatest camp meeting to date.
Names of men, like Barton Warren Stone, Alexander Campbell, and Thomas Campbell became well known. This movement, called the Restoration Movement, or the Stone-Campbell Movement, created non-denominational Christian Churches/Churches of Christ.
Out of that meeting came the idea that followers of Christ would be called Christians only- not Baptists, or Methodists, or Presbyterians. And so you have the beginning of the Christian Churches, the Churches of Christ, and the Disciples of Christ Churches.
Some of the other slogans of the restoration movement-
"Where the Scriptures speak, we speak; where the Scriptures are silent, we are silent.
"The church of Jesus Christ on earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one."
"We are Christians only, but not the only Christians."
"In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; in all things love."
"Call Bible things by Bible names."
No Creed but Christ-
Matthew 16:13-18 NASB - 13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” 15 He *said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
“You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” It is upon this confession that the church of Jesus Christ rests.
Listen to what God says at Jesus’ baptism in Matthew 3:16-17 NASB –
16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and [i]he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and [j]lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
God says this at Jesus’ transfiguration in Matthew 17:5 NASB –
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”
Jesus said it of himself in Matthew 26:62-64 NASB –
62 The high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?” 63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus *said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Mark 14:61-62 NASB records it again –
Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
It was the confession of the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8:36-38 NASB –
36 As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 37 And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38 And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.
It is the same confession made by all the early Christians-
Romans 10:9-10 NASB - 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
And the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 3:14 NASB - 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
Belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of the living God means belief that He is Divine; that He is God incarnate. It means that He was, and is, perfect in all His ways – a perfect teacher, a perfect philosopher, a perfect propitiation for our sins. It means that He is our King Supreme—in His nature and character, in His wisdom and righteousness, in His authority and power, and in His decisions and judgment.
We believe the Bible, not because it is old or historical or traditional, but because it is a revelation of the mind of God.
If we want to know how to become a Christian, we don’t look at the Old Testament, but the New. The OT shows us how God dealt with people in the past. From the OT we learn to respect God’s judgment and what it means to obey or disobey His commands. From the OT we also learn about the consequences of listening to, or ignoring, God’s will.
But if we want to know today how to become a child of God, how to worship Him, how to live as His child, we turn to the New Testament.
If we accept Jesus as God’s Son, then we accept his teachings, his authority, his judgments, and his right to guide our ways.
Upon this ground and it alone can all believers in Christ be united. With the followers of Jesus Christ scattered all over the earth, each dealing with their own circumstances and thoughts, their own likes and dislikes, their own way of reasoning, there could not be any human creed, any set of dogmas, that could satisfy all.
God knew this.
And so, He gave us a living creed centered in the Divinity of the living Christ who was raised form the dead to die no more. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
By faith in Christ alone can we unite against the forces of evil, triumph over the powers of darkness, and enter into Heaven.
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