HOLD FAST THE GIFT OF GOD

Text: 1 corinthians 15:1-4 Speaker: Pastor Matthew Ude Festival: Trinity Passages: 1 corinthians 15:1-4

1 corinthians 15:1-4

Do you cringe when you recite the Athanasian creed?

Some of the statements in the Athanasian creed make some uncomfortable. Many think the opening statement of this creed goes too far. However, when you look at it closely, as we shall this morning, it becomes clear that this creed says nothing more than what Paul says in our text. Namely that faith in Jesus who died and rose again is the only way of salvation and that we ought therefore to hold fast to this confession.

The opening line of this creed sounds harsh to many. Nor is it only said this one time, but it is repeated more throughout the creed. Here are four examples.

Whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the catholic (Christian, universal) faith. Whoever does not keep it whole and undefiled will without doubt perish eternally.

But it is also necessary for everlasting salvation that one faithfully believe the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, whoever desires to be saved must think thus about the Trinity.

This is the true Christian faith. Unless a man believe this firmly and faithfully, he cannot be saved.

One prominent Christian theologian (Friedrich Loofs) says this:

The Quicunque [Athanasian Creed] is un-evangelical and cannot be received, because it’s very first sentence confounds fides with expositio fidei. (H., R. E., 2, 194.)

What he means by this is that it seems to confuse faith and the understanding of that faith. He is suggesting that this creed makes our salvation dependent on our understanding rather than on faith itself. He is correct that understanding is not necessary for salvation. The following bible passages make that clear.  

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

Habakkuk 2:4 “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.

Luke 10:21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.

It is not our wisdom or our ability to understand which saves us, but faith. Faith means nothing more than trusting what God tells us. In particular, trusting his promise to save us through his Son Jesus Christ. Notice that especially the passage from Luke shows us that understanding is not required and even sometimes gets in the way. Faith is a gift from God, something received from the Father. Thus, even infants who from our perspective understand nothing can be saved, because by God’s power they have been given this revelation that by his death Jesus has saved us from our sins.

So yes, we are saved not because of our understanding. We are saved by Jesus’ death. We receive the benefit of that death through faith, which is a gift given to us by God, not a thing which we attain through our understanding.

So, does this creed require understanding for salvation? The answer is no. Let’s look again at that opening sentence from the creed.

What is says is not that you must understand, but that you must “hold” and “keep” the faith. These are words that are taken directly from scripture.

John 14:23-24  “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.  24 “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.

The word “keep” here means to treasure or guard. We have been given a gift from God and we ought to keep it safe.

Isaiah 56:4-5  “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant,  5 Even to them I will give in My house And within My walls a place and a name Better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name That shall not be cut off.

God specifically ties together keeping the word, covenant, promise that was given and the receiving of salvation.

1 Corinthians 15:1-2  Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,  2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you– unless you believed in vain.

Revelation 3:3   3 “Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.

Revelation 3:11   11 “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.

Scripture clearly teaches that we are saved by faith. This faith is a gift given to us by God. Having given us this great gift, it gives us this charge or command. We should keep that word of promise, that is to treasure it and guard it. We should hold on to that word of promise.

This is something that is done not by our power or strength but by God’s power at work within us. Nevertheless, the warning is clearly there that those who do not hold on to this gift of faith which they have been given will lose out on salvation.

This is the parable of the sower and the seed. The hard packed ground, the rocky ground, and the weedy ground were all given the same gift as the good ground, namely the seed which is God’s word. The first three, however, did not keep or hold this gift.

This is the same thing as the Athanasian Creed is saying. We need to hold fast the faith which we have been given. We don’t have to understand it, but we do have to hold on to it. Without it we cannot be saved.

The Athanasian Creed was written at a time when many, just like today, wanted to compromise the promise of Jesus Christ. Is Jesus true God equal to the Father? Is he true man? Is the Holy Spirit also full God?

There were many factions that taught that Jesus was not true God, or that he was not true man. There were others who wanted to ignore the whole issue, again just like today.

The response of the Athanasian Creed, is that this is what the scripture teaches. This is the faith that we have received, not by our understanding but as the gift from God. If we do not hold on to it we will lose our only way of salvation.

Just as if you have a map that shows you the way to get to your destination. If you throw away the map you will lose your way. So also, if we throw away the faith we have been given, we will lose out on the destination which is God’s salvation. This creed therefore implores God’s people not to throw away the faith but to keep it safe.

Does that mean we have to believe everything this Creed says to be saved.

What is it that this Creed says we must hold fast? It does not demand every doctrine of scripture. Even though this is a long and wordy creed, it is only concerned with two teachings, the trinity and the incarnation. Or to put it another way the person and work of Jesus. This is the same gospel which Paul says we need to hold on to in our text.

The creed therefore does not say that if you don’t believe in for example infant baptism you will lose salvation. It speaks only about the person and work of Jesus Christ. If you deny the person of Jesus, that he is true God and true Man, or if you deny the work of Jesus that he died for your sins and rose again, then you have lost the faith.

Again, the Creed is only stating bluntly what scripture clearly teaches

John 8:24  Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.

Acts 4:12  Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

John 14:6-7   6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.  7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

Notice in the passage from John that Jesus claims to be one with the Father and claims that it is part of “the way.”

John 10:30-31   30 “I and My Father are one.”  31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.

By refusing to accept that Jesus is equal to the Father these Jews put themselves outside of God’s kingdom. They were no longer a part of him.

This is the true faith which we have received not by our understanding, but as a gift from God. That Jesus, who was true God, became true man, died for our sins and rose from the dead. If we do not hold on to this faith there is no way of salvation.

Rather than cringing at this opening statement of the creed we ought to embrace it and hold fast that which has been given to us and through which we are saved.