Posted on 10/22/2013 4:45:20 AM PDT by don-o
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1. Receive, my children, the Rule of Faith, which is called the Symbol (or Creed ). And when you have received it, write it in your heart, and be daily saying it to yourselves; before ye sleep, before ye go forth, arm you with your Creed. The Creed no man writes so as it may be able to be read: but for rehearsal of it, lest haply forgetfulness obliterate what care has delivered, let your memory be your record-roll: what you are about to hear, that are you to believe; and what you shall have believed, that are about to give back with your tongue. For the Apostle says, "With the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." For this is the Creed which you are to rehearse and to repeat in answer. These words which you have heard are in the Divine Scriptures scattered up and down: but thence gathered and reduced into one, that the memory of slow persons might not be distressed; that every person may be able to say, able to hold, what he believes. For have ye now merely heard that God is Almighty? But ye begin to have him for your father, when you have been born by the church as your Mother.
James 2:9
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
Creeds are useful as professions of faith, which are Scriptural, but not necessarily what a creed says. While the AC and NC only state core beliefs, they oppose cults which deny them.
Neither contains the gospel of your salvation, which is how we are saved
True, as regards details of how salvation is received based on what the historical facts, which Acts 10:43 could have been included, but for Catholics this is normatively via baptism.
. And the Nicene Creed tells us that baptism is for the remission of sins. Christ’s shed blood is our remission of sins, not baptism.
Which is why most Prots must dissent from this part. Baptism here refers to the instrumental means, by the act itself, of receiving remission of sins by Christ's sinless shed blood, but while baptism can be the time when you confess the Lord Jesus in being born again, it is not the act itself that appropriate this, but the faith the baptism confesses, in body language.
In Acts 10:34-43 we see a concise gospel message in which is promised, "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins." (Acts 10:43)
And as it is the faith that appropriates this, thus baptism came after regeneration.
"And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;" "And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith." (Acts 15:8-9)
Of course, you know this, but this may serve to counter objections to what you said.
thanx
Chill, bro. You are no Augustine.
" The Creed no man writes so as it may be able to be read: but for rehearsal of it, lest haply forgetfulness obliterate what care has delivered, let your memory be your record-roll: what you are about to hear, that are you to believe; and what you shall have believed, that are about to give back with your tongue."
We support a missionary in Zambia.
Ever heard of Arius? Do you know that his heresy was not just a little blip; but was embraced very widely and for many years? Do you know what Athanasius contra mundum means?
Work up a little humility and look at how the life giving doctrines of Christianity were actually preserved and transmitted.
HINT: It was not "Read your Bible."
There are THREE words missing from those creeds, and St. Augustine's treatise on what is needful to be saved:
"FOR OUR SINS"
"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto THE GOSPEL<>/b> which I preached to you, which also ye have RECEIVED, and wherein ye STAND; BY WHICH also YE ARE SAVED, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have BELIEVED IN VAIN. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received,how that CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures."(1 Cor. 15:1-4).
Those THREE WORDS, "FOR OUR SINS" are the MOST IMPORTANT three words in the Bible. They are the SUM TOTAL of EVERYTHING God has revealed to us, from Genesis to Revelation. They are the crux of everything that WAS, IS, and IS TO COME.
And they are MISSING from those creeds. They were not included. The ONE THING that was crucial to be included was not.
And if you think that is not important, read Rom. 2:16: "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ ACCORDING TO MY GOSPEL." You can stand before God and recite all the creeds and apologists you want, but without that Gospel of your salvation, you're cooked.
It could mean “please pass the cornbread” for all I care. Unless it means “FOR OUR SINS”, it’s useless, too.
Such disrespect. Such arrogance.
Please refrain from addressing any more of your posts to me. You provoke me to sin.
If the truth provokes you to sin, I'll pray for you.
The creeds are proclaimations of what the Gospel IS all about.
Thank-you don-o the excellent article. God Bless.
“Disrespect and arrogance”?? The disrespect and arrogance going on here is with GOd’s word being added to and taken from in order to form a religious creed of vapid nothingness. Instead of searching the SCRIPTURES to see for yourself God’s word to man, you seem very content to parrot men’s fallible creeds. No, I don’t provoke you to “sin”, don-o. I should be provoking you to search the scriptures. If you can’t or won’t, that is YOU sinning against God’s infallible love story to man. Good day, sir.
Both creeds are based on the Gospel of Jesus.
Show me .. in the creed(s) where I can be saved and KNOW I’m going to heaven when I die.
No they are NOT. Unless you can show me where they state Christ DIED FOR OUR SINS. THAT is the Gospel, Biggirl. The creeds state that Christ died, was buried, and rose again the third day. OK, what does that mean, He died? Was He hit by a drunk driver, did He have a heart attack, did He choke on a sandwich? WHO KNOWS, these creeds just say “He died”. Don’t you understand HOW IMPORTANT it is to tell you WHY He died? FOR OUR SINS. That’s why He died. And yet, you won’t find that in your creeds.
Please see post number 37. Thank-you.
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