Now, I think we can all agree that we have entered the Fall season, haven’t we? Of course, I understand that unofficially, Fall sort of began after Labor Day, you know, when you cover up the pool and put away the white shoes. And officially, the autumnal equinox was September 22, at 2:19 in the afternoon, the time when the sun crossed the celestial equator heading south. But I’ve got to tell you, in the last week, man, for the first time this year, it’s really started to feel like Fall, with the temperature dipping to around 40 at night and around 60 during the day.
And you know, every year when this happens, it always makes me smile, because as a kid, good night nurse, for me, this was the very best time of year, especially with Halloween on the horizon. You see, this was the week to carve the pumpkin and to get the costume and to anticipate the candy that would be pouring into the Rudiger house in just a few days. I mean, this was all happening right now, and that was great. But I’ve got to tell you, even better than that was all the stuff that was going to happen after Halloween. I mean, you’ve got Thanksgiving in a little over three weeks and then the granddaddy of all holidays when you’re a kid, and of course, I’m talking about Christmas itself. You see, as the temperature started to drop and the world became orange and brown, reality became really sweet and the promise of more, even sweeter.
And I’ll tell you, that’s sort of what we’re going to be talking about in our last message dealing with The Apostles Creed. Now, to this point, we’ve looked at the following:
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,
Now, that’s where we’ve been.
And this morning, we’re going to talk about the very last affirmation made in the creed: I BELIEVE in...life everlasting, a statement that I think offers something that we can sort of hang on to as we deal with a present that appears to be chocked full of all kinds of problems and pain and look into a future that often seems to offer just more of the same. Specifically, we’re going to use the Bible to consider three aspects of everlasting or eternal life that just might help us not only hang on but also move forward.
For example, first, I believe that life everlasting is a promise. In other words, it’s something that we can look forward to receiving some time in the future. And you know, I think that’s what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote this to Titus, a protégée about whom Paul wrote, “
because of our faith, you are like a son to me.” [Titus 1:4, CEV] To this believer, Paul said,
I encourage God's own people to have more faith and to understand the truth about religion. Then they will have the hope of eternal life God promised long ago. And God never tells a lie! So, at the proper time, God our Savior gave this message and told me to announce what he had said. [Titus 1:1b-3, CEV]
Now that’s what Paul wrote.
And I’ll tell you, that just makes sense. I mean, based on the words themselves, everlasting life must involve the future, and I’m talking about that time after we leave behind this mortal toil and enter into a new reality. You see, since Jesus broke the power of sin through his death on the cross and since we can get a glimpse of what’s going to happen because of the empty tomb, we have good reason to believe that the old has died and a new reality has begun. And we can have faith that the time is coming when the dead will be raised, sort of like what we talked about last week, and we’ll enter into a recreated universe where pain and suffering and death will be a thing of the past. And we can trust that in this new heaven and new earth, we’ll not only see God and everyone who’s gone before us, we’ll have the opportunity to spend eternity with them, because time itself is one of those things that have been left behind. And since it’s grounded in a message announced by God our savior, we can be confident that it’s going to happen. I mean, everlasting life was promised by God, and as Paul wrote, “God never tells a lie!” [Titus 1:2b, CEV]
And because of that, man, we can have hope. I mean, just think about it. The time is coming when all the pain and all the trouble and all the conflict we face right now will not only end, but be replaced by a world of peace and tranquility and comfort. That’s our hope. And in that new world, we’ll not only be in the presence of God, we’ll also be with all those who’ve gone before us in this recreated reality. That’s our hope. And in that place, in that Kingdom we pray for each and every Sunday morning, we’ll be able to live in that presence and to enjoy that fellowship but not for an hour or a day or a year. Man, we’re talking about eternity, because in this rebirthed universe, time will no longer have meaning. I’m telling you, that’s our hope too. And at that time, that glorious time, using the words of Paul, we’ll be able to say,
The bodies we now have are weak and can die. But they will be changed into bodies that are eternal. Then the Scriptures will come true,
“Death has lost the battle!
Where is its victory?
Where is its sting?”
Sin is what gives death its sting, and the Law is the power behind sin. But thank God for letting our Lord Jesus Christ give us the victory! [1 Corinthians 15:54-57, CEV]
I’m telling you, I think we can feel hope, because, first, we believe life everlasting is a promise. But that’s not all it is.
Because second, everlasting life is also a reality. You see, it’s not just a promise for the future; rather, it’s something that’s alive and real and present right here and now. And I’ll tell you, I think that was something Jesus understood when he made this prayer to God right before he was lifted up on the cross. Jesus prayed,
Father, the time has come for you to bring glory to your Son, in order that he may bring glory to you. And you gave him power over all people, so he would give eternal life to everyone you give him. Eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent. I have brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you gave me to do. Now, Father, give me back the glory I had with you before the world was created. [John 17:1b-5, CEV]
Now that’s what Jesus said.
