"This Is the Catholic Faith" (Sermon for the Holy Trinity, on the Athanasian Creed)

Did you know that we Lutherans are catholic? We are! In fact, you just said so. You did, just now when we all confessed the Athanasian Creed. Don’t worry. I’ll explain. And so our theme on this Holy Trinity Sunday: “This Is the Catholic Faith.”

Yes, it’s Trinity Sunday, that one Sunday of the year when we haul out that big, long creed with the funny name and say it in church. But at least I let you sit down for this one! This creed is called the Athanasian Creed. It’s named after the great church father from the fourth century, St. Athanasius. He didn’t write it, but it represents his teaching as the leading confessor of the faith during a time of great controversy. That crisis concerned the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, and that’s why we confess it on this day. By the way, we speak the Athanasian Creed out loud only one Sunday of the year, but we believe, teach, and confess it every day of the year. It is one of the three great, historic, ecumenical creeds--along with the Apostles’ and Nicene--held by all of Christendom around the world.

Let’s start with a little background on this St. Athanasius fellow. He lived during the fourth century--that’s the 300s--in Alexandria, Egypt, on the coast of north Africa. When Athanasius was a young man, there was a man named Arius, who was teaching some things about Christ that were not true--in fact, so not true that they would undermine the whole Christian faith. Arius taught about Christ that, quote, “there was a time when he was not.” That was Arius’s slogan. If you were a follower of Arius, you would have had the bumper sticker on your chariot: “Christ: There was a time when he was not.” What Arius meant by that was that Christ, the Son of God, was not truly divine in the way that God the Father is divine. No. God’s Son was a created being. “There was a time when he was not.”

And Arius gained a lot of followers. He could cherry-pick some Bible verses out of context that seemed to support his position--for instance, where Jesus says, “The Father is greater than I,” and things like that. But if you take away Jesus’ divinity from his person, the whole Christian faith falls apart. For only one who is true God could rescue us from our sins, conquer death for us, and give us eternal life. Only the precious, holy blood of God’s own Son is strong enough and powerful enough to atone for the sins of the whole world and give us perfect forgiveness and righteousness--which is what Jesus Christ, true God and true man, has done for us.

Well, Arius’s false teachings were gaining traction, but people were recognizing how destructive this heresy was. So a council of the whole church was called at Nicaea in the year 325 to deal with this issue. The result was the Nicene Creed, which confesses the truth about Christ, over against Arius’s heresy. That’s why you have phrases in the Nicene Creed like, ‘God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom”--that is, by Christ--“all things were made.” All those phrases were included to teach the true divinity of Christ.

Young Deacon Athanasius was at the Council of Nicaea, and he strongly supported this confession of the true faith against the Arian heresy. Afterward, Athanasius became the Bishop of Alexandria. But it was a long and tough battle. Athanasius suffered much in contending for the truth. Thank God, though, the truth of God’s Word prevailed.

Heresies that would undermine the person of Christ and the reality of the Holy Trinity have always been a threat to the church. They come in different forms, different packages. For instance, today we have the Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witnesses spreading their lies and denying the truth about Christ and the triune God. And so it was, after the time of Athanasius, other heretical teachings about the Trinity and the person of Christ were going around. And this is how the Athanasian Creed came into being. This creed goes into the most depth and detail to make absolutely clear the truth that we teach and the errors that we reject.

Confessing the true faith--this is what the Athanasian Creed does. And this is where the term “the catholic faith” comes in. Did you notice that as we read the creed? The phrase occurs several times. Right off the bat: “Whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the catholic faith.” Then, “And the catholic faith is this.” A little later, “the catholic religion.” And then at the end, “This is the catholic faith.” Did that make you jump a little bit? It shouldn’t. “Catholic,” in this sense, is a good word. It does not refer to the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Rome, led by the pope. No, “the catholic faith,” in the sense that we say it in the creed, simply means the true faith, the orthodox faith, that is, the right-teaching faith. The word “catholic” literally means, “according to the whole”: in other words, that which has been held in common by the church at all times and in all places.

And so we Lutherans are catholic Christians! Don’t be afraid of that word; it’s a good one! We hold the catholic faith. We haven’t come up with anything strange or new. We confess the Christian faith as it has always been held since the beginning of the church. It’s biblical, it’s Christian, it’s historic. This is the catholic faith.

And what is essential to the catholic faith is the nature of the one true God as triune: One God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is who God is. There is no other. This is the only God who can save you--and he does! The Father, out of his great love for us sinners, sent his only Son into the world to do precisely that--to save us. Jesus, the Son of God incarnate, lived, died, and rose again to accomplish our salvation. And the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, delivers the goods to us, through the gospel means of Word and Sacrament, so that we believe in Christ and receive his gifts of forgiveness, life, and everlasting salvation. This is the catholic faith.