And let me tell you why I think it’s important. Since he believed that eternal, everlasting life involved knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ, the one who was sent, in other words, that the knowledge which leads to faith was and is eternal life, this wasn’t something people had to wait to receive. Instead it was something that they could claim right now. You see, that’s how Jesus defined eternal life; therefore, when he said that “...everyone who has faith in the Son of Man will have eternal life,” [John 3:15, CEV] he was talking about a relationship with God they could enjoy right now. And when he said, “Even now the harvest workers are receiving their reward by gathering a harvest that brings eternal life. Then everyone who planted the seed and everyone who harvests the crop will celebrate together,” [John 4:36, CEV] he was referring to something that was happening right here. And when he said “I give them eternal life, so that they will never be lost. No one can snatch them out of my hand,” [John 10:28, CEV] he was talking about a sense of safety, a sense of certainty, a sense of security that cannot be lost. You see, this reality is also everlasting life.
And because it is, not only can we experience hope, man, we can only experience joy. You see, we can experience joy knowing that for reasons we may never understand, God wanted a relationship with us so badly that he entered our time and space in a way we could understand. In other words, he found us, not the other way around. And we can experience joy knowing that the God who loved us before he created the universe wants us to be part of his work, you know, to be laborers in his field and to gather the harvest that he’s caused to grow. And brothers and sisters, we can experience joy just knowing that we will never be lost. No matter what happens to us, we’re always going to be part of his flock and no matter where we go we can never, and I mean never be snatched out of his hand. I'm telling you, along with hope, we can feel joy, because, second, we also believe life everlasting is a reality. But again, even that's not all it is.
Because, third, it’s also a gift. In other words, this wonderful promise that offers so much hope and this incredible reality that can fill us with so much joy, eternal life itself is a gift given to us by God. I mean, just listen to what Paul wrote to the Romans:
When you were slaves of sin, you didn't have to please God. But what good did you receive from the things you did? All you have to show for them is your shame, and they lead to death. Now you have been set free from sin, and you are God's slaves. This will make you holy and will lead you to eternal life. Sin pays off with death. But God's gift is eternal life given by Jesus Christ our Lord. [Romans 6:20-23, CEV]
Let me say that again: But God’s gift is eternal life given by Jesus Christ our Lord. [Romans 6:23b, CEV]
In other words, everlasting life isn’t something that God expects us to deserve and earn. I mean, it’s not a reward that we deserved for being good enough or righteous enough or spiritual enough. And it’s certainly not a wage that we earn, because we’ve said all the right words and prayed all the right prayers and made all the right promises. Man, it’s not anything like that, and I’ll tell you, that’s a good thing, because, since we were slaves to sin, deserving and earning everlasting life is way beyond our ability. Man, eternal life is not God’s payment for services rendered. Instead it’s a gift. It’s based on God’s grace and not our effort. And it becomes real to us, not because we’re worked hard and earned it, instead, because we’ve simply trusted that it was given. You see, that’s what faith is all about. It’s simple trust. And that’s how we experience the promise and reality of eternal life.
And you know, when we realize that, I think we’re going to feel all kinds of peace. I mean, just think about it, what we didn’t get, we can’t lose, can we? Our salvation is secure. And even if, for whatever reason, we don’t appreciate it for time and even if we choose to wander away from the one who found us and even if we decide to believe that God doesn’t exist, the gift is still there. God doesn’t take it back; that’s something we would do, but not God. No, the promise is still valid. And the reality remains the same. And the gift, man, the gift is always there to be claimed. No wonder the Apostle Paul told the Romans that “
nothing in all creation can separate us from God's love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” [Romans 8:39b, CEV] I'm telling you, along with hope and joy, we can feel peace, because, third, we also believe life everlasting is a gift.
And so ends The Apostles Creed, almost. You see, after affirming this wonderful promise and reality and gift we call everlasting life, there’s one more word: Amen. Now, in case you don’t already know, ἀμήν is a Greek word that means “truly” or “so be it.” But what’s interesting, in the Bible it can be used in two ways. On one hand, it can be used at the end, particularly of prayers, to show that you’ve finished praying. But, on the other hand, it can also come at the beginning of a statement to show just how important it is. And so, as we say the creed one last time together, at least for a while; let’s think of the word “amen” appearing at both the beginning and the end, because as we’ve seen, this relatively brief statement is an important summation of the Christian faith. And so, together, let’s say what we believe:
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
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