Now besides that word “catholic,” there may have been another part of the Athanasian Creed that got your attention and raised an eyebrow. It comes near the end, where it says about Christ: “At His coming all people will rise again with their bodies and give an account concerning their own deeds. And those who have done good will enter into eternal life, and those who have done evil into eternal fire.”

Now that may sound strange to your Lutheran ears. “Is that saying that we earn our way into heaven by our good deeds? That’s not what I was taught!” No, that’s not what you were taught, and that’s not what the creed is saying. It’s not saying that you earn eternal life by your works. Rather, it’s saying that your good works will be cited as evidence that you had a living faith in Christ. And it is Christ alone, his good works, that will save you.

What the Athanasian Creed is saying here is the same as what the Bible teaches. In fact, the creed is even quoting Jesus himself! In John chapter 5, Jesus says that when he comes again, the dead will rise, “those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” Likewise, in Matthew 25, Jesus says that at the final judgment your good works will be cited--“I was hungry and you fed me,” etc.--your works will be brought forth as examples to show that you had a living faith in Christ.

And dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this is who you are! For in your baptism, God has gifted you with the Holy Spirit, through whom you are a new person in Christ! You do have a living faith in your Savior, nurtured by your regular use of Word and Sacrament. You do live a life of love and good works. Your faith shows through in your life. Thank God for that! And you can rest secure with complete confidence that you will enter into eternal life, not because of your scorecard, but because of the merits of Christ Jesus your Savior!

So these two things in the Athanasian Creed-- the word “catholic” and this part about “those who have done good”--these are nothing to be scared of. On the contrary, these are things to rejoice in! “Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity. Let us give glory to him because he has shown his mercy to us.”

Dear friends, today on this Feast of the Holy Trinity, “we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity.” The Holy Trinity--one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--this is the only God there is. And thank God this is so, because this is the God who has made himself known to us through his Word. This is the God who saves us. And this is the God we gladly confess in the three ecumenical creeds, the Apostles’, the Nicene, and the Athanasian. My fellow Lutherans, this is the catholic faith!

The Athanasian Creed

Whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the catholic faith. Whoever does not keep it whole and undefiled will without doubt perish eternally. And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance.

For the Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Holy Spirit is another. But the Godhead of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit: the Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, the Holy Spirit uncreated; the Father infinite, the Son infinite, the Holy Spirit infinite; the Father eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet there are not three Eternals, but one Eternal, just as there are not three Uncreated or three Infinites, but one Uncreated and one Infinite. In the same way, the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, the Holy Spirit almighty; and yet there are not three Almighties, but one Almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God; and yet there are not three Gods, but one God. So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord; and yet there are not three Lords, but one Lord.

Just as we are compelled by the Christian truth to acknowledge each distinct person as God and Lord, so also are we prohibited by the catholic religion to say that there are three Gods or Lords. The Father is not made nor created nor begotten by anyone. The Son is neither made nor created, but begotten of the Father alone. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeding. Thus, there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. And in this Trinity none is before after another; none is greater or less than another; but the whole three persons are coeternal with each other and coequal, so that in all things, as has been stated above, the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped. Therefore, whoever desires to be saved must think thus about the Trinity.

But it is also necessary for everlasting salvation that one faithfully believe the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is the right faith that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is at the same time both God and man. He is God, begotten from the substance of the Father before all ages; and He is man, born from the substance of His mother in this age: perfect God and perfect man, composed of a rational soul and human flesh; equal to the Father with respect to His divinity, less than the Father with respect to His humanity. Although He is God and man, He is not two, but one Christ: one, however, not by the conversion of the divinity into flesh, but by the assumption of the humanity into God; one altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person. For as the rational soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ, who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from dead, ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence He will come to judge the living and the dead. At His coming all people will rise again with their bodies and give an account concerning their own deeds. And those who have done good will enter into eternal life, and those who have done evil into eternal fire.

This is the catholic faith; whoever does not believe it faithfully and firmly cannot be saved.

That is your personal opinion.

The Blessed Mother was and is closer to Jesus and the Holy Spirit than anyone else on earth, and she leads all that ask for her help as God’s humble servant. Mary will help draw us closer to her Son, Jesus.

Perhaps you should read Revelations 12 about the woman, Mary and Saint Michael and the angels threw down Satan and “Now the salvation and power and kingdom of God and the authority of Christ have come, for the accuser has been thrown down...”

The more I imitate the Mother of God, the more deeply I get to know God. — Saint Maria Faustina, Diary entry 843

Saint Faustina recorded many mystical experiences with the Mother of God who taught her how to love God interiorly and how to carry out His holy will in all things. May we also come to better know the love of God by learning from our Lady and growing in devotion to her. Let us implore and be strengthened by her intercessions. The Mother of God, our heavenly Mother, desires nothing more:

I am Mother to you all, thanks to the unfathomable mercy of God. Most pleasing to Me is that soul which faithfully carries out the will of God. (Diary, 449

Perhaps you should study the Lady of Guadalupe in Spain and Mexico to understand how the Blessed Mother unified the the native Aztec Mexicans and the Spanish and converted millions to the Catholic faith.

Here is a video: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/videos/our-lady-guadalupe-patroness-life

https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&ei=UTF-8&p=our+lady+of+guadalupe+spain+explain+faith&type=E210US885G0#id=51&vid=0c3c23cb65488cacf5f8c86204293722&action=click

I understand that many protestants have been taught lies about the Blessed Mother and don’t understand her role or appreciate how Mary can help us in our salvation. Yes Jesus is the just judge and the Blessed Mother has influence with her Son.

https://www.thedivinemercy.org/videos/explaining-faith-mary-mother-god

Your comment: “The Roman Catholic Church has never been the holy catholic Church and never will be. The Roman denomination has been corrupt from the beginning and is now frankly apostate”

Again your personal opinion without substance and not based on the love of God.

FOUR MARKS OF THE TRUE CHURCH

If we wish to locate the Church founded by Jesus, we need to locate the one that has the four chief marks or qualities of his Church. The Church we seek must be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.

The Church Is One (Rom. 12:5, 1 Cor. 10:17, 12:13, CCC 813–822)
Jesus established only one Church, not a collection of differing churches (Lutheran, Baptist, Anglican, and so on). The Bible says the Church is the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:23–32). Jesus can have but one spouse, and his spouse is the Catholic Church.

His Church also teaches just one set of doctrines, which must be the same as those taught by the apostles (Jude 3). This is the unity of belief to which Scripture calls us (Phil. 1:27, 2:2).

Although some Catholics dissent from officially-taught doctrines, the Church’s official teachers—the pope and the bishops united with him—have never changed any doctrine. Over the centuries, as doctrines are examined more fully, the Church comes to understand them more deeply (John 16:12–13), but it never understands them to mean the opposite of what they once meant.

The Church Is Holy (Eph. 5:25–27, Rev. 19:7–8, CCC 823–829)
By his grace Jesus makes the Church holy, just as he is holy. This doesn’t mean that each member is always holy. Jesus said there would be both good and bad members in the Church (John 6:70), and not all the members would go to heaven (Matt. 7:21–23).

But the Church itself is holy because it is the source of holiness and is the guardian of the special means of grace Jesus established, the sacraments (cf. Eph. 5:26).

The Church Is Catholic (Matt. 28:19–20, Rev. 5:9–10, CCC 830–856)
Jesus’ Church is called catholic (“universal” in Greek) because it is his gift to all people. He told his apostles to go throughout the world and make disciples of “all nations” (Matt. 28:19–20).

For 2,000 years the Catholic Church has carried out this mission, preaching the good news that Christ died for all men and that he wants all of us to be members of his universal family (Gal. 3:28).

Nowadays the Catholic Church is found in every country of the world and is still sending out missionaries to “make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19).

The Church Jesus established was known by its most common title, “the Catholic Church,” at least as early as the year 107, when Ignatius of Antioch used that title to describe the one Church Jesus founded. The title apparently was old in Ignatius’s time, which means it probably went all the way back to the time of the apostles.

The Church Is Apostolic (Eph. 2:19–20, CCC 857–865)
The Church Jesus founded is apostolic because he appointed the apostles to be the first leaders of the Church, and their successors were to be its future leaders. The apostles were the first bishops, and, since the first century, there has been an unbroken line of Catholic bishops faithfully handing on what the apostles taught the first Christians in Scripture and oral Tradition (2 Tim. 2:2).

These beliefs include the bodily Resurrection of Jesus, the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, the sacrificial nature of the Mass, the forgiveness of sins through a priest, baptismal regeneration, the existence of purgatory, Mary’s special role, and much more —even the doctrine of apostolic succession itself.

Early Christian writings prove the first Christians were thoroughly Catholic in belief and practice and looked to the successors of the apostles as their leaders. What these first Christians believed is still believed by the Catholic Church. No other Church can make that claim.
https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth

If one truly understands the Catholic faith, then they will find God’s Truth and his hope for our eternal life with Him.

Read Matthew 7:13 and find the narrow gate.